Alison wrote:
What if the very simplicity or indeed amateurishness of a piece of fanfiction (its cheekiness if you like) is part of its message. That's pretty challenging and interesting in itself.
I agree in principle this is possible, but can't think of a fanfic example offhand (perhaps you can provide?) where 'amateurishness' was (IMO) anything other than a partial failure of the writer's skills to carry the plot/message. (That might sound fairly unkind, but I'd include all of my own fiction writing in that heap, and I wouldn't necessarily consider it other than a compliment -- better to have tried to pull off something complex and only 60% succeeded than to have attempted something easy and 95% succeeded, or indeed to have sat and carped on the sidelines...)
The other aspect of amateurishness in fanzines, of course, is the production side. I've heard more than one B7 fan praise zines with very amateur production techniques (one hesitates to say 'poorly produced') precisely for the amateurish look. Personally, I like them both ways -- ttba was an attempt to produce a nice-looking zine without it ever leaving my back-bedroom-cum-home-office, while my favourite-ever B7 zine (Stadler Link) had a fairly amateur look to it before ever I spilled coffee on my copy....
If it is just a bloody noise that you would rather not listen to, it is
more
likely to repel people, make them prefer commercial products.
Or indeed amateur products in a different genre. For what it's worth, I'd rate a lot of fanfiction as at least as high quality as a lot of commercial fiction.
I think in that respect fanfic is more successful than punk, because it is more consistently enjoyed, and has avoided selling out.
I'm not convinced fanfiction can ever 'sell out' -- its very existence implies interacting with the source series in a fashion other than the bland consumer that the producers probably envisaged.
Tavia
----- Original Message ----- From: Tavia tavia@btinternet.com
I'm not convinced fanfiction can ever 'sell out' -- its very existence implies interacting with the source series in a fashion other than the bland consumer that the producers probably envisaged.
Hmmm... I'd say fanfic *can* sell out, although not in the same way as punk, if the producer is doing it for reasons other than personal pleasure and love of the programme. What other reasons are there, I hear you cry-- well, I have encountered people in a lot of fandoms who were doing fan activities (not just fanfic) because they like being a big fish in a small pond, or cos they've been doing it so long they can't stop, or just to spite the competition, or whatever. Sad but true.
Anyway, not all punks sold out-- Ian Dury never did, and John Lydon's still saying the same things now he did 20 years ago. If he can manage to get paid for it, good for him-- but whether he's getting money for it or not doesn't seem to affect what he says.
Fiona
The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane No future, no future at http://nyder.r67.net
_________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
Alison wrote:
What if the very simplicity or indeed amateurishness of a piece of fanfiction (its cheekiness if you like) is part of its message. That's pretty challenging and interesting
in
itself.
Thurber cartoon caption: It's a naive little domestic Burgundy, but I think you'll admire its presumption.
And this is Tavia:
I agree in principle this is possible, but can't think of a fanfic example offhand (perhaps you can provide?) where 'amateurishness' was (IMO) anything other than a partial failure of the writer's skills to carry the plot/message.
I really like the ethos of letting everyone who wants to, write and post-- I've read stories that were not particularly polished, but had interesting ideas or had no ideas at all but were interestingly written.
(That might sound fairly unkind, but I'd include all of my
own fiction writing in that heap, and I wouldn't necessarily consider it other than a compliment -- better to have tried to pull off something complex and only 60% succeeded than to have attempted something easy and 95% succeeded, or indeed to have sat and carped on the sidelines...)
Tommy Tune was talking about musicals--he said that if you go for a five and achieve a five, you get applauded, if you go for a 10 and achieve an 8 you get hissed.
-(Y)
-
Dana Shilling -
Fiona Moore -
Tavia