When fanfic encounters the rest of the world

[firecat]

"Is It Time to Rethink the Rules of Fanfiction?" by AJ McDougall

Stupid title (fanfic? RULES?) for an article that wanders into some interesting areas of the topic of "what happens when creators and other entities in the mundane world encounter fanfic."

Quote which has very little to do with the rest of the article: "Actors like Orlando Jones, Michael Sheen, and Mads Mikkelsen have all said they’ve had fun wading through [Archives of Our Own] to read stories about their characters (with Mikkelsen adding he 'tremendously' enjoyed the steamier stories he found)."

[*runs off to write some steamy fic for Mads Mikkelsen*]

Comments

[sabotabby]

Interesting article. I am admittedly one of the old crusties who preferred it when there was a separation between fans and creators. But it's inevitable that those walls come down, given that creators all have to be interactive brands these days.

Also, I remember The Brat Queen! She wrote my favourite Angel fanfic.

[firecat]

I enjoyed being part of Babylon 5 fandom when JMS was posting in a newsgroup. But there was a strict “no story ideas” rule. That kind of interaction between fans and creators works for me. As for other kinds of interaction, including creators and actors viewing fanworks, I think it’s cool if it’s mutually consensual. (Funny how a lot of stuff boils down to that.) But creators/actors shouldn’t be forced to look at fanworks. And fans should be able to shield their works from creators (although it wouldn’t stop the determined).

[sabotabby]

Yeah, I just—don't want creators knowing about my fanworks. I'm of course a hypocrite and I want to know about fanworks that people make of my stuff! And I dream of interacting with fandom, like that's the point at which I'll feel like I Made It.

[firecat]

I hope you Make It!