When You're Caught Writing Fanfiction or Drawing Fanart

I've written stuff since I've been able to hold a pencil, really. Not good stuff, mind you, but writing nonetheless. I started writing fanfiction in middle school (though I didn't post it) and it was always something I had to keep hidden because I'd seen the sort of attitude people got when they were seen writing. (One kid actually got bullied for it ) It wasn't until high school when I was writing this fic for an anime I was into at the time that my best friend finally got fed up with my secrecy and swiped the giant binder I was keeping it in. She read it and has been my beta ever since.

Even though my family knows I write fanfiction (my mom blathers on about it at the most inapporpriate times, and I want to stamp on her foot to shut her up; I normally start talking over her, which is rude, I know, but effective.) writing is something personal. You're putting your heart and soul into something, and to have people respond negatively really crushes you. For example: in middle school, I wanted to start drawing as well, and for a project for a different class, I drew a cover for the book I'd read. I spent an entire weekend on this drawing, and my teacher hated it and gave me a C. At that time I'd been the utterly perfect student and I was reduced to tears at the way she ripped into my drawing. She gave me this look of pity then and I hated her for it, and I KNEW she'd done it because she wanted to see me write instead of draw. She gave another girl an A whose work was ten times worse than mine (it looked like a five year old's drawing, I'm serious), and she looked directly at me as she did it too, as though to say, "Your skills are with writing, and don't think you can try anything else." Anyway, I haven't really drawn anything since, even though I should've just done it to spite her, but the sensation has stuck with me. I couldn't imagine if someone had knocked some of my earlier work (which probably deserved it). I certainly wouldn't be here, if that was the case!

Anyway, I've lost my train of thought, so I'll add something later if it hits me. (sighs) I've got the worst memory at times...

Stormqueen

 

It's nice to know that there are a lot of fan fic writers out there who lack support like I do. (Well, I guess that's not NICE, but you get the picture.)

I feel so alone sometimes because I'm the only person in all of my family and all of my friends that writes at all. For years, I wrote when no one was around. In 8th grade, I wrote at the end of English class during work time, but I always kept my notebook hidden because the boys who bullied me would ask, "What's that?" And I didn't want to tell them.

I never had anyone I could talk to who really understood writing, and I was scared of the internet. Then one day, on impulse, I took a chance and joined a LotR fan fiction site (much like this one, with forums, challenges and stuff). And I learned that the first fic I ever wrote was really, REALLY bad. So I set out to improve my writing by having my next fic beta-ed and reading internet articles on how to improve your writing. I have made some really good friends at that site, people who actually understand what it is to write. And I have found the same thing here. The Boards are so wonderful because here I am surrounded by authors who all share one passion - Star Wars. So I rarely feel out of the loop. And everyone is so supportive.

So the internet is not the least bit scary anymore. (Well, I guess at times it can be...) The internet is now one of my escapes. I actually have a place where I can go and discuss two of my passions at once (SW and writing) without feeling ashamed for loving either. (which I sometimes do in real life.)

Okay, this is the perfect moment to insert hug.


EDIT: I've got the worst memory at times...

Me too! It's pathetic. I'll be writing an e-mail or a post and completely forget what I was going to say. (Which just happened to me now. I was going to say this in this post, but forgot.) A lot of times it feels like I'm grasping at dangling threads in my mind that just slip further away. I hate that feeling.

 

Deny, deny, deny!

"I'm writing a letter to my friend Anakin! Get over it!"

 

I have friend at College that I showed my star war poems to. She loved them. She was in a poetry class at the time too.

Edit: I don't think she's into star wars though, i'm not sure.

 

Alt Tab works nicely.

 

We are all thoughtful, articulate people...hiding our work! I do it too--no one knows that I read/write SW fanfic. Many of my friends haven't even seen ROTS--what a deprived life they have, lol. I keep a decoy tab open so I can click on it.

 

I find it really sad that I have to hide such things. Well, not my art so much, since I used to draw it all the time for sketchbook assignments. My teachers kinda got used to Star Wars showing up in half my projects, and a couple of them even liked to have the stuff around for art shows because kids that got dragged along against their will loved it. Made a Jedi marionette once, I actually still have it. He's tres cool. And a little hard to hide. And anyone can appreciate a good drawing, even if it does happen to be of some Star Wars thing. Heh, I had such a reputation for it in high school that the yearbook listed a photograph of me doing an art project as a Star Wars drawing, even though it had nothing to do with Star Wars. And yeah, people thought I was weird, but I stopped caring. I mean, it's not like the people making snide remarks were people I had a ton of respect for.

My middle school teachers were actually impressed by my ability to relate anything and everything to Star Wars. I wrote Star Wars stories for class, and my english teacher loved it. Did the same thing in high school, to a certain extent. Wrote one fanfic-like story and put it in the Honours English 9 Anthology, and people liked it well enough. I didn't have the courage to do it in later years, but I'm pretty sure I did at least one Star Wars book as a book report for American Lit, and it showed up in one form or another in most of my classes. My teachers were mostly just amused. They thought my enthusiasm was just great, and it was different from what all the other students were handing in, so it worked. They also knew I could read and write serious stuff, too, which probably helped.

Now that I'm in college, I fear the opinions of my peers more than the opinions of my profs. I've got a friend that I know would flay my writing if I ever showed it to him. I don't think he knows I'm writing fanfiction, specifically. He knows I'm writing a story, and that it's really long, but he doesn't know it's about KOTOR. He doesn't take fanfic seriously at all. I know he used to write it, and he admits it was pretty bad, but he won't touch the stuff anymore because it's not Serious enough. Part of me wants to cry "snobbery!", but I guess I'm too nice for that. I suppose after a while you just get used to doing things that get no respet. My writing gets no respect (unless it's for a paper, though he even rags on my paper topics, because I have managed to weasel Star Wars into a lot of papers... what can I say? My profs are crazy, and I love them for it), I play in the pit for a Gilbert & Sullivan company, which is neither Serious opera nor Serious theatre, so no respect there.

I think people just need to lighten up and realise that life is supposed to be FUN sometimes. I write because it's fun, not because I have any interest in impacting the masses. Too much Serious Business makes you grow up waaaaay too soon.

 

Too much Serious Business makes you grow up waaaaay too soon.

Here, here! (Toasts to Commander-DWH) Everyone has this impression that if you want to be a writer, you've got to dress in black, be as skinny as a rail, and go to coffee houses where you discuss your work in slow, philisophical language. I tried the writing scene at my school and went to an open-mike night at the local coffee house, where I listened to lots of short stories and poems, and I was not impressed. The people there were snobbish, completely opposed to an outsider, and if you had anything fantastical that wasn't "faction" (real-life, but imbellished) that didn't say anything about the world we live in, they didn't want to hear it. This is what I'd call Too Much Serious Business! I'd always had fun with my writing, and so what if I didn't have something serious and deep to say? What if I just wanted to enjoy myself? I was asked what I typically wrote by someone who actually was nice enough to condescend to my level and talk with me, and when I said mostly fantasy type stuff, it was as though I'd suddenly started secreting the smell of a skunk. I wasn't a serious writer then, simply because of my choice of genre. Well, you can write serious, angsty stuff on a fantasy backdrop; these boards are living proof! So people wonder why I stick to fanfiction and never try to publish any of my own stuff? Well, the "real" writing world, from what I've seen, is cutthroat. Your fellow writers in workshop aren't there to help you; they want to cut you down to make themselves look better. And people wonder why I hide everything I do.

Alt Tab works nicely.

It certainly does!

Stormqueen

 

Personally, I would never tell ANYONE I know in my life that I read and write fanfic (phew, it makes me shudder just to type that-

Amen to that!

Nobody knows about my fanfic hobby, at work or home. In the past few months, I've submitted some of my work to print SW zines, and had a few stories accepted. Now, the people that put out these zines told me they'd send me a free copy of the zine with my story in it next spring, but I can't let them send it to me, because that would be 'spilling the beans' about my hobby to my family! And I'd LOVE to have those zines! I'd even buy some zines ... if I could. *sighs*

I don't write down my stories on paper, just put in on a disk, and then I hide the disk in my sock drawer! Even if someone found it, I could say I just copied it from the internet, and my secret would still be safe. I think if anyone in my family found out about fanfic, they'd ask me to see a shrink.

 

Somehow I find this incredibly tragic. What the heck should they care what you do with your spare time as long as it's not torturing small animals or downloading kiddie porn?

Most people I know are aware of the fact that I write both original works and fanfiction, and most of them don't seem to care one way or the other (although my parents are concerned by the fanfic only in light of the fact that you can't publish fanfic and therefore it's not really worth the effort [which isn't exactly true in the case of the Phantom of the Opera fanfiction I've written, since the original novel is now in the public domain]). Of course, a lot of my friends are already into science fiction and fantasy, and so writing Star Wars stories isn't any more odd than making Jedi costumes or putting together stormtrooper armor in your garage.

I was very lucky in college; when I was a senior my creative writing advisor was an author by the name of Pat Geary. She wrote some pretty out-there stuff herself and didn't really give a fig whether something was genre fiction or more mainstream stuff. She told me once, "I don't really care what you write as long as you write well." I took those words to heart and never had a problem with the other upper-division creative writing students in my classes; almost all of them had nice things to say about my writing even if they weren't into science fiction or fantasy. I do know that there's a definite bias out there against it in many writing programs, though, and that's too bad.

I guess I never really cared about writing the Great American Novel; I just cared about writing entertaining stories that featured interesting characters. Luckily no one ever gave me crap about it, but obviously some of you have not been so fortunate, and that's just a sad statement about the current state of writing in our world and the narrow-mindedness of people in general. I guess we should all be glad that we have a support group here if nothing else.

 

Lol, I make it so I don't get caught. I always have another window open so I can easily click from my Word to that. However, I don't really find the need to do that when I'm not writing in canon-verse and am only writing with my OC's. Then, I can just say that I'm writing, and no one needs to know about what. My twin sister knows I write SW fanficiton, and so does my brother, but he doesn't really care. My sister also writes, although in another genre, but she's always there to read my stuff, abeit quickly and skimmed.

I'd DIE if my friends found out. They already think I'm too much of a SW geek already.

-Krystal

 

I do know that there's a definite bias out there against it [scifi/fantasy] in many writing programs, though, and that's too bad.

It really is. I finally took a creative writing class and we were told at the very beginning that we would only be doing "faction" and that fantasy or scifi were completely forbidden because it was a whole different ballpark. Well, yes, it is, but no, it isn't. You're still dealing with people and the way they interact. You can tell haunting stories of angst and drama that is a human journey within the genre of fantasy. My instructor's (we didn't even get a real professor for the class, it was a grad student) attitude irked me, to say the least, but I was stuck with it. The class did help, but I still prefer to write on my own time. Having to mold myself to a certain style is what I do for English class, where I figure out what the prof. is looking for in the papers. I don't like to do that with my creative writing.

Stormqueen

 

I used to be heavily biased against fan fiction.

I thought it would ruin the canon for me.

I'd never really read any fan fic until a few months ago, when I was very very impressed by the talent and quality mhere.
Move over George Lucas!

I think it's fun. Don't think there's anything wrong with it,
but yes it does seem to be a bit 'taboo'

ah well, stuff it, and rock on!

 

I have been writing for a long time and have just now started writing fanfic. I find it a wonderful exercise in developing characters. Still haven?t got the courage to try posting anything or even admitting to my writer's group that I am doing this.

It is too true that sci-fi/fantasy is panned. Luckily at a local writer?s conference and creative writing program, they actually have workshops in this genre. Still, most people don?t consider this serious writing. It?s not considered literary. Yet, now works like Brave New World are considered to be. Perhaps it is just timing.

You can tell haunting stories of angst and drama that is a human journey within the genre of fantasy.

This is so true. And it allows more freedom to explore what might be rather than what is.

 

Can I put that in my signature?

I have no clue where the idea that sci-fi/fantasy is somehow 'inferior' to 'real literature' (whatever that is) comes from. It's not like there's a clear-cut line there. Not the best example, mind you, but the first one that came to my mind: Dan Brown's (of Da Vinci Code fame) Digital Fortress and Deception Point. Depending on how you look at them, they can be considered either sci-fi or realistic fiction.

I don't think it's just timing, however. Ironically, I think it's because of the idea that literature should explore real-world problems. You certainly CAN do that in a sci-fi setting, and it is frequently done (including in SW). But Brave New World was very upfront about what it was about. Most sci-fi/fantasy isn't like that. The irony? That because authors like Tolkien make their points subtly, some people don't see them, and claim that Lord of the Rings is pure escapism.

This is a characteristic of sci-fi/fantasy more than other literary genres: they are frequently written so they can be enjoyed on many levels, including very superficial ones. That makes it an inviting target for those who would deem it inferior.

 

My family and friends are all Star Wars nerds too so they love my stuff. My boss even reads my stories. So I guess I'm really lucky never having any problems with people. Because usually people like my stuff anyway. And if they ask I just say I'm a film major (which I am) and it helps keep my creativity flowing ^_^

 

Have at it!

Ack...TAs are the worst, because they're usually in the middle of working on their own thesis or dissertation (or whatever), and therefore feel they have something to prove. (I had one I hated so much that I actually switched my major from English to history.)

A gentleman I know (a published poet) advised me many years ago that if you want to be a writer you shouldn't major in English because you'll get so many conflicting opinions on what constitutes literature or good writing that it just muddies the waters of your own creative flow. He said it's better to study psychology or anthropology or history or whatever else floats your boat, because that will actually give you more material for writing. And you know -- I enjoyed writing much better after I became a medieval history major. I don't know if that will help you in your current situation, but it's a thought.

 

This is a characteristic of sci-fi/fantasy more than other literary genres: they are frequently written so they can be enjoyed on many levels, including very superficial ones. That makes it an inviting target for those who would deem it inferior.

I would like to respectfuly semi-disagree with you on this point. Because, if that was the case, then what would you say about authors like Stephen King and James Patterson? Mystery and pure thriller novels can also be enjoyed on many levels, but authors of those genras are held up on a pedestal. And what about romance novels? In my opinion, they're worthless, but people enjoy them because they could possibly happen in real life, or they enjoy them because for those few hours, they can play pretend and live a dream through the main character.

Ironically, I think it's because of the idea that literature should explore real-world problems.

I would also like to semi-disagree with you here too. If this was the case, then books along the lines of Huck Finn would be written more often and enjoyed by those not majoring in Lit.

Okay, now for an actual statement.

I think the main problem people have with the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genra is because their minds can't understand it. Not that they can't understand what the book is about, but they can't grasp the concept of a world completely different than hours. Movies like Men in Black are understood because it happens on Earth - they can identify with the planet. And humans and aliens are not equal with each other, aliens are either working for humans, or being destroyed by them. Most of the world just can't understand how humans and aliens can work together. Also, the amount of new technology is staggering.

One of the reasons why Lord of the Rings (of which I am a huge fan) is popular, is because although it has characters other than human beings, human kind has been conditioned to think of Elves, Dwarves, and other fairy creatures as friends. We can understand humans interacting with these "aliens" because in all the stories we've heard since childhood, creatures like those have been our friends. Also, Lord of the Rings takes place in an Earth like setting. There's no new technology our minds have to get used to.

Okay, I think I'm going to stop now before I make people even more confused. *sighs* My apologies if this doesn't exactly make sense. I didn't get a lot of sleep.

 

Wow Targeter. I have a similar story. I told my parents that I owed my SAT writing score to my laptop and all teh word files there. Didn't tell 'em it's fanfiction, but they let me keep the comp.

 

Oh it does. I've been seriously thinking about changing my major to psychology lately, but, I haven't worked up the nerve to tell my parents yet...

 

Only one person knows I write ff, and I only told her recently. I haven't let her read anything yet. I'm typically secretive about my writing anyway, unless it's with other writers. I've been writing original stuff for more than a dozen years now (starting way back when I was 11/12 years old). I wrote a lot during school; I usually spent my math and science classes stealthily writing. My parents have always been very supportive of me, even though I never let them read anything until I got into college (except for my poetry, which I've always hated). I'm in the process of working on a "serious" novel, but ff is my major creative outlet at the moment.

In college, I majored in English and minored in Creative Writing; my CW classes were easily the best I've ever had. For my final CW seminar, I wrote short fantasy fiction, which I was a little nervous about doing, since no one else was doing "genre." My classmates loved it. Even my prof was very supportive about it. Workshopping is probably what I miss most about college; I learned a lot about how to write and how to edit. I knew a couple of people who were scared to death of having me edit their work because I can be so vicious and critical. I take revisioning seriously, and I'm always hardest on myself. Later, they always told me they were thankful I was so brutally honest because it made them better in the long run. I work the same way with my fan-fiction; my rough drafts look pretty colorful after I get done with them. That's really why I haven't offered myself up as a beta-reader; I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings.

Stormqueen mentioned that she knew kids who got bullied for writing at school. I can so relate to that. Throughout middle school and most of high school, people made fun of me because I was always reading or writing. My senior year, I used to read at lunch, and there was a group of freshmen who always teased me from a distance. I always felt sorry for them because they were missing out on all these great stories. It never really bothered me on a self-esteem level; I loved writing, and I wasn't going to stop.

Too bad everything I write sucks.


EDIT:
I have to expand my comment on the "faction" obsession within CW programs. When I first started my CW courses, my favorite prof told me I shouldn't write fantasy because it's not mainstream. I went ahead and did it anyway, and she said it was the best stuff she'd seen me write. I earned A's all through her classes. I think I got lucky with my CW program -- my profs were very open-minded, although one was partial to poetry. But for those of you thinking about going into CW in college, don't give up hope.

 

I didn't say the phenomena was nonexistent for other genres (I am not a Sith, I don't deal in absolutes), but it is more prominent in sci-fi/fantasy.

I agree on romance novels. I've never read King or Patterson, so I can't comment there. However, there is another author I can think of who writes stuff like that (which works on many levels): Tom Clancy.

Sorry, I don't understand what you're disagreeing with. I said that Brave New World is considered 'real' literature because it explores (supposedly) a real-world problem and does it in a very upfront manner, and that many sci-fi/fantasy authors do things a little more subtly -- and are misunderstood as a result.

And if that's the case, what accounts for the popularity of, oh, I don't know... STAR WARS?

 

But for those of you thinking about going into CW in college, don't give up hope.

It doesn't help that there're only two creative writing classes at my school. One's lower division, one's upper division. You major in creative writing by doing English, and then taking those two, and it makes me a little sad. But that's what I get for going to a school where the focus is entirely on science; about 90% of the population is potential pre-med. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the class with an artistic bone in her body, but that's just me being cynical. Perhaps they're all hiding their stories in sock drawers.

As for the comment on people not understanding sci-fi, I agree but at the same time I think it's just a matter of taste. Some people love reading bodice-ripper novels (the kind with Fabio wannabes on the cover) while others love a good action story, set against the backdrop of space. I don't know what makes people like or dislike the things they do, but I don't necessarily think it's because they can't understand it. It might be part of it, but I can understand romance novels perfectly, but they just seem so unrealistic and they tend to nauseate me. Maybe that's it: people don't like sci-fi because they think it's unrealistic? (shrugs)

Anyway, them's my two cents.

Stormqueen

 

I don't know what makes people like or dislike the things they do, but I don't necessarily think it's because they can't understand it.

That's an interesting point. I think what people like has to do with how they're raised and what they are raised to like. I'm not saying that people grow on corn stalks, and I know there are many exceptions to this (the infamous "rebels of society") but it seems to be true a lot of times.
For example: My mom was raised in a family that put great importance on family time and caring attitudes. She also had two sisters and no brothers. She tends to gravitate toward chick-flick movies, romance novels, and family values centered movies and novels.
My dad was raised in a family that wasn't quite as close. They talked more about current issues than feelings. He hates movies that center on emotions (he thinks that's boring), and he rarely reads because he thinks that fiction and things that aren't real-life-happening-now are worthless.
I'm a mix because I've had both influences on my life. I love sci-fi; I used to watch Star Trek all the time with my dad. And I love films that center on emotions (though I find chick-flicks replusive.) A little light romance on the side is good though.

Does this make any sense? Am I rambling? I tend to do that...

 

And I love films that center on emotions (though I find chick-flicks replusive.) A little light romance on the side is good though.

I'm glad I'm not the only female who finds chick-flicks rather disgusting. To me it's completely unrealistic, and I think it gives people false hopes on what having a boyfriend is really like. But that's my cynical side again, and I'll stop before I lead this thread wayyy too off topic.

Stormqueen