the_wanlorn | Fandom Survey

So, I believe that this started out as devoted solely to Harry Potter. But, people have removed anything telling me about it, so I'm going to assume that (unless otherwise noted) it's about all fanfics.

How old are you?
18

How old were you when you first started reading/writing fanfiction in general?
14 or so. I remember sitting in the back of my 8th grade English class, bored to tears with whatever the teacher was talking about (because I'd most likely known it since forever), and I decided I was going to write about Forgotten Realms characters. I didn't find anywhere to archive everything until much later (until I was 16). So that's when my fanfic writing "career" really took off, you could say.

Do you ever feel your interpretation of the books has been affected by fandom?
Most definitely. People come up with different interpretations of the characters. By my reading their interpretations, that affects my own. Sometimes this is a bad thing (I swear that fandom made me hate Anita Blake; it's much harder to read the books now, since she's the main character). I mean (relating this to Harry Potter) I didn't really see Snape/Hermione until I started reading Harry/Ginny fics with that as a background 'ship. I certainly didn't think Anita was as controlling and bitchy as I do now.

Do you openly share your participation in fandom, or only with certain people? Or do you keep it a secret entirely, except for people you see online?
It started out as secret. As very secret. But by MassAcademy, I kind of stopped caring what people knew/thought about it. So now, while it's not something I talk about IRL, I don't mind, say, writing about it in my journal. I don't mind people I know knowing about it. Reading it? That's another matter completely. ;-)

Did you ever write/read fanfic for any fandoms before Harry Potter?
Harry Potter was actually a late fandom for me. I started out with one tiny, short Mulan-fic (or maybe it was two - I can't find them anymore, so I don't remember). Then I wrote almost exclusively Drizzt-fics (Forgotten Realms). Then I created my own alternate universe and started writing almost exclusively that. Can't forget Forever Knight or Alias, of course. Or X-Men: The Movie. Or Ed. There's even a Matrix fic and a Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory fic thrown in there. I think everything but the Willy Wonka one was before Harry Potter, for me. And I'll write them all more than Harry Potter. At least for the time being.

What other fandoms do you write/ read fics for, if any?
I write for Mulan, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Forever Knight, Alias, X-Men: The Movie, Ed, The Matrix, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Harry Potter on their own. There's a very large conglomeration of fandoms in my large cross-over AU thing. And I read almost everything. If I know even the vaguest thing about the fandom, I'll go check out some fics.

Have you ever written a crossover?
Of course! For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky is one big crossover! And there are a couple littler ones, mostly stories that intersect For the World.... In fact, I think only stories that intersect For the World.... I'm honestly not a big fan of them, otherwise.

What about an Alternative Universe?
For the World...! Then a couple Forever Knight ones. Mostly, the AUs I write for single fandoms are of the "Nothing after this episode/book happened." Again, I'm not a big fan of AUs. A lot of them are "What if X, Y, and Z never happened?" and I'm of the opinion that you need to take a story from one specific point. You can't cut out random bits, and expect it to turn out the same until the point where you want to start.

Were either/both challenging, or did you find either/both easy?
I tend not to go for challenging things with fanfics. For me, it's something to do to relax, not something to put a lot of time and effort into. Or, well, excepting For the World... :-P That one's my baby. It just grows and grows and undergoes rewrites and I do research for it... Yeah...

What do you think of original characters?
If you can make OCs believable and non-Mary Sue-ish, then I like them. If it's a bunch of Mary Sues running around... I'm not such a fan. I'll admit, I got incredibly bored of writing A World in a Grain of Sand and shoved in a Mary Sue cuz I couldn't be arsed to develop the character in that particular universe. So people who knew the duo from For the World... were good with it. Random people who just wanted to read an FK fic... not so much. :-P

Have you ever read an exceptionally good original character?
Oo yeah! I have! It was to the point where I was looking forward to reading about the character moreso than I was to reading about the fanfic portions (if that made sense). Except I can't quite remember who it was. :-(

In your opinion, what is the difference between a good original character and a "Mary Sue"?
A good character has a reason. A good character doesn't have everything go right, isn't happy all the time, doesn't escape everything completely unscathed.

Of course, I consider the new chick on CSI (Sophia?) a Mary Sue. She is annoying and know-it-all and ick! But bad shit happened to her, like getting demoted. So I guess it all lies in the reader. To me, the main character of For the World... isn't a Mary Sue. To a lot of people, she is. ::shrug:: It's all in how you read it.

Has any fanfiction you've ever read personally affected you?
Actually, yes. I read a fic that

copperbadge wrote about Remus Lupin. It made me think that I need to stop doing some things or letting other people do things to me, etc. Not something I really want to go into on my LJ right now. ;-)

Have you ever written a fanfic based on a real event you or someone else experienced?
Yep, I have. And I'm going to leave it at that. :-)

Have you ever written an original story based on a fanfic idea?
Well, I've considered converting some of my fanfics into original stories, if that counts.

How about the reverse?
I can't say that I have. Most of my fanfics start by me thinking, "Oh hell no, it is not going to end like that..." and taking it from there.

What do you think of the movies?
The Harry Potter movies? Extremely lacking. 'Nuff said.

Do you think that the movies and marketing are a good thing, or do you think they take away from the books?
At one point, they were a good thing. In this day and age, they take away from the books. Instead of going and reading the books, people watch the movies instead. [insert rant that I'm too tired to type up] Let's just say this question addresses one of my huge pet peeves and leave it at that. ;-)

Finally, back to fandom. What are some advantages and disadvantages of fansites and fanfiction?
Advantages:

Places for fans to gather and talk about the fandom

Brings new people who stumble by into the fandom

Makes waiting for next installment less... irksome

Disadvantages:

Plagiarism

BAD WRITERS

Do you think it has taught you anything?
It's taught me a lot about writing. About keeping characters In Character. And I suppose I have a thicker skin now. I know how to give Constructive Criticism cuz I know what I don't want to hear.

Finally - have you changed since you first started writing fanfic?
Well, I started when I was little. I would hope I'd changed! I suppose I've grown as a writer... grown as a critic (JKR'S GAPING PLOTHOLES OMG)... etc. Oh, and I learned how to write smut. ;-)

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