When Writer Meets Fandom
Feb. 7th, 2010 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunasariel I think we've heard enough D&D ramblings for the time being, so onward and upward!
Lately, I've really been noticing how great it is when the writer(s) of a book/movie/TV series take it directly to the fans. This can sometimes take the form of a writer incorporating a fan-generated idea into the canon, or an especially genre-savvy writer bringing up issues of fan-debate (or more often, fan-dumb) in-canon, usually in a humorous fashion (whether it's because the ideas fans come up with are usually pretty hilarious, intentionally or not, or out a genuine regard for the fans' feelings [or a desire to keep the numbers up by not pissing off and driving away the hardcore fans], I can't tell).
In its most benign form, close writer/fan interaction can be a wonderful thing. It's almost par for the course for writers to have their own LiveJournals, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, etc., which can be nice if you're biting your fingernails off between releases, and there's truly nothing like taking a question about this plot point or that character directly to the source. Word of God indeed! And then, of course, there are more specific interactions, like when Tamora Pierce's fans gave her character Numair Salmalín the nickname "Numy," and Tamora has recently worked that into her Trickster series. I saw that as a lovely little nod to her many devoted, ingenious fans, and acknowledgment of their creativity.
Of course, it's not always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes fans are rude, stupid, crazy, or just plain out of line, and the writer(s) choose(s) to address that in canon. Specifically, I'm thinking of TV serieses(?), and even more specifically, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the later Supernatural.
In the BtVS season 3 episode Superstar, Joss Whedon takes a direct shot at fanfiction, specifically Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus. A recurring minor villain called Jonathan summons a demon to make him perfect, and he out-hunts Buffy, out-smarts Giles, out-magics both Willow and Tara, and out-badasses Spike. The canon characters, of course, practically fall over themselves adoring him, and Buffy becomes weak and querulous, depending almost entirely on Jonathan, until he realizes that a force of utter evil has been created to balance out his Gary-Stu-ness, and he gives up his powers, allowing Buffy to defeat the demon, and everything returns to normal. It's been stated outright that this is a direct response to the more ridiculous fanfic writers who, especially in the Buffy fandom, need taking down a peg or two.
The other occurrence that comes to mind is from Supernatural, which Heather and Chris recently got me into. Simply put, the premise is "Buffy, with more guns, more traveling, and a badass car." The writers for this show are notoriously aware of their fandom (one episode is even named "Jump the Shark"), which, sadly, is largely comprised of screaming idiotic fangirls of nearly Twilight proportions. Several episodes, almost all involving the character The Trickster (who might have been created specifically for this purpose), directly address various fandom issues. Most infamously, there is an episode revolving entirely around the issue of "Wincest," or the widely-held fan notion that the two main characters, a pair of brothers named Sam and Dean Winchester, are sexually and/or romantically involved. The episode even features Becky, a squeeing, fanfic-writing, absolutely loony fangirl who encounters the two demon hunters, and proceeds to creep them out in a way the two *professional badasses* have never encountered before. The characters even read, and react to, fanfic.
Another significant example, although in quite a different way, is Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. Lynn has gone on record stating that she will not, has never, and never will sanctify or approve of fanfiction involving her characters, settings or scenarios, and has asked all her fans to take down all existing fanfiction, and not write any more. The official reason is that because of her contract, she might lose her copyright so said characters, settings, etc., but she's also said that she just feels wrong with other people crawling around inside her brain, so to speak. This is one of those times when respect and love for the author and their creations must supersede a fan's natural desire for wish fulfillment, take the Word of God as is, and move on.
And those are just the biggest cases. There are numerous smaller nods to the fandom in which the characters either encounter their own stories, such as Jack and Habib of The Authority finding a copy of Relentless on an alternate Earth, and Jack remarking succinctly, "This is nuts." And of course, anything by Alan Moore or CLAMP is chock-full of easter eggs for the devotee to discover.
EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to include Retcon! An inspired touch by the Torchwood writers, Retcon is exactly what you'd think it is, only not: a drug that erases memories, and even allows false memories to be implanted. Thus, after a monster has finished tearing apart downtown Cardiff in full view of hundreds of people, and there's no way the agents of Torchwood could be expected to keep this under wraps, a nice, hearty dose of Retcon all around makes it so that the problem has never happened. Neat, huh?
Well, I guess I just wanted to get that off my chest. I might expand on Supernatural in the next few days, if I have the time.
Lately, I've really been noticing how great it is when the writer(s) of a book/movie/TV series take it directly to the fans. This can sometimes take the form of a writer incorporating a fan-generated idea into the canon, or an especially genre-savvy writer bringing up issues of fan-debate (or more often, fan-dumb) in-canon, usually in a humorous fashion (whether it's because the ideas fans come up with are usually pretty hilarious, intentionally or not, or out a genuine regard for the fans' feelings [or a desire to keep the numbers up by not pissing off and driving away the hardcore fans], I can't tell).
In its most benign form, close writer/fan interaction can be a wonderful thing. It's almost par for the course for writers to have their own LiveJournals, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, etc., which can be nice if you're biting your fingernails off between releases, and there's truly nothing like taking a question about this plot point or that character directly to the source. Word of God indeed! And then, of course, there are more specific interactions, like when Tamora Pierce's fans gave her character Numair Salmalín the nickname "Numy," and Tamora has recently worked that into her Trickster series. I saw that as a lovely little nod to her many devoted, ingenious fans, and acknowledgment of their creativity.
Of course, it's not always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes fans are rude, stupid, crazy, or just plain out of line, and the writer(s) choose(s) to address that in canon. Specifically, I'm thinking of TV serieses(?), and even more specifically, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the later Supernatural.
In the BtVS season 3 episode Superstar, Joss Whedon takes a direct shot at fanfiction, specifically Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus. A recurring minor villain called Jonathan summons a demon to make him perfect, and he out-hunts Buffy, out-smarts Giles, out-magics both Willow and Tara, and out-badasses Spike. The canon characters, of course, practically fall over themselves adoring him, and Buffy becomes weak and querulous, depending almost entirely on Jonathan, until he realizes that a force of utter evil has been created to balance out his Gary-Stu-ness, and he gives up his powers, allowing Buffy to defeat the demon, and everything returns to normal. It's been stated outright that this is a direct response to the more ridiculous fanfic writers who, especially in the Buffy fandom, need taking down a peg or two.
The other occurrence that comes to mind is from Supernatural, which Heather and Chris recently got me into. Simply put, the premise is "Buffy, with more guns, more traveling, and a badass car." The writers for this show are notoriously aware of their fandom (one episode is even named "Jump the Shark"), which, sadly, is largely comprised of screaming idiotic fangirls of nearly Twilight proportions. Several episodes, almost all involving the character The Trickster (who might have been created specifically for this purpose), directly address various fandom issues. Most infamously, there is an episode revolving entirely around the issue of "Wincest," or the widely-held fan notion that the two main characters, a pair of brothers named Sam and Dean Winchester, are sexually and/or romantically involved. The episode even features Becky, a squeeing, fanfic-writing, absolutely loony fangirl who encounters the two demon hunters, and proceeds to creep them out in a way the two *professional badasses* have never encountered before. The characters even read, and react to, fanfic.
Another significant example, although in quite a different way, is Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series. Lynn has gone on record stating that she will not, has never, and never will sanctify or approve of fanfiction involving her characters, settings or scenarios, and has asked all her fans to take down all existing fanfiction, and not write any more. The official reason is that because of her contract, she might lose her copyright so said characters, settings, etc., but she's also said that she just feels wrong with other people crawling around inside her brain, so to speak. This is one of those times when respect and love for the author and their creations must supersede a fan's natural desire for wish fulfillment, take the Word of God as is, and move on.
And those are just the biggest cases. There are numerous smaller nods to the fandom in which the characters either encounter their own stories, such as Jack and Habib of The Authority finding a copy of Relentless on an alternate Earth, and Jack remarking succinctly, "This is nuts." And of course, anything by Alan Moore or CLAMP is chock-full of easter eggs for the devotee to discover.
EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to include Retcon! An inspired touch by the Torchwood writers, Retcon is exactly what you'd think it is, only not: a drug that erases memories, and even allows false memories to be implanted. Thus, after a monster has finished tearing apart downtown Cardiff in full view of hundreds of people, and there's no way the agents of Torchwood could be expected to keep this under wraps, a nice, hearty dose of Retcon all around makes it so that the problem has never happened. Neat, huh?
Well, I guess I just wanted to get that off my chest. I might expand on Supernatural in the next few days, if I have the time.
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no subject
Date: 2010-02-08 07:34 am (UTC)I need to think about Lynn Flewelling's feeling about fanfiction on her Nightrunner series. I think of fanfiction as a promotional tool. I think that the only time a writer would need to worry would be if his/her sales were falling off and the quality of the fanfics were eclipsing the original work.
If I were a published writer of original work with original characters and people actually cared enough to write fanfics about my world, I'd be incredibly flattered. Exposure is exposure. It's all free advertising. But that's just me.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-08 06:19 pm (UTC)