By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 10/28/2015
Some may have been perplexed by the "yaoi" element in last night's South Park episode but it's turns out that Trey Parker and Matt Stone were just ripping the lid off a long existing shocking secret about Craig and Tweek. Here's the startling truth!
By: Aerin,
on 10/13/2011
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By: Lizzy Burns,
on 7/2/2010
On Friday, I presented at the preconference, Promoting Teen Reading with Web 2.0 Tools. Wendy Stephens organized it, and did a terrific job. Wendy on Twitter; and her website.
My topic? Fanfiction! So of course, I had to wear my favorite Team Peeta T-shirt.
I was part of a "speed dating" presentation, so speaking with a small group of attendees, moving on to the next group, etc.
I had a one-page handout for attendees. For those of you who are curious, here are the resources I included. Any questions, please let me know!
Resources
Definitions
Archive: Online site that stores fan fiction. May be general or specific to one fandom.
Beta reader: Editors for fan fiction.
Canon: The source material.
C&D: Cease And Desist letters. When the copyright owner requests you stop.
Fandom: The fan community for a story, book, movie, television show, game, etc.
Fan fiction: Fan written stories inspired by original works by others.
Mary Sue: An idealized character, often perceived as representing the author. When male, called “Gary Stu.” Sometimes found in original fiction.
Ship: A romantic relation”ship” between two characters.
Slash: A romantic relationship between two same sex characters.
Resources
Anelli, Melissa. Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Pocket, 2008.
Burns, Elizabeth and Carlie Webber. "When Harry Met Bella: Fanfiction is all the rage. But is it plagiarism? Or the perfect thing to encourage young writers?,” School Library Journal, Vol. 55, No. 8, August 2009. www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6673573.html
Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, http://www.chillingeffects.org/ Legal issues for online activity.
Fanfiction.net, http://fanfiction.net/ Largest online archive.
Moore, Rebecca C. “All Shapes of Hunger: Teenagers and Fanfiction.” Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2005.
Pflieger, Pat. Too Good To Be True: 150 Years of Mary Sue. Presented at the American Culture Association conference, March 31, 1999, San Diego, CA. Revised. www.merrycoz.org/papers/MARYSUE.HTM
Schaffner, Becca. “In Defense of Fanfiction,” Horn Book. November/December 2009. www.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2009/nov09_schaffner.asp
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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
By: Lizzy Burns,
on 10/31/2009
The November / December 2009 issue of Horn Book Magazine has an article about fanfiction:
In Defense of Fanfiction by Becca Schaffner
As you may remember, Carlie Webber and I wrote an article about Fanfic called When Harry Met Bella for School Library Journal in August. Schaffner references that article: "On the other hand, more well-intentioned efforts like School Library Journal’s August 1, 2009, article on fanfiction cover the mechanical basics of fanfic writing and culture and try to relate them to something more traditional and tangible — that is, the print world whose value we take as a given." Schaffner's piece is more of a personal essay than the SLJ article. Whatever your level of participation in fandom (not at all, "hey so that's what I was writing in High School," or you're a BNF), it's a great article to read.
On a kinda related point: Schaffner makes the point that fandom is about the community.
And I've had a few real life conversations with people about the similarities between fandom and book bloggers. And I've seen others online who see this also. At YA Fabulous, Renay wrote: A big part of the book community is that it’s still a very new fandom, and the fandom I am a part of is definitely not young anymore, so half the time I see the drama llamas flying through the tubes and I’m like, “Oh! How sweet! ALL GROWN UP AND HAVING ITS FIRST WANK!” Or I’ll watch BNFs throw hissy fits or bribe readers with giveaways because they’re not The Center of Attention and Worshiped By The Masses and I think, “Boy, this reminds me of something! Oh right, wait, I’ve seen this before….10,000 times.” It's part of a footnote at a post at YA Fabulous.
Thoughts? Is it like a fandom? Or is it just like any other community, especially a community with no real rules?
Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
By: Lizzy Burns,
on 8/4/2009
I threw out a question on Twitter and Facebook today that got such great responses I want to repeat it here!
Background: as I've mentioned, Carlie Webber and I have an article in this month's School Library Journal. And it's called When Harry Met Bella: Fanfiction is all the rage. But is it plagiarism? Or the perfect thing to encourage young writers?
The question I asked was: "Tell the truth: did you write fanfic as a kid, even tho you didn't know it was "fan fiction"? What was it?"
Facebook answers are at Facebook.
Some Twitter answers are at the "replies" part of my Twitter account. (Actually, that is a "search" on @LizB at twitter so is a mix of responses).
I'm struck by the people who say, "I didn't know what I was doing!"
Same here. When I wrote the (original) Battlestar Galactica meets (original) Star Trek, with an original character named (wait for it) Leisl who was (I'm not kidding) psychic (I was TWELVE or so, what do you expect!) I had no idea that I was writing fanfiction and had created a Mary Sue.
By the way, my favorite article about Mary Sue is TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE: 150 YEARS OF MARY SUE by by Pat Pflieger. First, 150 years! Second, whatever emotional and creative need Mary Sue meets in its writers, it is a need that has existed for over a century. It was written ten years ago, so the pop culture references are dated.
So now that you know that story where you were a cousin of the kids in your favorite teen show was, in fact, "fanfiction"... confess.
What fanfic did you write as a kid?
Do you write it now? I don't write now, but I do enjoy reading it and definitely get story ideas that I'm just too lazy to write.
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
By: Lizzy Burns,
on 5/27/2008
YALSA's YA Literature Symposium is a biannual event, with the first one ever being held this year.
Topic: "How We Read Now."
Dates: November 7–9, 2008
Location: Nashville, Tennessee at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel.
Here is the list of programs, including preconference. I point your particular attention to this one:
Explaining and Exploring Fandom, Fan Life, and Participatory Culture, presented by Liz Burns and Carlie Kraft Webber. Yep, that's me and Carlie! (Carlie and I? how about, that's us!)
I'm excited; excited about the presentation, and excited about the YA Lit Symposium, excited to see other bloggers on the program list (hi, Mitali! hi Goddess of YA Literature!)
The event is conveniently located during a weekend; tho, if you're like me and just cannot say no to anything YA Lit, you'll also want to be there for the preconference on Friday.
Register before September 1 for the early bird rates for this event. (True confessions; I still have to register. I also still have to make airline reservations. I have, however, made hotel reservations.)
YALSA members get a discount; but here's the thing. If you join YALSA at the same time as you register, the total paid is the same as non YALSA members. (NonYALSA registeration rate = (YALSA registration rate + ALA/YALSA membership).
If you're going to pay the higher fee as a non-YALSA member, why not join at this point and get the benefits of YALSA membership?
Don't work in a library? There is a category for non-library types: it's the Trustee/Associate rate. This application (warning, it is a PDF) has the specifics.
As the conference gets closer, I'll post more; including, hopefully, having some kind of blogger get together.
If you think you're going, let us know; and if you have any questions/comments/thoughts on our fannish program, let us know.
Edited to add: The Program is up, in a PDF, with a full description of all programs and presentations along with times.
Our presentation:
A teen's experience with a book doesn't just begin on page one and finish with the book's conclusion. From birthday parties and proms to fanfiction and role-playing games, teens find many ways to recreate a book's universe in their lives, forming fandoms. Avid fandomers Liz Burns and Carlie Webber will demystify the weird and wonderful world of fandom and show you how to use the elements of participatory culture to plan interactive, teen-friendly programs for your libraries and classrooms. Included on the panel will be a representative from Narrate Conferences, Inc., an organization that plans Harry Potter symposia.
It is another fandom. And also another community. Fandoms are basically just communities loosely organized around something people are fans of, rather than organized around being real-bearded Santa Clauses or other common interests.
I'd guess that group dynamics are very similar for book bloggers/fandoms/communities as for other groups.
I think there are definately similarities; but I'm also curious as to what the "something" people are fans of *is*. Is it really "books"? That just seems like such a broad thing.
Well, it's not just books, but YA books -- and YA is its own genre, despite all the subgenres that exist within it. So I would say that yes, book blogging definitely has all the characteristics of a fandom.
I'm only peripherally involved as a reader/professional author who follows a few blogs like this one, but I know who the BNF's are, and I've seen the wanks, and I've watched selfishness and entitlement get out of control in some quarters, even as generosity and goodwill flows out from others. I see book bloggers getting together for their own meets and conventions, borrowing ideas for contests/interviews/reviews from each other and coming up with their own variations on the theme, and all the other things that are common in fandom.
Heh. Now it all makes sense...
This is an interesting observation. I agree with what King Rat has said, group dynamics are the same regardless of the subject of adoration. While I also agree that books on the whole is an awfully broad subject it is one that people have in common and is a conversation piece. Could there be offshoots of that -- as RJ mentions there are YA bloggers and such -- that make things seem more closely akin to fandom in the truest sense? Sure, but I still think the commonality exists between those that write fanfiction and those who blog about books.
Drama ends up being drama whether its about a television show, a character or about book blogging I suppose. In the end we're all wanking something.
RJ, I agree that part of the "fandom" comparison is in the various cliques (for want of better term) amongst book bloggers; and the various rules each clique follows (or expects others to follow).
Lush, it explains a lot, doesn't it?
Michelle, your last sentence is so true! And one person's passion is another's wank (i.e., when I say it, I'm sharing my wisdom and reminding you all of the rules; when you say it, it's wank).
Hmm, that makes me feel like I belong better! I never got into fan fiction, so the idea that it's all about the community of people who love the books/etc makes me feel lonely. But I guess kids/YA book bloggers can be my community of obsessives instead!