An Insight into the World of Fan Fiction: Part One

Fan fiction (as defined by Urban Dictionary) is written by fans within a fandom for other fans. Generally, the author uses the characters and/or the settings from the original work to write a new or continuing story. Fan fic, as it is often shortened to, took off in the 1960s with Star Trek fan fiction springing up in fanzines.

The way I see it is that fan fiction is attached to every story, whether that story belongs to film, television, comic or novel. The reason for this is that every viewer or reader has their own perspective of what they enjoy or dislike about a particular story or character. Some may share perspectives and thus springs the demand for new interpretations of how the characters or storylines from the original work should be written.

Quite often, fan fiction served as an alternate universe to the original work. Characters who would not normally be involved in stories could associate. Characters with preexisting history in the original work could have their story shaped into new tangents. This allowed fans the opportunity to write and read the ideal plotlines that would never have made the cut in the original work, such as adding more graphic sexuality in between characters.

This brings me to the fandom in which I read fan fic about most often- Otalia.
The alternate universe that is Otalia fan fiction ranges from dramatic, to sweet, to romantic and to downright smutty. The Otalia fandom is particulary important in femmeslash fan fic* as it isn't subtext, it is maintext. Fan fiction usually has been inspired by the subtext between characters, such as on shows like Law & Order and Star Trek. Subtext means the chemistry between same sex characters that is never explored in canon, but is expanded on by fanfic writers to explore the relationships as fans would like to see them. Femmeslash fan fic in particular has been geared towards tapping into the subtext as very rarely has there been such a representation on television of a maintext same sex relationship dealt with so positively and overtly as has been the case on Guiding Light.

The Otalia storyline has pulled that subtext out onto the main canvas, unafraid of just calling it a love story, plain and simple. It does not need to be called a lesbian love story because that is not the message it is trying to send out to its viewers. The Otalia story is about love. Universal love. Love that does not need to be defined or put into a box for people to feel comfortable about. Hence, fan fic writers have had a generous amount of canon story to sink their teeth into and tangent off of.

In fact, a few friends of mine write Otalia fan fiction. Arguably the most popular writer within the group would be my dear friend DiNovia. DiNovia is known for her tale titled "Hide Beside Me", found here at Incandescent Fire: http://incandescentfire.com/index.php?showtopic=982&hl=hide . Her insight into the world of fan fiction is rich, deep and so very interesting considering she wrote her first fan fic almost 19 years ago!

Now before I go all fangirly on DiNovia, which mind you is inevitable, I'd like to talk a little about a very important person in my life, DJ Shiva. Shiva goes under the BPD and writing name sapphic_beats and if you've read any of her fic you'll know how amazing it really is. The majority of the people who read this blog are Otalians so some of her written works that you may have read are "The Fiercest Calm": http://incandescentfire.com/index.php?showtopic=1014&hl= and one shot fics such as "Trying to Fight Gravity": http://incandescentfire.com/index.php?showtopic=990&hl= and "Through A Glass, Darkly": http://incandescentfire.com/index.php?showtopic=1354&hl=.

The reason why I asked her to be apart of this blog entry is because she introduced me to fan fiction and basically taught me everything I know about it. I have had many a conversation about the Otalia storyline with her, not to mention our rants and raves about politics and life! Even though she probably doesn't know it, she encouraged me to try to be everything I wanted to be just by being an ear to talk to and for that I dedicate this entry to her. Shiva has given me the inspiration to speak up and know that my opinion matters, no matter what that opinion may be and how it is received. Thank you.

So introductions aside, Shiva's opinion has always been fiery and interesting to me so I hope it may be the same to you!

First off, How did you discover fanfic? What got you started reading it and eventually writing it?

I was a huge scifi and cop show fan. One summer I was out of work, and happened upon some Law & Order: SVU fic pairing Olivia Benson and Alex Cabot. Pretty sure I found the Ralst (Passion & Perfection) site at that point. So I read EVERYTHING I could find, then started looking through the other fandoms. Janeway/Seven from Star Trek Voyager pulled me in and I read everything there. It was a great way to spend a summer on unemployment: being paid to read fanfic.

As far as writing goes, I had written a couple drabbles for Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, but nothing longer than that. When Otalia came along, I started reading the fic for that, and ran across DiNovia’s stories. I had read her stuff before and was always impressed, but something clicked and it gave me a kick in the ass to have a go at writing the stuff. These characters (especially Olivia) really spoke to me, and I have been spending my time in their heads ever since. I am still not particularly prolific, but I love writing them!

So as a fan fic writer, how do you decide that a story idea is worth writing a fic about? How do you pick apart which ideas are interesting to put down on paper and which aren't? Is it about finding a story people would like to read or finding a story that you yourself would like to read?

Well, for me it always starts with interesting characters. I tend to like strong, complex, often flawed female characters with a lot of baggage. I love the imperfections of being human, and that is what makes people utterly fascinating. Anything that makes me really start thinking about who the character is, and what she would do in any given situation is a good basis for a story. Then I look at her interactions with other characters and just play off of that. The story ideas I have had generally either come to me rather spontaneously, or someone posits an idea that needs expanding, or I just write what I WANT to happen in a story that is not happening on the show itself.

What I have always loved about fanfic is having the basic character outline already, and seeing what you can do with the character/story canon, as well as how you can expand and flesh out those qualities that are already set. It is nice to have a character framework that you can really delve into and then add different situations to see what happens. It’s a neat way of writing, and good practice for fleshing out characters.

Before Otalia, fanfic writers were mostly dealing with subtext, so it was always a matter of writing what you WANTED to see, versus what you actually were seeing. With Otalia, subtext has become maintext, but it is a soap, and soaps don’t often move as fast or in the direction that we would all like to see. So even with the maintext, there is a lot of interpretation and story that many feel is being left out. So we fill in the blanks.

I tend to have various ideas floating around my head for fic, but what usually ends up getting written are the ideas that won’t go away. If it continually tugs at me, I will usually sit and think about it some more. And depending upon where it goes in my head, it may end up being written, or I may write out the ideas and let it marinate in my head until it has to come out.

I tend to write what I would want to read, and hope like hell someone else would find it interesting. That said, having people prompt you with ideas they would like to read is fun and sometimes sends you down a path you may not have normally gone down, so there are many approaches to writing.

Now you're also beta to other fan fic writers, what is it like to beta someone's work? What does it take to be a good beta?

It depends on what the person wants. Some people are looking for grammar, some people are looking for someone to check their consistency with the story/character canon, some people want a check on their story as a whole. So depending upon who is asking, and what they want, there are many roles for a beta.

I tend to like just to read for the overall emotional and storyline feel of things. I look for the things that get an emotional response, or when something doesn’t ring true for the character or maybe a thought needs expanding. Again, it depends on the writer. Some have many betas that fulfill very specific roles. Some people just want you to read it over and make sure everything is in place and flows properly.

Being a beta on a story in progress is also an interesting look into the writer’s mind and the progression of their work. It’s pretty neat.

Where do you think the future of Otalia fan fiction is going to go once the show finishes its run in September and Venice begins to air?

Well, considering how many cancelled shows are living eternally through fanfic, I have no doubt that the fic will continue. That’s one way that fans have to keep their favorite shows alive, and the stories changing far beyond what the original creators were able to accomplish in however long the run of the show was.

Particularly with femmeslash fanfic, and specifically with subtext fic, we never saw what we wanted anyway, so continuing to write our own stories for the characters will keep happening. With subtext-based stories we never got ANYTHING, really. So it’s up to us to write it.

The same rule applies to Otalia, especially in light of recent developments on the show. A lot of people are frustrated with the direction of the storyline: the lack of physical affection (namely a frakkin’ KISS), the Frankenspawn angle, the MatLeave that could have been so much more... So many things have taken (in my opinion) a sharp nosedive, and that leaves a lot of room for fanfic writers to keep things going in the direction they want to see.

Obviously none of us know right now what the final outcome will be, although many of us are holding out hope for a happy ending. But the way it has played out thus far has left us frustrated and that leaves room for a whole hell of a lot of fic to write.

It will continue, of that I am sure. This fanbase is rabid and romantic and we will keep writing our Otalia stories, so we can see the stories that we should have seen but won’t, thanks to the cancellation and the fact that it’s network daytime tv.

What's your favourite kind of fan fic story and why?

I like the stories that really get inside the characters’ heads. I tend to really love some intense psychological reflection and understanding of what drives the characters to do what they do. An understanding of human psychology and an attention to detail really helps in that regard. I also like stories where people experiment with HOW they write.

Lately, I have really been enjoying some AU (alternate universe) fic, where the characters are the same, but they are taken partway or all the way out of the universe of the original story, and placed into completely different situations (current favorite is Olivia Spencer as a cop in uselessmarks’ Redemption). Sometimes it doesn’t work, but there are some creative writers out there, and I love to see someone take chances with that.

Crossover fics (characters from different shows put in the same story) can be good too. One of my favorites is a crossover of Sarah Connor Chronicles and Firefly, called No Rest For the Wicked (written by inspectorboxer). It takes Sarah Connor out of the Terminator story, and puts her into the world of Firefly, pairing her with River Tam (played by Summer Glau, who also plays Cameron in SCC…and is paired with Sarah in some of my favorite fics). It is incredibly well-written, true to the characters, the dialogue is DEAD on, and it is just sooo good. Highly recommended.

What makes Otalia such a good base to write fan fiction about?

The same thing that makes the story so fantastic at its core: the history of these characters and their progression of enemy/frienemy/friends/family/something more. This has been playing out for a long time, so it is rich with moments from which to divine something more. Olivia is a character with a rich, sordid history, and lots of flaws. Natalia is a character with a lot of hang-ups, but a fairly blank history beyond her time on the show, so there’s room to play with that. And their progression toward each other is rife with moments to delve into and really think about and expand on.

One of my favorite things to do is go back and watch old clips and try and pinpoint the moments (and I do believe they are multiple and never quite definitive) of them falling for each other. And there is always more to find, and always different ways to interpret them. That’s some rich territory for writers, and why I think the Otalia fanfic will just keep expanding, even though the canon will end in September.

Regardless of the missteps along the way, the progression of their story has been pretty epic, and there’s just no way fanfic writers will leave them behind. Their story will end before the true arc of their story can really be told the way it should have been (and the way I imagine the writers would have preferred it), so past September, it will be the fanfic writers who will keep telling their story, both past and future.

I can’t think of any better way to give back what Otalia has given to us, really.

Can I just say how much I love her? Thank you so much Shiva for giving us your insight into Otalia fan fiction and what it means to you. I know from conversations with Shiva, and as you can tell from this interview, DiNovia has been a great influence in Shiva's push to start writing for the Otalia fandom. Stay tuned for the next edition of this series to read what the seasoned veteran, to me a true Goddess of fan fic, DiNovia has to say about the state of Otalia fan fiction at the moment, her new venture with Fewthistle, Burning City, and the epic "Hide Beside Me".

*Femmeslash fan fic: A lot of fan fic is hetero-slash, meaning romantic pairings depicting heterosexual relationships. Femmeslash is a subgenre of slash fiction (i.e. same sex romantic relationship fiction) and focuses on the romantic and/or sexual relationships between female characters.

- Enjoy it or not. Comment if you wish. But thank you for reading regardless.

Just on a side note, I'd like to shout out to my editor for this series of blogs, Xan. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it immensely.