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(text below as it appeared in "RA For All" blog)
I write short stories and poetry in the mainstream, and also in fan fiction (or -- as the writers and readers thereof call it – fanfic, or simply fic). No one asks me why I write the former; for whatever reason, I am often asked why I write the latter.
There is no monetary reason involved in the desire to write fanfic…in fact, fic writers know that monetary gain from fic would actually be illegal, as it would constitute copyright infringement (without the involvement of money, it can come under the heading of what is known as “transformative works”allowed under certain circumstances by the U.S. “Fair Use Doctrine” and the Canadian “Fair Dealings Doctrine”). The reasons I write fic have to do with gains of a non-monetary nature : the pleasure of giving an ongoing existence to specific much-loved characters of a television show or movie, the lively interactive readership, the supportive community of fellow fic writers and fic vidders, and the arena for polishing writerly skills. Another very great gain, one which with the passage of time becomes evident, is how writing fic may lead to some deep and lasting friendships, including international friendships, between people who otherwise would never have known each other : I have correspondences and invitations to visit fic writers from around the world who are in my fandom.
There are, then, a number of connected reasons why I write fanfic…and there is the overarching reason that connects them all. That reason is summed up in a famous line from the penultimate scene of a movie in my fandom (my primary fandom being the Canadian TV show “due South” [sic lower-case “d”] and my secondary fandom being that which radiates out from “due South,” variously called either “Canadian Six Degrees,” “Six Degrees of due South,” or simply “C6D”) : in the “C6D” movie “Hard Core Logo,” there is famously the line “and in the end, it’s love”. So,why do I write fanfic, and why does any writer write fanfic : there are a number of reasons, and in the end, it’s love.
I write short stories and poetry in the mainstream, and also in fan fiction (or -- as the writers and readers thereof call it – fanfic, or simply fic). No one asks me why I write the former; for whatever reason, I am often asked why I write the latter.
There is no monetary reason involved in the desire to write fanfic…in fact, fic writers know that monetary gain from fic would actually be illegal, as it would constitute copyright infringement (without the involvement of money, it can come under the heading of what is known as “transformative works”allowed under certain circumstances by the U.S. “Fair Use Doctrine” and the Canadian “Fair Dealings Doctrine”). The reasons I write fic have to do with gains of a non-monetary nature : the pleasure of giving an ongoing existence to specific much-loved characters of a television show or movie, the lively interactive readership, the supportive community of fellow fic writers and fic vidders, and the arena for polishing writerly skills. Another very great gain, one which with the passage of time becomes evident, is how writing fic may lead to some deep and lasting friendships, including international friendships, between people who otherwise would never have known each other : I have correspondences and invitations to visit fic writers from around the world who are in my fandom.
There are, then, a number of connected reasons why I write fanfic…and there is the overarching reason that connects them all. That reason is summed up in a famous line from the penultimate scene of a movie in my fandom (my primary fandom being the Canadian TV show “due South” [sic lower-case “d”] and my secondary fandom being that which radiates out from “due South,” variously called either “Canadian Six Degrees,” “Six Degrees of due South,” or simply “C6D”) : in the “C6D” movie “Hard Core Logo,” there is famously the line “and in the end, it’s love”. So,why do I write fanfic, and why does any writer write fanfic : there are a number of reasons, and in the end, it’s love.
