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Everyone who reads both books Fan stories He knows that there is a clear difference in reading speed. While a 500-page book might take a week to read, reading at “fanfiction speed” can allow the reader to devour a similarly sized fanfiction over the course of one night. how is he imaginary Are you routinely able to challenge the limits of eye strain and need for sleep?
It is possible because Fan stories It is some of the best writing available, excelling at drawing readers in and keeping them intrigued. Since this is the goal of any writer who wants to gather and grow an audience, studying fanfiction and how this specific magic trick is achieved can help unlock the secrets to telling a story that captivates fans. Over the years, I’ve consumed a huge amount of fanfiction, which I believe differs from many traditionally published stories in three ways – all of which are lessons that SFF authors can leverage to deepen their relationship with their audience.
First, fan fiction is not afraid to unabashedly give readers what they crave. In fact, I would argue that the main reason most fantasy stories are created is because the writer had an idea that they couldn’t let go of and that they wanted to see in a property. Sometimes these relationships—particularly queer relationships—never appear on screen or on the page. Other times, the film is an exploration of marginalized identities and the ways in which marginalized individuals may fit into the world. But most of all, fantasy authors enjoy playing in a metaphorical sandbox. While many authors may fear being labeled “tropy” or “predictable,” fiction writers and readers actively create and research fiction that contains popular tropes.
Readers can easily scratch off a special interest in Ao3 (Our Archive, a project of Transformative Actions), one of the most popular fan hosting sites, using the tag filtering feature. There are approximately 150,000 stories on the site tagged “chosen family,” 133,000 stories tagged “enemies to lovers,” 195,000 stories tagged “mutual pining,” and 133,000 stories tagged “fool in love.” There are a staggering 310,000 fics on Ao3 tagged with “emotional hurt/comfort,” a style of fic in which characters help each other heal emotional wounds. With this kind of demand, I would argue that when SFF writers embrace metaphors, they are apt to attract a large audience that will happily consume anything that can easily be turned into a metaphor map.
Secondly, different elements of craft are emphasized in fanfiction – there is a heavy emphasis on dialogue, character development rather than plot, and deep world building and atmosphere. For example, there are currently over 51,000 works on Ao3 under the “joke” tag, and fanfiction readers are routinely interested in writers who can craft the kind of playful, playful acting that fanfiction is known for. Crafting compelling dialogue is difficult — which is why authors should study how good fanfiction writers are at it. Part of this comes from knowing the characters fully, which is in keeping with fanfiction’s focus on character development and interaction while insisting on plot driving the narrative. Some of the most heartbreaking fantasy stories I’ve read had little or no plot, for example, taking place over a single night or in all dialogue. The best fandoms leave readers feeling like they know and like the featured characters more, generating an emotional connection. It is often aided by a special focus on world-building and atmosphere, explaining and building up the minute details of an existing world so that readers can fully imagine it and immerse themselves in all-important emotions.
Third, as a result of the craft techniques mentioned above, fanfiction is driven by the emotional resonance that both writer and reader have with the work in question. For writers, fan fiction has allowed an entire generation to hone their skills as authors, completing stories over the course of weeks, months, or years. It taught a generation of writers not only how to craft good stories, but also that their stories were important and appreciated by readers, and that there was a market for content that subverted the heteronormative model of books, films, and films. and TV shows in the early 2000s. We weren’t all fan writers — and I wasn’t just an avid consumer — but seeing the fame, bookmarks, and comments pile up on stories that were otherwise quiet or weird or any number of other things had an undeniable impact. They proved that there was an audience for the types of stories we wanted to write and share with the world. And now some of these fan writers and readers, myself included, have taken those ideas and gone on to publish – my first adult fantasies, Sins on their boneswill be released on May 7, 2024, and features banter, pining, hurt/comfort, and every one of my favorite tropes (lovers to enemies/friends to lovers, anyone?).
For readers, Fanfic provided the kind of connection everyone hopes to have with a favorite book—a deep, lasting resonance that can lead to rereading after rereading. Admiring readers want to cry their hearts out, scream over the couples’ imagined romance, and Feel When they consume stories. The best fiction writers know this, and direct their works to evoke precisely those feelings as a driving goal. They make for great stories that readers won’t want to put down — and what author wouldn’t want to know that real human tears were caused by something they wrote?
My hope is that the writing community can take the lessons of fanfiction — craft, content, and more — and use them to continue transforming the publishing industry. In the best sense of transformative works, giving readers what they want to read, fanfiction inspiration can lead to the publication of more traditional books that speak to readers. And then maybe things will come full circle, and these books will inspire their own fanfiction from a new generation of creators.
laura r. Samutin Sins on their bones release May 7; You can pre-order a signed, personalized copy from Ripped Bodice bookstore in Brooklyn here.
Want more io9 news? Check when to expect the latest marvel, star WarsAnd Star Trek Releases, what’s next for DC Universe in film and televisionAnd everything you want to know about the future Doctor Who.
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