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Fannish Friday: Inspiration Edition
Inspired by my weird productivity streak (I am working on another CQL fic!), here are some discussion questions for the fannish creators among you (which is most of you!).
+ What's your most productive fandom? What fandom have you written the most words/fics or made the most graphic/icons or whatever for?
+ Is there a particular fandom where it's always been easy to produce lots of art and/or meta? One where the inspiration just kept bubbling up?
Or even:
+ Is there a fandom you just keep coming back to over the years even as other come and go?
For me, inspiration has never come as easily as it did when I was writing Infinite fic. I think it was the combination of a steady stream of new "canon" content that it was fairly manageable to keep up-to-date on and the fact that I had a small but wonderful group of people who were just as unhinged about them as I was. We were bouncing off of each other in a very particular way that was very different than how, say, my corner of Spuffy fandom bounced off of each other. (I can't articulate what the difference was--I need to think about it more.)
The words just kept coming! I wrote multiple 100k+ novels! (And I posted them as I was writing them and it was never a problem! I never got behind!) I wrote all kinds of one-shots! I wrote a bunch of different ships! I wrote from so many different perspectives! (I think I've written from the POV of every member? Except, weirdly, maybe Dongwoo?) I have never been so productive as a writer in my entire life as I was in Kpop fandom.
This phase lasted about 2-3 years, and I'm sure it had as much to do with the phase of my life I was in (boring office job) as anything else, but I've never been able to replicate that even in fandoms like BtVS or CQl where I am fairly prolific. I've also never had any experience like that with my original writing. So I think wistfully of that time when writing was so easy and the inspiration never seemed to dry up. Who knows if I'll ever feel that again.
+ What's your most productive fandom? What fandom have you written the most words/fics or made the most graphic/icons or whatever for?
+ Is there a particular fandom where it's always been easy to produce lots of art and/or meta? One where the inspiration just kept bubbling up?
Or even:
+ Is there a fandom you just keep coming back to over the years even as other come and go?
For me, inspiration has never come as easily as it did when I was writing Infinite fic. I think it was the combination of a steady stream of new "canon" content that it was fairly manageable to keep up-to-date on and the fact that I had a small but wonderful group of people who were just as unhinged about them as I was. We were bouncing off of each other in a very particular way that was very different than how, say, my corner of Spuffy fandom bounced off of each other. (I can't articulate what the difference was--I need to think about it more.)
The words just kept coming! I wrote multiple 100k+ novels! (And I posted them as I was writing them and it was never a problem! I never got behind!) I wrote all kinds of one-shots! I wrote a bunch of different ships! I wrote from so many different perspectives! (I think I've written from the POV of every member? Except, weirdly, maybe Dongwoo?) I have never been so productive as a writer in my entire life as I was in Kpop fandom.
This phase lasted about 2-3 years, and I'm sure it had as much to do with the phase of my life I was in (boring office job) as anything else, but I've never been able to replicate that even in fandoms like BtVS or CQl where I am fairly prolific. I've also never had any experience like that with my original writing. So I think wistfully of that time when writing was so easy and the inspiration never seemed to dry up. Who knows if I'll ever feel that again.
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I wrote both canons during my PhD which was so disastrous that I really really badly needed the distraction (and free therapy) writing provided. I knew I'd get a happy end out of it at least and had different things to focus on that weren't how bad things were going. And I wrote a Lot Of Words in those canons. I don't post WIPs, so I basically dropped upward of 50k on people all at once. It was a lot. I actually wrote every day and I wrote a lot.
Now I wonder how I managed that. ^^;;
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The Guardian drama has been this for me. I think in part because there's an active and generally friendly fandom, with a lot of fruitful discussion happening, partly because learning Chinese has meant I keep going back to the drama and understanding it a little better, and partly because of the content of the drama itself (oh yeah, and Shen Wei's face); I've written twice as many fics for Guardian as for my next most prolific fandom, and many of them have come relatively fast and easily. I'm not actively writing any Guardian fic right now, but I have like four different longfic ideas that I may turn to at some point... I just find it easy to sink into.
(And damn, you're so right, it comes so much more easily than original writing. Oh dear.)
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I wrote both canons during my PhD which was so disastrous that I really really badly needed the distraction (and free therapy) writing provided. I knew I'd get a happy end out of it at least and had different things to focus on that weren't how bad things were going.
Yeah, I think a lot of us use writing (especially writing fanfiction) as a coping mechanism to deal with whatever else we have going on. I'm glad you had that escape when things were going badly.
Now I wonder how I managed that. ^^;;
Haha, yup! I'm forever looking back at more productive writing times and going, "How the hell did I do it?"
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It's almost always about a confluence of things, isn't it? (And the faces!)
I just find it easy to sink into.
That's such a good feeling!
(And damn, you're so right, it comes so much more easily than original writing. Oh dear.)</i THIS IS THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD!
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Not so much with my journal tags, but maybe I could eventually have posted enough recs that the "rec" tag can reign supreme. (being so multi-fannish, it's only fitting the top tag not being beholden to any one source lol)
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I might have made more graphics (icons) for Pirates of the Caribbean, I'm not sure, but if so, then CQL will catch up soon. XD
It also might be the easisest fandom for me, strangely enough, as it's the first time I felt kind of confident about my writing, like, "Yeah okay, this isn't bad, I can post this." I also get inspired often enough to have things to work on, either because I have an idea of my own or because I see a prompt post or sth like that and think, "Oh I've got an idea for that!"
Discussion shave been similar in all my fandoms I think, though I didn't participate so much in the early days due to being shy.XD
I return to all my old ones now and then, mostly to read some favourite fics or look at fanart. So I regularly check out some PotC fic, or my favourite Sherlock ones, or some favourite authors in Teen Wolf etc. Usually, I don't leave a fandom completely. They're dormant for a while, but then suddenly I want to revisit them.
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I'm also not a prolific writer, and I feel *exactly* this way about five minute fandoms (songs+albums, poems, artworks, anthropomorphic things, and technically RPF could fit here as well!) Writing has never been easy for me, but I find them very inspiring. As for a specific fandom, definitely Sapphire and Steel! In a way, it's a five minute fandom, because it's basically writing about the periodic table! XD
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I've always been SO bad at writing novel-length fic, though! I've only finished two: one took six years and the other one took thirteen, lolol. I don't think I've ever had an experience in my life where it was easy for me. I've had an easier time with original novels, which more speaks to how awfully I struggle with novel-length fic than saying anything about my novel-writing abilities, because writing those was so hard too! I just can't handle the pressure of the commitment and having something so hefty on my to-do list; it always outweighs the inspiration and fun for me. I don't often read long fic either, actually; it tends to overwhelm me most of the time. I think I most enjoy the fanfiction world as a one-shots/short stories space and pretty much always have! For some reason that's just way more my sweet spot as a reader and a writer. (Undiagnosed ADHD? Who knows!)
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...I still haven't managed to finish any longer fics, though that's true for all my fandoms.
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I feel like that is such an important part!! When I had this for a small point in time, I was looking forward to these friends' reactions, or including things I know would drive them wild (in a good way!), and we were constantly inspiring each other and regularly writing off each other's stories, too. It was such a great time. And probably a confluence of factors both in the fandom and in our lives that won't be reproduced again... I hope I get to experience it again someday, though :)
Glad you're having a great streak of inspiration at the moment!!
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The complete opposite was the Doctor Who fandom where the canon had very little space for the kind of stories I like to write (because pretty much every aspect of the Doctor has already been covered in canon) and I usually got zero response to my writing because I was writing an unpopular character and didn't even ship the juggernaut ship for him. (the exception was the fics I wrote for exchanges, which were very well received)
The Mandalorian has gotten me back to writing again because I have found myself a writing niche ("Din Djarin gets hurt") that both allows me to explore the canon and has an audience.
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I still remember when you were like "I got bored and made this at work" and it was a complicated graphic trying to delineate each Infinite member's relation to the other six. Also how shocked you were when the forced-prostitution dystopia story turned out not to be a one-shot.
I mean, I've never really written fic but that mad surge of RPF in 2013-16, and you know I'd give a lot to recreate that fic/meta free-for-all we had going back then. I don't know why it was so easy either--I think partly because it was so easy for several of us (because K and Jamie were occasionally writing too, and there were other Infinite writers, and every so often I would be like "welp here's 34K words of Myungyeol angst during the OGS tour") so it was a definite positive feedback loop the likes of which I haven't been able to access since.
Also the line between fic and meta was very thin--it was possible to spin from speculation about the guys' relationships with each other / treatment by their management / attitudes towards their work / treatment of women / relationships with other idols, to stories in which those elements could be added, on a dime. I see that some in your discussions of MDZS stories but I wonder if there's less to run with there? Or your engagement with the MDZS characters is different?
And then if either of us had gotten pulled into the KinnPorsche vortex with Jamie we'd probably be feeling differently about missing a rich fandom vein.
It's funny how I absolutely will not write or read fic about my current dudes. I don't know why not. It definitely exists (albeit maybe not in English) and maybe if I went looking for it I'd find someone knowledgeable? It's not a rational aversion, but it's an aversion nonetheless.
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but maybe I could eventually have posted enough recs that the "rec" tag can reign supreme. (being so multi-fannish, it's only fitting the top tag not being beholden to any one source lol)
Oh yes indeed!
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Yeah, I get this!
Usually, I don't leave a fandom completely. They're dormant for a while, but then suddenly I want to revisit them.
I feel this way about most of my smaller fandoms but not my big main ones. I don't have any interesting in revisiting BtVS fandom, for instance. I wonder why?
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Perhaps some of that endless wellspring of new angles is due to a fandom towards which I feel a mix of appreciative and combative feelings, just as I feel for the source texts; on the other hand, though, it could be the depth and richness of the texts themselves, or both.
I'd guess it's all that interacting together. But I love that it's your touchstone!
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That makes so much sense! You can have a complete grasp on it and not worry you're missing out on other things!
As for a specific fandom, definitely Sapphire and Steel! In a way, it's a five minute fandom, because it's basically writing about the periodic table! XD
That is charming!
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man, weren't we all having a TIME!
We so were! I remember your fic from that time so fondly!!!
DeWitt/Dominic (proof that sometimes two people standing next to each other onscreen looking great is more than enough to spark a multi-year movement! This was like the funnest fandom ever)
I love this!
I definitely immediately thought of Gilmore Girls for you as the one that keeps drawing you back in.
I just can't handle the pressure of the commitment and having something so hefty on my to-do list; it always outweighs the inspiration and fun for me.
I can see that. For me it's that I get distracted by other ideas and wander off.
I think I most enjoy the fanfiction world as a one-shots/short stories space and pretty much always have! For some reason that's just way more my sweet spot as a reader and a writer.)
I definitely see this with you!
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That makes so much sense! And ST:D is so full of interesting characters!
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YES!!!
I hope we both experience that wild and inspirational and fun time again!
Thank you!
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That makes sense!
The complete opposite was the Doctor Who fandom where the canon had very little space for the kind of stories I like to write (because pretty much every aspect of the Doctor has already been covered in canon) and I usually got zero response to my writing because I was writing an unpopular character and didn't even ship the juggernaut ship for him.
What an interesting experience!
Exchanges are truly golden for many reasons.
The Mandalorian has gotten me back to writing again because I have found myself a writing niche ("Din Djarin gets hurt") that both allows me to explore the canon and has an audience.
That's how I feel about writing Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji fic. It's just a total coincidence that the thing I'm into is also the thing fandom is into, when that hasn't always been the case in the past.
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Lol yes! I wrote soooooo much fic in the cubicle!
It was such a wonderful time! I'm very, very thankful for that time! (And I still reread your fics from time to time--they hold up!)
Also the line between fic and meta was very thin--it was possible to spin from speculation about the guys' relationships with each other / treatment by their management / attitudes towards their work / treatment of women / relationships with other idols, to stories in which those elements could be added, on a dime.
Definitely. I think you were always a little more on the meta side than I was, but I absolutely did incorporate some of that stuff in there, too.
I see that some in your discussions of MDZS stories but I wonder if there's less to run with there? Or your engagement with the MDZS characters is different?
I think my engagement is just different. I need to ponder this more though.
And then if either of us had gotten pulled into the KinnPorsche vortex with Jamie we'd probably be feeling differently about missing a rich fandom vein.
True! Those guys are having a blast! I'm happy for them!
It's funny how I absolutely will not write or read fic about my current dudes. I don't know why not. It definitely exists (albeit maybe not in English) and maybe if I went looking for it I'd find someone knowledgeable? It's not a rational aversion, but it's an aversion nonetheless.
I had thought about that, wondering if you would ever write for them. Do you think the larger cultural gap (it's soooooo much harder both to get subs/translations and just find out general cultural stuff) is a reason for that?
(I won't lie--if you ever wrote fic digging into the whole flat earth thing and trying to grapple with it, I would read that! Lol!)
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I think that's 80% of the problem--when we were writing K-pop RPF we probably got a lot of subtle stuff wrong, but we at least had some guidance as to, say, banmal/jeondemal, or the food, or the whole same-age friends issues. A lot of that is just not available yet for Q-pop. Back when Yuri! on Ice was a thing you could occasionally find information about Kazakhstan for Otayuri writers, but not in detail, and Otabek canonically hadn't been in Kazakhstan for years, so writers could avoid setting fics there.
(Also: in K-pop you usually have one language to work with. I swear if you tried to write about Ninety One you'd have to spend half the time establishing who's speaking which language with whom? Zhadra reportedly doesn't speak Kazakh, I'm not sure I've ever heard Veronika speak Kazakh, AZ didn't speak Russian when he first joined Juz, I think Bala's more comfortable in Russian than Kazakh, I only two months ago learned that Ace's family spoke Kazakh at home but he also learned Russian as a kid. It's fascinating but whew.)
But there are other reasons, namely that the guys definitely have seen Kazakh-authored fics (and understandably been a little squicked out by it, though they were careful not to make too much of that) and also with two of them married... I don't know, I always found it easier to write in the absence of any confirmed relationships, I know other folks write RPF and involve the real-life spouses (there was a lot of that in Supernatural RPF, is my understanding) but it always struck me as trampling over a boundary. In theory you could go pretty damn benign (i.e. Bala and Alem's big brother/little brother/[but also partners in music-making crime] relationship might have been affected by Veronika's arrival, and you could show that happening without even suggesting that anyone went to unhealthy places), but I just never felt comfortable doing it.
(I won't lie--if you ever wrote fic digging into the whole flat earth thing and trying to grapple with it, I would read that! Lol!)
*wailing* I still don't have the actual interview translated, all I have is that timestamp, I'd at least like to hear the explanation the man himself gives, where is my Babelfish, sob
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also with two of them married... I don't know, I always found it easier to write in the absence of any confirmed relationships, I know other folks write RPF and involve the real-life spouses (there was a lot of that in Supernatural RPF, is my understanding) but it always struck me as trampling over a boundary. In theory you could go pretty damn benign (i.e. Bala and Alem's big brother/little brother/[but also partners in music-making crime] relationship might have been affected by Veronika's arrival, and you could show that happening without even suggesting that anyone went to unhealthy places), but I just never felt comfortable doing it.
I understand this. I think I'd feel the same way. (Though it does make me curious about the state of DBSK fandom these days...)
Speaking of Kazakhstan, my colleague was telling me that her husband just got back from there. Apparently her son and daughter-in-law and their kids live there because...the wife is some kind of exec at Chevron.
D. was like, "So one daughter-in-law works for an oil company and the other daughter-in-law is a world-class climate activist."
I said, "Wow, that must make for some awkward family get-togethers."
Her voice was very flat when she said, "Yes."
Anyway, the grandkids are learning Kazakh and Russian and apparently the three-year-old is fluent already because of course she is.
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That's entirely possible!
But I do reread old favourites from time to time, because I still love the characters and the early seasons, and what fans did with them.
I'm glad that the bad ending didn't sour you on the things about it that you actually enjoyed!
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but I feel like I have so many stories left to tell within that 'verse. I hope I can go back sooner rather than later.
I so hope you can!!!!!