Writing for Others
Writing these very words signals the beginning of the end of my education at Rowan University, which will result in a bachelor’s degree. Five months from now, I will be handed a paper that validates my completion of studies in the area of Writing Arts, with a concentration in Creative Writing. I will wear my education like a badge, proudly walking out into the world to achieve greatness. But where, exactly, am I headed?
Before I examine the possibilities that now lie ahead of me, I feel I should call to mind how I got to be where I am now, in my education, my passion for writing, and my skills as a writer. In Catholic grade school, I was taught the importance and correct use of grammar – over and over and over again. While I loathed those boring classes and feared the criticism of my sixth grade teacher (“This is bologna! Slice it up and give it to somebody else!”), I now realize and am grateful for those lessons. An established groundwork, peppered with basic forms of writing, is, I believe, essential if not necessary for a budding writer to have.
In high school, these lessons were amplified. I took honors courses in English and I was lucky enough to attend a school which offered four segments of creative writing classes as electives. An eager writer who had been keeping a journal since I could shape letters with a pencil, I signed up for all four of them. I enjoyed learning new forms of writing outside of my academic classes.
Somewhere in between middle school and high school, I spent most of my time writing in a genre that has since received both praise and criticism. I spent a large part of my early teen years immersed in the world of fanfiction, which offered me freedom, friendships, and an outlet for budding teenage angst, played out by some of my favorite characters. I defined fanfiction as stories written by fans of different types of media, namely television shows, movies and literature. Writers took the characters and characteristics of a world created by someone else and put their own spin on the stories. There were numerous websites and forums on the internet created specifically for sharing fanfiction. One of the most popular ones (and one I frequented) was fanfictiontion.net. On that website, there was no special account needed or any moderators to pass (such as there were one some websites). Any writer could upload a fanfiction to the website. The stories were organized by the topic of the fanfiction, and writers could become readers who sometimes became reviewers. There was some monitoring by site administrators, but mostly it was simply a haven for me and other like-minded fans.
While I found fanfiction to be enjoyable to write and read, not everyone does. For example, The Guardian writer Natasha Walter wrote in a 2004 article, “Fan fiction is generally derided as a semi-literate, usually pornographic genre providing nothing but in-jokes for geeks.” I think that’s unfair to say, especially since Walter does not seem to have much first-hand experience with fanfiction. It should also be noted that Walter writes as though she is part of a large group of critics who share similar views on fanfiction. However, in my personal research for articles about fanfiction, I came across almost no direct criticisms for the genre. Most of the search terms I used were neutral; alongside “fanfiction” I rarely used polarized search terms such as “good” or “bad,” or even “useful” or “critique.” I simply searched for what was out there and came up mostly with articles describing how writing fanfiction was useful in a variety of ways, whether in the classroom or just as something creative for young adults to get excited about.
Although Walter is clearly generalizing in her evaluation, she eventually does come to a redeeming quality of fanfiction. She wrote: “Indeed, if you have the patience to trawl a few websites, you can find memorably acute homages to various tales. Some of these fan fiction writers, with their mixtures of absurdity and seriousness, originality and nostalgia, communicate something of the hallucinatory way that readers first react to fiction. When you first fell in love with literature, didn't you weave the characters right into your life, into your own fantasies?” (Walter) With that sentiment I can agree. That is certainly what I did when I wrote fanfiction, and even something I still do today, although I have long stopped writing stories using other people’s bestselling worlds. Although it was not literature, I had been a fan of The X-Files since before I was ten. I loved the thrilling plot-lines, the occasional funny episode, and the tension in the relationship between Mulder and Scully. Even when some of the monsters and aliens got the better part of my imagination when I was trying to sleep, I wanted more of it all the time. This is where fanfiction made its grand entrance into my life.
In her article in Voice of Youth Advocates magazine, Rebecca Moore stated, “Teens find a world they like, befriend the characters, and move in. From reading, it's a simple step to seeking a more intimate connection with the characters by writing them--in some senses becoming them and living in their world.” (16) What Moore said is applicable to all medias that provide material for fanfiction. I certainly wanted to be investigating UFO sightings with the FBI duo. Although I never actually wrote myself into one of my fanfictions, just the creations of my own story lines were involvement enough for me.
I was reading fanfiction long before I was writing it. As an introverted, book-loving pre-teen with few friends, I stumbled across fanfiction websites when I was surfing the web for interesting X-Files websites. How awesome was it that I could read “new” and “alternative” X-Files plots? After getting hooked on fanfictiontion.net, I decided to try out some writing of my own. I had much experience with poetry and journaling but writing short stories was something brand new to me. Using characters that I was already familiar with made delving into this new genre of writing that much easier.
Elizabeth Burns and Carlie Webber wrote an article about fanfiction in the School Library Journal in 2009. In it, they wrote, “Young writers can actually be more creative (and less stressed out) when they don’t have to invent everything. Creating original, believable characters can be the toughest part of writing – and using existing characters allows fanfiction creators to concentrate on other areas of writing, such as pacing, style and plot.” (26) I wholeheartedly agree with this, based on personal experience. Since I already knew how Mulder and Scully walked, talked, and what they did for a living, I could focus on things such as forming a story arch and writing dialogue – elements of writing that I was fairly unused to at that point in my writing experience. It should also be mentioned that having been interested in a show with such an offbeat and sometimes weird subject matter, I was able to let my imagination run wild, because this was the world that I had already been exposed to.
I doubt I would have been encouraged to write fanfiction in high school. Almost every writing assignment was strictly academic, and even though I loved to read, I wasn’t at the age where I could really appreciate the classics that we studied in our literature classes. Burns and Webber have witnessed similar reactions to fanfiction in school. They wrote: “There’s no denying that fanfiction has a bad rep in some schools. For starters, it’s frequently dismissed as being poorly written and derivative. Fanfiction is a waste of time to read and a bigger waste of time to write. Why read it when you can read the original? say the naysayers. Teens should be encouraged to do their own writing, rather than regurgitating someone else’s.” (Burns and Webber 26) I never once considered my writing of fanfiction to be a “regurgitation of someone else’s” writing. I only knew that it wasn’t acceptable in traditional English classes. While I always wrote the usual “disclaimer” note at the beginning of all my fanfictions (as almost every other fanfiction writer does), I still felt that I was creating fairly original work. At the very least, I felt I was learning something.
And just what, exactly, was it possible for me to learn from writing fanfiction? Two educators in Arizona, Kerri Mathew and Devon Adams, wrote about this in their 2009 article about fanfiction’s place in the classroom. They said, “Finding a way to get students to enjoy reading and to respond to literature spontaneously and personally is the holy grail of the language arts educator…Their writing exhibits complex interactions with text and the ability to judge, predict, and apply their understandings. In addition to exhibiting in-depth literary analysis, these authors are also engaging in the creation of extensive written works and incorporating the writing process through the sue of critique and revision. When they purposely apply their reading and demonstrate an understanding and engagement with the text, they reflectively act through their composition of fan fiction.” (36)Not only was I actively working with text when I wrote fanfiction, but in a way I was also learning from a master. Perhaps one might scoff at my use of “master,” but at the very least I was working with characters and plots that were popular in the entertainment world. Although an educator might wish that I imitate the style of Nathaniel Hawthorne over Chris Carter, I believe I was still gaining some set of skills nonetheless.
Burns and Webber also comment on how writing fanfiction can help to develop reading and writing skills (26), and Moore supports fanfiction’s merits by saying that “writers can derive plot ideas by pondering what transpired before or after a canon scene, how another character might view the event, how to "fix" unpopular canon developments.” (16) (“Canon” refers to the details of the world that the writing is playing in: past events, personal details about characters, etc.) I feel that I learned this during my stint of writing fanfiction and applied them to future writing of the non-fanfiction variety. I had to write short stories for many assignments in my creative writing classes and because of my experience writing fanfiction, I was able to write original short stories for these classes. I had an idea of what made for a good plot and how to write about setting. Although I was less familiar with writing new characters, I at least knew what I liked about characters enough to figure out what I wanted my own to be like.
I also got my first taste of criticism on fanfictiontion.net. There was no real power position when it came to reviews. Anyone on the website could review my story. Often times I would receive short messages such as “Great Job!” or “Interesting story idea!” As a young writer, I loved these types of positive comments. Looking back, I realize now that they were not constructive comments (although praise will encourage you to keep writing), and my writing definitely needed some help, as did many others’. Moore brought up an interesting point regarding a psychological matter: “Neuropsychologist Richard Restak (quoted in Weeks) claims that reading on a computer screen evokes the same parts of the brain as television, since the computer is a visual media. Online readers and writers thus use fewer critical capacities, think and write with less complexity, and tend toward rudeness and laconicity. Stories are riddled with typos, bad grammar, and foul language.” (16) It is safe to assume that many writers of fanfiction create their stories on a computer, so this idea can certainly be attributed to fanfiction and some of its downfalls. Personally, I always favored writing with pen and paper first and then transferring the words to the screen later. I don’t know that those actions had any effect on my “critical capacities.” If my writing was suffering in any area it was most likely from my lack of experience and lack of professional critiques.
I did eventually receive some criticisms and suggestions for how to make my fanfiction better. I hadn’t quite learned the importance of revision at that time, but I did see the value in these reviews. Moore states: “The true gem of fanfiction education, however, is the beta-reading system. Beta readers are mentors who critique writers' works to help improve the stories. Betas can be friends or strangers; often strangers prove more useful when a writer needs honest criticism.” (16) I agree with Moore on this point. As a stranger reviewing another’s work (which I did a fair amount on fanfictiontion.net), I was more free to be critical because I had no personal ties and was less afraid of hurting the writer’s feelings. So long as the criticism is useful to the writer, a stranger’s words can be quite helpful.
Writing skills were not the only thing I gained from fanfiction; I used this genre of writing to play with different emotional experiences. Being a teenager was no easy task, especially not for someone as emotional and introverted as myself. As I navigated through first love, heartbreak, fights with friends and other moody landscapes, I needed an outlet for my feelings – and often times, an escape from it all. Once again, enter fanfiction. Moore comments on this. “Teenagers have myriad hungers, and their writings and readings feed those hungers. Although it doesn't necessarily make for Austenesque literature, it does illumine their passions and motivations. Escapism, possibility, and "youth empowerment" (Jenkins) frequent teenagers' stories, as well as romantic wish-fulfillment, perhaps through thinly disguised self-representations called "Mary Sues." Other stories brave deeper waters, for after all, writing and reading are excellent ways for teenagers to sort through the many confusions in their lives. Fanfiction's liberating anonymity offers a forum to open up about topics too embarrassing to broach with friends, family, or teachers.” (Moore 17) Suppose I was going through a situation of unrequited love in real life. At fifteen, the world might feel as though it was crashing around me. In order to get out of my own head for a while, I might write a story where Mulder had romantic feelings for Scully, but she either didn’t feel the same or wouldn’t admit it. I could create an ending that I was satisfied with, most likely a happy one, where everyone loves everyone and they ride off into the sunset together. Did it fully fit into the canon of The X-Files? Not exactly. But I could relate to these characters, and therefore I related them to my own personal situations. I would argue that many fanfiction writers did what I did at that age.
At twenty-five years old, I no longer write fanfiction; I do, however, write poetry, short stories, memoir, magazine articles, and research papers. In fact, memoir is my favorite genre, so in that way, some of my reasons for writing fanfiction have never left me. Although I have learned to write for an audience instead of writing for myself (which is mostly what I did in high school), I still enjoy using my writing as a kind of outlet for my thoughts, feelings and memories.
I think back on my fanfiction friends and wonder what path they took. Are they still writing fanfiction? Did they start writing original stories? Have they published anything? (With the talent that some of them had, I’d guess yes.) Or have they stopped writing altogether? There seems to be an unspoken general knowledge that most fanfiction writers are women, ranging in age from teens to adults. On a personal level, I see fanfiction as a stepping stone to better writing – a stepping stone that is in my past. After being formally educated in creative writing, I can’t see myself writing fanfiction seriously ever again. It might be something light and entertaining to play with sometimes, but it would never be my main focus, such as it was when I was thirteen. This is not to look down upon the older writers of fanfiction, but I wonder if they’re doing it on the side or if it is their main focus.
It can be daunting to follow your passion into the real world. It took me four years in college and two switches of my major to even realize that I should be getting a degree in what I’ve always been doing and always been somewhat talented at: writing. When I wrote fanfiction, I was mainly writing for myself. Moore believes that most fanfiction writers feel this way. “Fanfiction has been called a labor of love. Writers do it for themselves and their friends, and the only extrinsic payment they receive is feedback or reviews.” (17) There is nothing wrong with writing for yourself. It’s important to make yourself happy and do what you love. However, I feel it’s also important to get credit (and hopefully get paid) for your work when you are educated and doing it on a professional level.
And just what is considered a professional level when it comes to creative writing? Will I be a professional when I earn my bachelor’s, or will I have to be accepted into and complete an MFA program before I become an expert? Or is it all about getting paid, regardless of my level of education? As of this moment, I am undecided on whether or not I will eventually continue on to graduate school. I have already accumulated much debt in order to pay for my undergraduate degree. What more will I obtain from an MFA, besides the ability to teach full time at a university (if I so choose to do so one day)?
In 2010, Anis Shivani wrote an article for Boulevard Magazine, (which was also posted on the Huffington Post’s website), comparing current MFA programs to the medieval guild system, in which masters would take apprentices and journeymen under their wings to teach them their craft and form a group which would control the quality and substance of their art; in short, it was an exclusive club. Shivani suggests that many of the same attitudes and structures of the medieval guilds apply to MFA programs, specifically concerning the aspects of exclusivity and a propensity to churn out the same kind of writing.
Shivani takes issue with what he believes is a condescending and somewhat hypocritical attitude of the MFA programs: “The system is utterly undemocratic, once one is a member of the guild, toward the outside world, but for it to survive in today's politically correct world, it must always present itself as the quintessence of democracy (everyone can learn writing, given enough application and discipline--at least we can make you competent, we can teach you the rules of the game, we can save you years of heartache from going it alone and making avoidable mistakes).” Even taking this opinion with a large grain of salt, I can say for myself that I was surprised to hear MFA programs cut down quite like this. I have been aware of cliques and other such groups going on within the writing community, but never read such information presented in this way.
Shivani also comments on the fact that most MFA programs set standards so as to prevent writers from switching from one specialty to another. Poets write poetry and that’s it; no short stories, no non-fiction. They also oppose genre writing because they feel it is only for commercial use. Shivani notes that some of this attitude towards genre writing is shifting, but that the MFA clique is putting their own “literary” spin on it. The program also puts heavy emphasis on revision of work. Says Shivani: ‘Hence the MFA fetish of constant revision--as undergraduates in my day used to talk about how many all-nighters they'd pulled, apprentices, journeymen, and masters these days exaggerate the number of drafts they wrote before daring to publish the book (Twenty! Fifty! A hundred!). This is cause for bragging rights; the more drafts, the more committed the writer declares himself to execution of craft.” In my undergraduate course I’ve been taught that revision is necessary to good writing, and in my experience I’ve found that to be true. However, some ideas start out more polished than others, and I am committed to a decent product, not a process.
There seems to be a correct way to do things in these programs, and anything other than the correct way is highly discouraged. Says Shivani, “In essence, the writing guild makes it possible for apprentices to internalize the principles of the Inquisition. One is made to feel guilty and ashamed if writing compels one to move toward areas forbidden by the Inquisition. Workshop humiliation is very much part of this enforcement of Inquisition rules; it is astonishing to notice--even at the undergraduate, non-guild level--how quickly students acquire these principles of writerly conduct, and rake their fellows over the coals for the minutest transgressions ("You switched point of view in the story, you're not allowed to do that!"). One quickly becomes invested in the Inquisition; the advice manuals written by the masters convey these gently, in the guise of techniques of writing, but the social principle behind them is manifest.” I never thought I was one to be looking for ways to help other writers to conform to a set of norms during undergraduate workshops, but perhaps even we are guilty of doing this at times. Obviously our writing professors are more educated and most likely more skilled than we are at this point in our experience, but how many of their rules have we taken for the one and only truth? When I critique someone’s writing, how much of what I have to say is helping to make it better, and how much of it is squashing creativity?
Shivani is disappointed to see a rise in the amount of work being picked up from these MFA groups and published by mainstream publishers. He doesn’t believe that writers who craft their writing in this particular way really deserve to have it supported by big names in the business. Shivani considers there to be a very specific type of writing coming out of this group, and it is clearly not something he thinks is worthy of being on the bookshelves, out there for the public to read and invest in.
There is something to be said for selling out and writing a juicy plotline just to make some money; after all, isn’t the goal of many writers to become published and make a name for themselves? Enter here the writer’s moral dilemma. Should one succumb to the pressures of MFA programs and/or mounting school debt and do anything he or she can to make some money and be accepted by a powerful, influential writing community? Or should one follow a more individual and creative path and hope that deserved recognition comes out of the hard work?
There is something going on that shares many similarities with the writing guilds that Shivani writes about: writer James Frey and his “fiction factory.” Suzanne Mozes wrote about it in a 2010 New York magazine article. Frey wrote a memoir titled A Million Little Pieces in 2003 – a memoir that turned out not to actually be a true personal experience of Frey’s. It turns out that Frey didn’t mind the controversy that surrounded this revelation. He doesn’t believe in the full sense of truth and his goal is to be “the most widely read” writer of his time, no matter the costs. (Mozes) Frey enjoys breaking the rules. This seems like a breath of fresh air after reading Shivani’s review of MFA programs, but here come the similarities.
Mozes sums up Frey’s idea: “He was looking for young writers to join him on a new publishing endeavor – a company that would produce mostly young-adult novels…Frey said he was interested in conceiving commercial ideas that would sell extremely well. He was in the process of hiring writers – he said he’d already been to Princeton and was planning on recruiting from the other New York M.F.A. programs as well.” You kind of have to give Frey some credit for being upfront about what he wanted to do, even if you feel some moral opposition to the idea, as I did originally when I read about it. Mozes says that the kind of deal Frey was offering to students could help them pay off their student loans, which was a huge draw, something that could make even the most wavering of writers sign up for that opportunity.
Often times if something sounds too good to be true, it is. Such was the case of Jobie Hughes, who agreed to work on a young adult novel with Frey under similar promises of large amounts of money. However, Hughes took no legal precautions for his work, and he ended up writing most of the popular book-turned-move I Am Number Four without any named credit whatsoever. (Mozes) Mozes details out the contracts that Frey offered future writers: “This is the essence of the terms being offered by Frey’s company Full Fathom Five: In exchange for delivering a finished book within a set number of months, the writer would receive $250 (some contracts allowed for another $250 upon completion), along with a percentage of all revenue generated by the project, including television, film, and merchandise rights—30 percent if the idea was originally Frey’s, 40 percent if it was originally the writer’s. The writer would be financially responsible for any legal action brought against the book but would not own its copyright. Full Fathom Five could use the writer’s name or a pseudonym without his or her permission, even if the writer was no longer involved with the series, and the company could substitute the writer’s full name for a pseudonym at any point in the future. The writer was forbidden from signing contracts that would “conflict” with the project; what that might be wasn’t specified. The writer would not have approval over his or her publicity, pictures, or biographical materials. There was a $50,000 penalty if the writer publicly admitted to working with Full Fathom Five without permission.” Despite the harsh terms of the contract, several writers still signed them.
Hughes had gotten burned badly, according to Mozes’s article. Mozes herself was a graduate student who had met with Frey over a possible idea. When she tried to negotiate her contract, Frey scrapped the project. Frey calls himself a “a fair and reasonable guy” (Mozes), but the details of the contract are clear: get paid a small sum of money to write a novel, and get no credit by name. One of the hardest parts for Hughes was being unable to talk about I Am Number Four, bound by his contract, especially when somebody badmouthed it. He couldn’t even defend himself. (Mozes) Secrecy is just one thing that the MFA guilds have in common with Frey’s company. They are both groups who take apprentices and teach them a specific craft; this craft produces writing that is all alike. The main difference is that while the MFA guilds claim to see value in only literary writing, Frey’s company is all about commercialism.
In his book Myths, Dreams and Religion, Joseph Campbell talks about King Arthur’s nephew, Gawain, and Gawain’s quest for the Holy Grail. He explains that in the story, each member of the quest enters the forest individually, and where there is no path already created. The significance of this story is this: “For where you are following a way or path, you are following the way or destiny of another. Your own, which is as yet unknown, is in seed (as it were) within you, as your intelligible character, pressing to become manifest in the unique earned character of an individual life. And it is just this sense of a personal potential to be realized that has given to the greatest Occidental biographies and creative works their character of yearning toward and undefined unknown. Each in his lifetime is in the process of bringing forth a specimen of humanity such as never before was made visible upon this earth, and the way to this achievement is not along anyone else's path who ever lived.” (Campbell 147) This is how I feel about my writing. I might learn skills from others and use other’s work to gain ideas for my own, but in the end, I feel that what I have to say through my writing is important, interesting and at times, unique. This is why I could never sign up for a deal like Frey’s.
As a student about to acquire a starting amount of $25,000 worth of loan debt, I can see the draw of giving up some of your own credit to make money. After all, you are working in your own field of study and getting paid for it. There may even be lessons and skills to learn from “masters” such as Frey. However, I don’t think I could do it. I would rather work at a job unrelated to creative writing to pay off my debt than to sign a contract like that. As for the MFA programs, I remain undecided. If I decide to attend graduate school, it will be because I wish to further my skills, but I am not interested in putting them into a neat little box. I do not wish to choose only one area to write in; I have ideas that are constantly changing, and some would be better expressed in different genres of writing. Whether I will ever be considered a “professional” writer or not remains to be seen. I can say for sure that, having explored some of the options that are out there for me after graduation, I will always strive to write something that I am proud of.
Works Cited
Adam, Devon, and Kerri Mathew. "I Love Your Book, but I Love My Version More: Fanfiction
in the English Language Arts Classroom." The ALAN Review 36.3 (2009): 35-41. Print.
Burns, Elizabeth, and Carlie Weber. "When Harry Met Bella." School Library Journal 55.8
(2009): 26-29. Print.
Campbell, Joseph. Myths, Dreams, and Religion: Eleven Visions of Connection. New York:
MJF, 1970. Print.
Moore, Rebecca C. "All Shapes of Hunger: Teenagers and Fanfiction." Voice of Youth Advocates
28.1 (2005): 15-19. Print.
Mozes, Suzanne. "Inside Full Fathom Five, James Frey's Young-Adult-Novel Assembly Line."
New York Magazine. 12 Nov. 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.
Shivani, Anis. "Creative Writing Programs: Is The MFA System Corrupt And Undemocratic?"
The Huffington Post. 23 Oct. 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.
Walter, Natasha. "Works In Progress." The Guardian. 26 Oct. 2004. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.
Writing these very words signals the beginning of the end of my education at Rowan University, which will result in a bachelor’s degree. Five months from now, I will be handed a paper that validates my completion of studies in the area of Writing Arts, with a concentration in Creative Writing. I will wear my education like a badge, proudly walking out into the world to achieve greatness. But where, exactly, am I headed?
Before I examine the possibilities that now lie ahead of me, I feel I should call to mind how I got to be where I am now, in my education, my passion for writing, and my skills as a writer. In Catholic grade school, I was taught the importance and correct use of grammar – over and over and over again. While I loathed those boring classes and feared the criticism of my sixth grade teacher (“This is bologna! Slice it up and give it to somebody else!”), I now realize and am grateful for those lessons. An established groundwork, peppered with basic forms of writing, is, I believe, essential if not necessary for a budding writer to have.
In high school, these lessons were amplified. I took honors courses in English and I was lucky enough to attend a school which offered four segments of creative writing classes as electives. An eager writer who had been keeping a journal since I could shape letters with a pencil, I signed up for all four of them. I enjoyed learning new forms of writing outside of my academic classes.
Somewhere in between middle school and high school, I spent most of my time writing in a genre that has since received both praise and criticism. I spent a large part of my early teen years immersed in the world of fanfiction, which offered me freedom, friendships, and an outlet for budding teenage angst, played out by some of my favorite characters. I defined fanfiction as stories written by fans of different types of media, namely television shows, movies and literature. Writers took the characters and characteristics of a world created by someone else and put their own spin on the stories. There were numerous websites and forums on the internet created specifically for sharing fanfiction. One of the most popular ones (and one I frequented) was fanfictiontion.net. On that website, there was no special account needed or any moderators to pass (such as there were one some websites). Any writer could upload a fanfiction to the website. The stories were organized by the topic of the fanfiction, and writers could become readers who sometimes became reviewers. There was some monitoring by site administrators, but mostly it was simply a haven for me and other like-minded fans.
While I found fanfiction to be enjoyable to write and read, not everyone does. For example, The Guardian writer Natasha Walter wrote in a 2004 article, “Fan fiction is generally derided as a semi-literate, usually pornographic genre providing nothing but in-jokes for geeks.” I think that’s unfair to say, especially since Walter does not seem to have much first-hand experience with fanfiction. It should also be noted that Walter writes as though she is part of a large group of critics who share similar views on fanfiction. However, in my personal research for articles about fanfiction, I came across almost no direct criticisms for the genre. Most of the search terms I used were neutral; alongside “fanfiction” I rarely used polarized search terms such as “good” or “bad,” or even “useful” or “critique.” I simply searched for what was out there and came up mostly with articles describing how writing fanfiction was useful in a variety of ways, whether in the classroom or just as something creative for young adults to get excited about.
Although Walter is clearly generalizing in her evaluation, she eventually does come to a redeeming quality of fanfiction. She wrote: “Indeed, if you have the patience to trawl a few websites, you can find memorably acute homages to various tales. Some of these fan fiction writers, with their mixtures of absurdity and seriousness, originality and nostalgia, communicate something of the hallucinatory way that readers first react to fiction. When you first fell in love with literature, didn't you weave the characters right into your life, into your own fantasies?” (Walter) With that sentiment I can agree. That is certainly what I did when I wrote fanfiction, and even something I still do today, although I have long stopped writing stories using other people’s bestselling worlds. Although it was not literature, I had been a fan of The X-Files since before I was ten. I loved the thrilling plot-lines, the occasional funny episode, and the tension in the relationship between Mulder and Scully. Even when some of the monsters and aliens got the better part of my imagination when I was trying to sleep, I wanted more of it all the time. This is where fanfiction made its grand entrance into my life.
In her article in Voice of Youth Advocates magazine, Rebecca Moore stated, “Teens find a world they like, befriend the characters, and move in. From reading, it's a simple step to seeking a more intimate connection with the characters by writing them--in some senses becoming them and living in their world.” (16) What Moore said is applicable to all medias that provide material for fanfiction. I certainly wanted to be investigating UFO sightings with the FBI duo. Although I never actually wrote myself into one of my fanfictions, just the creations of my own story lines were involvement enough for me.
I was reading fanfiction long before I was writing it. As an introverted, book-loving pre-teen with few friends, I stumbled across fanfiction websites when I was surfing the web for interesting X-Files websites. How awesome was it that I could read “new” and “alternative” X-Files plots? After getting hooked on fanfictiontion.net, I decided to try out some writing of my own. I had much experience with poetry and journaling but writing short stories was something brand new to me. Using characters that I was already familiar with made delving into this new genre of writing that much easier.
Elizabeth Burns and Carlie Webber wrote an article about fanfiction in the School Library Journal in 2009. In it, they wrote, “Young writers can actually be more creative (and less stressed out) when they don’t have to invent everything. Creating original, believable characters can be the toughest part of writing – and using existing characters allows fanfiction creators to concentrate on other areas of writing, such as pacing, style and plot.” (26) I wholeheartedly agree with this, based on personal experience. Since I already knew how Mulder and Scully walked, talked, and what they did for a living, I could focus on things such as forming a story arch and writing dialogue – elements of writing that I was fairly unused to at that point in my writing experience. It should also be mentioned that having been interested in a show with such an offbeat and sometimes weird subject matter, I was able to let my imagination run wild, because this was the world that I had already been exposed to.
I doubt I would have been encouraged to write fanfiction in high school. Almost every writing assignment was strictly academic, and even though I loved to read, I wasn’t at the age where I could really appreciate the classics that we studied in our literature classes. Burns and Webber have witnessed similar reactions to fanfiction in school. They wrote: “There’s no denying that fanfiction has a bad rep in some schools. For starters, it’s frequently dismissed as being poorly written and derivative. Fanfiction is a waste of time to read and a bigger waste of time to write. Why read it when you can read the original? say the naysayers. Teens should be encouraged to do their own writing, rather than regurgitating someone else’s.” (Burns and Webber 26) I never once considered my writing of fanfiction to be a “regurgitation of someone else’s” writing. I only knew that it wasn’t acceptable in traditional English classes. While I always wrote the usual “disclaimer” note at the beginning of all my fanfictions (as almost every other fanfiction writer does), I still felt that I was creating fairly original work. At the very least, I felt I was learning something.
And just what, exactly, was it possible for me to learn from writing fanfiction? Two educators in Arizona, Kerri Mathew and Devon Adams, wrote about this in their 2009 article about fanfiction’s place in the classroom. They said, “Finding a way to get students to enjoy reading and to respond to literature spontaneously and personally is the holy grail of the language arts educator…Their writing exhibits complex interactions with text and the ability to judge, predict, and apply their understandings. In addition to exhibiting in-depth literary analysis, these authors are also engaging in the creation of extensive written works and incorporating the writing process through the sue of critique and revision. When they purposely apply their reading and demonstrate an understanding and engagement with the text, they reflectively act through their composition of fan fiction.” (36)Not only was I actively working with text when I wrote fanfiction, but in a way I was also learning from a master. Perhaps one might scoff at my use of “master,” but at the very least I was working with characters and plots that were popular in the entertainment world. Although an educator might wish that I imitate the style of Nathaniel Hawthorne over Chris Carter, I believe I was still gaining some set of skills nonetheless.
Burns and Webber also comment on how writing fanfiction can help to develop reading and writing skills (26), and Moore supports fanfiction’s merits by saying that “writers can derive plot ideas by pondering what transpired before or after a canon scene, how another character might view the event, how to "fix" unpopular canon developments.” (16) (“Canon” refers to the details of the world that the writing is playing in: past events, personal details about characters, etc.) I feel that I learned this during my stint of writing fanfiction and applied them to future writing of the non-fanfiction variety. I had to write short stories for many assignments in my creative writing classes and because of my experience writing fanfiction, I was able to write original short stories for these classes. I had an idea of what made for a good plot and how to write about setting. Although I was less familiar with writing new characters, I at least knew what I liked about characters enough to figure out what I wanted my own to be like.
I also got my first taste of criticism on fanfictiontion.net. There was no real power position when it came to reviews. Anyone on the website could review my story. Often times I would receive short messages such as “Great Job!” or “Interesting story idea!” As a young writer, I loved these types of positive comments. Looking back, I realize now that they were not constructive comments (although praise will encourage you to keep writing), and my writing definitely needed some help, as did many others’. Moore brought up an interesting point regarding a psychological matter: “Neuropsychologist Richard Restak (quoted in Weeks) claims that reading on a computer screen evokes the same parts of the brain as television, since the computer is a visual media. Online readers and writers thus use fewer critical capacities, think and write with less complexity, and tend toward rudeness and laconicity. Stories are riddled with typos, bad grammar, and foul language.” (16) It is safe to assume that many writers of fanfiction create their stories on a computer, so this idea can certainly be attributed to fanfiction and some of its downfalls. Personally, I always favored writing with pen and paper first and then transferring the words to the screen later. I don’t know that those actions had any effect on my “critical capacities.” If my writing was suffering in any area it was most likely from my lack of experience and lack of professional critiques.
I did eventually receive some criticisms and suggestions for how to make my fanfiction better. I hadn’t quite learned the importance of revision at that time, but I did see the value in these reviews. Moore states: “The true gem of fanfiction education, however, is the beta-reading system. Beta readers are mentors who critique writers' works to help improve the stories. Betas can be friends or strangers; often strangers prove more useful when a writer needs honest criticism.” (16) I agree with Moore on this point. As a stranger reviewing another’s work (which I did a fair amount on fanfictiontion.net), I was more free to be critical because I had no personal ties and was less afraid of hurting the writer’s feelings. So long as the criticism is useful to the writer, a stranger’s words can be quite helpful.
Writing skills were not the only thing I gained from fanfiction; I used this genre of writing to play with different emotional experiences. Being a teenager was no easy task, especially not for someone as emotional and introverted as myself. As I navigated through first love, heartbreak, fights with friends and other moody landscapes, I needed an outlet for my feelings – and often times, an escape from it all. Once again, enter fanfiction. Moore comments on this. “Teenagers have myriad hungers, and their writings and readings feed those hungers. Although it doesn't necessarily make for Austenesque literature, it does illumine their passions and motivations. Escapism, possibility, and "youth empowerment" (Jenkins) frequent teenagers' stories, as well as romantic wish-fulfillment, perhaps through thinly disguised self-representations called "Mary Sues." Other stories brave deeper waters, for after all, writing and reading are excellent ways for teenagers to sort through the many confusions in their lives. Fanfiction's liberating anonymity offers a forum to open up about topics too embarrassing to broach with friends, family, or teachers.” (Moore 17) Suppose I was going through a situation of unrequited love in real life. At fifteen, the world might feel as though it was crashing around me. In order to get out of my own head for a while, I might write a story where Mulder had romantic feelings for Scully, but she either didn’t feel the same or wouldn’t admit it. I could create an ending that I was satisfied with, most likely a happy one, where everyone loves everyone and they ride off into the sunset together. Did it fully fit into the canon of The X-Files? Not exactly. But I could relate to these characters, and therefore I related them to my own personal situations. I would argue that many fanfiction writers did what I did at that age.
At twenty-five years old, I no longer write fanfiction; I do, however, write poetry, short stories, memoir, magazine articles, and research papers. In fact, memoir is my favorite genre, so in that way, some of my reasons for writing fanfiction have never left me. Although I have learned to write for an audience instead of writing for myself (which is mostly what I did in high school), I still enjoy using my writing as a kind of outlet for my thoughts, feelings and memories.
I think back on my fanfiction friends and wonder what path they took. Are they still writing fanfiction? Did they start writing original stories? Have they published anything? (With the talent that some of them had, I’d guess yes.) Or have they stopped writing altogether? There seems to be an unspoken general knowledge that most fanfiction writers are women, ranging in age from teens to adults. On a personal level, I see fanfiction as a stepping stone to better writing – a stepping stone that is in my past. After being formally educated in creative writing, I can’t see myself writing fanfiction seriously ever again. It might be something light and entertaining to play with sometimes, but it would never be my main focus, such as it was when I was thirteen. This is not to look down upon the older writers of fanfiction, but I wonder if they’re doing it on the side or if it is their main focus.
It can be daunting to follow your passion into the real world. It took me four years in college and two switches of my major to even realize that I should be getting a degree in what I’ve always been doing and always been somewhat talented at: writing. When I wrote fanfiction, I was mainly writing for myself. Moore believes that most fanfiction writers feel this way. “Fanfiction has been called a labor of love. Writers do it for themselves and their friends, and the only extrinsic payment they receive is feedback or reviews.” (17) There is nothing wrong with writing for yourself. It’s important to make yourself happy and do what you love. However, I feel it’s also important to get credit (and hopefully get paid) for your work when you are educated and doing it on a professional level.
And just what is considered a professional level when it comes to creative writing? Will I be a professional when I earn my bachelor’s, or will I have to be accepted into and complete an MFA program before I become an expert? Or is it all about getting paid, regardless of my level of education? As of this moment, I am undecided on whether or not I will eventually continue on to graduate school. I have already accumulated much debt in order to pay for my undergraduate degree. What more will I obtain from an MFA, besides the ability to teach full time at a university (if I so choose to do so one day)?
In 2010, Anis Shivani wrote an article for Boulevard Magazine, (which was also posted on the Huffington Post’s website), comparing current MFA programs to the medieval guild system, in which masters would take apprentices and journeymen under their wings to teach them their craft and form a group which would control the quality and substance of their art; in short, it was an exclusive club. Shivani suggests that many of the same attitudes and structures of the medieval guilds apply to MFA programs, specifically concerning the aspects of exclusivity and a propensity to churn out the same kind of writing.
Shivani takes issue with what he believes is a condescending and somewhat hypocritical attitude of the MFA programs: “The system is utterly undemocratic, once one is a member of the guild, toward the outside world, but for it to survive in today's politically correct world, it must always present itself as the quintessence of democracy (everyone can learn writing, given enough application and discipline--at least we can make you competent, we can teach you the rules of the game, we can save you years of heartache from going it alone and making avoidable mistakes).” Even taking this opinion with a large grain of salt, I can say for myself that I was surprised to hear MFA programs cut down quite like this. I have been aware of cliques and other such groups going on within the writing community, but never read such information presented in this way.
Shivani also comments on the fact that most MFA programs set standards so as to prevent writers from switching from one specialty to another. Poets write poetry and that’s it; no short stories, no non-fiction. They also oppose genre writing because they feel it is only for commercial use. Shivani notes that some of this attitude towards genre writing is shifting, but that the MFA clique is putting their own “literary” spin on it. The program also puts heavy emphasis on revision of work. Says Shivani: ‘Hence the MFA fetish of constant revision--as undergraduates in my day used to talk about how many all-nighters they'd pulled, apprentices, journeymen, and masters these days exaggerate the number of drafts they wrote before daring to publish the book (Twenty! Fifty! A hundred!). This is cause for bragging rights; the more drafts, the more committed the writer declares himself to execution of craft.” In my undergraduate course I’ve been taught that revision is necessary to good writing, and in my experience I’ve found that to be true. However, some ideas start out more polished than others, and I am committed to a decent product, not a process.
There seems to be a correct way to do things in these programs, and anything other than the correct way is highly discouraged. Says Shivani, “In essence, the writing guild makes it possible for apprentices to internalize the principles of the Inquisition. One is made to feel guilty and ashamed if writing compels one to move toward areas forbidden by the Inquisition. Workshop humiliation is very much part of this enforcement of Inquisition rules; it is astonishing to notice--even at the undergraduate, non-guild level--how quickly students acquire these principles of writerly conduct, and rake their fellows over the coals for the minutest transgressions ("You switched point of view in the story, you're not allowed to do that!"). One quickly becomes invested in the Inquisition; the advice manuals written by the masters convey these gently, in the guise of techniques of writing, but the social principle behind them is manifest.” I never thought I was one to be looking for ways to help other writers to conform to a set of norms during undergraduate workshops, but perhaps even we are guilty of doing this at times. Obviously our writing professors are more educated and most likely more skilled than we are at this point in our experience, but how many of their rules have we taken for the one and only truth? When I critique someone’s writing, how much of what I have to say is helping to make it better, and how much of it is squashing creativity?
Shivani is disappointed to see a rise in the amount of work being picked up from these MFA groups and published by mainstream publishers. He doesn’t believe that writers who craft their writing in this particular way really deserve to have it supported by big names in the business. Shivani considers there to be a very specific type of writing coming out of this group, and it is clearly not something he thinks is worthy of being on the bookshelves, out there for the public to read and invest in.
There is something to be said for selling out and writing a juicy plotline just to make some money; after all, isn’t the goal of many writers to become published and make a name for themselves? Enter here the writer’s moral dilemma. Should one succumb to the pressures of MFA programs and/or mounting school debt and do anything he or she can to make some money and be accepted by a powerful, influential writing community? Or should one follow a more individual and creative path and hope that deserved recognition comes out of the hard work?
There is something going on that shares many similarities with the writing guilds that Shivani writes about: writer James Frey and his “fiction factory.” Suzanne Mozes wrote about it in a 2010 New York magazine article. Frey wrote a memoir titled A Million Little Pieces in 2003 – a memoir that turned out not to actually be a true personal experience of Frey’s. It turns out that Frey didn’t mind the controversy that surrounded this revelation. He doesn’t believe in the full sense of truth and his goal is to be “the most widely read” writer of his time, no matter the costs. (Mozes) Frey enjoys breaking the rules. This seems like a breath of fresh air after reading Shivani’s review of MFA programs, but here come the similarities.
Mozes sums up Frey’s idea: “He was looking for young writers to join him on a new publishing endeavor – a company that would produce mostly young-adult novels…Frey said he was interested in conceiving commercial ideas that would sell extremely well. He was in the process of hiring writers – he said he’d already been to Princeton and was planning on recruiting from the other New York M.F.A. programs as well.” You kind of have to give Frey some credit for being upfront about what he wanted to do, even if you feel some moral opposition to the idea, as I did originally when I read about it. Mozes says that the kind of deal Frey was offering to students could help them pay off their student loans, which was a huge draw, something that could make even the most wavering of writers sign up for that opportunity.
Often times if something sounds too good to be true, it is. Such was the case of Jobie Hughes, who agreed to work on a young adult novel with Frey under similar promises of large amounts of money. However, Hughes took no legal precautions for his work, and he ended up writing most of the popular book-turned-move I Am Number Four without any named credit whatsoever. (Mozes) Mozes details out the contracts that Frey offered future writers: “This is the essence of the terms being offered by Frey’s company Full Fathom Five: In exchange for delivering a finished book within a set number of months, the writer would receive $250 (some contracts allowed for another $250 upon completion), along with a percentage of all revenue generated by the project, including television, film, and merchandise rights—30 percent if the idea was originally Frey’s, 40 percent if it was originally the writer’s. The writer would be financially responsible for any legal action brought against the book but would not own its copyright. Full Fathom Five could use the writer’s name or a pseudonym without his or her permission, even if the writer was no longer involved with the series, and the company could substitute the writer’s full name for a pseudonym at any point in the future. The writer was forbidden from signing contracts that would “conflict” with the project; what that might be wasn’t specified. The writer would not have approval over his or her publicity, pictures, or biographical materials. There was a $50,000 penalty if the writer publicly admitted to working with Full Fathom Five without permission.” Despite the harsh terms of the contract, several writers still signed them.
Hughes had gotten burned badly, according to Mozes’s article. Mozes herself was a graduate student who had met with Frey over a possible idea. When she tried to negotiate her contract, Frey scrapped the project. Frey calls himself a “a fair and reasonable guy” (Mozes), but the details of the contract are clear: get paid a small sum of money to write a novel, and get no credit by name. One of the hardest parts for Hughes was being unable to talk about I Am Number Four, bound by his contract, especially when somebody badmouthed it. He couldn’t even defend himself. (Mozes) Secrecy is just one thing that the MFA guilds have in common with Frey’s company. They are both groups who take apprentices and teach them a specific craft; this craft produces writing that is all alike. The main difference is that while the MFA guilds claim to see value in only literary writing, Frey’s company is all about commercialism.
In his book Myths, Dreams and Religion, Joseph Campbell talks about King Arthur’s nephew, Gawain, and Gawain’s quest for the Holy Grail. He explains that in the story, each member of the quest enters the forest individually, and where there is no path already created. The significance of this story is this: “For where you are following a way or path, you are following the way or destiny of another. Your own, which is as yet unknown, is in seed (as it were) within you, as your intelligible character, pressing to become manifest in the unique earned character of an individual life. And it is just this sense of a personal potential to be realized that has given to the greatest Occidental biographies and creative works their character of yearning toward and undefined unknown. Each in his lifetime is in the process of bringing forth a specimen of humanity such as never before was made visible upon this earth, and the way to this achievement is not along anyone else's path who ever lived.” (Campbell 147) This is how I feel about my writing. I might learn skills from others and use other’s work to gain ideas for my own, but in the end, I feel that what I have to say through my writing is important, interesting and at times, unique. This is why I could never sign up for a deal like Frey’s.
As a student about to acquire a starting amount of $25,000 worth of loan debt, I can see the draw of giving up some of your own credit to make money. After all, you are working in your own field of study and getting paid for it. There may even be lessons and skills to learn from “masters” such as Frey. However, I don’t think I could do it. I would rather work at a job unrelated to creative writing to pay off my debt than to sign a contract like that. As for the MFA programs, I remain undecided. If I decide to attend graduate school, it will be because I wish to further my skills, but I am not interested in putting them into a neat little box. I do not wish to choose only one area to write in; I have ideas that are constantly changing, and some would be better expressed in different genres of writing. Whether I will ever be considered a “professional” writer or not remains to be seen. I can say for sure that, having explored some of the options that are out there for me after graduation, I will always strive to write something that I am proud of.
Works Cited
Adam, Devon, and Kerri Mathew. "I Love Your Book, but I Love My Version More: Fanfiction
in the English Language Arts Classroom." The ALAN Review 36.3 (2009): 35-41. Print.
Burns, Elizabeth, and Carlie Weber. "When Harry Met Bella." School Library Journal 55.8
(2009): 26-29. Print.
Campbell, Joseph. Myths, Dreams, and Religion: Eleven Visions of Connection. New York:
MJF, 1970. Print.
Moore, Rebecca C. "All Shapes of Hunger: Teenagers and Fanfiction." Voice of Youth Advocates
28.1 (2005): 15-19. Print.
Mozes, Suzanne. "Inside Full Fathom Five, James Frey's Young-Adult-Novel Assembly Line."
New York Magazine. 12 Nov. 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.
Shivani, Anis. "Creative Writing Programs: Is The MFA System Corrupt And Undemocratic?"
The Huffington Post. 23 Oct. 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.
Walter, Natasha. "Works In Progress." The Guardian. 26 Oct. 2004. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.