HOW WEB-BASED FANFICTION FOSTERS NARRATIVE WRITING

Ashley Hennefer, M.A. candidate, Literacy Studies

COMMON CORE OBJECTIVESREADING• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6-12• Key Ideas & Details• Craft & Structure• Integration of Knowledge & Ideas• Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

WRITINGCCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-12

Text Types & PurposesProduction & Distribution of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Range of Writing

OBJECTIVESUnderstand what fanfiction is, as a writing movementLearn new terms pertaining to web-based fanfictionSee the most popular online outlets for fanfictionView many examples of fanfiction produced by teens around the world

Apply concepts to projects you can do with your students (some of which you might already do)

ACTIVITY: PLACE YOURSELF IN A FICTIONAL WORLD

Who are you?What do you do? (Profession, hobbies)

Who are your friends? Your enemies?

How much do you have to change to be a part of this world?

EXAMPLE: ASHLEY IN HARRY POTTER’S WORLD Myself—24 years old Ravenclaw, Hogwarts alumni Hogwarts librarian or professor—teach Potions or Ancient Runes

Would have my cat, Sofie, as my familiar

Friends/potential colleagues with Hermione Granger

Hobbies would change—couldn’t play video games or dabble in electronics

WHAT IS FANFICTION?

“Fanfiction has been hailed as 'the democratic genre' (Pugh, 2000), its proponents celebrated as 'textual poachers' (Jenkins, 1994) who radically disrupt but also reinvigorate canonical texts.” (Thomas, 2007)

Stories/artwork, created by fans, based on existing works of original literature

LEV GROSSMAN, TIME“Fanfiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker. They don't do it for money. That's not what it's about. The writers write it and put it up online just for the satisfaction. They're fans, but they're not silent, couchbound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culture in its own language.”

POPULAR EXAMPLES

50 Shades of Grey - began as a Twilight fanfic

Kirk/Spock – early fanfic communities

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

FANFICTION AS A WRITING MOVEMENT

Highly technology-drivenGlobal/collaborativeMixed-mediaCan be a part of any fandomNot divided by age/genderVery popular with teenagers

FANFICTION WRITERS USE MULTIPLE LITERACIES

ResearchWritingPeer-reviewEditing

TRADITIONAL WRITING/READING SKILLS

Interested in archetypesConcerned/critical of character accuracy

Focus on plot and dialogueUnderstanding of audience“Bad writing” = less readers

RESEARCH SAYS…Great for English Language Learners (Black, 2007)Commercial texts become models (Jwa, 2012)Renews/revamps canonical texts (Thomas, 2007)Passive viewers active writers, interpreters of texts and media participants (Rust, 2003)“Buffy [turned] the fans into authors and allow[ed] them to not only play with any aspect of the show, but also to influence the direction of the narrative itself.” (Rust, 2003)

TERMS TO KNOW FF/fic - short for “fanfiction”

Fandom - refers to a specific fan universe. Popular fandoms include Harry Potter, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Percy Jackson

AU - alternate universe

RP/RPG – role-playing game

Face claim (FC) - using the appearance of an actor on which to base a character

Headcanon - an accepted belief that may not be in the existing fiction

Ship - a relationship

OTP - “one true pairing”--the relationship a fan supports the most

Slash - refers to a relationship pairing, sometimes homosexual. Specifically refers to the “/” between two characters’ names (Harry/Hermione, Kirk/Spock)

Meme - a concept created and shared rapidly on the internet

Tagging – adding a word/phrase to blog post that helps others find your work

OUTLETS FOR FANFICTION: TUMBLR

Features:Reblogging

Tagging

Image-centric

Easy to connect withothers who share interests

OUTLETS FOR FANFICTION: LIVEJOURNAL

Features:Tagging

Long posts

Image-compatible

Highly customizable

OUTLETS FOR FANFICTION (CONT.)

Archive of Our Own (AO3)Features: Tagging, long posts, ability to

leave author’s notes, post in chapters, emphasis on text, can rate/review

Fanfiction.net Features: Long posts, chapters, tagged

by fandom, tagged by medium

OUTLETS FOR FANFICTION (CONT.)

Form is as important as functionDesign serves as a motivatorDigital natives are highly visualCustomizing writing space is sacred

EXAMPLES OF FANFICTION

http://ashleyhwrites.tumblr.com

PROJECTS FOR STUDENTSHave students make collages of imagesCreate a new character in an existing universe

Create a new universe for existing charactersSelect a “face claim” and create an origin story

Let students make a mixtape/playlist that inspires their story

RESOURCES Fanhand: A Tumblr-based literary journal that reviews fanarthttp://fanhand.tumblr.com/

Using Facebook & Tumblr to engage students http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/using-facebook-and-tumblr-to-engage-students/47221

Classroom Collective Tumblr http://classroomcollective.tumblr.com/

Symposium Tumblr with examples http://ashleyhwrites.tumblr.com

Authors on Tumblr: Neil Gaiman, Travis Beacham, John Green—all active and very popular with their fans

REFERENCES Alvermann, D. E. (2008). Why bother theorizing adolescents’ online literacies for classroom practice

and research? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(1), 8–19.

Battis, J. (2009). Ryan is being beaten: incest, fanfiction and the OC. refractory, 15.

Black, R. W. (2007). Fanfiction writing and the construction of space. ELearning, 4(4), 384–397.

Black, R. W. (2006). Language, culture, and identity in online fanfiction. ELearning, 3(2), 170.

Burns, E., & Webber, C. (2009). When Harry met Bella. Library, 55(8), 26–29.

Chandler-Olcott, K., & Mahar, D. (2003). Adolescents’ anime-inspired “fanfictions”: an exploration ofmultiliteracies. Journal of Adolescent Adult Literacy, 46(7), 556–566.

Danforth, B. L. (2009). Games and writing. Library Journal, 134(17), 54.

Lantagne, S. M. (2011). The better angels of our fanfiction: the need for true and logical precedent. Hastings Communications Entertainment Law Journal CommEnt, 33(2), 159–180.

Moore, R. C. (2005). All shapes of hunger: teenagers and fanfiction. Voice of Youth Advocates, 28(1), 15–19.

Rust, L. (2003). Welcome to the house of fun: Buffy fanfiction as a hall of mirrors. Refractory, 2.

Viires, P. (2002). Literature in cyberspace 1. Folklore Tartu, 29, 153–174.