Oh Fanfic, How I wish I Could Quit You

[kriadydragon]

I enjoy writing fanfic, I do. It's reading fanfic that becomes an issue and I always tell myself with each fandom I get sucked into "no more." No more fandoms for me.

So here I am having problems with my latest fandom, more certain than I have ever been that this will definitely be the last one I get involved in... aaaannnddd then I read a fic for another fandom whose show I only watched a few episodes of because I couldn't really get into it and start thinking "maybe I'll check out some more stories in this fandom."

Gaaaaahhh! Nooo! No I will not! Bad brain, bad! No new fandoms! Because I'm serious, this time. I really, really do not want to get sucked into another fandom even if all I'm doing is reading fic. Because it's the same blasted cycle each time - all fun and games at the start but give it a few days and then you're reaching for the brain bleach and bemoaning the loss of your mental innocence. And I'm tired of it, I really am. It's not that I no longer enjoy reading fanfic - far from it - but we all know what a pointless frustration it can be at times. It starts on a high note, goes downhill (sometimes rapidly), sometimes goes up and down and eventually levels out but it's the downhill part of the experience that makes me nervous about poking around in a new fandom, even temporarily.

The only problem is my main weaknesses when it comes to fic, and that is cravings and writing. Sometimes I crave a particular type of story that I don't want to write, I want to read it. But my current fandom isn't delivering so I go scouring other fandoms to see what they have. My other weakness is that fanfic inspires/motivates fanfic - sort of like how reading a particular story might inspire you to do something similar (ex. you read the Dresden Files, you then want to write urban fantasy). It's not a must that I need to read fanfic in order to write it, but it helps, a lot. Unless I run into those stories that make me reach for the brain bleach, or make me rant and rave, then I don't want to write at all.

But I seem to be standing firm on my resolve not to check out other fandoms, because I haven't (yet) despite the temptation. So... maybe there's hope?

Comments

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

Wow! I decided no new fandoms, as I get tired of coming in late, reading all the lovely fanfic, then finding some fanfics I would love to read only to discover the web address no longer exists because the author or the site holder is no longer interested in either fanfic or that series. Gah! Frustrating! Not to mention there are fandoms I really do not read slash in and that is usually prolific...

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I hate it when I read all the good fic then run out of new stuff to read. That's usually when things start going downhill because then I go fic hunting and run into stuff that either isn't labeled or mis-labeled.

then finding some fanfics I would love to read only to discover the web address no longer exists because the author or the site holder is no longer interested in either fanfic or that series.

Or when the person decides to lock their journal. That drives me nuts :/

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

YEP!!

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes I crave a particular type of story that I don't want to write, I want to read it. But my current fandom isn't delivering so I go scouring other fandoms to see what they have."

Yeah, I absolutely know what you mean. We're both gen gals and whump lovers, right? Not every fandom is like White Collar (in fact, most are not), where there's enough gen fic and a solid group of whump addicts. It's driving me crazy that it's almost impossible to find angsty or whumpy Sherlock gen fic. In the Bomb Girls fandom (which is tiny to begin with), there's 99.9% femslash, and literally NO Bob/Lorna shippers other than me (which I even understand, because Bob is kind of an ass). The stuff I wanna read is just not being written, so what other option do I have than write it myself? It's a terrible quandary, and one I very much empathize with.

As for hunting for fanfics in other fandoms instead, yeah, I get that notion too. Not all that often, and I usually find that it's hard to satisfy my cravings, so I tend to give up rather than do the dog-with-a-bone thing and dig deeper. I then usually channel my energy elsewhere. But I guess that's just me.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Not all that often, and I usually find that it's hard to satisfy my cravings, so I tend to give up rather than do the dog-with-a-bone thing and dig deeper.

I'll usually, eventually, reach a point that's a happy medium in which I'm willing to wait for new fic by authors who I know and trust (that is, after first sifting through authors and discovering who I like)and reread older fic I really enjoyed. But it's usually about when I reach that comfort zone that some new fandom comes to spirit me away and then I'm starting the cycle all over again. I'm happy enough to stay in the fandoms I know (if I'm still interested in them), but I would really like to avoid getting into new fandoms.

It still surprises me even today how some fandoms can be quite diverse while others end up taken over by a particular genre or genres. I started out in the Stargate Atlantis fandom which had something for everyone. Slash was prolific, yes, but comparing it to other fandoms the gen whumpers were quite spoiled. Same with White Collar. But the Merlin fandom has been particularly frustrating since it's saturated in romance fic. Lots and lots of romance fic - het and slash - and new gen stories are slow to come.

[wildcat88.livejournal.com]

Ah, but once you finally let go, step away, and move on, watching the show is SO MUCH MORE enjoyable. I still enjoy discussing the latest ep with other fans (though few people seem to do that these days because the vitriol in fandom rears its head even there) but I stay away from fannish things like fics and forums. I just sit back and soak in the fun of the actual eps.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Yes! I've come to mostly avoid episode discussions unless I know it's going to involve squee, and I need to be that way about fic as well, because I want to be able to enjoy a show as is without anyone else' opinion coloring my own opinion. Which usually isn't a problem where fic is concerned until you hit one of those stories in which the author's opinion of an episode, character or the show as a whole is reflected blindingly in their writing.

As I mentioned above, I usually - eventually - reach my comfort zone within a fandom and once that happens frustrations tend to settle down and I become content. But that's also when a new fandom catches my interest and the cycle begins again. Well, no more. I stop with Merlin.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

((((((((NODS))))))) there IS hope for you, but it's hanging on by the tips of its fingers. . .
>;-)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

If I can just stick with the fandoms I'm still in I should be good. They do produce stories that satisfy my cravings, it's just a matter of having patience.