geri_chan | Fanfiction roundtable

Just wanted to share an interesting link that I found on Manga Bookshelf: a roundtable discussion On Fanfiction between Melinda Beasi, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith. Melinda and Sean have written fanfiction, while Michelle has "read three fanfics so far and written about half a dozen drabbles," so the roundtable has both an insider's and an outsider's POV that makes for a good discussion.

I thought it was particularly interesting when Melinda said that fanfiction can be a form of criticism, akin to meta: "When I was writing and reading fanfiction, I carried the canon with me in my mind all the time, turning it over and over, considering its strengths and flaws, examining every crevice, and discussing it all through my writing, generally from multiple angles." Sean agrees, offering up as an example "fanfics that explore 'good Slytherins' and the value of ambition." That really tickled me, as did Melinda's response of "Don’t get me going on Rowling and Slytherin, though. This roundtable might drag on forever" because I'm sure I could write a ten page essay on all the things I find problematic with JKR's portrayal of the Slytherins! Snape and Lupin are the main focus of most of my HP fics, but I also love writing about the minor Slytherin characters like Theodore and Blaise (and a few Slytherin OCs) because I figured they couldn't all be would-be Death Eaters, and I wanted to see the events of the books through their eyes as opposed to Harry's limited POV. I hadn't really thought of those fics as meta, but in a way, I suppose they are!

Anyway, if you enjoy reading meta-ish discussions on fanfic, go and check it out!