Lil Cameron writes.
  • Home
  • Services
  • Work
    • Westpac NZ case study
    • AlphaImpactRx case study
    • NZQA case study
    • Umbrellar case study
    • 9 Spokes case study
    • Content writing
    • Articles
    • Tools of the trade
  • About me
  • Testimonials
  • What's Goss?
  • Contact

By newest obsession: fanfiction

29/1/2011

0 Comments

 
I found out a couple of weeks ago that my play, iFamily, didn't get anywhere in the Playmarket competition. Being realistic this isn't so surprising, as there were a lot of plays submitted and many, I imagine, would have been from people who do this for a career. But still, I couldn't help but feel a bit down on it. The other option is to apply for a Creative NZ grant but then I have to include a detailed budget and all kinds of things I don't know about. That means I'd have to teach myself all of that and find a director all without knowing if anything would come from this effort. But that's the reality of creative endeavours, right? I guess I've been spoilt by being in the advertising environment, which is such a unique intersection between creativity and the corporate.

In the meantime, to help get me out of my creative slump and to prepare me for the online soap opera I want to write this year, I'm trying my hand at yet another thing I've never tried before - fiction. It's tough! Very different from copywriting. I've found the perfect outlet though. Fan fiction. Around 3 months ago I discovered Fan Fiction.net, and my life hasn't been the same since. I'm going to bare my soul here, and tell you that I am a dedicated pop culture enthusiast, an avid TV critic, and more specifically have an fanatic relationship with the characters of Naomi and Emily from Skins Generation 2. So when I found a website full of stories about these two, I developed a level of obsession that is usually only achieved by the teenaged and the insane. I love the concept of taking fully-formed characters that we already know so well and placing them in different situations to explore how they would act and react. The sign of a good fanfiction, to me, stays true to language patterns and values of the characters, but pushes them to their outer boundaries. They live on, beyond the limitations of the official TV show, as circus aerialists, close protection officers, famous american actors, hotel owners, teachers, hostages... whatever people can dream up .

Fanfiction also parallels the format of the online "soap opera" I want to write, which will be told entirely through online media. Readers subscribe to the story and receive emails in their inbox from the characters. It's very voyeuristic. Fanfiction is similar in that you subscribe to stories or authors you like, and as new chapters are posted you receive an alert in your email inbox. Each alert is SO exciting. That's what I want to achieve with my online soap opera. I only call it a soap opera because "online novel" isn't really right. I need to invent a new name for this method of communication. I don't believe it's been done before and I want to be the first. However there is a lot of functionality to work out.

But back to fanfiction. Another reason I love it is the sense of community it brings me. I imagine this is much like the pre blogging, pre social media days where fans of a particular thing (Dungeons and Dragons comes to mind) would share thoughts and tips in online forums and chatrooms. You come to "know" the story authors by the comments they write before each chapter, you recognise reviewers, too, and can respond to both. You're brought together with people from around the world by your mutual love for something.

Today my story was reviewed by one of the most prolific writers of Skins fanfiction, her pen name Hyperfitched. 'Hypes', as she is fondly referred to by those in the inner circle, is a young circus aerialist in Britain who writes to the most amazing standard. How she hasn't already been snapped up to pen the next season of Skins I don't know. My point being, she's a fricken' circus aerialist!! Internet, you astound be with your ability to connect people from the most disparate backgrounds! Hypes has chosen to set her fanfic in the circus - because SHE is in the circus! As they say, write what you know! And the characters fit as naturally in this environment as if that is the purpose they were originally created for. My my, I do love writing, and I do love the internet. What miraculous things can be created when the two intersect. Some say the internet only creates a false sense of community, but it feels more real to me than many of my interactions with people in the "real" world.

So, I'm up to Chapter 3 of my fanfic, called "Letting Go". It's full of angst, overblown descriptions and the hyper-emotion of teenage life that I have never really grown past. My poor ego is so tied up in this story, but so far the reviews have been lovely. This is unusual for the internet environment, but fanfiction.net seems to attract nicer people for some reason. I'm totally hooked on the rush.

0 Comments

    Archives

    June 2022
    January 2022
    November 2020
    January 2019
    November 2017
    March 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    December 2015
    July 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    May 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    May 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010

    Categories

    All
    2012 Round Up
    2022
    Ad Agency
    Adam Nz Play Award
    Advertising
    Agencies
    Amanda Palmer
    Article
    Art Of The Envelope Awards
    Auckland Uni
    Big On Writing
    Billboards
    Bitch Magazine
    Bloggers
    Christmas Card
    Clients
    Close Up
    Comedy
    Cool Shit
    Creative Agency
    Creative Director
    Creative Work
    Critical Analysis
    Culture
    Digital Writing
    Dm
    Draftfcb
    Express
    Facebook
    Fake News
    Fanfiction
    Favourite Blog
    Federation
    Feminism
    Feminist
    Fintel Insurance
    G2
    Gay
    Google
    I Ask Myself Questions
    Ifamily
    Indiego
    Infographics
    Internet
    Internship
    Interview
    Interviews
    June
    Lecture Series
    Lesbian
    Lil
    Magazines
    Marketing
    May
    Media
    Media Representation
    Metro
    Monthly Round Up
    Monthly Round-up
    Music
    News
    New Technology
    Online
    Online Behaviour
    Outline
    Out Takes
    Overview
    Play
    Politics
    Pop Culture
    Print
    Published
    Rainbow Youth
    Recent Work
    Research
    Return On Investment
    Rugby World Cup
    Seventeen Magazine Project
    Shine
    Small Ad Agency
    Social Media
    Soda Communications
    Specialist Writing
    Stage Play
    Stoppress
    Sugar
    Technology
    Teenagers
    Television
    Tower Insurance
    Tv
    Tvcs
    Volunteer Work
    Weber
    Westpac
    Work
    Writers
    Writing
    Wtf New Zealand
    Yearly Round-up

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Services
  • Work
    • Westpac NZ case study
    • AlphaImpactRx case study
    • NZQA case study
    • Umbrellar case study
    • 9 Spokes case study
    • Content writing
    • Articles
    • Tools of the trade
  • About me
  • Testimonials
  • What's Goss?
  • Contact