Day 3 - Aj's question

[seren_ccd]

Day 3 - aj - how did you get into fandom/fan fic?

I'm pretty 'new' to fandom really. I first discovered fanfic in 2002 or thereabouts. I honestly had no idea it even existed. I was randomly searching for this show that I remembered liking when I was 12 called Swan’s Crossing (starring a very young Sarah Michelle Gellar!) and I found a fansite for it. What was this amazing and sparkly thing that I’d just discovered? There’s a link to something called Fan Fiction. What’s this?

YOU MEAN PEOPLE WRITE THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF BELOVED CHARACTERS???!!!??

I was hooked. After devouring all I could find for Swan’s Crossing, I fell upon fanfiction.net with glee. I moved onto Roswell fic, then Pride and Prejudice fic, then Smallville, then The X-Files, on and on it went.

I never considered writing it though. I’m not really sure why. Probably because I figured anything I wrote was going to be awful and terrible and no one would read it and all the usual horrible things a person thinks about their own talents.

Then came the reboot of Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. THAT’S when I actually started to participate in FANDOM. People were creating awesome things and people appreciate it when you give them feedback and it felt lovely! People talk about different things and they discuss politics and social issues ALL within the context of a beloved media. How BRILLIANT is that?

So I wrote something. And people liked it. And I liked doing it.

I fell out of fandom for a little while after that. Namely due to LIFE. But then Iron Man happened and I fell right back into it.

I have to say, I find it harder to be involved in fandom with the migration to Tumblr, simply because I don’t understand Tumblr and find it very hard to use and not very satisfying. It feels like people use it to scream from rooftops and the act of actual engagement is hard to do. I prefer Livejournal.

But I love the people I’ve met and the things that I’ve accomplished and the courage that being in fandom can provide. *HUGS*

Comments

[helsinkibaby.livejournal.com]

Amen to the tumblr thing...I have one, mainly for The Following but you can't have a proper chat, for want of a better word, on there, or not easily! LJ all the way!

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

YES! I have one, but I find it very difficult to actually interact with people on it.

[helsinkibaby.livejournal.com]

I mostly use tot reblog pretty pictures and have been know to put up the occasional thing if I ever get a chance to fanart. For everything else, I'm over here.

[hiddencait.livejournal.com]

I don't understand tumblr either. It just seems like uber!drama for not a lot of pay off lol

[lullabymoon]

Word to tumblr. It's fine for looking at pretty things, but otherwise I just find it incredibly awkward to use.

[miera-c.livejournal.com]

Tumblr is fun for pictures and links, but I am annoyed that it's become some sort of fandom hub, especially considering what an awful software it is for posting fic.

[seren-ccd.livejournal.com]

Same here. I find it very hard to read and respond to. Conversations aren't conversations, they just end up being random thoughts sort of tied together.

[aj.livejournal.com]

YAY! Don't know how I missed this. Apparently, I'm blind. And thank you for the answer!