in defense of fanfiction

I feel really bad that, all of the times I've mentioned fanfiction in the past, I've referred to it as something that takes time away from "real writing". Just because the original work on which your story is based was written by someone else, a good fanfiction still begins with an unique idea.

Maybe it's just me, but I often see people describe fanfiction writers as something "less"**. The main purpose of a fanfiction (and sorry for using the word so many times--I can't seem to think of a decent pronoun) is to entertain. Like all stories should. Writers = entertainers = story tellers. It's the same thing, no matter what your genre or starting point is.

Some of the most creative scenes and characters I've read have been in fanfictions. That's why I love sites like fanfiction.net that provide a place to publish your stories. Writing fanfiction isn't just a fun hobby to exercise your writing muscles--you can get feedback and critiques on your writing, plus make a few friends who are interested in the same things as you. Okay, sorry, way to sound like a greeting card. But think about it--let's say you really hate the ending of a book (for example, the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). By writing a fanfiction, not only can you write as some of your all time favorite characters, you can control the outcomes.

The one good thing about fanfiction not being considered as important or artistic by some people as, say, writing a novel, is that you don't have to take yourself too seriously. Come up with a username, write a story, and put your work out there. You can have fun with random scenarios, one-shots, and the most ridiculous dialogue (the term "Merlin's magic panties" came up the other day). And if you want to improve your writing style, why not work at it while doing something fun?

In short, yes, I write a fanfiction. No, I'm not a crazy fan-girl, and I don't spend all my time on it. In the future, I want to be writing novels--but writing fanfiction is a really fun way that I can connect to people who like the same books as me, and apparently like my writing. Huh. How about that.

**I'm sorry, I really don't me to generalize, but bring up "fanfiction" in a conversation has always made me feel weird and kind of inadequate compared to those people--you know, the ones who read Tolstoy when they were six, and are working on their latest work of speculative fiction.

I want to have fun with writing. I believe that I like having fun.

I remember...

Today, October 6th, is the birthday of a very good friend of mine. Scratch that--it's the birthday of someone who was my very good friend.

I don't mean this in a five-year-old, you're not my friend anymore! kind of way. We're neighbors, and when we were four years old, we were really close. Okay, so my memory of four-year-old-me isn't super clear, but I do know that we spent a lot of time together. But, over the last few years, we've grown apart.

He (the nameless-friend, of course) is very sporty. I... Well, I'm kind of not. I don't think it was us growing up that drove us apart, I think it was inevitable. Even if we stayed perpetually four-years-old, we were always really different people.

The point of all this? Well, today as we walked into English, I wished him a happy birthday. He seemed a little confused--he said thanks, but more in a, you remembered? kind of way.

I've always remembered his birthday, because it's the same day as mine (nine months difference, but whatever). Sure, it might be a little strange, but oh well.

Some days, I remember more than I feel I should. The way someone picks at their nails, an stranger's phone number, the color of someone's shoelaces. It can be weird. But there are sometimes things about a person that stand out to me.

What do you remember?

Erika

random post is random

I'm watching The Vampire Diaries, which I've just recently discovered I kind of love. At first, I pretty much ruled it out. Just another vampire story, right?

In many ways, yes. Human girl falls in love with vamp guy. But it has so much more--awesome dialogue, some serious violence, totally hot actors (what? It's true, visual aids do help), and vampires that are legitimately scary. They snarl, their faces go all black, and they kill each other. What more could you ask from a vampire?

Basically, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover--or a TV show by it's main paranormal feature...? Yeah, no, don't even pay attention to that.

In other news, I was on Bing.com (just to look at the pictures, I swear. I'm a Google girl at heart) earlier and saw this, the pangolin:

Do you know that awkward moment, when characters on a TV show or movie are kissing, having a serious make-out session, or *fading to black*, and someone else is watching the show with you? Yeah, my dad's in the kitchen, and I'm watching the aforementioned Vampire Diaries. Wow, that's awkward.

One last thing, just to make this random post truly random: I learned in Planning class today that teenagers need exactly nine hours and twenty minutes of sleep to be properly rested. So, don't you be staying up too late!

Don't worry Damon, I still love you. Even if you can be totally psycho.

"I do believe in killing the messenger. Know why? It sends a message." - Damon Salvatore

Thursday has been a bit random. Not bad, just... random.

Love,

Erika