Well after weeks of fixing and all that stuff I have now been able to
send me essay on fanficiton to the FFML. This was something done for my
OAC (Ontario Academic Credit, it's some strange canadian -- particularly
ontario -- custom). Well I'm not going to reveal what I got on it (my
teacher was such a bitch) but I hope that you enjoy it and if you would
please post anything you think about it to the list and if you feel like
flaming it . . . don't.
Well, here we go. Sorry about the setting, I'm doing this from school.
Fanfiction
Jonathan Lavallee
Note: The term 'Writer' is used for someone who writes fanfictions and
the term 'Author" means
the original creator.
Fanfiction is the writing of a story based on a popular movie,
television or book series.
G.L. Sandborn, a credited fanfiction writer, defines fanfiction as a
"theater of the absurd" ("RE:..."
5) or as the "graffiti of the writing world" (Sandborn "RE:..." 6)
which is "everywhere [but] not
always appreciated, and [is] sometimes controversial." (Sandborn
"RE:..." 6). These fanfictions
look deceptively easy to create and have many diverse advantages in
their creation but they also
severely limit the writer in what they can do with their stories.
One advantage that is found in writing 'fics (short for fanfiction
stories) is that any part of
the form book -- the original which the characters and location are
taken from -- that didn't match
the writer's desires can be fulfilled in a manner that is pleasing to
the writer: "I kept thinking
about how *I* would have liked to se Ranma 1/2 end [sic]" (Lawson
"RE:..." 2). Another way that
a writer can change the form book to fit their desires is by exploiting
the gaps in the story.
Through these gaps writers can show the characters in a whole different
manner. By "breathing
new life into the story" (Sandborn "RE:..." 5), writers can insert their
opinions quietly and
efficiently.
That is another advantage to fanfiction writer, no subject is too
controversial or taboo.
There have been 'fics written about transvestites (Ichinohei "Clothes
Make The ..."),
homosexuality (Lavallee "Usawa"), suicide (Lawson "Storm's end),
marriage (Sandborn "Nabiki:
New Horizons") and many other sensitive subjects. The writer tries to
show their views and
opinions through the characters and their situations in a mature and
responsible manner. This
subtle insertion of thoughts and ideas helps in the development of
writing skills.
Many fanfiction writers use fanfiction for other, more practical
reasons: "To me,
fanfiction is just another venue for developing my writing skills"
(Sandborn "RE:..." 2). Writing
skills are improved in fanficiton in specifically two areas namely
character development and plot
development. The character development skill is often improved by
trying to create insight for
the characters without changing the personalities set by the author of
the original work. The plot
development skill is improved by creating new and different situations
that the characters would
find themselves in, one's that could develop character and give insight
that was not in the form
book.
Despite the gains that are created by fanfiction there are some
negative aspects as well.
First of all fanfiction is technically illegal in many countries. It is
considered a breach of
copyright; however, in Canada (as of 1992) the laws concerning copyright
defined it as such,
"The act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts
or passages of his writings,
or the ideas of language of the same, and passing them off as the
product of one's own mind"
(Harris. Canadian Copyright Law 175). This statement says that the
person who is appropriating
the ideas of the author's work must be passing them off as their own.
Fanficiton writers get
around this law by using disclaimers at either the beginning of their
stories or on the websites
where the fanfictions are found. These disclaimers state that the
people, places found in this
story belong to the original author and are not a product of their own
minds. These disclaimers
range from the all encompassing serious ones (Ichinohei. "Clothes Make
The ...") to the silly and
outrageous ones (Lavallee. "Usawa"). Another point which proves that
fanfiction should not be
infringement is that these stories are not sold. Fanfiction stories are
written for the enjoyment of
the writer and for the enjoyment and criticism of other writers not for
a financial gain at the
expense of the original author.
However the major problem with writing fanfiction is keeping the
characters in harmony
with their original personalities. For example -- from Ranma 1/2
fanfiction -- the character
Kasumi Tendo is always very kind, sweet and gentle (Sanches. "Ranma
..." 2). To have Kasumi
get angry at some would be a serious breach in personality unless the
writer creates a good
reason for this change. Good fanfictions keep the characters in
character almost constantly and
only deviate from the given personality when they give an excellent
reason. Examples of good
fanfiction writing are Richard Lawson's "Thy Inward Love" and G.L.
Sanborn's "Nabiki: New
Horizons". Both of these stories closely portray the Ranma 1/2
characters as they are originally
portrayed in the manga (Japanese for comic book).
Take, for example, the characters of Genma and Nodoka Saotome. Genma's
personality has always been one of self-service. He is always looking
out for himself which is
evident throughout the manga (Takahashi Ranma 1/2). He is depicted in
this manner in both
"Thy Inward Love" and "Nabiki: New Horizons"; however, in "T.I.L." Genma
is forced to change
because of his reinvolvement with his wife Nodoka whom he had left ten
years ago. She is
trying to turn him into a man instead of having him rely on his
emotional "crutch". The beginning
of this change occurs during part one of "T.I.L." when Nodoka and Genma
are having an
argument over their son Ranma. At the end of the fanfiction Genma has
changed for the better
and all problems have been resolved between him and his wife. This
ending is a major
departure from the original character (known as being Out of Character
or OOC) but the writer
completely justifies this change over the course of the story.
On the other hand, Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo (the main characters)
are
depicted much more broadly. Ranma is shown to be a powerful martial
artist but with poor social
skills and he has the inability to show his true emotions (Sanchez.
"Ranma ..." 2). We see Akane
as a strong-willed and sometimes violent girl who has trouble expressing
herself in a positive
manner. (Sanchez. "Akane ..." 2). Both writers used different methods
to achieve the same
ending, the fulfilling of the engagement of Akane and Ranma. In "T.I.L"
it is the argument
between Genma and Nodoka, Ranma's parents, that is overheard by Ranma.
He then seeks
Akane for comfort and they have an emotional moment and a physical kiss.
This is different
because usually the only physical contact between Ranma and Akane is a
hug or a punch.
Issues that are a major factor in the manga -- Ranma's other fiancees --
are brought up and a
plan of action is initiated (Lawson. "TIL" 18-28). The rest of the 'fic
is the elimination of the other
fiancees that are present in the manga during which Akane and Ranma
start to display their
feeling for each other which leads to an engagement ring and then to
marriage.
In "Nabiki: New Horizons" Ranma and Akane are brought together by the
sharing of
Nabiki's marriage to a Western character. They saw how useless the
bickering between two
loving people were and that it only led to the emotional injury of one
or both of the people
involved in the argument. This is demonstrated when Jeff, concerned
about his wife's safety,
has her followed by a detective. She doesn't like being followed and
confronts Jeff about it. In
the ensuing argument, she slaps him and demands he leave. Ranma and
Akane, hearing the
argument from another room, pause and wonder if they sound like that.
One of the more versatile characters in Ranma 1/2 fanficiton, speaking
on terms of
relationships, is Nabiki Tendo. Many writers have paired her up with
another character in Ranma
1/2, Tatewaki Kuno. Other writers believe that she could not marry a
Japanese male because
"their cultural insistence that Nabiki conform to the traditional role
of wife would have been
intolerable to Miss Tendo". (Sandborn, "RE:..." 4)
In "TIL" there are some stories that lead up to this fanficiton series
and in the series itself
that create a burgeoning relationship between Nabiki and Tatewaki Kuno.
This relationship is
further developed during the combat scene between Ranma and Kodachi.
This is where
Tatewaki Kuno reveals a madness that explains his actions during the
manga and lays bare his
feeling for Nabiki. This is truly a major character departure for
Tatewaki Kuno. The writer,
however, has given a very good reason for his change in personality:
"He can't really have
changed his mind so completely ... these kind of turnabouts did not
happen spontaneously. They
were usually indicative of one of two things: ..., or he had found
something else to fixate on
besides Akane". (Lawson, "Thy Inward Love" 47)
Nabiki in "Nabiki: New Horizons" is handled in a much different way.
First of all she is
the main character in the series. The writer, G.L. Sandborn, goes into
great detail of her
personality and her future while touching in lesser detail the two main
characters of the manga
Ranma and Akane. In his 'fic Nabiki meets an ambassador aide's son, a
seventeen year old
named Jeff Lawrence, who is trying to break into the Japanese closed
society. The details of
how they get together are long and complex and are best understood by
reading the series.
What does occur during this long trial is what appears to be a change in
Nabiki's personality: "I
was told, early on, that had Nabiki actually married someone like Jeff,
she would have been in
court within a year, ... half of everything he was worth". (Sandborn,
"RE:..." 4) The writer creates
this internal struggle between her colder, mercenary side and her newly
found emotional side.
What makes this battle more painful for her is that she is also battling
the emotions she has
bottled up since the death of her mother.
Some writers seem to think that the present characters need some sort
of catalyst to
bring the changes they wish to see. This is called an insertion
character. The insertion character
is a character created by the writer and thrown into the original
author's world. Jeff Lawrence
from "Nabiki: New Horizons" is a character created for Nabiki Tendo
because she really has no
rival in the mange. He is used as an intellectual and emotional
counterpoint to Nabiki who
eventually falls in love with him.
All this about in character, out of character and character creation
leads to a new
difficulty not only in writing fanficiton but in reading fanficiton as
well. When a fanficiton writer
takes up their pen to write a fanficiton story, it is assumed that the
reader will have some
knowledge of the original work. The reason for this is that some
writers place things in the story
that have either happened in the manga or in the Anime (short for
Japanese animation) and do
not elaborate on them further. They are assuming that the reader has
either read or seen the
original story on which the fanficiton was based. "When Shampoo
discovered that stupid brooch
and she didn't seem to like you anymore," (Lawson, "TIL" 25) this is a
prime example of using a
piece of the Anime that the reader must have prior knowledge of. This
example is from the OAV
(Original Animation Video) titled "Desperately Seeking Shampoo" and the
title Anime
"Shampoo's sudden switch, the curse of the contrary jewel" and without
seeing that Anime the
reader is left in the dark.
Good fanficiton writing is a difficult and rewarding experience.
Fanfiction writing onto
itself is not a difficult job, all a writer needs is to take the
character's names and put them on his
characters and immediately has a "fanfiction". However, good fanficiton
doesn't take other
characters in name only but tried to develop them through their
personalities. This gives writers
a sense of completion and a challenge to write a story that would make
the original author proud.
That would be the fanfiction writer's greatest dream, to write a
fanficiton and have the author
congratulate them on a job well done.
Well that was it. Thanks for you time.
Jonathan Lavallee
"R A N MAAAAAA!!!!" THWACK!!!
pick any Ranma 1/2 episode
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