Sorry to jump in so abruptly after such a long break. I’ve had many adventures I wish to tell you all about, and I will do so soon. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and focusing on my schoolwork a lot more, and it’s been very good for me overall. I intend on keeping this blog active, as well as my new blog, The Bento Squirrel. I just won’t be posting super regularly, due to my studies and other commitments.
Anyway…I’m back now, and I hope you all understand why I had to take a break. I’ll explain further in my next post, but I assure you, it’s for a very good reason. 🙂
So. I bet you’re wondering about the title of this post.
I’m choosing this topic because it’s something that I’ve recently thought about, and I’ve been meaning to jump back into the blogging fray, as it were…I want to write again, about things I like, and since I don’t have time for a novel I’m electing to go back to blogging and flex my writing muscles. 😉
I am a writer. I don’t just write blogs, I also write fanfiction, poetry, and original short stories and fiction. I love reading. My favorite series include Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings (especially The Hobbit), and various fantasy series, as well as many manga titles and standalone novels. Once upon a time, I was a very avid reader. These days, unfortunately, I have a very hard time finding time to read. When I have time, I’m too tired to read. This is a very sad revelation for me–there was a time during my childhood where I swore I would always find time to read, no matter what I was going through. I have failed so far in keeping to that, and I am full of regret. I shall one day remedy this.
Anywho, being a writer, and an avid reader, one might assume I would love to read fanfiction of my favorite series. There was a time where I would devour fanfiction, but the internet is too big and my attention span is too short for this to work out. My fanfiction-reading was limited to LazyTown and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory back then, anyway.
Why is that, you may wonder. Well…it’s not just the size of the fandoms or the amount of fanfiction available that is the problem. They are big factors, yes…but I have another reason that you may not expect.
I can’t take the drama.
The flame wars, the intense battles, the plagiarism debates, the he-said-she-said, the feuds between fandoms, the capslock, the cursing, the yelling, and the tears…everything associated with large fandoms is too much for me to bear.
Being an anxious person, this seems like the best course of action. But I don’t cite my anxiety as my reason; I like to think of myself as a purist. A canon reader, but with my own thoughts and opinions on the series (example: I love the series, but I have some qualms about some of JKR’s decisions throughout the books). I don’t want to taint my fond memories with silly, petty things.
I realize that there are a lot of talented writers in large fandoms, and one day I will read some of their works, I have decided. I’ve recently found a Harry Potter that I want to read, even…it’s an alternate, dystopian reality where Voldemort wins. This is the kind of fanfic I crave. I’ll read some fanfics eventually, but I’ll have to be very selective about it.
Despite my deep love of the Harry Potter series, I have never read a Harry Potter fanfic. As previously stated, I will do something about this very soon. But I do not regret my previous decisions to avoid them. There’s too much crap out there, and there’s too much drama. It’s people like Cassandra Claire and violently passionate people in the Hetalia, Harry Potter, and Twilight fandoms that turn me off to fanfiction.
I love fanfiction. But sometimes, I just can’t deal. And that’s okay.
I encourage all of you to go against this and attempt to read some tame fanfics that cater to your interests. Fanfiction is great. There’s just so much of it and so many weird things and so much drama that occasionally, it makes people go crazy. 😛 So be careful. Enjoy yourself, but remember…it’s just based on a story you liked, and stories are wonderful and powerful, but they do not have power over you. It’s cool to be passionate, but it’s not cool to be obnoxious in the negative sense.
So go out there. Share and enjoy. Just be careful.
This has been a Public Service Announcement on behalf of Fanfiction Addicts Anonymous.
(Not affiliated with any actual website/organization…I just made that up for humor. Apparently it’s a thing. Look it up at your own risk). 😉
The Beaver Squirrel 