The Fanfic Writers' Craft

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) discuss the topic of building a writing style. They explore the question of whether fanfictions writers should strive to imitate established styles - like that of the author of the source work - or embrace their own unique style. They also touch on the relationship between their writing styles and their natural speaking voices, and Jo explains why she personally prefers a casual storytelling approach. They reflect on what they would like to change about their own styles and share their influences, including original fic writers and specific fanfiction authors. They also answer two listener questions: one about creating different styles for individual stories, and another about the balance between appreciating other people’s styles and finding one's own voice.This week, we mention:  Fandoms: Harry Potter, The Good Wife Fics: castles by pebblysand, In Search of Mythical Kings by copper_dust, Check the Spindle by copper_dust, Merry Men by copper_dust, The Seam Between by copper_dust, Run by ToujoursPadfoot (the platform this was published on no longer exists, the link is from the wayback machine), ce ne sont que des cailloux by pebblysand, the fault in faulty manufacturing by pebblysand, Minuet by fluorescentgrey Writers: orbythesea, lowriseflare (see livejournal for TGW fics), dirgewithoutmusic, fluorescentgrey Books: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, It by Stephen King Previous episodes: S1E1. What is Fanfiction (Or, Children with Unsupervised Internet Access in the Early 2000s), S2E2. Outgrowing Fandoms (Or, The Harry Episode)  Your recommendations for this week are: Kimbeen’s Maurice fics Hated in the Nation (S3E6 of Black Mirror) You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) discuss the connection between music and fanfiction. They explore how music and writing are linked as means of artistic expression that can evoke emotions, tell stories, and inspire individuals. Lani shares that music plays a significant role in her life and influences her writing, with different stories having different relationships to music depending on the theme. Jo talks about how she uses music as inspiration, incorporating it into fic titles, and sometimes having a specific theme song for a fic. They also discuss creating playlists for their fics and incorporating musicality into their writing. Lastly, @turanga4 asks about the playlist that Jo made for her longfic castles and she gives a little backstory around her song choices. This week, we mention:  Fandoms: Harry Potter, Ancient Greece, Silk, Peaky Blinders Fics: castles by pebblysand, In Search of Mythical Kings by copper_dust, Hush Lane, Where the Holly Grows by copper_dust, Check the Spindle by copper_dust, Merry Men by copper_dust, Children by pebblysand, A Handful of Dust by fluorescentgrey Books: Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Incendiary by Chris Cleave, Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh Music: My Chemical Romance, Yellow by Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Don’t Look Back in Anger & Wonderwall by Oasis, the Eurovision Film: Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola Your recommendations for this week are: Maurice by E.M. Forster, Alec by William di Canzio, The Mask of Apollo by Mary Renault Orchards by @whinlatter You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and her guest, @word-wytch, talk about reader-insert fanfiction. If you don’t already know, reader-insert fanfiction is a type of fanfiction which allows readers to become characters in the story and often explore romantic scenarios with their favourite characters. They talk about the growing popularity of reader-insert fanfictions and about the different levels of character-building involved in creating “reader” characters. They discuss how the readers' desires and expectations are balanced with the writer's ideas and the challenges of satisfying readers while maintaining the writer's own vision. @word-wytch also shares her experience writing a reader-insert fic in the Stranger Things fandom and how she developed her reader character to create a compelling story. We hope you enjoy. This week, we mention:  Fandoms: House MD, Fable, Rush, Once Upon A Time, Stranger Things, Peaky Blinders Fics: Don’t Stand So Close to Me by word_wytch  S1E3. Original Characters (Or, Starting Fandom Fires!) Interactive Fics Chrome Extension Your recommendations for this week are: Youtube channels: Abbie Emmons ; ShaelinWrites ; Hello Future Me The Tale of Jenny and Screech by Ren. (TW: gun violence & DV) You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3 Word-Wytch (@word-wytch): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) talk about romance in fanfiction. They explore what defines romance as a genre and how it differs from platonic love and sexuality. They also discuss the concept of the OTPs and whether a story can be romantic without being about romantic love. Lani shares some of her favourite romantic quotes from original fiction, and they dive into which story elements we consider most important in writing romance. They also offer some advice on writing kissing scenes, using tropes, and pacing.  This week, we mention:  Fandoms: The Good Wife, Harry Potter, Ancient Greece, Alexander the Great Fics: castles by pebblysand, In Search of Mythical Kings by copper_dust, here is a map with your name for a capital by lowriseflare, Hush Lane, Where the Holly Grows by copper_dust Books: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides by Anne Carson, Looking for Alaska by John Green, Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault Previous episode(s): S1E4. “Shipping” (Or, Imagining Vietnam Vets Reading Our Fanfiction) Your recommendations for this week are: lowriseflare’s The Good Wife fics on livejournal. The author is also on AO3 (although their fics weren’t cross-posted).  Bookmarking the stories you like, please! You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) talk about research in fanfiction. They discuss the importance of it, but also their drastically different approaches to it. Lani reveals how she researches every fic that she writes, while Jo explains how she mostly integrates things she already knows from other sources into her stories. They touch on the different methods of conducting research, from being broadly interested in a historical period and place, to researching specific details of canon as you go along. They also discuss the challenges of researching for fanfiction, including finding credible sources, the need for accuracy, and striking a balance between staying true to the original work and adding their own twist to the story. Lastly, they answer a question from their lovely listener, @sugareey-makes-stuff, about how the keep track of all thei research material. This week, we mention:  Fics: castles by pebblysand, Merry Men by copper_dust, the fault in faulty manufacturing by pebblysand, Storge by copper_dust, The Seam Between by copper_dust, Check the Spindle by copper_dust Research resources: sci-hub (academic papers), archive.org (books) Books: Enfand de salaud by Sorj Chalandon (French book about 1980s Nazi trials) Other media: Nail Bomber: Manhunt by Daniel Vernon, Has Coachella Fallen Off? by Lucy Moon Your recommendations for this week are: Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue Expectation by Anna Hope You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Lani (@copper-dust) interviews author @johaerys-writes from the Song of Achilles fandom. They talk about what it means to write fanfiction based on an ancient classic, especially one which occupies such a culturally dominant role in Johaerys’ home country, Greece. They also discuss writing for a fandom that is ostensibly in the public domain, writing a very foreign culture context, and finding relevance in an artwork that’s nearly three thousand years old. We hope you enjoy!This week, we mention:  Fandoms: Dragon Age, The Song of Achilles, The Iliad S1E10. Multimedia in Fanfiction [Part 1] with @crazybutgood & @newsom (Or, Fooling the Security Cameras by Reading Fanfic at Work) S1E6. Writing in English as a Second Language with @venom0usbarbie (Or, Feeling the Académie Française Looking over my Shoulder) Fic: High-Flying Bird and you’re a walking disaster, and yet - by @johaerys-writes Achilles in Vietnam by Johnathan Shay Supernanny (TV series) Your recommendations for this week are: Gold, All That Glitters and Sunset In Your Veins by viscariafields You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify Rosalui (@rosalui): tumblr; AO3; livejournal Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) talk about writing about politics or social issues in fanfiction. They chat about the ins and outs of building a fictional political system, the challenges in making sense of canon, and the ethics of tackling more controversial topics. They also touch on art being a medium for social justice and political dissent, and discuss whether we think artists have a duty to be politically engaged. This week, we mention:  Fics: castles by pebblysand, Merry Men by copper_dust, the fault in faulty manufacturing by pebblysand Books: Animal Farm by George Orwell Other media: Hamilton, The West Wing, The Good Wife, Election  Your recommendations for this week are: Cologne by Ben Folds Child of a Dream by Valerio Manfredi  Lily Allen talking about politics Lily Allen - Backstage Pass Lily Allen on Politics, Trolls, and Her New Record Lily Allen on George Ezra and Friends You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) talk about writing dark stuff. Topics that involve wars, deaths, assaults, and all those very nice things that often give rise to trigger-warnings. They discuss why writers are drawn to tackling these issues, the cathartic experience of writing and/or reading through trauma, and the boundaries they may set for themselves when they write their stories. They also touch on trigger-warnings themselves (when and how to use them), and on the ethics of writing in the darker corners of storytelling. While they do not discuss anything that is explicit, this episode obviously contains discussions of certain sensitive subjects so if you do not wish to listen to this episode, please don’t hesitate to pass. This week, we mention:  Fics: castles by pebblysand, Merry Men by copper_dust, Lilac Falls by copper_dust, a louisville slugger to both headlights by pebblysand, Check the Spindle by copper_dust  Books: Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien, Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes  Your recommendations for this week are: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Gold by viscariafields Incendiary by Chris Cleave You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) interviews @btelling, also known as Nargles15 on Ao3, author of the brilliant Harry Potter AU fanfic, The Squib. They talk about being in the online fanfiction trenches of the late 2000s, and @btelling’s love for writing what she calls “dystopian hellscapes”. They discuss the appeal of writing about the post-war Harry Potter world, and the reasons they are both drawn to exploring dark themes. @Btelling details her experience pursuing an MFA and talks about the art of building tension and suspense in her works. Lastly, she and Jo discuss the frustrations of writing for free in a world ruled by capitalism and the merits of coming back to writing after a burn-out and long hiatus. This week, we mention:  Fandoms: Harry Potter Fics: The Squib by @btelling, Knowing Where to Look by @ala_baguette, the Armistice Series by annerb, Manacled by senlinyu, castles by @pebblysand, the roar series by @pebblysand AO3 Wrapped Stats The Consumerist Dystopia of Harry Potter by verilybitchie (video essay) Thoughts on Hermione and Courage by @pebblysand S1E6 Writing in English As A Second Language With @venom0usbarbie  The Stand by Stephen King Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney Your recommendations for this week are: The Last of Us  Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica This Way Up   You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify Blayne (@btelling): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3 Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Lani (@copper-dust) interviews author and multimedia artist @rosalui. They talk about Rosa’s work in a huge number of fandoms featuring anything from fake newspaper articles to academic pastiches. Rosa talks about the appeal of non-conventional storytelling and the draw of writing pieces because you can’t find them anywhere else. This is a short episode, but a very sweet one, which we hope you enjoy!This week, we mention:  Fandoms: Naruto, Mo Dao Zu Shi, Harry Potter, Avengers, Captain America The Daily Show with Jon Stewart  Wattleford, Bumbleby. 'Potterwatch: Underground Radio and the Voice of a Revolution.' Hogsmeade: Widdershins, 2006. by RosaLui The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty MediAvengers by nottonyharrison Steve Rogers Might Wear Tights, But He’s Not Your Pin-up Girl by RosaLui and whatalchemy tin soldiers by idrilka Bird Lovers, Backyard by Thalia Field Macarthur Park by Richard Harris Warrior Cats by Erin Hunter Check The Spindle by @copper-dust Your recommendations for this week are:No recommendations this week but Jo would like to push The Every again, which she just finished and insists is incredible.You can find us online at: The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify Rosalui (@rosalui): tumblr; AO3; livejournal Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3 Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3