Lauren's 303 Multimedia Writing Blog

First draft of my paper.

In response to the first draft of my paper, I'd say everything needs work. It is a draft after all. So far, I've gotten what I'd ideally like to say about fanfiction and oc fanfiction in general. I have my intro paragraphs and my topic sentence is fairly good. I also have a small outline on what topics I'm going to need to elaborate on. It's going to need a lot more overhaul of course. A lot more.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AYy_y8QlOplcZHFyOXg0el8xNGZtcHM1MmM2&hl=en

So far in my project, I have a lot of ideas that I have gained from my research. I've discovered a lot about fanfiction that I never knew before. There are a few ideas that dominate my topic. Why people write these fanfictions if they get no credit, and why are some of the elements of original fanfictions that same?

The problem of turning this into an essay or paper is that I have no idea where to start. I'm honestly a little lost with this idea, mostly because I'm still trying to figure out what I want to prove. I guess I'd probably like to talk about fanfiction and oc fanfiction in general and the idea of Mary Sues. I'd also like to discuss the fanfiction community a bit, and how the idea of recognition plays into writing fanfiction. I have so many ideas that I'm sort of confused as to how to even begin to structure my paper.

I think that organizing all my ideas and then trying to figure out what I'd like to prove would be first. I want to gather together my resources and really try to take the elements that I need from them. Then, I need to briefly write out a small outline of what I'd like to talk about. My paper definitely needs to be thought about a bit more before I can begin to write it.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AYy_y8QlOplcZHFyOXg0el8xM2RxOXJzNHBw&hl=en

http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AYy_y8QlOplcZHFyOXg0el8wZmhxZmdzdGY&hl=en

So far, I'm feeling pretty good about my topic. Fanfiction has long been an interest of mine, and being able to research it a little more, and go more in depth, has been enjoyable. I'm feeling great about all the research I have done, and some of the things I have found have influenced my topic a great deal. They have also made me laugh, which is a nice side effect.

On the other hand, I do feel a bit lost. I know that I want to research original fanfiction. My theory about OC fanfiction worries me a bit though. I feel I have a stable enough theory, but I think that adjusting it a bit might go a long way to clearing up my doubts. Perhaps gaining some feedback would as well.

Fanfiction, especially OC fanfiction, really brings up a big question for me. Why do it? As a writer myself, I often have trouble crafting every detail in a story. So I understand the attraction of fanfiction. Why spend the time crafting a whole world to fit your character in, when you can just shove them into a setting that is pre-crafted, and already adored by many. And some do this successfully. They are, in a way, the "new" authors. But, from all that I've found, they can never be true authors. They can be recognized by their peers, but never by anyone who will give them fame, fortune, and a copyright.

OC fanfiction writers also write for another reason. To self insert themselves into stories. I'd never really heard of this before, but I think I was aware of it. I feel like its mostly females who do it, but males do it too. These people craft unbelievable amazing people to insert into a pre-crafted story. These Mary Sues/Gary Stus have so many amazing qualities, that in the end, no one who reads the story likes them much.

I've discovered a lot about fanfiction, and it makes me want to research it more. I hope that I am on the right track with all that I've discovered, and I hope that I can tightenen my theory so that it works well with my research.