Graphic by Dani Chan '14
Becky Johnston-Carter ’12 is a devoted writer of fanfiction. Fanfiction is creative literature written by the fans of various characters and stories in popular culture. Johnston-Carter has been writing fanfiction for eight years. Producing about one chapter every four days, she is currently focused on the new BBC version of Sherlock and DC Universe: Batman. She contributes work to different archives dedicated to the amassing of fanfiction and also to her own blog on LiveJournal.
Showing further commitment to the world of fandom literature, Johnston-Carter is also the Head Librarian of the Bellatrix Club on campus. Located in the basement of Wilder, the library holds 2,000 items of science fiction, anime literature and DVDs. Bellatrix provides a welcoming community for students to explore interests in anime, science fiction, role-playing and “generally nerdy stuff.”
Johnston-Carter’s fanfiction is read and reviewed by a community of other fanfiction readers and writers. “I actually have fans [who] are replying and leaving reviews begging me to write more, especially when I do a cliffhanger. I even have some friends that are actually establishing fanfictions of my fanfictions!” she said.
Many members of Bellatrix partake in fanfiction writing and all of them read it regularly. “I like to write, but the good thing about fanfiction is there are characters and backstories already established so you don’t have to spend time creating them. These special universes already exist and you’re free to just launch into it without wasting time opening up. You get straight to the story,” Johnston-Carter explained.
The relationship between the real writers of the popular fiction and writers of fanfiction has been viewed as both positive and negative. The wife of Martin Freeman (who plays John Watson in Sherlock) has confirmed that the actors and writing staff read Sherlock fanfiction often. Steven Moffatt, head writer of Sherlock and Doctor Who, may have even taken fandom into consideration, as the following season showed many similarities to fan works.
On the other hand, author Anne Rice of the Vampire Chronicles responded by methodically hunting down fanfiction writers with a legal team in tow. At first, it was a very popular series for fanfiction writers to cover and they were allowed to do so freely. However, after Rice reportedly became religious and found out her son was gay, she acted out toward anyone who implied that her characters could possibly be homosexual. “She basically started a crusade against fanfiction writers to the extent that they created a secret, heavily encrypted online archive to protect the Vampire Chronicles fanfiction and its writers,” Johnston-Carter said.
Fanfiction writing provides a fun outlet to pursue writing and creativity. Johnston-Carter said, “A lot of people look at the relationship between characters, and it’s fun to create interesting stories around those. Some of the really good writers come up with stuff better than the likes of Frank Miller, author of Sin City and recent Batman works.”
One example of this was when a fanfiction writer wrote that the character of Anderson from Sherlock was obsessed with dinosaurs. This was never in the original portrayal of Anderson, but fans liked it so much that it is now commonly known and accepted by fans as a truth of Anderson’s character.
According to Johnston-Carter, fanfiction writing can seem marginalized compared to other clubs and interest, but her involvement on campus mirrors the trends of the outside world. Despite its possible stigma, fanfiction is steadily rising in popularity and being taken more seriously by authors and readers alike. Although it may have its inception in niche genres like sci-fi, it is beginning to play a noticeable role in the world of popular literature.
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