Fan Fiction

I found quite a few stories I enjoyed from various authors writing fan fiction for the television show, Judging Amy. Three are listed below:

1. K. Steinart
2. JTBJAB
3. ShastenRothe

And here is a link to a short piece I wrote in the same area.

• My story

It was very interesting to spend some time looking over fanfiction.com, especially in conjunction with Rebecca Black’s article. The authors’ profiles I reviewed did not provide any links to their personal homepages or websites as compared to the participants Black analyzed within the Cardcaptor.com community. I observed other interesting occurrences while browsing within this community. For instance, there is lingo specific to this community. Authors use the term BRAMY to indicate they are fans of Bruce and Amy, two of the more defined characters on Judging Amy. Also, there is a lot of interaction between the core community authors.

Black also reported in her article that there is a strong emphasis on peer review, constructive criticism, and collaboration. People within this community help one another with their writing, offer constructive criticism, and provide a great opportunity to gain valuable insights from others familiar with this specific genre. Of the three authors I reviewed, two were high school age and the other did not disclose that information. It is interesting to see the diversity of all the authors that contribute to Judging Amy fanfiction -- and to see what information they provide about themselves. One of my favorite quotes from a users' profile, "Bios are irrelevant." Regardless of what personal information users provide in their profiles, this is a great opportunity to find other authors with similar interests and get their unbiased opinions.

Black also reports that flaming is discouraged. As I posted comments to fanfiction.com, the disclaimer stated, “It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer.” This statement really sets the tone of responses expected within this community. As I was sharing my thoughts with other authors, I wanted to provide encouragement as well as offer suggestions for improvement.

Why is fan fiction so popular? I think one of the main reasons fan fiction is so popular is because authors don’t have to create or develop characters – that is already done. I also think authors like to share their work in an area that is supportive; I had a completely different experience here than I did with USENET. Authors enjoy sharing their work with those that have similar interests and can quickly and easily provide accurate feedback. It was apparent as I was reading these pieces that the authors knew the characters well. In most of the pieces, I could hear Tyne Daly’s inflection in my head as I read her dialog as Maxine.

How can these factors be harnessed to improve formal instructional uses of technology? I couldn’t help but think about my own mother as a retired Junior High School English teacher. She would certainly be excited about the students being excited about writing. It wouldn’t matter to her how this excitement came about, she would just be happy they were writing. I think it would be easy to see what kids were posting and what feedback they were receiving. If it is adequate, then why not use this forum to encourage kids to write?