The Craft of FanFic

Why do you read Biggles fan fiction?

Is it because it's fun to see the boys in peril? (Because life doesn't get interesting until Erich shows up with a firing squad...)

Is it because it's nice to see the boys get out of peril? (Ah, the relief! They've escaped yet again! Poor Erich.)

Is it just lovely to read the "brotherhood-caring" moments between our heroes? (Awwww....)

Is it to fill in the timeline gaps of the original canon? (Serious academic fan, here.)

I personally like reading the "awww" moments when I'm reading fanfics, but when I'm writing them, I tend to go for the peril (and most of the time I forget to leave a way out and then have to worry about how to get the boys out of the mess I got them into...)

So how about you? Comment on your fanfic loves below!

The Craft Of FanFic

I enjoy writing Biggles fanfics, landing Algy in trouble and getting him all worried that someone's going to kill his best friends if he doesn't do something about it (despite the fact that he's crashed his plane, been shot, just got into an accident etc etc. *evil grin*)

I know there are several people who read this blog who are also avid fanfic writers themselves (and seriously, people, how can you scream and shout at what I do to the boys when you do the same, if not worse??)

Today's fanfic discussion, however, is concerned more with the original (canon) authors rather than the writing of fanfic. What would WE Johns have thought about all this fanfic? Would he have approved of Biggles getting married to an American and kicking his friends out of the house? (We know that WE Johns was not a fan of adding the female character to the Australian Biggles radio show, so i'm guessing that he would be no fan of Jane's!)

I'd also love to know how you would feel if someone took characters out of an original story you wrote and wrote a bunch of fanfics about them. i personally don't mind the idea of people writing fanfics, as long as they aren't just using a bunch of characters to act out twisted fantasies (You would NOT believe the things some people have had Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins do. Seriously. You wouldn't.)

The Craft of Writing

Not really a fanfic question as such, but here it is:

Do sad endings have more impact than happy ones?

Perhaps fairy tales have something to do with it, but most of us are not that trusting of happy endings. Sad and tragic endings tend to have more impact on readers: on their emotions, giving them food for thought, keeping them awake at night.

Would the Titanic be as interesting a movie if Jack had survived? Why is it that people are more fascinated by Macbeth and Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet rather than, say, Twelfth Night?

Even though we of the Biggles fanfic squad like to see our heroes happy and settled, isn't it more fun to see them get lost in the jungle, almost blown up by Erich, or trying to save a kidnapped wife? (Come on now...be honest...).

The Craft Of FanFic

FanFic Question of the Week:

Do you prefer fanfics that take place prior to the original books, or take up where the original books left off?

In other words, prequels or sequels? I personally find myself leaning towards sequels. I like being in a comfort zone with people I already know and love and where I'm about 85% sure of how they would react to certain things and so on. Prequels are a little trickier because we're looking at how the person that was became the person we know from the original works, and sometimes looking at the person that was can be frightening. For example, the reason that I've never attempted a prequel Algy fic is that one question that constantly haunts me and wakes me up in the middle of the night:

What exactly did Algy do to Biggles that made Biggles dislike him so much as a kid?

Do I want to know that Algy? What if he's all wrong and nothing like the Algy I love beyond description????

The Craft Of FanFic

FanFic Question of the Week:

What type of fanfic do you hate to see?

For me, it's fics that are too *ahem* "adult", pairing characters who would never get together, using them as props to act out twisted fantasies from the author's mind. I don't think there's anything wrong with writing adult-themed works of fiction, as long as the author is using characters that I don't know and love...

I know that bad grammar and spelling are pet peeves of fanfic readers, but I'd be interested to hear more. What kind of fanfic makes you close your browser after two sentences? What kind of fanfic makes you want to fly a Spitfire over the author's house? Feel free to share in the comments section below!