An Expression of Love From Fans

Readers write stories set within the world an author created. They are called fanfiction. They use characters from their favorite author to write their own story. Sometimes they create their own character to roam the world. The fandom of fanfiction is complex. Some fics are great while other can be terrible, but they all share the same love for the writer's original work.

Fans always think of the 'what ifs' and start to write them out. One of my favorite 'what if' scenario is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger as a couple. I love to read them and check every few weeks for any new stories. 'What ifs' enter the realm of that isn't possible based on canon (original timeline) material. Another couple pairing from Harry Potter is Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley. Based on the Rowling's novels, there is no way those two would ever happen. But the fans thought of the possibility and went for it.

The pairings and scenarios written by fans are vast. Each fandom shares the terminology or scenario but some are unique. For example, a fan labeled as 'fluff' generally is happy content fic with little to no plot. They aren't long pieces and cover the little things in life. The best known scenario in anime fanfiction is the 'blanket scenario'. Basically, there is one blanket for two people to share during a cold night. They range from explicit to fluff material.

The best resource to read these works is Fanfiction.net. The website has been around for over 10 years and is the first centralized location for fans to share and comment on fics. The site sorts fandoms based on whether it is a book, TV show, movie, etc. Some fans write stories with more than one fandom together called 'crossovers'. For more lingo, visit this link.

Challenge: Check out the Fanfiction.net and read your favorite book or TV show fics by other fans and report back on your experience.

J.K. Rowling and Pottermore

The buzz lately has been Pottermore. Where everything you want to know about the Harry Potter books can be found. A vertiable web encyclopedia. You'll be able to choose from over 33,000 wands and find out what house the Sorting Hat would put you in. Hmmm, which house will I be in? See new illustrations and find out secrets that JKRowlings has been holding on to the last 13 years. Here's JKR explaining the concept behind Pottermore.



If you haven't registered follow the owl and click on it.

Here is a link to an article in USA with more indepth details about Pottermore. http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-06-23-jk-rowling-online-books-pottermore-harry-potter_n.htm?csp=Books

Till next time,

Elizabeth

J.K. Rowling And Failure

We’re into the second week of Savvy’s Author boot camp. Every step along the way has been challenging. I haven’t thought of quitting, but I have wondered if I’ll make my goal of a first draft by the end of the month. Whether, I finish the first draft or not, I am learning about myself, writing and about the journey, which to me is as valuable in the end. I’ve also learned never to give up the dream that burns inside you even when things look their blackest.

I thought I’d share this video of one of my favorite authors, J.K. Rowling. It’s a commencement address she gave a couple years ago at Harvard. I found her funny, candid, vulnerable and above all inspirational.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Here is a fragment of her speech about failure:
“So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned.”

Hope this has inspired you to keep going. It has for me. How do you motivate or inspire yourself to keep going?

Till next time,
Elizabeth

PS: I will be interviewing author Mary Buckham about her book "Break Into Fiction" next month in June. Do you have a question you'd like to ask about her book? Tell me and that will be one of the question I will ask her.