It’s Monday Confession Time, so here it is: I am a fan fiction junkie. I know, I know, you don’t have to say it. But here’s the thing. I like the original works, but fanfic is fun because it takes you places the author never did. Minor characters get their own storylines, or you can re-write canon (original work) history. Now, I don’t write it myself, mind you. I just like to read what pops into the heads of other writers.
While there’s good stuff to be found in all sorts of fandom, I have a strong preference for Harry Potter fanfic. I particularly like ones with the tag EWE (Epilogue? What epilogue?). Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for fairy tale endings. And I recognize that after seven books of fighting evil, the characters all deserve some happiness. But I believe that epilogue is one of the cheesiest bits of writing I’ve ever read. I mean, poor Harry—by the end of the series, he’s seen every single adult who ever cared about him, save Ron’s parents, die a rather horrible death. Wouldn’t that mess a guy up quite a bit? He just seems too…I don’t know, well-adjusted. Of course, that hidden angst might be why his wife lets him name all their kids. Shouldn’t she have been allowed to name at least ONE of them? I’m imagining the convo going something like this:
After baby #1
Healer: Congratulations! It’s a boy!
Harry: I want to name him after my dead father and dead godfather.
Ginny: That’s beautiful. Sure.
After Baby #2
Healer: Congratulations! It’s another boy!
Harry: I want to name this one after two dead Hogwarts headmasters.
Ginny (warily): Which two?
Harry: Let’s call him Albus Severus.
Ginny: Albus I get, but do you really want to name him after Snape? We hated him!
Harry: He was really brave.
Ginny: But…seriously…Snape??
Harry: Angst, remember?
Ginny (grumbling): Fine.
After baby #3
Healer: Congratulations! It’s a girl this time!
Harry: I want to name her after my dead mother and…
Ginny: No freakin’ way. I get to name this one.
Harry: Fine. You pick the middle name.
Ginny: No! I want to name her after my dear friend Luna.
Harry: Why?
Ginny (muttering): It’s better than Albus Severus.
Harry: What’s that, dear?
Ginny: Nothing. Never mind. So can we call her Luna?
Harry: Angst!
Ginny: Fine. We’ll name her after your stupid dead mother.
Harry: We can keep Luna as her middle name. It has a nice ring to it. Kind of like her namesake.
Ginny: Wow, that’s so generous of you.
Okay, so I’ve strayed pretty far from my original point, which is that in fanfic, the writer can eliminate the epilogue, or pair off different characters, or end up with Harry and Malfoy as friends (Redeemed!Draco fics are my favorite). Or one can even have crossover from one world to another. I read a very well-done crossover between Harry Potter and Twilight. It was canon-compliant for both universes and fit both timelines. In it, Edward ends up in London (can’t remember how the writer explained it, but it made sense). He runs afoul of Harry and Ginny, who recognize him for what he is and wonder why he isn’t in the vampires-only section. It’s marvelously written and good fun, and the characters remain true to themselves. (Of course, along with that, you have to take the really weird. I saw one fic that had Gay!Harry paired with—wait for it—Jacob Black. Yeah. I didn’t read that one. The plot synopsis alone was squicky enough to make me want to Lysol my eyeballs.)
Anyway, if you like to write, try your hand at fanfic. Trust me, someone will read it. Heck, it will probably be me.
True… fanfiction is the original world with a whole new take.
Yup! We’re keeping the characters “alive” in a sense. And there are some really talented writers out there. Some of them write so well that I’d like to see what worlds they could create on their own.