Fanfic article in this weekend's Wall Street Journal

[bironic]

So, the article isn't bad, though it hovers at the "introduction to this wacky but potentially career-kickstarting phenomenon called fanfiction" level. Jurgensen thankfully seems to have abandoned his original intention to avoid interviewing fanfic authors who write slash and other "controversial" stories, and aside from a couple of digs at the low quality of the majority of stories online, he was respectful. The highlights are a prominent profile of ladyjaida/shoebox_project and a quote from the lovely mer_duff (along with several others, including the obligatory mention of Cassie Claire).

Have to say, the newspaper purchase was entirely worthwhile if only for the accompanying illustration taking up half the cover of the Pursuits section, which includes House having a cane/sword fight with Harry Potter (in uniform and boxers with snakes on, wtf) on a beach.



I thought you couldn't read the article online without being a subscriber, so I scanned the cover art and full text for your enjoyment and put them up on YouSendIt. Turns out there's a back-end link, but who knows how long that will remain viable, and the scans include a bigger image and a bonus table profiling half a dozen writers. I've saved everything to my computer, so if the links expire just drop me a comment and I'll re-upload.

Cover art
Article page one
Article page two

There's also an 11-minute audio interview with Jurgensen that you can download for free off the home page or by clicking here (will open an mp3 file).

Comments

[nicocoer.livejournal.com]

Hee hee- my two favorite fandoms on one picture. heee!

~N~

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Mine too! Too cute.

[bell]

That's... way more positive an article I was expecting! First time I see a fanfic article in mainstream media that takes a "look at how this can launch a career!" instead of a "OMG LOOK HOW WEIRD HP PORN!"

Of course, few of us are gonna get publishing deals from our fanfic. >D

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Being the Wall Street Journal, of course, J.J. was looking for the angle of "fic writers who've gathered a sizeable following from their online fannish writing and have moved to professional publishing" in addition to his original hook about how media outlets are letting up on the cease-and-desist letters now that they've figured out that encouraging fan creativity rather than squashing it can actually help their franchise.

And yes, it was nice to see someone take such a non-judgmental stance, wasn't it? He really did seem eager to learn the lay of the land when I spoke with him rather than jumping to snap judgments or being disparaging about what's essentially a derivative hobby for amateurs. If you listen to that podcast, the guy who interviews him is much more typical of the sort of writing I've come to expect from newspapers covering fanfic/fandom.

[bell]

So how did you come to be one of the references/sources of knowledge?

[bironic.livejournal.com]

My RL name and contact info are on some websites associated with fandom and fanfic studies, since I've presented papers and worked on editorial committees for conventions, so sometimes I get contacted by reporters and such for information. This was the first time I got to work House into the conversation. :)

[secondsilk.livejournal.com]

That's a good article.

And I can use it as a reference in Wikipedia - although I assume that's where he got some info from.

Other than the fact that fanfic came before YouTube... Unless it really has been the other way around for most people. I certainly only discovered vidding long after I'd become entrenched in ficcing.

I don't have my Shoebox icon, yet.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Vidding and fanficcing may have arisen at about the same time (Henry Jenkins covered that in Textual Poachers, I think) but certainly YouTube is far more recent.

And what are you waiting for? -- everyone needs a Shoebox icon. :)

[secondsilk.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, wait I do. This one. I spent most of last week collecting new icons.

What I want is a text icon of, "the lesser of two evils is making a fool of yourself, and the comfort is knowing you'd the bollocks to do it." Which is from Fabian in the chapter where Remus finally kisses Sirius (25?).

I suppose with the way everything on the internet is nowadays, people might find fic through YouTube. Follow news clips to spoofs to fanvids to personal journals and fic.

[mer-duff.livejournal.com]

Thanks for scanning that - and thank you for all you did in educating John Jurgensen on fanfiction. I think he was able to be so respectful, because you helped him understand what it means to those of us who read and write it.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

You're welcome for the scans! While it would be nice to think I was able to help shape his understanding and tolerance, I was only one of many people J. J. spoke with while preparing the article, so kudos to the other mysterious sources, and to the author for being so open-minded and willing to adjust his opinions and goals as the project progressed.

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

That's a very nice article, definitely a big improvement over the usual "lookit the crazies" fare. The only things that raised an eyebrow was how his wording suggested that fanfic and vidding were in any way recent developements, and that, of 'shipper fiction, only slash was inclined to be explicit.

Heh. For once my default icon is appropriate!

[silsbee329.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting us know about this. I've purchased a copy and I've been using it to help educate friends who wonder what's happened to me over the past few months! It also got me to thinking about fan videos: I made my first one (Dead Poets, Outsiders, etc.) about 16 years ago using two VCRs and cables connected to my stereo. I had no idea other people did that until recently (with computers, these days)! :)