Getting Sorted, In a Way...
A strange thing happened to me last summer. I became an admirer of Harry Potter fan fiction.
I think a lot of fans begin the way I did. I had read all the HP books over the years as they were published, but had only seen a few of the movies. I don't care to go to movies that much, mainly because I can't stand the sound of crunching and coughing. The first Deathly Hallows came and went and I barely noticed. For some reason, though, I really wanted to make an event of the final movie, so I re-read all of the books, saw all the movies (including DH Part One), and dragged my husband along to see Part Two in 3D at our nearby IMAX.
I was thrilled and engrossed from beginning to end. The opening sequence with the ghostly vocalist as Snape looked with blank desolation upon what had been wrought at Hogwarts, the thrilling escape from Gringotts, Neville and McGonagall stepping up into the spotlight, Remus and Tonks together in life and death, Harry's lonely walk into the Forest, the sweet nostalgia and pang of loss provided by the Epilogue...well, it was stunning. I was devastated by Snape's death, as I had expected, and wished that his tale had been longer. The music and editing during that segment, though, as well as Rickman's acting, showed what movies can do for books, very rarely--make magic.
When I walked out of that theater into the hot July sun, I felt unsatisfied. I wanted this magical world to go on and on. I wanted the dead characters reanimated and given potential for second chances and new lives. I also wasn't satisfied with many outcomes of canon characters (Granger and Weasley? As if!) and wanted to see them with new careers, new partners, or new dreams.
Long before the Internet, I was a huge Star Trek fan. There were a couple of anthologies published of the best fan fiction, and I read them over and over again. It added depth to my love of the Star Trek characters, and the possibilities for new adventures and interesting characters seemed limitless. I had read articles about the burgeoning popularity of fan fiction on the Web, so I decided to look around and see what was available for Harry Potter. I am still figuring it all out, but I have developed a fondness for certain pairings (SS with almost anyone--he's the character with the most possibilities, in my opinion), writers (Falling Further In by KazVL still tops my "best" list, almost a year after reading it, and despite its never being completed), and genres. I am not wedded to canon--writing quality and a good story are much more important to me. Other stories that I have read and re-read have been the Cambiare Podentes stories by Jordan Grant, anything by Loten, especially Post Tenebras, Lux, Killing Time by Lariope, anything by Tira Nog (especially Until Proven) and so many, many more.
I have accumulated thousands of stories to be read, and have read hundreds and assigned them ratings so I know whether I wish to read them again. I have already re-read many, and and have planned on using this LJ to summarize why I like the stories that I admire.
Last month, I had a some personal setbacks, and a friend of mine suggested that I write to keep my mind off of what was going on in real life. I told her that as a blogger for a small sports site, it would be somewhat of a busman's holiday for me, and besides, I didn't have much I wanted to say that wasn't related to the sport I followed. That still holds true, but I think if I use this LJ as a personal place to write and explore my new fandom, she might let it count as some form of writing. Perhaps I will actually have the nerve to write a fan fiction someday. In the meantime, I shall happy continue to read the talented writers I have found in this fandom, and keep the magic alive.
I think a lot of fans begin the way I did. I had read all the HP books over the years as they were published, but had only seen a few of the movies. I don't care to go to movies that much, mainly because I can't stand the sound of crunching and coughing. The first Deathly Hallows came and went and I barely noticed. For some reason, though, I really wanted to make an event of the final movie, so I re-read all of the books, saw all the movies (including DH Part One), and dragged my husband along to see Part Two in 3D at our nearby IMAX.
I was thrilled and engrossed from beginning to end. The opening sequence with the ghostly vocalist as Snape looked with blank desolation upon what had been wrought at Hogwarts, the thrilling escape from Gringotts, Neville and McGonagall stepping up into the spotlight, Remus and Tonks together in life and death, Harry's lonely walk into the Forest, the sweet nostalgia and pang of loss provided by the Epilogue...well, it was stunning. I was devastated by Snape's death, as I had expected, and wished that his tale had been longer. The music and editing during that segment, though, as well as Rickman's acting, showed what movies can do for books, very rarely--make magic.
When I walked out of that theater into the hot July sun, I felt unsatisfied. I wanted this magical world to go on and on. I wanted the dead characters reanimated and given potential for second chances and new lives. I also wasn't satisfied with many outcomes of canon characters (Granger and Weasley? As if!) and wanted to see them with new careers, new partners, or new dreams.
Long before the Internet, I was a huge Star Trek fan. There were a couple of anthologies published of the best fan fiction, and I read them over and over again. It added depth to my love of the Star Trek characters, and the possibilities for new adventures and interesting characters seemed limitless. I had read articles about the burgeoning popularity of fan fiction on the Web, so I decided to look around and see what was available for Harry Potter. I am still figuring it all out, but I have developed a fondness for certain pairings (SS with almost anyone--he's the character with the most possibilities, in my opinion), writers (Falling Further In by KazVL still tops my "best" list, almost a year after reading it, and despite its never being completed), and genres. I am not wedded to canon--writing quality and a good story are much more important to me. Other stories that I have read and re-read have been the Cambiare Podentes stories by Jordan Grant, anything by Loten, especially Post Tenebras, Lux, Killing Time by Lariope, anything by Tira Nog (especially Until Proven) and so many, many more.
I have accumulated thousands of stories to be read, and have read hundreds and assigned them ratings so I know whether I wish to read them again. I have already re-read many, and and have planned on using this LJ to summarize why I like the stories that I admire.
Last month, I had a some personal setbacks, and a friend of mine suggested that I write to keep my mind off of what was going on in real life. I told her that as a blogger for a small sports site, it would be somewhat of a busman's holiday for me, and besides, I didn't have much I wanted to say that wasn't related to the sport I followed. That still holds true, but I think if I use this LJ as a personal place to write and explore my new fandom, she might let it count as some form of writing. Perhaps I will actually have the nerve to write a fan fiction someday. In the meantime, I shall happy continue to read the talented writers I have found in this fandom, and keep the magic alive.