Post by mari on Aug 8, 2009 14:42:44 GMT -5
I've been intrigued by AUs all over again recently because of seeing some in NCIS that have clever twists of canon to lead to a story -- the one I just recommended has Tony not going into law enforcement, but using his P.E. degree -- and being a big fan of Thom E. Gemcity, so much so that he writes fanfic in Gemcity's style ...
Interesting question, hope I’m not too late…
In a way -AUs should be counterproductive for a fandom because the reason why people get into a show, why they start fanfic after alll is a certain constellation of situations, characters, ships – so changing that should lessen for that attraction.
But AUs assume there is a 'canon' or set universe, so the concept of AU is unique to fanfic, right? I mean, there are plenty of spin-off movies, TV shows & all, but no real AUs
Maybe fanfic readers and writers watch a show or read a book in a different way, not just a straight, linear sequence of events with a clear ending and beginning (if anybody ever does that, my little brain doesn’t) but each scene as the potential beginning for many options.
It seems that even though a series / books sets a canon, its fans just see it as the main option of many. (And maybe someone not used to fanfic would find it confusing that many stories coexist simultaneously in a fandom, all replaying certain events or inventing new ones)
Also interesting to see the different kind of AUs. There seems to be the shipper one, bringing two characters together for some degree of happily ever after (whether or not their attraction can be founded in canon) or the ones rewriting developments that are wrong in (some of) the fandom’s opinion. (All the S2 redos in DA)
So are there more AUs when the fans aren’t happy about how the show develops?
I tend to read AU’s that keep up the feeling of a show and the characters… and that’s what makes them fascinating to me, the what-if about it
I think for an AUs to catch people’s attention it must be written better, taking more skill of the writer. Moving within the set frame of a fandom is easier and more likely appeals to people in the fandom. For two extreme examples on the plot level only: It takes less planning to simple write a short scene following up a moment in the show than to create an AU. It seems that people are more likely willing to read the scene that builds on pictures and moods already in their head from watching the scene than something completely new.
I guess it’s a lot like with original characters. If a writer can make them feel real and believable and fitting for a show they fascinate me.
I've been intrigued by AUs all over again recently because of seeing some in NCIS that have clever twists of canon to lead to a story -- the one I just recommended has Tony not going into law enforcement, but using his P.E. degree -- and being a big fan of Thom E. Gemcity, so much so that he writes fanfic in Gemcity's style ...
Fanfic in fanfic? ;D (Could lead to fanfic in fanfic in fanfic…. ;D )
Yeah! One of my favorite things in sci fi is watching an author create a universe or future society -- it can be as out there as anything, but how consistent and true they stay with the world they create can make or break the story. The really good ones are so much fun to read, to see what the author does with it.
Fascinating in itself but even more so when done some decades back and you can compare with the present and see how much the author’s idea of the future was influenced by his time...