The year was 1998, I was 19 years old, and obsessed with Dawson's Creek. My first laptop--a little Toshiba for school--was as heavy as a brick. Instead of schlepping it to class or lugging it around the city, it stayed in my tiny apartment, on my bed. On a 56k modem connection, I surfed the (then-novel) internet with fascination, until one day, I found "Popcorn".
"Popcorn", by Kate Andrews, was the gold standard of Dawson's Creek fanfic. It had solid writing, smart dialog, and a simple, but engaging, plot. It successfully juggled love triangles, UST, and smut. It was well-portioned, each chapter giving enough to both satisfy and entice. Most importantly, it gave the hearts of the characters deserving redemption where the real show jumped the shark.
In the ten years that followed, I chased that first high through the only shows that held my interest. The West Wing gave me masterpieces by Candle Beck and Luna. Prison Break gave delicious naughties by Nika and Claire de Lune.
In February, a friend recommended The Twilight Series the night before I headed out on a month-long vacation. On her recommendation, I picked up Twilight at SFO. I was already so into it by the time I landed in Detroit, that I picked up New Moon at DTW. By the time my plane landed in Amsterdam some hours later, I was halfway through Twilight and knew I would blaze through New Moon. I paid a pretty Euro at AMS to own Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. I went on to finish all four in two weeks' time.
I know I'm not the only one who hated Stephenie Meyer's endings. IMO, the books jumped the shark somewhere during New Moon. After the lame honeymoon on Isle Esme and the vampire battle that didn't happen in Breaking Dawn, I ran--not walked--to find the fanfic.
So now I'm back to feeding my habit, my addiction strengthened by the quality of the drug. I invite you who are as far gone as I am to share your funnies, your recs, and tales of shameless addiction!
Green Puma (The Original Fic Fiend)
1 comment:
I'll share!
Here's the story of how I became an obsessive fanfic writer:
A few months ago my husband rented Twilight on DVD. We watched, and laughed. A lot. And not in the way Catherine Hardwick wanted us to laugh.
The next day I decided to see if the book could possibly be as bad. I found myself utterly sucked in. As I read, I actively thought, "This isn't giving me what I want. Why am I still reading?"
But read on I did.
Once I finished BD, and wanted to vomit, then punch SM, then vomit some more, I Googled "Breaking Dawn honeymoon scene".
(cue "angels ascending" music)
That, my friend, is how I discovered fan fiction.
Me = kid.
Location = Candy Store.
Every possible conception of the honeymoon scene was there, and then some, and (since I found Twilighted first) almost all better quality than SM's original.
Bella and Edward got laid every way to Sunday, then back again. They had a hilarious honeymoon; a sex-filled honeymoon; an angsty honeymoon; a "change" honeymoon; a family bonding honeymoon...the list goes on.
I was done for. Utterly done for.
I read TwiFic in secret. My husband asked where his wife had gone. My daughter cried for her mother.
I simply said, "Shhhh!!! I'm reading."
After two months and countless stories later, I picked up my laptop and wrote my first experimental line. Having not written a single word of fiction since...grade school?...I have no idea what came over me, except that I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to contribute - somehow - to this community that had provided so much wonderful escape for me.
I barely read TwiFic anymore. Not because I don't love it, but because a new addiction had taken hold.
I am now...a TwiFic writer.
My husband asks where his wife has gone. My daughter cries for her mother. I simply say, "Shhh!!! I'm writing!"
*sigh*
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