Fanfic Ideas and the Creative Process... (was Quidditch!Ron)

[Ebony Elizabeth Thomas]

Simon wrote:

>Has fanfic run out of possible ideas? Or are there still different
>possibilities that have yet to be explored?
>

What a question, Simon!  *Definitely* the latter.

I've had ideas for fanfics I'd like to see written ever since I learned 
there was such a thing as HP fanfiction... in all the broad fandom 
categories:  MWPP, AU, post-Hogwarts, you name it.  Just check the PoU list 
archives from Summer 2000 for my musings:  "I wish I could read a fanfic 
about..."  In fact, if anyone wants to write a fanfic and just doesn't have 
any ideas, *e-mail me*.  Among the plot bunnies I have floating about are a 
couple for Sirius and Snape (an espionage-type gen deal--I stink at writing 
mystery), an action-adventure kidfic for Harry and Friends in an AU Year 1, 
and one centered wholly around Hagrid and Maxime written in an almost 
picture-book format (meaning I'd want companion illustrations).  I have a 
zillion Harry Potter ideas I'd love to get off my hands.  None of them are 
even remotely anything like the fic I'm currently writing.

Why haven't I written them?  They simply are not my stories to tell.  Every 
writer has their own forte, and over the past decade I've noticed a definite 
pattern in my work.  I'd love to *read* the above fics, but I cannot *write* 
them.

Anyone who has been cursed with the label "writer" never suffers from idea 
famine.  As a teacher, I find lessons in all of life... as a writer, I see 
stories absolutely everywhere.

The problem for anyone who writes (and not just fanfic--people who write, 
period) is never a lack of ideas but a lack of time and/or inclination.  
Most professional writers I've worked with say that they have no lack of 
ideas, but certain ones are more pressing than others.  For me that means I 
write snippets of things here and there, just to keep my quill sharp, while 
actively writing the story that *demands* to be written.  Plot, characters, 
settings, and everything else just come gushing out... which is why I think 
that while one can teach the craft of writing, the spark that ignites it has 
to be intrinsic.

To me, the fanfiction that interests me most explores possibilities that JKR 
most likely will not.  That is why I *abhor* snobbery in the HP fanon world 
in all its forms--even the 11 year old writer who misspells every other word 
in her 1 K fic has a place among us.  I don't like everything on ff.net, 
disagree with certain interpretations of canon, and there are certain types 
of fics I find extremely boring... but I have recommended fics I feel are 
nothing to write home about to readers who I know like their cup of tea 
served that way.

The most thrilling thought is that this is just the beginning (unless WB, 
Bloomsbury, or Scholastic shuts us down--right now we have JKR's blessing).  
After Book 5, there'll be an entirely different set of possibilities to 
contemplate.  Same with Book 6--and even when the series is done, there'll 
be fanfics written about what could have happened, or even what *should* 
have happened.

BTW, I am THRILLED to be teaching high school Creative Writing next year. I 
just came from a meeting downtown... my new school was just selected for a 
Pen/Faulkner Writers-in-Residence grant sponsored by Ford Motor Company.  
That means that *six* times next year, a number of *really* famous pro 
novelists will be teaching half-day classes in fiction to my creative 
writing students.  People like Maxine Hong Kingston, Frank McCourt, Amy 
Tan... and the writer confers with the creative writing teacher before and 
afterwards... *faints from happiness*  Just had to share.  I'm so excited 
about this.  It's been a success in D.C. and elsewhere... thank goodness to 
Ford for bringing it to Detroit.

Which begs another question.  How many OT-Chatter members are aspiring 
creative writers?  Narrow is the road that leads to publication, and few are 
they that find it... how has *your* journey been?  Please share your tales 
of triumph and tribulation... both are part of the writer's lot.

I'll save my story for another post, as this is already getting quite long.

--Ebony AKA AngieJ
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