prokopetz:

rashaka:

prokopetz:

alarajrogers:

prokopetz:

theladyscribe:

prokopetz:

I get the impression that a lot of fanfic writers tend to get tangled up in the idea that a fanfic needs to have a single, unified narrative from beginning to end. Thing is, that’s not actually true – there are lots of literary forms that can be adapted to fanfic that have no plot to speak of.

Take the picaresque, for example: in its simplest form, it’s a frame story about a journey from point A to point B, in which each chapter forms a self-contained micro-story about a single encounter that happens along the way. Apart from the protagonist and perhaps one or two companions, each chapter features an entirely new setting and cast of characters, and while there may be a thematic arc to the work taken as a whole, there’s no narrative continuity between episodes, which can be read in essentially any order.

(Also, many works in the genre maintain a running gag whereby every single chapter ends with the protagonist fleeing for her life for some reason, thereby moving her on to the next episode, though that’s by no means required.)

I mean, that’s just one example, but the point is: if you want to write a massive 100 000 word fic, but maintaining continuity gives you hives, there are forms that don’t require continuity. Not everything needs to be an elaborately plotted continuing narrative – a long-form work can totally be just a bunch of stuff that happens. Many well-respected works of literature are exactly that.

a frame story about a journey from point A to point B, in which each chapter forms a self-contained micro-story about a single encounter that happens along the way

Isn’t this essentially what we do with Five Times (Plus One) fics? They’re not always about a journey, but they fit the same narrative structure: each segment is (or should be) self-contained, a story within the story, that is thematically connected to the other parts of the complete work.

And while Five Times fics are usually shorter in length (I’d guess that most fall within the 1k-5k wordcount range), I have definitely seen some that surpass 50k.

Mm – not so much.

It’s true that both are episodic after a fashion, but the distinguishing feature of the five-plus-one fic is that they often don’t stand alone; many consist of fragmentary vignettes that can only be fully understood with reference to the specific work on which the story is based.

The picaresque story, conversely, ls self-contained not only on the whole, but on the level of individual chapters. Each episode presents everything you need to know about the characters involved, at least as far as that particular episode is concerned, and any needed backstory is directly incorporated by reference, reminiscence or anecdote. (Or, in plain English, if you need to know it, somebody will mention it.) It’s an intensely economical form, narrative-wise.

By that definition no fanfic can be a picaresque, because all fanfics draw from the larger work that they are a fanfic of. If I write a story about Kirk and Spock exploring different alien planets, that’s still dependent on the audience’s knowledge of Kirk and Spock… and if I don’t draw on what the audience knows, I’m failing at the great strength of fanfic, the thing that is most valuable about the form, which is that it does draw on information the reader already knows, so you don’t need to actually write down everything that the fanfic reader needs to know to fully understand the work.

All prose fiction draws on information the reader already knows. In this respect, fanfiction isn’t exceptional; like all fiction aimed at a particular target audience, it simply makes certain assumptions about what the reader already knows. A Star Trek fanfic that’s written in such a way that it’s literally impossible to figure out how the plot hangs together if you’re not already versed in Star Trek lore is no different from – for example – a cyberpunk story whose plot only makes sense if you know how public key cryptography works; it’s merely the particular domain of knowledge you’re assuming on the part of your readers that differs.

I’m confused then: how can any fanfic meet the standards of your picaresque suggestion? in terms of drawing on assumptions of previous information? maybe can you restate how the picaresque would work in terms of fanfic?

Fanfic doesn’t actually need to be structured so that you need to be familiar with the source material in order to understand it. I’d argue that most well written fanfic isn’t set up that way at all; given a decent Star Trek fanfic, somebody who’d never heard of Star Trek before could probably figure out the premise and tenor of the show in fairly short order. Indeed, I’ve read plenty of ‘fics with no prior familiarity with the source material and gotten by just fine. Granted, it’s true that some ‘fic doesn’t work that way, but the notion that being incomprehensible to anyone who isn’t already immersed in the lore of the source material is a defining virtue of the medium is both extremely peculiar, and not an especially accurate assessment of most actual fanfic.

Basically, I think
a lot of

fanfic authors tend to hugely overestimate the importance of being familiar with the source material with respect to properly appreciating their work. In most cases, it just ain’t that critical.