You mean there's already a Dark Lord Cullen????

 

HERESY!

BLAM!

 

The only way forward would be if FFN monetized it somehow and made prominent authors a "partner" like youtube does. This would encourage people to write more fanfics to try and become partners and the partners would regularly update because they're getting money. Otherwise, it'll just keep diminishing. I mean just look at the for-review sub-forum. How long has it been since you guys were surprised to see a good novel length fanfic just pop up from somewhere?

 

I've been a part of three major fanfiction-centric fandoms in my time - Ranma, Buffy, and HP - and they all share one major trait - they all got popular while content was still coming out. Ranma got internet-popular long before the entire series was translated by fans. Buffy was popular pretty much right from the get-go, and then there was the Angel spin-off and then the comics. As for HP, well, DLP itself was made shortly before the release of HBP, and we benefited from a flood of new members and fics with HBP and DH. A lot of stories in all of them were written with only partial knowledge of the universe, and thus would never have been possible if the fandom had only kicked into gear after the series was finished.

For instance, remember back (oh god) around ten years ago (has it really been that long?) there was a bunch of damn long fics taking a shot in the dark at the meaning of the title of then-upcoming Order of the Phoenix. An ancient society that Harry Potter as teh chozen 1 must revive, an army of ghosts, dozens of other guesses that never would have been written if OotP was already out.

A still-living canon produces more grist for the fanfiction mill as well as reviving interest in old fans and ensnaring new ones. A static canon has neither of those advantages, and entropy starts to set in - every month sees people leaving the fandom for greener pastures, and the rate of new people entering it is only going to keep slowing. I'm not joining the ranks of the DLP Doomsayers - DLP's always been 'come for the fanfiction, stay for the community' for me anyway - but the influx in new members from the HP side of things is going to keep shrinking. Which is why I'm glad our Dresden, Misc, and Original WbA sections are seeing so much love, as well as the Other Fandoms section of our library.

 

@Tehan:

While your point is valid, one thing still gives me hope. There are a significant number of people who grew up with Harry Potter as kids, while it was being released, who are just now becoming capable writers.

For example: if you were 6-8 when the first book came out, you'd now be between 18-20 or so. That's about the time when people come into their own in terms of writing - while there are no doubt some prodigies who can craft masterful narratives at the age of 14, those are few and far in between.

This applies to pretty much everybody who grew up waiting for one or more Harry Potter books to be released.

Those of us born later in the 21st century likely started reading the series when it was already complete. As it has been so aptly pointed out, waiting for the books is what drove many to become part of the fandom, even if it was many years later (as it was for me).

 

I actually didn't start reading fanfiction until a few years after Deathly Hallows came out. Then again, I was only 15 when DH was released and I was "to cool for fanfiction" and I thought it was all Draco/Harry slash and therefore crap.

I like Harry Potter more now because of fanfiction. I wandered into fanfiction because I missed Harry Potter and wanted more. Right now, people are waiting for the film, but after that... There isn't really anything left, people might turn to fanfiction to get their next fix.

Pottermore might also bring more people to the ff.net because it brings people into an online community that is "cool". Also, if it has a forum, people will be introduced to fanfiction one way or another. I suggest we get people reading the good stuff, so they will never be able to read slash.

Either way, I think the community will thrive for years to come, especially if DLP continues to grow and becomes more known (such as the C2).

 

There's some merit to the argument that people will turn to fanfiction to get their next HP fix after the movie comes out... Pottermore will only provide so much content.

 

Good points all around, but fandoms do dwindle when no new content comes out, that is true. But people still do write for it. Ranma is far from dead from what I've seen, and people are still writing a few for Sailor Moon. Yet comparing them to HP is kind of silly. They were mice compared to an elephant.

Not as many people will leave HP, not by percentages, because with a big community the authors can better feed off each other and readers and keep their interest longer.

So not saying you're a doomsayer, just saying that HP will last a helluva lot longer with lots of stories coming out than say Ranma or Evangelion.

 

NGE is a cultural icon, it has a life-size(?) statue of one of the robots at Fuji-Q, there are still billboards using it to advertise, and you can still buy NGE products at just about every goddamn gas station and mini mart in Japan. That's not even touching the huge surge of interest now that the Rebuild movies started coming out. Suffice it to say, NGE won't die for a LONG time, even if most of the fanfiction isn't in English.

 

I'd say popular examples of fanfiction began with the Divine Comedy. Dante basically put himself into the bible with his favourite character Vergil and his self-insert being best buds. Its a classic sue story.

Edit: wow. I forgot to read the damn thread and got ninja'd by Tehan. Who I totally agree with, DLP Doomsayers all the way.

 

Very true. While still impossibly hard to find in the cesspool of shit that is FF.net, an abundance of excellent stories have been popping up from college age authors that know their way around the Potterverse.

So long as there are fangirls, there shalt be an overpowering influx of slash. Trying to fight the machine is futile. :fire

 

DLP was made to fight the fangirls

 

And yet they keep coming

Slash fangirls are an uncurable epidemic that only DLP can battle.

 

I thought we were solely talking about English fanfiction and not Japanese. (Though, I don't disagree with you on your points about Japan's love of Eva.) And, yes, the rebuild series has got more people interested, but there were a lot of years between when the dubbed VHS hit the states and when the first rebuild first got aired in Japan. A number of years I watched the fandom come and go.

 

There have been more references and fanfiction isn't nearly as taboo as Juggler described. There was actually a section for fanfiction at the Melbourne Fringe Festival earlier this year. I know because my cousin wrote a piece for it.

There has also been a lot of references to fanfiction in Supernatural as well, I'm pretty sure Sera Gamble reads it judging by the number of times I spotted fanfiction tropes in season 6.

EDIT: Tracked down the Fringe Festival section I was talking about. Sauce

 

LOL, I don't want to think about what this lecture consisted of.

 

i disagree about Fanfiction's taboo nature. If in the workplace or school someone finds out your a fanfiction writer/reader, your screwed. I admit that it really depends on the person though. But for the "regular" folks its an unacceptable pastime that people will make fun of you for

 

I disagree. Most people at work or school don't give a shit about what you do on your free time. There may be some who'll make some hilarious remarks about it but even that will stop eventually.

I will still continue to make sure that no one finds out about me reading fanfiction.

 

The fact that this was at something called "the Fringe Festival" makes your argument that it "isn't nearly as taboo" quite laughable.

As I posted in the Decent Crossovers thread, the "fanfiction" part of this is probably not the reason people will make fun of you if they see what you've been writing righting.

 

thanks portus, your comments make me feel all warm and snugly inside, and yes, Snugly is a word.