My dear friend Ben (Vice President of S.Q.U.E.E and mastermind of Operation W.I.B.B.L.E) is currently embroiled in a rather interesting discussion (read argument) on a message board regarding fanfic.
In order to enable him to argue more effectively he sent me a quick questionnaire and asked me to fill it in. I asked if he would like some more responses from other fanfic writers and he was suitably delighted by the suggestion:
Therefore, if you could spare a few minutes to answer these questions I and Ben would be grateful. You can either send them to me by email or you can email them direct to Ben. He will treat all responses as confidential.
Please also post your responses on your LJ, or here as a reply, if at all possible as I'd love to see what everyone's thoughts are on this:
Quick Slash Writer's Quiz
*1*. Why do you write slash? What do you get out of it?
*2*. Do you consider/Have you considered the theoretical aspect of slash writing - eg, slash as a political statement or a way of correcting implicitly homophobic or obviously censored texts? Has that ever affected the way you've thought about slash?
*3*. Why slash, as opposed to ordinary fanfic?
*4* Are you opposed to slash that is not One True Pairing oriented, or do you not care as long as it's well-written/hot?
*5* Why one fandom over another?
*1*. Why do you write slash? What do you get out of it?
In short: It turns me on. Het sex doesn't do much for me unless in very particular circumstances. Good written porn is hard to come by and extremely beneficial. There should be more of it. If I find two characters that I find attractive together and I can slash them..I will!
To lesser extent I write slash because I see sub-text in TV shows or films or books or comics and I want to write the sub-text story. Or because there are things that happen as canon in a series or film which I want to put my own interpretation/spin on it...particularly if I don't like what the actual writers are doing.
Occasionally I will just fall in love with a character and want to write about them. This is probably most noticeable with Methos as I find the actual character so fascinating. This is why I am tending these days to leaning toward slashing Methos with just about anyone.
Or to quote![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lastrega "Methos is the little black dress of fandom, he goes with anyone"
*2*. Do you consider/Have you considered the theoretical aspect of slash writing - eg, slash as a political statement or a way of correcting implicitly homophobic or obviously censored texts? Has that ever affected the way you've thought about slash?
Not really no. Most of the time I view this type of argument as people making excuses for the fact they are writing porn about fanfic characters. I don't feel I need to justify what I do. If you want to write gaycentric stories as a statement you would be better off writing original stuff and trying to get it published.
I can see why it its a valid argument, its just not one I particularly subscribe to.
Occasionally, for a laugh, I (or others) have slashed a character who is held out as being uber-masculine but infact is in my (or others) eyes very camp, or so *obviously* doing it with [insert character name]. Very occasionally I have been known to write drabbles just to piss people off. This is usually in response to overt "he/she
can't possibly be gay are you on crack?" Or "all slash is evil" type posts or comments.
To be honest I tend to have more problems with the fact that I like BDSM. That area of fic tends to get singled out for abuse and I will often write BDSM fic as a statement to show how it should be done or to prove that there is a lot more to it then most people realise.
*3*. Why slash, as opposed to ordinary fanfic?
Because I like sex. I particularly like the idea of hot sex between two men or two women.
No sex in a story tends to bore me.
*4*. Are you opposed to slash that is not One True Pairing oriented, or do you not care as long as it's well-written/hot?
I have preferences for particular pairings such as Methos/Duncan, Methos/Kronos, Obi Wan/Qui Gon, Budd/Exley, Robin/Will, Lucius/Snape, Aragorn/Boromir, Maturin/Aubrey, Jack/Will, Wolverine/Gambit etc but on the whole I'll read anything so long as its well-written and hot. I am a fandom slut.
There are very few things/pairings which squick me and which I wouldn't at least give a go..
*5*. Why one fandom over another?
Depends if I find a character or premise that stimulates the creative juices! *grins* On the whole it tends to start with me finding a character attractive and then it goes on from there.
Fandoms where I fail to get interested in the idea and story premise don't tend to hold my attention for very long, however strongly I like one of the characters.
If I find a character attractive and I get interested in the universe they inhabit then I can get obsessed very quickly.
Ben's Email is: bastard_apotheosis@hotmail.com
In order to enable him to argue more effectively he sent me a quick questionnaire and asked me to fill it in. I asked if he would like some more responses from other fanfic writers and he was suitably delighted by the suggestion:
Therefore, if you could spare a few minutes to answer these questions I and Ben would be grateful. You can either send them to me by email or you can email them direct to Ben. He will treat all responses as confidential.
Please also post your responses on your LJ, or here as a reply, if at all possible as I'd love to see what everyone's thoughts are on this:
Quick Slash Writer's Quiz
*1*. Why do you write slash? What do you get out of it?
*2*. Do you consider/Have you considered the theoretical aspect of slash writing - eg, slash as a political statement or a way of correcting implicitly homophobic or obviously censored texts? Has that ever affected the way you've thought about slash?
*3*. Why slash, as opposed to ordinary fanfic?
*4* Are you opposed to slash that is not One True Pairing oriented, or do you not care as long as it's well-written/hot?
*5* Why one fandom over another?
*1*. Why do you write slash? What do you get out of it?
In short: It turns me on. Het sex doesn't do much for me unless in very particular circumstances. Good written porn is hard to come by and extremely beneficial. There should be more of it. If I find two characters that I find attractive together and I can slash them..I will!
To lesser extent I write slash because I see sub-text in TV shows or films or books or comics and I want to write the sub-text story. Or because there are things that happen as canon in a series or film which I want to put my own interpretation/spin on it...particularly if I don't like what the actual writers are doing.
Occasionally I will just fall in love with a character and want to write about them. This is probably most noticeable with Methos as I find the actual character so fascinating. This is why I am tending these days to leaning toward slashing Methos with just about anyone.
Or to quote
lastrega "Methos is the little black dress of fandom, he goes with anyone"*2*. Do you consider/Have you considered the theoretical aspect of slash writing - eg, slash as a political statement or a way of correcting implicitly homophobic or obviously censored texts? Has that ever affected the way you've thought about slash?
Not really no. Most of the time I view this type of argument as people making excuses for the fact they are writing porn about fanfic characters. I don't feel I need to justify what I do. If you want to write gaycentric stories as a statement you would be better off writing original stuff and trying to get it published.
I can see why it its a valid argument, its just not one I particularly subscribe to.
Occasionally, for a laugh, I (or others) have slashed a character who is held out as being uber-masculine but infact is in my (or others) eyes very camp, or so *obviously* doing it with [insert character name]. Very occasionally I have been known to write drabbles just to piss people off. This is usually in response to overt "he/she
can't possibly be gay are you on crack?" Or "all slash is evil" type posts or comments.
To be honest I tend to have more problems with the fact that I like BDSM. That area of fic tends to get singled out for abuse and I will often write BDSM fic as a statement to show how it should be done or to prove that there is a lot more to it then most people realise.
*3*. Why slash, as opposed to ordinary fanfic?
Because I like sex. I particularly like the idea of hot sex between two men or two women.
No sex in a story tends to bore me.
*4*. Are you opposed to slash that is not One True Pairing oriented, or do you not care as long as it's well-written/hot?
I have preferences for particular pairings such as Methos/Duncan, Methos/Kronos, Obi Wan/Qui Gon, Budd/Exley, Robin/Will, Lucius/Snape, Aragorn/Boromir, Maturin/Aubrey, Jack/Will, Wolverine/Gambit etc but on the whole I'll read anything so long as its well-written and hot. I am a fandom slut.
There are very few things/pairings which squick me and which I wouldn't at least give a go..
*5*. Why one fandom over another?
Depends if I find a character or premise that stimulates the creative juices! *grins* On the whole it tends to start with me finding a character attractive and then it goes on from there.
Fandoms where I fail to get interested in the idea and story premise don't tend to hold my attention for very long, however strongly I like one of the characters.
If I find a character attractive and I get interested in the universe they inhabit then I can get obsessed very quickly.
Ben's Email is: bastard_apotheosis@hotmail.com
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
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*2*. Do you consider/Have you considered the theoretical aspect of slash writing - eg, slash as a political statement or a way of correcting implicitly homophobic or obviously censored texts? Has that ever affected the way you've thought about slash? Slash does not equal politics for me. It's about sex and relationships, whether short or long term. I don't think there's anything brave or heroic about writing slash. I write what I enjoy.
*3*. Why slash, as opposed to ordinary fanfic? Before I was aware of such a term, I was writing it. I had to be careful who saw it, lest they make judgments. Slash is like flavors, it all depends on what I have a taste for. I like to think of FanFic as being a big tree, and all the different types of fic being the branches. It's all storytelling in the end and all related.
*4* Are you opposed to slash that is not One True Pairing oriented, or do you not care as long as it's well-written/hot? I'm not OTP oriented in the least. If the writer is skilled enough to make it believable and it's grammatically correct, I will give it a read. Draw me in, and you'll keep me for the length of the story.
*5* Why one fandom over another? I've got to have a passing familiarity and interest in the fandom to be able to enjoy the fan fiction.