Marketing Information Update

So,  I finally have a bit of good, positive news on the marketing front. First of all, my repurposed paper--the fanfiction/fiction/nonfiction monster that has dominated my life over the last two-and-a-half weeks--has now been posted on www.fanfiction.net. It can be accessed here (although in not as intriguing of a format as I have on Google Docs): Shakespeare and the MooMoo Man.

Also, exciting news! I got an email from Henry Jenkins (the Aca-Fan... aka my favorite person, because he's an academic fanfictioner!) in reply to my inquiry about possibly doing a guest post and/or interview for his blog www.henryjenkins.org. He says that he's willing to read my repurposed paper for the Shakespeare world of fanfiction, because it's relevant to his own cause. If he thinks that the information and/or purpose and/or content of the paper is good, he's willing to post it on his site, along with doing a guest interview! Unfortunately, it wouldn't be posted for about another month. IF he agrees to host the paper at all, of course. In the mean time, I'm going to be rewriting and editing said paper over and over again, because a writer is never satisfied (unless that writer is Nora Roberts, who, in her case, really SHOULDN'T be satisfied with some of the work she produces).

I'm not sure how long I'll be keeping this blog up, just because I'm not that big into blogging and my summer is going to be crazy. I will keep it going to let you know about the status of Jenkins though. And who knows, maybe I'll open a blog that's dedicated entirely to fanfiction. Maybe then fanfictioners will be less ashamed, and new people will stumbled upon the community the way I did all those years ago!

Til Then!

Cortnie

Video At Last

So, after MANY false starts, video corruptions, editing misdirections and mistakes, and general overall IT problems, I finally have my video finished. This makes me happy, because I'm tired of seeing my face on a video screen. I much prefer the stage!

Hope you enjoy!

Rewrite

Last Minute, I know. I'm sorry!

Here's the creative piece I wrote for the rewrite of my research paper. Beware. It's a little insane.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1goUtOMQS-TD8zfWL5pSxoHSxNCfnyFhkvG_APNQXtj8/edit

Status Update

I've been trying to get some of my marketing done while my betas (the fanfiction version of an editor, someone who works for free and offers advice and/or commentary. Most fanfiction writers only deal with one beta at a time, but I double up to get a better idea of what I need to change) are combing through my... piece, but so far I'm just in the waiting process.

First and foremost, I'll be posting on www.fanfiction.net and www.fictionpress.com (the sister site) because this... monstrosity can literally be considered as both. That way I'm guaranteed to get some kind of response, just because I have a wide reader base of people that love to leave me comments. It will be interesting to see what they actually have to say, however, because I'm certain they've never seen a fanfiction piece DEFENDING fanfiction before. There are plenty of crack fics (farce, parody, etc.) that take the characters of a show or book and have them discover fanfiction (think Harry Potter realizing that there's a bunch of stories based around him "getting it on" with Snape or Draco), but nothing serious that I'VE seen. I won't be putting that up until later in the week, though, because I haven't heard back from the betas.

I've also submitted requests to both Blogging Shakespeare and henryjenkins.org (he runs a blog based on being an aca-fan, or an academic-fanfictioner) asking if I could do a minor post about the potential nature of fanfiction as a scholarly tool. I've put a generic request similar to what I sent to them here:

       
       My name is Cortnie Beatty, and I am both a student at Brigham Young University and an avid fanfiction       reader, writer, and editor on various fanfiction sites. This semester I've been involved in a Shakespeare Course focused on the digital aspects of current Shakespeare studies, and, as a part of the class, I submitted a paper and reformatted piece defending the use of fanfiction as a scholarly tool of analysis for plot, setting, and characterization--not only for studying Shakespeare, but also any category found within fanfiction. The subject is extremely relevant with the growing concern revolving the legitimacy of fanfiction (consider the controversy now surrounding the "Shades of Grey" series previously written as Twilight fanfiction), and I would feel honored if I could share my argument by having a brief space to post on your blog. I would include the original paper, the repurposed paper, and possibly a brief introductory video. If you could get back to me on this matter, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your time. - Cortnie Beatty


Finally, I also plan on posting on my own blog, following a line of argument that I've proposed to Dr. Burton. It will essentially be the same post that I hope to have uploaded on the above sites, but that way I've covered all of my bases. Wish me luck!

Annotated Bibliography Redux

So I know that I should have done this last weekend (as well as the video) but I've been having IT problems and haven't had time to find the solution. The camera that I've been using to shoot the videos... well, the video hasn't been shot yet. I'm going to have to stay after class and use the camera in the classroom. Hopefully. Or I might be able to hook up with my IT guy (the one that has been teaching me the wonders of Youtube because, let's face it, I'm just not as savvy in that department as I am in fanfiction) and have it up by tonight. Until then, however, I should be able to squeeze enough out to get the annotated bibliography done.

This one is a bit strange, just because of the different materials that I'm having to work with. Some of it is fanfiction, some of it scholarly articles... I even have a blog that I've been following a pretty heavy debate on arguing the legality and purpose of fanfiction (which side do you think I've been taking?). Now just try and figure out how I've been fitting that into my repurposed paper. It's an... interesting process. So, without further ado, my bibliography.


http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6842792/2/Shakespeare_Is_Overrated
This link will take you to a piece of fanfiction that is about as close to what I'm doing with my paper as possible. In it, the characters (from Danny Phantom) have been assigned the project of working with Shakespeare by acting it out and analyzing the characters. This is only one example of a trend that is VERY popular on fanfiction sites. You'll find a new twist on this same plot (using a Shakespeare play to get to the eventual ''hidden emotions'' of the characters) in almost every category of fanfiction.


http://dichtung-digital.mewi.unibas.ch/2007/Thomas/thomas.htm (Canons and Fanons: Literary Fanfiction Online by B. Thomas)
This article goes into the intimate details about fanfiction that I didn't have the room to discuss in my first paper. Most importantly, it discusses the difference between the canon--of the actual published literature--and fanon--the most popular, repeated fan-ideas being accepted as 'true' ONLY in the fanfiction world. For instance, in the animated Teen Titan category, it has become a part of the culture that the character Beast Boy has claws on his hands instead of regular fingernails, and this becomes why he never takes off his gloves. In the 'reality' of the series, we do not have any proof of this fact--primarily because the show never has the cast wearing civilian clothing, thus eliminating the need for Beast Boy to remove his gloves. Thomas goes into further detail on the idea between the two has a whole, demonstrating with the categories of Jane Austen (primarily Pride and Prejudice) and Harry Potter.

http://www.wwwords.co.uk/pdf/validate.asp?j=elea&vol=3&issue=2&year=2006&article=5_Black_ELEA_3_2_web (Language, Culture, and Identity in Online Fanfiction by R. W. Black)
Actually, anything by Black is going to be relevant. She's considered one of the leading experts on Fanfiction in the scholarly world, and has published numerous books, papers, and thesis-es on the topic. Some of the frequent subjects that she returns to (just as in this one) include: the legality of fanfiction, the value it holds as an academic tool, the grammatical construction of the varying levels of writing performed by fanfiction writing, etc. She also discusses the use of fanfiction as a method for encouraging communication and personal identity, which I found relevant because of the nature of our class.

http://www.themillions.com/2012/04/fifty-shades-of-fan-fiction.html (Blog)
So this was the blog that I mentioned earlier. It's main focus deals with "Shades of Gray", which is an erotic novel that, at one time, was based on the characters of Twilight in an alternate universe. Some people are arguing that the work (which we obviously WON'T be reading, because of the nature of the book) is too-close to the original source, even though the character names have been changed and such. While I'm inclined to believe this might be possible (I've seen enough 're-done' stories on the sister site www.fictionpress.com to know that not everyone is good at removing the original source) the argument has once again delved into the issue of legality.

So a little bit of everything to tide not just you but me over until I can finally get that video done.

Socializing, Part One

So, as I was setting about reformatting my  paper into whatever this fanfiction/fiction/nonfiction meta-hybrid will end up being, I realized I'd forgotten one important thing: permission. Specifically, permission from the two fanfiction authors whose papers I hope to allude to (and possibly quote) in my weird... thing I'm writing. I've included a screenshot of one of the private messages I sent to them, responding to their pieces and inquiring after their acceptance to my using their works (I only did the one because I literally copied and pasted the main body of the message).

I'm hoping for two things by sending these messages. The first is hopefully obvious, because I've mentioned it about seven times already: permission. It would really stink if they told me no. The second is hopefully a little more subtle: I was fishing for their interest. If I phrased it right (it's all about phrasing when it comes to dealing with fanfiction writers, because we're a weird bunch from many different walks of life and even on different stretches of those walks), they should be curious enough to ask after what I've done, look it up, and then share it with other fanfiction members.

We're social like that.

LX3

It sounds like some sort of video game, but I'm actually referring to Love's Labor's Lost. I finally went and saw it Thursday night after my ASL class, and... I'm not sure how I feel about it. It left me feeling very conflicted. Not because of the actual play itself--it's plot is very light and fluffy compared to other Shakespeare stuff I've seen and/or been in--but because of the production. I suppose I'll meditate a bit on some of the good I found, as well as some of the bad.

The Good: Definitely the actors. I know a bunch of people were saying in class that they weren't all that impressed with the character definition, but from an actor's standpoint, I can almost positively say that the 'vagueness' of their personalities was probably a purposeful move. There are hundreds of different methods for developing a character's 'taste' and backstory, the one unique element that you are almost certain to see change in each adaptation. I rather enjoyed having the female characters remain indistinct from one another, because it seemed to ring true to what Shakespeare himself was going through. LX3 was one of his first works, and, if my experience as a writer is anywhere similar to his, he was probably still developing his style--INCLUDING his skills as an amazing craftsman of complex characters.

The Bad: The Setting. BYU's choice didn't seem to fit the play whatsoever. Wear long-johns and cowgirl dresses work for Taming of the Shrew and elegant 1920s ensembles fit in beautifully with Romeo and Juliet, LX3 did NOT look good with the 'update' it received. The set itself almost seemed cumbersome, which--even if it was an artistic choice--is never a good environment for an actor to be working in. I can only imagine the troubles they had to face going through.

So in the end, I walked out content and distraught all at once. I am used to high-quality productions from BYU, even in the student-directed performances. Yet LX3 had so many holes and problems within it I had a hard time reminiscing in the excellent acting I saw from the cast. What to do, what to do?

On the other hand, the Comedy of Errors was hilarious. Now THERE is the way to do Shakespeare.