Also known as the post I promised about two weeks ago about fanfiction, explanation of title here. I also considered a take-off of the Principia and the Origin of Species, but I decided on this. Why? Why not? And if you're wondering why this post is later than usual, then it's cause I went on holidays. Seriously, I left Boxing Day and returned about a week and a half later. Then I procrastinated.
So you may remember me saying over and over again how I'm just not over Harry Potter. I've read all the books and seen all the movies, and Pottermore looks like it's in development hell (come out of beta, Pottermore. Please?). Thus, canon-wise, there's really not a lot to go on here. How do I feed my Harry Potter urges? Fanfiction.
Now, before I want to go on, I just want to mention that fanfiction is not necessarily bad. I can name at least one big author (Cassandra Clare) who started out in fanfiction. Sturgeon's Law just applies in force, and the thing is, the bar for publishing fanfiction online is really low. Explanation is on that link.
I'm going to start from the top, wherein I discovered the world of fanfiction. And as do a lot of things, this one started with TVTropes, where I happened upon a Harry Potter/Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy crossover called "Something Grim This Way Comes" (and while writing that, it occurred to me just how completely, unashamedly, utterly nerdy that was). And luckily it was good enough to intrigue me; the characterisation was impressively spot-on, the comedy was amusing and the plot was funny enough. And from then, that, as they say, is history. I got hooked.
Why do I read the fanfiction I do? Well, apart from the obvious Harry Potter obsession I'm currently sporting, I suppose it allows a further exploration of the Harry Potter universe in so many different ways, adding to canon, exploring it, deconstructing it, the whole power of Harry Potter reflected in fanfiction.
That being said, there is some terrifyingly bad stuff out there, so I try to stick to recommended stuff on TVTropes and sort of go from there, finding the favourites of the recommended stuff. Essentially, attempting to isolate the good stuff while avoiding the not-so-good stuff.
Now, should you yourselves like to go check out the world of fanfiction, then may I most humbly recommend my three favourite fanfics, which are to follow in no particular order:
"Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" - also known as the most reviewed HP fanfic on the net, and for a damn good reason: it's excellent. It does the whole exploring, adding and deconstructing of canon thing I talked about in a superb manner, and it's a very good read, to say the least. It is a fic wherein Harry is raised by a professor with the powers of Science, and it is just fantastic. It is currently being written.
"Backward With Purpose Part I: Always and Always" - This fic is a Peggy Sue, also known as a story where characters go back in time and "relive their lives with the knowledge they gained from living through their story the first time," to shamelessly plagiarise (you guessed it) TVTropes. It is about Harry, Ron and Ginny travelling back after everyone they know has died (it's a tad darker than the original canon), and trying to save them all. It is a complete fic, and also has a completed sequel.
"Harry Potter and the Wastelands of Time" - This is sort of a Peggy Sue fic, but doesn't read that much like one (it sort of does, but it sort of doesn't), and is also recommended by the guy who wrote that first fic up there. It itself is about Harry repeatedly travelling backwards through time to try and stop Voldemort, who after endless retries has still not been beaten. Massively AU, to the point where the Hallows and Horcruxes all sort of fade into the background. It is a badass fic that is completed, but whose sequel is currently still being written.
There are other pretty good fanfics out there, of course, but those would be my top three. Now, onto me and fanfiction. Yes, you guessed it, I am currently writing a fanfiction, and it will be available on a page on this blog as of shortly after I post this, which I will probably eventually remove and put on an actual FanFiction.net account. That shall be linked from this page when I finally get around to it.
Well, that's that, I suppose. I hope you enjoyed this treatise on fanfiction, and maybe I've inspired some interest. Or not, you know. Up to you. Take your pick.
AB
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