otw_news | OTW Fannews: Fandom Paths

One's fandom path can be hard to predict. College student Peter Fulham wrote in Salon that the search for a perfect boyfriend led him to become a One Direction fan. "What is it that makes a fan? I’ve never been much of a fan of anything. Perhaps my elitism is what has kept me from being one, believing myself to be above the kind of middlebrow obsession that fandom demands. When you’re a fan, you love more than just the sound. You love what the band represents, its idiosyncrasies, its deficits, its collective personality – flaws and all." One also has to take a stand. "I’ve given up pretending to be indifferent. I play their music loudly, often and unapologetically in my dorm room – and it’s a terrific, almost rebellious, feeling. I like this band. So deal with it."

However, it's increasingly the case that fans will have a part in where fandoms will go. This seemed to be the thought behind editor JJ Duncan's interview at Zimbio with Twilight fanfic writers. "We wanted to know how Twilight fans think the movie will end, how they feel about the book's ending, and how they would rewrite it if they could. So we reached out to two readers who have not only lived in Meyer's world, they've augmented it with Twilight stories that are longer than any of Meyer's four books. Meet Steph and Lisa, two popular writers on FanFiction.net."

Meanwhile canons are taking on new lives in new spaces. OTW staffer Aja Romano conducted a group interview for The Daily Dot on the topic of Transmedia and the new art of storytelling. "Transmedia—the technique of telling a single story across multiple mediums—is bigger than ever. Numerous Web series have turned to social media and other storytelling platforms to enhance their narratives, while major media franchises from Heroes to The Hunger Games have modeled their marketing campaigns around the idea of engaging fans on multiple levels, both on the big and small screens." The interview covered the topics of the collision of fandom and corporations, large vs. small properties, internationalization and the difficulties of working with multiple mediums.

Have you been sucked into a fandom you never expected to be in? Do you have something to say about transmedia fandoms? Why not discuss it in at Fanlore? Contributions are welcome from all fans.

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