John Watson's Blog: In defence of fanfiction

For mildredandbobbin, and all fanfiction writers. Because it could just as easily have been any of us.

There had been a lot of discussion on the internet about fanfiction and what I think of it, and how it affects Sherlock and me. In fact, it doesn't affect us much at all, mainly because we have very little contact with it. Fandom and our lives run on rather separate tracks, and we only interact when we choose to, or when some ill-advised media stunt forces us to take notice of one another.

Unfortunately there has been more that one attempt to do just that, mostly for the shock value. Whether it is to try to shock us with the hardly-new idea that some people wish Sherlock and I were in a relationship, whether it is try to shock people regarding public discussion of sex (again, hardly new) or through a mistaken idea that because I am heterosexual I must also be homophobic and would be shocked and alarmed to see myself portrayed in fiction as being gay – suffice it to say it doesn't shock me at all.

However, I do think that such attempts to force us and fanfiction to take notice of one another is disrespectful both to us and to the fans. The effect on us may be to change the way we think of ourselves and our lives, which I do not think is healthy. The effect on the fans takes several forms, but in terms of forced contact it is usually being done by someone outside the fandom itself, either to point out inconsistencies between the fanfiction and actual (canon) events or else purely to ridicule the fanworks by showing them in an inappropriate context.

I will just point out that the vast majority of fanfiction (and fanvids and other fanworks) are known when they are made to be inconsistent with canon events. This is often intentional, and to a great degree, the actual point.

Fanworks allow fans to explore the people and world in ways which extend from the originals, sometimes by placing us (those who inhabit the world) in new situations to see what we might do, or by placing us in totally new worlds, or by exploring our history or future. Sometimes fanworks allow fans to blend different worlds together and explore what would happen if someone from our world were to meet with people from Tolkien's world, for example.

Fanfiction is endlessly creative and is completely unlimited by the actual constraints of the real world. Fanworks do not have to conform to what censors think is appropriate for general audiences, not just with regards to sex, but also violence, criminal activity and trauma. Dark themes can be explored which would be difficult to express in most other contexts.

As a blog writer myself, I also have some insight into the writing value of fanfiction, over and above the fun people have in writing it. Fanfiction allows a writer to play with specific microskills of writing, without having to invent a whole world and characters in order to do so. For example, if I wanted to polish my dialogue writing skills, I can focus on that alone using established characters and situations. Similarly, I can experiment with tone and style, I can get writing practice and feedback and I can attempt to find my writing 'voice' without having to write a whole novel. It also allows those for whom English is not their first language to hone their skills and get feedback from native English speakers. (I am aware that there are fanfiction forums in other languages, but sadly I am not fluent enough to explore or comment on these and I was unable to get Sherlock's input before posting this on the blog. He may comment later.)

Fanfiction also teaches people to write concisely (such as in drabbles to specific word limits), allows people to exchange ideas in the forms of prompts and gifts and generally encourages discussion and conversation between people who are interested in the same ideas.

More seriously, fanfiction gives a voice to small sections of the community for whom 'mainstream' media does not often pay attention. Just in the Sherlock fandom I have seen works dedicated to exploring in detail the psychology of asexuality, recovery after rape, narcissistic personality disorder, PTSD, Asperger's and Autism Spectrum Disorders, intersexuality and genderfluid issues. I'm sure there are many more. (I apologise if I am using the wrong terminology, these were mostly fairly quick explorations of what I am aware is a deep and diverse community.)

It is empowering and therapeutic for both authors and readers to be able to identify with characters in their situations. It is also educational for readers to learn something about a person or situation to which they might otherwise be oblivious. I myself was not previously aware of my level of privilege as a white, neurotypical, straight cis-male living in London – this is something I have learned from reading fanfiction and related material.

In conclusion, I would just like to make a comment on the motivations of those who mock fanworks. Almost without exception, this is done by people outside the fandom. People within the fandom are usually generous enough to each other that if they see something they don't like, they simply move past it to something else. It is people outside the fandom who do not understand the value and purposes of fanfiction who mock that which they do not understand. I would feel sorry for their lack of understanding both of imaginative play and of writing, except that they usually do it out of spite or create a cheap sensation. It is an ill-advised attempt because in mocking the fandom they are showing disrespect not only to everyone who is involved in our lives in any way (even those who do not necessarily identify themselves as fans) but also to us – Sherlock and me.

I appreciate all of you who follow my blog and show interest in Sherlock's and my cases and in our lives. You are the reason we live and breathe. Keep playing and writing and drawing and honing those skills on our new series of adventures soon to be revealed!

With love and respect,

John H. Watson