[Rumori] Impatient Harry Potter fans write their own sequels

[Carrie McLaren]

Hurrying Harry
Impatient Potter fans write their own sequels

By Liza N. Burby
Liza Burby is a freelance writer.

June 10, 2003

Will Ron and Hermione become a couple? Will readers learn more about 
the story of Lilly, James and Voldemort? What is the link between 
Dumbledore and Snape?

Move over, J.K. Rowling. Frustrated with waiting for the author to 
supply the answers - presumably in her fifth book, "The Order of the 
Phoenix," due to hit bookstores June 21 - fans have taken matters 
into their own hands. They've logged on by the tens of thousands to a 
"fan fiction" network to write their own passages, spinning scenarios 
into chapters and - in some cases - entire books that are posted 
online, reviewed, e-mailed to friends and chewed over in chat rooms.

Online fan fiction, or fan fics, offers devotees the chance to read, 
post and review stories (for free) through www.fanfiction.net. 
Although the site carries hundreds of thousands of individual 
narratives for categories beyond Harry - from TV shows such as 
"Welcome Back Kotter" to books and movies such as "The Lord of the 
Rings" - Harry Potter is easily the most written about, with more 
than 75,000 fan fics posted on the site. As 14-year- old Robyn Bahr 
of North Bellmore puts it, kids are obsessed with what comes next for 
the Potter compadres.

"I'm a diehard fan of a Ron and Hermione romance, so I started 
writing about that three years ago," says Bahr, a student at Mepham 
High School who has written 10 fan fics. "But the more I did it, the 
more I ventured into the lives of the other characters, like Snape. I 
even made up my own characters. It's a great way to stretch your 
imagination."

Most stretch in the direction of a romance between Ron and Hermione, 
hands-down the hottest topic on the site. The writer-rated fan fics 
on this issue range from a G rating to R. Some fans have spun their 
speculation into their own Web sites, such as the popular "Isn't It 
Obvious?" (www.shadow cry.net/rhobvious), created by 16-year-old 
Gillian Curtis of Newfoundland, Canada. Hers features a music video, 
pages of "evidence" and a quiz to find out "How Obsessed Are You?" 
Curtis says she gets about 150 hits a day, mostly from Ron-Hermione 
"shippers-kids [shippers refers to "relationships"] and some adults 
who believe in their relationship."

Tatiana Ferreira, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Our Lady of Pompeii 
in Manhattan, has been writing fan fics for two years. "I've mostly 
been writing my own versions of what I think 'The Order of the 
Phoenix' is. I made it a group of wizards that includes Harry, Ron 
and Hermione," she says.

As a genre, fan fiction has been around for more than a century, says 
Henry Jenkins, director of comparative media studies at Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology in Cambridge and a widely recognized expert 
in fan fiction. It became popular in the 1920s, when science fiction 
followers began corresponding with one another through fanzines, 
magazines devoted to fans. The practice continued into the 1960s, 
particularly with "Star Trek" enthusiasts, who wrote and exchanged 
their versions of television episodes.

Jenkins says what makes current fan fiction unique is that the 
Internet has attracted - and provided easy access for - youngsters to 
what was an adult hobby. "Computer-savvy children look at it as one 
big digital refrigerator where they can post their stories and share 
them with their peers," he says. "It's a result of disappointment 
that authors like Rowling can't write fast enough to fill their need 
for more information about characters and plot, and also a 
fascination with storylines and characters the author may not have 
chosen to develop enough to satisfy their curiosity."

Jenkins says some educators see benefits to fan fiction and are using 
them as writing and critiquing assignments. "It's another form of 
media literacy," he says. "Kids are creating, writing and reviewing 
the work of their peers. It encourages their reading and writing 
skills."

Jane Pigliacelli, a 13-year-old seventh- grader at Stimson Middle 
School in South Huntington, says she has been writing fan fiction 
since third grade. "I want to be an author- illustrator, and I think 
this is really good practice."

Jenkins says so far no court of law has spoken directly to the 
legality of co-opting characters for kids' creative-writing practice 
- though in a well-publicized case in 2000, Warner Bros., which owns 
the studio rights to Harry Potter, tried to sue then-12-year-old 
Claire Field of England for refusing to give up her Harry Potter 
domain name. She won the right to maintain her site. But most fans 
see their attention to the material as a tribute to the author and as 
entertainment - and, in fact, post disclaimers such as, "If I owned 
Harry Potter, do you think I'd be writing fan fiction?"

For her part, Rowling is said to be flattered by the trend. "We're 
very supportive of J.K. Rowling's fans," says Judy Corman, senior 
vice president of corporate communications for Scholastic Inc., 
publishers of the U.S. editions of the Harry Potter books. "Of 
course, we, with Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling, are protective of the 
property, but as long as the fan fiction isn't offensive or 
commercial, we're fine with it."

Of course, all the young fan fiction writers mentioned here admit 
they're just biding their time until they can finally put their own 
writings aside and see what Rowling has created in "The Order of the 
Phoenix." No doubt, more fan fiction will follow.
Copyright © 2003, <http://www.nynewsday.com/>Newsday, Inc.


http://www.nynewsday.com/entertainment/ny-p2page33324816jun10,0,1069265.story?coll=nyc-ent-short-navigation

-- 
Carrie McLaren
Editor, Stay Free!
718.398.9324
www.stayfreemagazine.org
www.illegal-art.org