ETA: Pimpety-pimp!
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redial_the_gateIM chat this Friday, rewatching There But For The Grace Of God before the recap next Tuesday. I do NOT expect to see anyone there who has NaNo to finish. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. (Unless of course you've finished it by then, in which case, come along! *g*)
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chasethestars
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And yeah - I'd sort of think that doing fanfic would be helpful, in that it's good to practice, etc - but some things about it work a completely different way from original fic. I actively avoid creating original main characters for fanfic, for example. It just... the fit is all wrong. Fanfic, for me, is more about exploring in depth the characters that I feel I know well - a skill that would be all very useful if I could just write some original characters of my own, get to know them well, and then be able to play with them.
I need to swipe that "Writing iz fun, trufax" icon I inspired annerb to make. :)
History! My mom has often asked me why I didn't major in history (or didn't want to go back and do so) since I'll babble at her for hours. I usually point out I have no idea what I'd do with a history degree and it's more fun to just study for fun.
I think fanfic is very useful in a lot of ways. It teaches you about writing characters, about writing dialogue that sounds character-specific and how to play with words and language to bring out different emotions and describe different situations. But it doesn't help you learn to build an original world or character - so, yeah, pluses and minuses. I do think it's made a better writer in every aspect of my life though.
I love studying history (I prefer ancient history, but most general history degrees cover quite a lot of modern stuff). I did a year of it at A'level, got very immersed in the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the American Great Depression, but then had to drop that or French, as I just couldn't do both (plus Art and English) any more. I wanted to keep History, but there were only two people in my French class by then (lots of people dropped out), so I felt bad for the teacher. Eesh. Still, I think love literature more, so I'm more likely to go for that. I was lined up to do an English degree, but I dropped it in a moment of madness, and did art instead.
My education went very haywire at a couple of points. :7 Hindsight is 20-20.
And, yes - I don't want to put down fanfic, at all. I think it's helped me enormously, and I love it very much, for many reasons. I just want to do my own stuff as well - an ambition that I've always had, as long as I can remember, but that I've never really followed through.