Hi!! So recently, I've been questioning this BD AU I want to make and have some questions. Can my Steven be a female and can she have a different race? Can she slso be taller with a different body type? The thing is, I've seen so many AU's that look like Steven and I feel like if I make something different, people won't like mines. What should I do?
I’m not sure what has you guys so on edge about writing fanfiction. Is there a fanfiction police force I don’t know about lurking around the corner? Is the fanfic KGB dragging writers out of their homes in the middle of the night for not adhering to the unwritten fanfic code of ‘Thou Must Not Change Too Many Details About A Character In An AU’?
Like, trust me, I KNOW about fanfic history and the Anne Rice thing and the Great Purge of Livejournal and etc. I’ve been there, lived through that. But some of these current worries are a little bit out of left field.
Who is out there telling you guys you CAN’T do these things?
(Who am I inviting to the back of the Denny’s parking lot to exchange gentle fists with?)
OF COURSE you can change stuff about a character.
The whole point of fanfiction - any type, AU or not - is that YOU are writing it. (It should be called an A YOU! ahahahaaha ok I’m done.)
It’s taking the story and giving it new life. It’s a long forgotten oral tradition of transforming works through the mouths of different authors. You take a tapestry and re-do it. You unwind the cords you want and knit them into something new, something that is unique to yOU.
Look, this is the ONLY thing you need when writing an AU:
Take this sign! Use it wisely. And often.
Q: But what if people won’t like my AU?
So what? Who are you, the court jester? Do you live to entertain? Are you gonna be beheaded for not giving your audience precisely what they want?
I didn’t think so.
People have a right to not enjoy your story. Guess what - many people won’t! Many of them will turn away and never visit again. And what of it? That’s what happens with ANY story. That’s not a function of it being an AU, that’s a function of human beings having preferences and prejudices and opinions. They are entitled to those opinions - we NEED people to be critical of work on the whole in order to make BETTER stories, eventually.
But that’s not something that has to stop you. Just do your thing. That’s your only objective. :) Tell YOUR story.
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Necessary disclaimer:
Making your AU whatever you want doesn’t give you immunity from people criticising it. If your story is racist, sexist or homophobic, then people will tell you that! And that’s something that’s your cross to bear. I won’t discourage you from making anything, but if you make something that is harmful, don’t expect people who are hurt by it to just shut up. It’s open season and everyone has an opinion.
