Revelation Regarding Fanfiction

I studied Literature this year.

For one of my major assessment tasks, I was to use Edith Wharton's naturalistic novella Ethan Frome as the basis for a 'creative response' to the text. I had to pay close attention to Wharton's style, techniques and concerns while letting my narrative voice come through as my own, to strike the difficult balance between emulation and personalisation.

The prompt I was to respond to referred to 'blackened trees,' which immediately set my mind afire with one idea after another. Trying my hardest to write the characters as I had come to understand them through Wharton's presentation, I was stopped in my figurative tracks.

I realised, then and now, what I was doing.

Here I was, a humble student of literature, writing academically endorsed fanfiction. Proof, straight from academia, that fanfiction is a legitimate form of creative writing which ought to be taken just as seriously as original fiction.

I laughed for three minutes straight. Then smiled. That was a good day.

My response received full marks.

Comments

[Scarlet Lightning]

Nice!