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Open Right

Kirsty Eagar: Fan Fic vs Real Stories

Session Info:

Student writing is often directly inspired by the films and books they enjoy. While useful as a starting point, these works can seem derivative, stale and unconvincing.

Summer Skin is a novel that fulfils the conventions of a romance novel, but departs from the basic storyline in several ways. Using Summer Skin and several other popular books/films as examples, the author deconstructs stories and illustrates how the students’ own experiences can be used to turn fan fiction into something more unique.

Topics:
  • Basic plots
  • Juxtaposition – old story, new world
  • Characters – wants, conflicts, flaws
  • Structure – short story/novel