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Crafting Fanfiction: Extending The Life Of The Stories We Love
Saturday, Apr. 1
3-5 PM ET
virtual event; open to mentees, mentors, program alum, and woman-identifying, trans*, and gender-expansive members of the public.
Do you ever imagine new worlds and stories for your favorite fictional characters or new characters for your favorite fictional worlds? Then this is the workshop for YOU!
Fanfiction—writing original stories using preexisting characters and worlds—has long been derided as simply “practice” for “real” writing. While we’re collectively (thankfully!) moving past the idea that fic isn’t real writing, it can still be a great practice tool on a craft level, helping you hone skills for all kinds of fiction writing (including, of course, writing more fic).
In this workshop, GWN Mentor and fan culture expert Elizabeth Minkel will give a brief primer on fanfiction before diving into a variety of craft exercises. With a focus on characterization, perspective, tone, and plot, participants will create their own fanfiction story.
Meet the Teaching Artist
Elizabeth Minkel
Elizabeth Minkel is a writer, editor, and consultant with a focus on fan culture and digital communities. She’s written for The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Verge, The New York Times, the New Statesman, The Millions, and more. She’s the co-host of Fansplaining, a biweekly podcast about fandom, with Flourish Klink, who she met on a panel at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015, and she co-curates “The Rec Center” newsletter with fellow fandom journalist Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, which was a finalist for a Hugo Award in 2020. She has a master’s degree in the digital humanities from University College London, where she wrote her dissertation about book fans on Twitter and Tumblr. She lives in Brooklyn with her cat, Orlando, and in her free time, she writes a lot of fanfiction.
This event is open to:
all mentees, all mentors, program alum, woman-identifying and trans* and gender-expansive members of the public