By The Changing Tide

16.1.2020

Open the window to a time

When fears and tears were only words.

Scrabble through the walls of mist,

To arrive at a land that doesn’t exist.

Flip through the pages of two decades,

Stir the dregs of times forgotten,

And the laugh shells that the tide brought in.

Unravel the years of thoughts, and smiles

Balled up into forgotten paper,

Thrown unheeding into silent attics

Where even its echoes whisper.

Hang the twine up on the walls,

And catch the laughter before it falls

And splinters into shards of glass.

Knot the ends of unforgotten times

And hide them in the hems of rhymes

So that they tinkle when you walk.

Finger the frayed ends of the threads

Of all the disheartening things anyone said.

Tie the kind words together

And prise the songs from each other.

Piece the poems side by side

And stitch a quilt so wide and fine,

That each thread glimmers line by line.

And lay it out by the new wave

For the changing tide to take away.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was written as a reflection on the eve of my 20th birthday. I had a few hours to go and way too many memories to reconcile with, ideas to ponder over and words to say. There was also the awareness that I was saying goodbye to not only a whole year of my life, but a phase. And phases are strange things; before you know it, one has passed and before you can prepare yourself, you have been swept into another one. Much like the changing tide.

Why Fan Fiction Makes Sense

15.1.2020

You read a book, you delve into the world the author has spread out for you, then you join the characters in the journeys they take and in the end, when they undergo a transformation of some kind, you are with them the whole time, and with them, a part of you changes too.

If you’re in luck, the book has a sequel and another sequel, and you can stay with those characters you love as they grow. But, what when the series or the book is over? Rereading, as we have learned, is not the same.

Enter fan fiction.

I discovered fan fiction on the Internet and was pleasantly surprised by the staggering amount of writing people have contributed to each fandom. I remember typing in names of every series or book I could think of, and never being disappointed as there were at least a couple of entries for even the most obscure of books.

Though of course, nothing can ever beat reading a real, live book with its own, original plotline and characters, I often turn to fan fiction sometimes when I’d like to have some definite “proof” of my favourite characters’ lives post the events of the book.

I first started reading fan fiction because of all the unresolved threads that existed in the Harry Potter universe that I needed to see to their ends. I stuck to canon, K- rated fan fiction of course, stories that were written in a style similar to J.K. Rowling’s, and then eventually started writing some.

I’ve been told that fan fiction is not real writing. I would argue that though fan fiction might not be original –in terms of characters and places- when it comes to the plot and other nuances it is as challenging and rewarding to navigate, as it is when one writes an original piece.

I feel that though the characters may not be original, the scenarios you create are still yours. And most importantly, the task of telling your tale and intriguing the reader is still up to you.

I have also found that at times when I have no inspiration or simply don’t feel like writing, fan fiction helps take my mind off the fact that I have nothing original to say. I also ensure that I keep writing and experimenting with words and ideas through writing fan fiction, even if the characters are not mine.

Also, after reading books that have endings that distress me or do not satisfy me, I often turn to fan fiction for some sort of closure. I also read or write fan fiction while taking breaks from really heavy books as well.

However, like every other thing on the Internet, fan fiction too is a bottomless abyss and the temptation to neglect real books and original writing for reading and writing fan fiction can become a reality. Thankfully, for me at least, the idea of a new, hitherto untraveled book has always been alluring and my sincere hope is that it always will.