Writing or creating their own piece of fan fiction / art / media (at least 750 words / 5-7 minutes in length) based off of the course materials in some manner (10%) – due November 23

Learning Goal: I’m working on a english multi-part question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Fan fiction plays an important role in the depiction of the vampire and werewolf. Fan fiction projects also inherently explore new perspectives on canonical works, themes, ideas, etc., while integrating multiple modes of meaning-making into a collaborative activity. Lastly, fan fiction is deeply tied to identity construction, giving space to fans to self-reflect and explore issues of identity and empowerment. As a signature assignment for RSSS 315, students will be tasked with completing a fan-fiction project with the following stages / tasks:

1. Completing a “practice beta reading” of a piece of fan fiction (5%) – Completed on October 23
2. Writing or creating their own piece of fan fiction / art / media (at least 750 words / 5-7 minutes in length) based off of the course materials in some manner (10%) – due November 23
3. Submitting a written self-analysis (250-500 words) of their own fan fiction project (5%) – due November 23
4. Acting as a beta reader for 2 other students’ works of fan fiction (250-500 words, each) (10%) – due November 30
5. Revising your fan fiction (with at least 250 words added to the 1st draft) in response to the beta readers’ and instructor’s feedback (10%) – due December 7

In this file you will find the guidelines for tasks 2 and 3. The guidelines for tasks 4 and 5 will be posted by November 1.

TASK 2: ROUGH DRAFT OF ONE’S OWN FAN FICTION. DUE NOVEMBER 23

Assignment:

You will be writing a work of fan fiction for your signature assignment. First, choose a story from the course that you enjoyed (making sure to check the assignment requirements below). After choosing the original work from the course materials, then choose what genre of fan fiction to write based off that original story:

• Missing Scenes: “Missing scenes” are not actually in the original literature but would stay true to the facts and characters in the original story. For example, an author might write a story based on the book Tale of Desperaux and add a scene between Desperaux and the princess. In that scene, the characters and scenes would be the same as what the author portrayed them in the real story. Nothing would be changed by the Fanfiction author. The author would simply add a section that could fall right into the story.
• Alternative Perspective/Alternate Universe: “Alternative perspective” refers to the Fanfiction writer telling the story from a different perspective, which can include an opinion about a character, an event or the entire story. When a major character or story event is changed, it is considered to be an “alternate universe” story. For example, an author may write a story about The Wolfman but tell the story from the perspective of a passerby from the background of the film, or a story about The Frog Princess from the perspective of one of the sisters-in-law.
• Alternate Reality / “What If?”: Characters from one story entering into another story or world would be considered as part of an “alternate realities” story (e.g., Star Wars characters appearing in the world of Harry Potter). Our practice reading of “Baba Yaga and the Wizard” would fit into this category. A “What If?” story asks “what if A had happened instead of B?” or “What if X were the case instead of Y?” What if Edward were not a vampire, but was a troubled billionaire? (i.e., Fifty Shades of Grey). What if Victorian England was overrun by Zombies? (i.e., Pride & Prejudice & Zombies). A “what if?” change can be a simple one or a major one – either way, though, the point is to explore how the story or character relationships would have turned out differently.
• A Behind-the-Scenes Scene: Choose a character or scene and describe what was going on while the action of the story was not focused on them. For example, what does the Fairy Godmother do when she’s not fixing Cinderella’s life? What was going on in the Shire while Frodo was off on his quest to destroy the ring? These stories will make the reader see the original from a new point of view, or add an extra layer of meaning to what was already there. Example: Wicked (the musical or book).
• Sequel: “Sequels” are a continuation of the story that takes place after the timeline of the original story.
• Prequel: A “prequel” is when an author writes a story that takes place prior to the timeline of the original story.
• Self-Insert: A “self-insert” is when the author writes himself or someone who closely resembles himself into the story, usually through an avatar (e.g., write a character into the story of Leptirica that resembles yourself; how would that affect the overall story?).You can also find some helpful ideas, prompts, first lines, etc., in this document(Attached) that may spark your ideas about how to begin your fan fiction.

Requirements:

Your piece of fan fiction should:

• Include a completed template (Attached below, delete what is prewritten, its written by professor) by replacing the information in the template with information about your own work. The template information does not count towards the word-count requirement for the fan fiction.
• Engage clearly and directly with at least one work of fiction (text or film) from the course materials.
• Incorporate in some manner – directly or indirectly – either one theme (i.e., folklore, historical, etc.) or approach (i.e., Perkowski, Propp, etc.) to the monster based on the course materials.
• Be spell- and grammar-checked;
• Be written in a professional, respectful manner for a general audience (i.e., a rating between K and T)
• At least 750 words. You may go over 750 words with no penalty. Failure to meet the minimum of at least 750 words = -25.
• Double-spaced. Failure to double-space = -2.
• Calibri 11 or Times New Roman 12
• Be sure to title your work (i.e., “The Life of…”). Failure to include a title = -2.
• Include a word count. Failure to include a word count = -5.
• Submitted in .doc, .docx or .pdf format to the d2l “First Draft” dropbox by 11:59pm Wednesday, November 23. No other file formats will be accepted for credit.
• Alternative works of fan fiction (i.e., art piece, media, etc.) must be pre-approved by Prof. Jens.
• Fan fiction rough drafts will be graded on a 50-point scale; see below for the grading rubric.

TASK 3: SELF-ANALYSIS. DUE NOVEMBER 23

The self-analysis is your opportunity to describe to the instructor your goals and aims in your first draft of the fan fiction. In essence, the self-analysis is an artistic statement, explaining the purpose or goals of your fan fiction, the ideas and themes your fan fiction explores, any symbolism or deeper meaning(s) you wished to convey in your fan fiction, influences (course works, other works, etc.), and any other features of your text that are relevant.

You self-analysis could consider such issues as: How did you go about deciding the various elements to include? What work(s) were you referencing or using in your fan fiction? What themes or approaches did you integrate into the fan fiction? Why did you choose those themes / approaches over others? Who did you intend as your audience?, etc. etc. You may also consider using some of the questions in the Practice Beta Reader worksheet as prompts if you are looking for ideas of what to discuss.

Requirements:

Your self-analysis should:

• Clearly identify which work(s) of fiction (text or film) from the course materials you used.
• Clearly identify which one theme (i.e., folklore, historical, etc.) or approach (i.e., Perkowski, Propp, etc.) you used in your fan fiction.
• Be spell- and grammar-checked;
• Be 250-500 words. You may go over 500 words with no penalty, but should try to limit yourself to 500 words maximum. Failure to meet the minimum of at least 250 words = -5.
• Double-spaced. Failure to double-space = -1.
• Calibri 11 or Times New Roman 12
• Include a word count. Failure to include a word count = -2.
• Submitted in .doc, .docx or .pdf format to the d2l “Self-Analysis” dropbox by 11:59pm Wednesday, November 23. No other file formats will be accepted for credit.