Along the way, Bow mentions his fan fiction work, writings that earned him a dedicated following for his blog and upcoming novel. Turns out that he's not alone. A few popular writers have used fan fiction both as a proving ground and as a springboard into a professional writing career.
Maybe we can track James Bow down for Five Easy Questions eventually. In the meantime, thanks to Bow for giving us something to think about...
"The media doesn’t usually pay attention to fan fiction, unless it is to cast a somewhat raised eyebrow at this example of weird teen culture, but it could interest their readers to learn how many professional authors and screenwriters got their start in fan fiction. There’s Stephan Moffet, the writer behind the acclaimed British comedy series Coupling, and Mark Gatiss, a writer behind the BBC’s League of Gentlemen. There’s Russell T. Davies, the creative genius behind Queer as Folk, the Doctor Who revival among professional credits too numerous to list. All of these people came up through Doctor Who fandom. On this side of the Atlantic, there’s Peter David, a longtime Star Trek and Doctor Who fan, whose fan fiction led him to screenwriting credits, book deals, and to being one of the premiere writers for Marvel Comics. There’s a whole generation of authors, screenwriters and producers who have blurred the lines between amateur and professional publication."
Thank you for the link and for the kind words. If you ever want to give me those five easy questions, you can send me an e-mail with just a click of a button on my blog.
Posted by: James Bow | March 12, 2006 9:40 PM | Permalink to Comment