As I prepare to dip my toe in Readercon for the first time, I find myself thinking about the fan/author relationship. I will probably be meeting some writers tomorrow night and I'm concerned about navigating the reader/fan/normal human being spectrum.
What is a fan? Why a fan? How does one move from reading a story (listening to a song, seeing a film), to feeling as though you have a relationship with its creator? Resonance, I suppose. Something about those words, that voice, and the structure of the story lead you to believe that you have a commonality of outlook or experience. Hey, I found someone who thinks like me! We should be friends! This increases or decreases with the number of books read. Social media can amplify this connection. I like your books, you respond to my tweets, your personal blog is engaging and fun and now I'm convinced that we are soul mates. I must consume and promote everything you do! But what if I worship your work and you don't respond? What if you are a superstar or a recluse and I have no way to connect? Do I love the work as much? What if you are dead? I <3 Shakespeare, but he never RTs me. WTF!?! Is the traditional one way, anonymous writer to reader relationship enough for me anymore?
What is it that makes me susceptible to fandom? I am a reader of total immersion, provided the story is deep and true. Whatever little membrane it is that divides reality from fiction in our minds is extremely permeable for me. In fact, I might argue it doesn't exist and that I really do experience other realities through reading, but that is another blog post. (Thankfully, I still keep my feet on the ground enough to remember that I need to pick the kids up from camp at 4:30 PM.) Through my experiences in fandom, I have met others who think and read as I do.
For me, going to Readercon is an extension of the social media relationships I already have. Without the virtual bridge, I would never have dreamt of attending in the flesh. I will bravely introduce myself to people I have only met on twitter and give my twitter handle to folks I meet at the con. I shall try not to squee but to contribute to conversations when writers are around. My life has expanded in wonderful ways through fandom, and I look forward to the challenge of connecting my internal world to the hard light version that is rumored to exist outside my books, laptop and brain. I shall report back on tomorrow's adventure!
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