Today I turn the blog over to a fellow fandom author and occasional generous beta reader, NN Schneider. When I was first scouring the web for Northanger Abbey fan fiction, her works were some of the few that not only took the characters seriously but even transported them to a different setting: there's the 1940's era Northanger Federated, as well as the modern hero/villain themeed Origin Story. I hope she'll one day expand on the latter story with new adventures; as a thank you for agreeing to this blog interview and a shove nudge in that direction, I've included a piece of fan art (image credits at end of post).
This interview focused on the concept of alternate universes in fan fiction, with a special lens on Northanger Abbey. Come back tomorrow for more fun leading up to the first chapter of Estancia Aldea Norteña on Friday!
Writing fanfiction is standing on the shoulders of giants. The clueless guardian, the controlling parent, the destined lovers are all instantly recognizable archetypes. Their conflicts and interactions are likewise part of our collective memories. We've read and watched and absorbed their stories to the point where we can still see them living their lives even after the final page.
There's something about these great characters that speaks to us and that spark is what we always need to carry with us into any retelling whether we're filling in missing scenes or transporting them to a different time and place. The amazing part is that these characters are a bit of a rorschach test in that we tend to see what resonates with us, and that changes over time. Thanks to the original author, these characters are so rich and relatable which means we can pick and choose different traits to bring forward in our stories. And we can choose to change or adapt those traits to fit our current project.
To push that envelope even further, let me add that writing someone out of character is sometimes exactly what the story needs. Introducing an individual as Henry or Frederick Tilney causes readers to form very clear impressions about them before we even reach the end of the sentence. Casting a character against type is a fun way to include the reader in a joke that none of the characters see. Likewise, choosing to present a character in such a way that conforms to the reader's prior expectations only to dramatically reveal that All Is Not As It Seems allows the writer to suddenly create a villain out of a hero or vice versa.
All of which is to say that there is no one constant the writer absolutely must bring into a work of fanfiction. Our readers are already bringing all their quirks and idiosyncrasies with them; it is the writer's job to determine which traits belong in each new story.
I don't typically start out knowing what I want to write. I just consume stories until my muse grabs my brain and wrestles it to the dirt. From that point on, I'm hooked. I learn more about it and just immerse myself in that world or time period. Later, I try to figure out how my faves interact with this new system, how their motivations and characteristics fit within the new setting.
Fanfiction is by its very definition derivative and writing an AU is an homage to both the old and the new. Sometimes it's as simple as dropping the characters and plot into a new place and time with new technology or historical markers replacing the old for convenient plot devices. At other times, the characters have to contend with a new plot that suits the new world. I think the more I can add as my own spin, the less I borrow from the original plot (while still keeping the characters, motivations, and interactions), makes a more novel experience for readers.
Setting Northanger Abbey in the future where Bath is a space station renown for its entertainments and the general invites Catherine to his personal asteroid because he thinks she's going to inherit one of Jupiter's moons, but then he learns the truth and expels her without checking to see if she has enough oxygen to make it all the way home ... The comfort comes from following the plot we already know and the variation comes from how we adapt it to the new world (or solar system). Setting Catherine up as a naive pawn in a conman's schemes and Henry has to rescue her but then discovers that the con is much more complicated than at first glance... Well now, parts of that are familiar but we're not following the usual script. The comfort comes from knowing that Catherine is too trusting for her own good and Henry is too clever for his, but the inventive bit is what comes next.
And there are so many classic stories to retell with our favorite characters, to get the brain thinking along those lines. Catherine is easy to imagine going to Oz in Dorothy's place, or following the white rabbit into Wonderland instead of Alice. We can see her donning a red riding hood to deliver a basket of treats to Mrs. Allen. Or maybe it's a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and Henry's a Jedi in training while Catherine is a princess's body double. What happens next depends on what we choose to bring forward, the kind of tale we want to tell.
Or how about an obscure seaside village (or ski town if that's what you know) where everyone knows everyone else (rather like Catherine's big family), and Henry shows up looking for the luxuries he's been raised to expect in resort towns? Traditional rom-com hijinks ensue until Henry's family arrives to join him for what is supposed to be a pampering getaway. At that point, does Henry lie to his father to make him think that Catherine owns the town because he knows what a snob his father can be? (Answer: Probably. Henry is a good guy, but he has also spent a lifetime learning how to deal with his father.)
Or what if they meet at a poker tournament in Las Vegas? Maybe Catherine is not as sweet as she seems, secretly cheating her way to the top. Maybe Henry works for "The General" who runs the casino, rooting out card sharps and hustlers. There's a wonderful conflict between what the readers know of the classic Catherine and how she's written in the AU, with little flashes of the original peeking through. And maybe The General has rigged the tournament after all so Catherine would need to cheat just to level the playing field. What does Henry do when he finds out? (Answer: The right thing, obviously. This is Henry we're talking about.)
When it comes to writing, I think I'm too flighty to focus on a specific AU. Something will catch my attention -- whether it's too many B&W movies or too much Studio Ghibli or someone else's what-if scenario -- and now I need to imagine how my faves would breathe in that atmosphere.
When it comes to reading, I personally love scifi and fantasy based on my formative years and a love of all things Star Trek. I love the funny ones. I love the goofy, feel-good ones. I love the more modern ones where Catherine's voracious appetite for gothic horror is translated into an obsession with film noir or true crime podcasts or ghost hunter vlogs. I love the ones that focus on the relationships that Catherine forms with other women. I love the ones that have the key moment when Catherine stops focusing on her favorite fad and suddenly grows up. Point is: Catherine will always be Catherine to me and Henry will always be Henry, even when they aren't. And I will love them however they are.
There's something subversively humbling about writing Catherine Morland. She is absolutely obsessed with a particular genre of fiction. She reads these books, she shares them and talks about them with friends. It gets to the point where she imagines these horrid storylines playing out around her! But when her life takes a truly gothic turn, she doesn't think about the stories anymore. She doesn't look for the parallels or wonder what her favorite heroine would do in this situation. Real life has finally become more compelling than someone else's imaginary world. I'm writing about someone who ideally outgrows the need for my stories.
How I think of these characters now is different than how I thought when we first met. The original story hasn't changed, but I have. Life -- and other people's stories -- has had its impact. Catherine Morland is a lot of things to me and I'm sure more than half of that is just projection at this point, and the same is true of Henry Tilney. You might as well ask a woman why she's friends with someone she met decades ago. We just clicked at the right age and then we matured together and apart. Now, we share too much history to ever fall out.
NN Schneider has a kajillion different works in progress and no idea which one she'll finish next. She's been posting Jane Austen fanfiction on the Derbyshire Writers' Guild as "NN S" since 2013. In 2020, she started cross posting on AO3 as "snafsnaf" and including stories in other fandoms. You might also catch her lurking on Tumblr as "nnschneider" where she tracks her current obsessions and posts about her latest adventures in baking and crafts.
Image credits include: Public Domain Pictures (Seattle skyline and Starburst pattern), Pixels, and Pxhere.
