lunabee34

I agree that musicians and athletes make their lives and personalities more publicly accessible than actors do. Mostly, I think that's because those kinds of celebrities are always playing themselves, whereas when actors are in public view they're often playing a character.

I do think that with certain celebrities, writers have more latitude than they do with the characters of a TV show because aspects of celebrities' lives are left up to speculation.

I think a lot of aspects of fictional characters are left up to speculation, too, especially characters in films and short-lived TV series. We definitely know more about Jensen Ackles's past than Shepherd Book's. That's a gratuitous example, I guess, but it's why I find this line of argument frustrating.

Do you think I could write a successful RPF based on all the fanon I've absorbed plus some wikipedia time or do you tink I would need to do some more in-depth research?

Do I think you could? Do I think people would read it? Yes and yes. 90% of Jared/Jensen is fanon anyway, and it's one of the few fandoms I'll read in despite limited canon knowledge.

But would you encourage someone to write fanfic based on a show they'd only seen a couple of episodes of, if they'd read a bunch of fic and read the Wikipedia episode synopses? There are a handful of writers who do an excellent job of it, but they're almost the exceptions that prove the rule.

Do I find the approach appealing? Not really. For me, part of the fun of writing RPF is collecting the canon material. New tour bus pictures on someone's Korean fansite? I'm there. New journal entry on someone's website? Fits of joy. YouTube clips or print quotes give you a securer sense of someone's voice and mannerisms. They're primary sources rather than secondary ones, and the difference is relevant for the same reasons as in professional research. Also, I find that videos and interviews are great for inspiring fic, the same way a line or scene from a show or movie often is.