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January 27, 2010
Alejandro Montalvo
Not many know that an entire sub-culture exists around the writing and reading of fan fiction. Fan fiction is the writing of stories based on characters and situations from popular fiction. This opens up possibilities for scenarios involving fictional characters doing whatever the fan envisions. Publication isn’t the motivation to write fan fiction. Fan fiction is written by fans, for fans and for entertainment purposes.
“I think the reason people write fan fiction is because they want to explore the fictional worlds they enjoy on a deeper, more personal level,” senior Celina Cesena said.
But not everyone shares the same enthusiasm.
“I had a period of time when I read some InuYasha fan fiction, but they were pretty bad. The characters’ personalities were not really like the ones in the show. The writers make their own characters, but use the characters’ names and the story’s original settings,” senior Angela Chu said.
The stories written by fans range from Anime to Jane Austen spin-offs. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is an adapted version of the original Austen novel with the addition of zombies.
Fan fiction writers can get into legal trouble. According to The New York Times, in 2009, a ruling by United States District Court Judge Deborah A. Batts permanently banned a fan fiction work, which featured a 76-year-old version of Holden Caulfield from the novel The Catcher in the Rye.
Certain authors, however, have given their blessing to fan fiction spin-offs of their books. J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter) and Stephanie Meyer (Twilight) have no problem with fans writing their own stories with their characters.
Fan fiction will continue to grow as more fans post their work on the Internet. If legalities do not interfere, fan fiction could be a start for emerging writers to showcase their talent.
Photo Credit: Celina Cesena
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October 14, 2009
Sarah deLanda
For senior Celina Cesena, Halloween gained its allure after elementary school. Once she was free from the countless, oppressive Disney princess costumes, Celina discovered she had both a love and talent for putting costumes together.
“Wigs really are the key,” Cesena said. “That’s what everyone looks at – the hair!”
However, her hair is not the most time consuming part of the process. The planning and searching that goes into making her costumes starts as early as three months before Halloween. And actually piecing it together? Some of her more elaborate costumes have taken up to a week’s worth of meticulous work. With all the details, sometimes comes discomfort, the most extreme of which is attributed to her geisha costume.
“It always comes back to the geisha; that was the least planned one,” she said.
By the end of that particular day, wooden shoes, an entire coat of face paint and the restrictive dress itself could be felt a thousand fold.
Cesena takes pride in her costumes and they are well-received and appreciated. Donning a house and over a witch’s dress, striped socks and ruby slippers, she took second place in the school’s costume contest during the Halloween rally just last year.
“The Wicked Witch of the East was probably the best idea I ever had,” she said. This year, Celina already has her costume planned out and is particularly excited for the hair and persona it will demand of her. As for the future, Cesena admits that while college might force her into hiatus, she intends to continue making her costumes until it loses its fun.
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