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Pirates and Poachers: Fan Fiction and the Conventions of Reading and Writing

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dc.contributor.authorMackey, Margaret
dc.contributor.authorMcClay, Jill K.
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-01T12:22:20Z
dc.date.available2025-05-01T12:22:20Z
dc.date.issued2008
dc.descriptionThis article explores what teachers and students can learn about contemporary story-telling from a study of fan fiction – that is, stories created by readers and viewers out of the canonical material of previously published fictions. Drawing on the example of Pirates of the Caribbean, it investigates ways in which fan fiction writers develop codes and conventions to govern themselves. For example, online litmus tests establish when a writer is self-indulgently writing ‘Mary Sue’ characters into a story; the self-styled Protectors of the Plot Continuum patrol the fictional limits of an imagined world to make sure that canonical information is not violated by fan fiction writers. This article makes use of such examples to investigate how quality control in fan fiction is codified, and to explore what teachers can learn from such enterprises about contemporary writing, reading and viewing. It compares these possibilities with issues of online literacy outlined by Henry Jenkins under three headings: the participation gap, the transparency problem, and the ethics challenge.
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.7939/R3SB3XC34
dc.language.isoen
dc.relationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-8845.2008.00011.x
dc.relation.isversionofMackey, Margaret, & McClay, Jill K. (2008). Pirates and Poachers: Fan Fiction and the Conventions of Reading and Writing. English in Education, 42(2), 131-147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-8845.2008.00011.x
dc.rights© 2008 Mackey, M., & McClay, J.K. This version of this article is open access and can be downloaded and shared. The original author(s) and source must be cited.
dc.subject‘Mary Sue’ characters
dc.subjectLiteracy
dc.subjectCodes of ethics
dc.subjectPirates of the Caribbean films
dc.subjectCompliance
dc.subjectPenguinWiki
dc.subjectFan fiction
dc.subjectRules of reading
dc.subjectTransparency (Optics)
dc.subjectNew literacies
dc.subjectJenkins, Henry
dc.subjectQuality control--Social aspects
dc.subjectWriting processes
dc.subjectProtectors of the Plot Continuum (PPC)
dc.titlePirates and Poachers: Fan Fiction and the Conventions of Reading and Writing
dc.typehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
ual.jupiterAccesshttp://terms.library.ualberta.ca/public

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