L.J. Writes

Continuing from Part 1 of the essay about the combination of steadfastness and dynamism that makes the Earth Kingdom so formidable, this second part of the Earth Kingdom culture essay is an examination of its diversity and ultimately identity.

( Identity and Pride in Earth Kingdom Culture )

When I become a fan of something, I tend to find fanfiction as interesting as the canon work. It's kind of like reading the comments to an article to find out what other people thought, but it's even better because much of fan fiction is better thought out than most site comments. Like all good fiction, good works of fan fiction have a creative vision and good execution, including structure, characterization, and use of language. It's the pleasure of reading good blog comments and reading good stories rolled into one, a communal and creative activity at the same time.

I've talked about some of my own fanfiction at length here and will continue to do so, but I'd like to talk about other fan stories I've enjoyed, too. These stories caught my interest, inspired me, and gave me new insights not only into Avatar but into writing and sometimes life in general.

( That's why I'm starting a new series, Featured Fics. First up: Crown Prince Chronicles. )

Links
FairLadyZ2005's Fanfiction.net profile - with stories in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Transformers/Beast Wars, Blakes 7, and more.
Avatar: The Last Airbender fan fiction:
Zuko: Crown Prince Chronicles - A "missing moments" series of funny, insightful, and touching stories about Zuko and friends
A Long Night - The Avatar benders' equivalent of socks on doorknobs and falling plaster.
Call Down the Heavens - The anti-bender rebellion begins with tragic consequences, and hope amid the wreckage. Author interview Part 1 and Part 2