Angela Thomas: Fictional Blogging and the Narrative Identities of Adolescent Girls
Angela Thomas
University of Sydney
Fictional Blogging and the Narrative Identities of Adolescent Girls
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Abstract:
This paper explores the emergence of fictional blogging such as blog novels and the diaries of fictional characters as a new form of narrative construction. A typology of blog fiction is first presented to outline the scope of this emergent genre. The paper then introduces a case study of two fictional diaries kept by adolescent girls who use the diaries as one of the means to co-construct and add depth to their crossover and alternate universe fan fiction based on the fantasy worlds of Middle Earth and Star Wars. The case study examines the range of discursive and social practices used by the girls in their collaborative narratives using a combination of narrative theory and post-structural feminist theory. The paper also explores the ways in which these practices embedded in fiction also reflect aspects of the girls’ real identities.
