Fanfiction

[Chilari]

To be honest I'm surprised this topic hasn't come up before.

So: who writes fanfiction? Why - or why not? What sorts of things do you write fanfiction of?

For me fanfiction presents a world I can slip right into at whatever junction I feel like and play around with to tell a story for the sake of my own enjoyment in telling it. There's no worldbuilding, very little character building, and I can manipulate characters who I like or dislike however I want to (generally I ignore the characters I dislike, or use them as the odd obstacle, and torture the characters I like). It's about writing something that isn't structured, that goes down the routes I want to take it, without a predetermined overarching plot or character arc. I can skip forward with a few sentences to explain what has happened in between without feeling guilty for not writing it properly, and there's no pressure to entertain anyone except myself.

I find it easiest to write fanfiction of TV series. I've done fanfic for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the most recent BBC Robin Hood, and a couple of other things. Regarding the recent BBC Merlin, I wrote it out of frustration with how the writers were just writing it episodically and not furthering the plot much. I wanted Arthur to find out Merlin had magic and have to decide whether to protect him or hand him over to Uther, because that was more exciting, more tense, than what was really happening (assassination attempts which Merlin constantly foils because every fricking person underestimates him, but nobody ever works out or sees that he has magic, argh!)

Now, I could claim that fanfiction is also about practicing the art of writing, getting things like dialogue, plotting, description etc right. And I'm sure that's true for some people. I don't use it like that. I don't try to concentrate on areas where I am failing when I write fanfiction. For me, writing fanfic is self-indulgence in satisfying my own desires for the direction a story should go in - sometimes with a little push from a character who is usually called Faye, who is basically an author-insert; I don't claim any merit for my fanfiction, because it is written with one purpose in mind: to entertain myself. I don't share it (well, there was one thing a LONG time ago, but I don't share any more). It's just for me.

Am I the only one? What other reasons do people write fanfic for? Do you share it? Alternatively, do you dislike fanfiction? Are you happy reading it but prefer not to write it? Or do you, like me, only rarely read it but happy write it whenever you feel in the mood for it?

 

[Steerpike]

I don't read it or write it as a rule. I read Steven Brust's Firefly fanfic, and that's about it.

I'm not interested in writing in someone else's world, unless I'm hired to do so and brought aboard in some official capacity (Warhammer would be cool), and by and large the take of "fans" on the world of an author in their own writing doesn't interest me even a little.

But that's just me

 

[Ghost]

To be honest I'm surprised this topic hasn't come up before.

Here and here.

So: who writes fanfiction? Why - or why not? What sorts of things do you write fanfiction of? [...] Alternatively, do you dislike fanfiction? Are you happy reading it but prefer not to write it?

I prefer to tell my own stories in my own worlds. Using someone else's creations isn't my idea of fun. It would like wearing clothes that are too small, clothes that aren't in my style or preferred fabrics. In the end, it would've been better to wear something that fits me, even if it's cheap or trendy. This is just my view, but it feels disrespectful to the author to use his or her creations as a template.

Even if I liked the idea, it takes me so much energy to write fiction. I even sleep better after completing a story. Wasting that energy on something that isn't mine would inhibit my other work too much.

I've read some fanfics when a series or manga ended and I wanted more, but I quickly gave up on them. I'd read the ones that are like parodies, but I'm rarely in the mood.

 

[Devor]

I've written a few things in WoW and WAR, for guilds I was part of back when I played those games. One of the threads Ouroboros links to has a discussion about whether stories set in shared worlds count as fanfiction if you use your own characters and concepts. I was actually kind of surprised when someone called them fanfic.

One of them is here in the Showcase if anyone is interested.

I don't like playing with other people's characters. The only time I've tried was with Dr. Who in the Challenges forum, and it was kind of tough to find a balance between character's classic lines and normal dialogue, since you don't have the actor to help translate that dialogue into the character.

 

[Ireth]

I've written a lot of fanfiction, both poetry and prose, with varying degrees of goodness. One of my earliest (and most awful) works is going up for riffing on another forum I haunt. Just getting up the willpower to type up the darned thing is a chore. I can't stand having to read more than a few pages at a time -- and it's over 300 pages long! x.x WHYYYYY.

*cough* Anyhow. Most of my fanfics and fan-poems are for LOTR and the Silmarillion; I have a few in other fandoms as well. Sweeney Todd, Frankenstein and V for Vendetta are all that come to mind... that might be the extent of it. I tried writing a LOTR/HP crossover once, and it didn't go over well. I haven't written much for my fanfics in a while, though I have a couple of ideas floating around in my head that gnaw on me every so often. I want to focus mostly on my original works right now, though.

 

[ArielFingolfin]

Actually, I've gained a lot of valuable skills from fanfiction. It's helped me to create strong characters because I have something to compare them with. Any time someone says my original character is vivid when standing next to a character that they already know and have a strong attachment to, I know that that character is as strong as it will ever be. Also when I get tired of creating from scratch and need a break, it's a fun place to go to keep my writing muscles from getting soft. I consider fanfic almost like my lab/playground, where I go to goof off or go a little nuts with something new. I've never gotten into writing fantasy fanfic though; it's too close to what I write in original stuff. When I write fanfic it's pure western, mostly Bonanza. That way I can keep things seperate so I know I'm not just copying Tolkien or someone else's ideas.

 

[ThinkerX]

One 'fanfic' of sorts, set in the Underdark of TSR's 'Forgotten Realms'. There was a series set there, one book of which particularly grabbed my attention, that I grabbed the idea and setting and ran with it. However, while it did reference a couple of the drow dieties, and did mention a couple of 'canon' cities, it didn't feature *ANY* 'name' Forgotten Realm characters. So, I don't know about it actually qualifying as 'fanfic' or not.

 

[Steerpike]

ThinkerX - to me, that's less fanfiction. I guess it is in the strict sense of the word, but I always think of fanfic as using the established characters etc. For some reason.

 

[Sheilawisz]

@Chilari: I am sure that many of us started our writing lives by the fanfiction way (the first stories that I wrote in my life were Thundercats fanfictions!!) and new writers can get real benefits from this practice, because you learn how to create a situation, a plot, the dialogue, use different characters and so on before you actually start to create your own stories =)

However, fanfiction is only for those who have started to write stories- I have argued with fanfiction "authors" at fanfiction.net about the limited value of their creations... from my point of view, they should not put so much creative energy and effort into writing stories that after all will always be just fanfictions, no matter how long and how good they can get to be!!

I have talked to many of them about the pleasure and the pride of creating your own worlds and your own characters, but they never seem to understand what I am trying to tell them =(

I write fanfictions sometimes just for fun, and if you read any of them you will immediately realize that I do not write them for quality or trying to make them serious stories: My purpose with my little fanfictional creatures is to make them as crazy and fun as possible, because for me, writing fics is just a game and a way to rest from my real writing work...

One of my little crazy creatures has recently caused controversy in a Poll at the Chit Chat section, and I have another that has started a raging war of reviews inside fanfiction.net.

Please visit my fanfictional craziness Here, read my little monsters that lurk there and write some reviews for them if you have a laugh =)

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

Not counting stuff I wrote when I was in high school, I've written a little bit of fan fiction, but not much. (I once wrote some Star Wars fanfic: a story about the Tatooine detective sergeant who discovered the Lars' corpses and tried to figure out who murdered them, and another story set ~300 years before ANH with Yoda as one of the main characters as he navigates the choppy political waters of Coruscant.) But I doubt I'll ever write any again, unless I was invited to by the original author, or as part of a contest of some kind (I submitted once or twice to Blizzard's writing contests).

As much fun as it is, it's just not productive. The simplest reason is that you can't really sell it. Sure, maybe you can impress those who do own it (e.g. Lucasfilm), and maybe they'll hire you to write something for them, but that's a longshot*. You can't legally publish it without violating copyright law. (This obviously only applies to things still in copyright. If you write a new Sherlock Holmes story, it's not really meaningful to call it fanfic.)

The second reason is that you're not developing your own powers of creation nearly as much. Coming up with new (or at least new-ish) material is harder but, in the long run, more rewarding and fulfilling than simply adding details to someone else's creation.

The third reason is that fanfic has, to a large degree (though not completely) a negative stigma of amateurism. Yes, there's plenty of really good fanfic out there, but the overwhelming perception is that it's crap.

If your goal is to be a professional author, doing this for a living, I strongly recommend against writing fan fiction at all. Spend your time on things that will do you more good.

* Yes, I'm aware that E. L. James, who wrote Fifty Shades of Gray, started out writing Twilight fanfic. This is sort of like saying it's a good idea to play the lottery, because someone once won the lottery.

 

[ArielFingolfin]

I think it varies from person to person. Yes, I would recommend that you write original stuff primarily, especially if you're actively pursuing a career in writing, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's pointless for everyone. Maybe there's no benefit for some people, whereas for others there's a lot of benefit. But don't write it off just because it doesn't help you specifically.

 

[Penpilot]

I've written a couple of pieces just for fun and to try and satisfy my own what-if scenarios for a cool world. For those who exclusively write fanfic, I don't think many are out to be published. They're just having their own type of fun. On a side note, I remember an interview with a Stargate fanfic writer who got hired to do Stargate novels. So I'd say there's one avenue for publishing for fanfic writers out there.

 

[ThinkerX]

As much fun as it is, it's just not productive. The simplest reason is that you can't really sell it. Sure, maybe you can impress those who do own it (e.g. Lucasfilm), and maybe they'll hire you to write something for them, but that's a longshot*.

Which is the number one reason I stopped working on my particular 'Forgotten Realms' story - I realized I had only *one* potential buyer, and the story was so 'Realms' specific I couldn't move it to one of my worlds. So I wrote two long sections, did some prep work for a third...and then realized the ending I had in mind wouldn't really fit into a 'Forgotten Realms' setting.

Not only that, even back then, I was very uncomfortable with the TSR 'habit' of trying to link the books to the AD&D system. The game mechanics kept getting in the way of the story, and the habit of dropping the newest Monster from the game into their books was something I didn't care for.

 

[The Dark One]

Simply don't see the point, TBH.

Writing time is precious.

 

[JCFarnham]

Writing time should be a fun time. Why write what you don't enjoy? If you enjoy fan fiction then that's grand.

I don't any more, but I wouldn't care much if I did. Whether I get paid for it or not, writing should always feel like a hobby, something to get lost in, something to indulge your ego I suppose. When it's not? Well you may as well go and be a copywriter -shrug-

I think the main thrust of my argument is that any writing you do is practice, and honing the craft is never a waste of time especially if you're doing it in a way that you love.

It's interesting to hear what people consider fanfic! I almost never used canon elements, back then I enjoyed the premise and wanted to do it my way, to see what my own creations would do in those situations. So it could never be sold... thank goodness!

I learned my craft in fan fiction and I'm not ashamed to admit it. That decade in Marvel fandoms definitely wasn't wasted time I'm sure of it. Now days I like to write original things, times change. Maybe I'll write fan fiction in the future, maybe I won't, who knows what whim will bring haha

 

[shangrila]

I wrote Fallout fanfiction when I was starting out, mostly because I wanted to write post apocalyptic stuff and I just LOVE that world they've created. But yeah, I've found it harder and harder to do ever since I've written my own stuff on a larger scale.

 

[Christopher Wright]

Fanfic is fun. Collaborative fanfic is a blast. There are dark corners of fanfic that I steer clear of, and I really don't write it any more, but writing within a pre-existing structure while a) respecting and preserving the structure and b) trying to put your own spin on it is very challenging and can be quite rewarding.

Not monetarily, since you can't really sell it, shades of grey notwithstanding. But still.

 

[Chilari]

Wasting that energy on something that isn't mine would inhibit my other work too much.

As much fun as it is, it's just not productive. ... you're not developing your own powers of creation nearly as much. Coming up with new (or at least new-ish) material is harder but, in the long run, more rewarding and fulfilling than simply adding details to someone else's creation.

Writing time is precious.

Okay, these things are related, I think. And I want to present an argument against this position.

So overall, the argument is that fanfiction is unproductive because it takes time and energy away from "real" writing.

I disagree.

Firstly, I do not write fanfiction when I have an original story in the works. I write fanfiction when I feel like writing but do not have a current project, do not feel inspired to create something from scratch. The freedom that fanfiction gives me to just sit down and write without needing to spend time creating characters, developing the world, thinking of how to start the story etc means I can launch right into it. Fanfic means I start with all that set out. When I write fanfic, I tend to start at a point which is bang in the middle of the series, or even the episode; or else with a question or scenario which is fairly obvious from the source material (I recently wrote a fanfic of Elder Scrolls Oblivion where the player character is amnesiac and searching for answers about who he/she is, why they were locked in that cell in the palace dungeon, etc, for example).

So I write fanfic because it is fun, easy, and gives me something to write when I want to write but don't have an original story I want to work on. Thus it does not distract me from original fiction or take energy away from original fiction, because I wouldn't be writing any original fiction in the first place at the times I write fanfic.

Secondly, I certainly don't find fanfic unproductive. Generally, the further along in the fanfic I go, the further from the original property it gets, in terms of original characters, plot lines, etc. Not only does this give me practice in character creation and development and plot, it also sometimes inspires me to create an original fic based upon themes that crop up, characters I've created, relationships between characters. In fact that has happened since I posted this thread. Over the last few days the fanfic I was writing has given me ideas for a new story I want to write. I'm changing quite a lot - from a post-apocalyptic world to a town whose menfolk were killed when they marched off to war which resulted in a Pyrrhic victory; from a crazy cult leader to the powerhungry relative of an ally as the main antagonist; and from early 21st century New Zealand to a bronze age town. I'm changing the characters to better match the new story's tone, setting and situation. It is, to all intents and purposes, a new story - but the seed of it came from a fanfiction.

Finally, to be honest, I think too much emphasis is placed on fanfiction's apparent unproductiveness as an argument against it, because writing overall is not, generally, a productive hobby. For most people here, I think, it is no more than a hobby. Sure, we'd like so get published and make money from it, but I'd be willing to bet most of us have full time jobs - in which case, all writing is unproductive as it is entertainment and does not contribute to the ability to put food on your table. Even gardening would therefore be a more productive hobby if you planted onions or potatoes or whatever. The point is that writing, whether of original fiction or fan fiction, is for most of us primarily for our own entertainment, and nobody else's. If writing fanfiction is fun, whether you write original fiction as well or not, surely it has achieved the primary goal.

 

[ArielFingolfin]

I think it's great when a person's hobby can be their job, and writing is one of those fields where that's possible. That being said, sometimes when your job is your hobby it can make you start to get tired, and you just need to kick back and goof off. Like if you were a professional athlete, just because you can get a basket from all the way at the other end of the court doesn't mean you can't spend a morning dribbling around and shooting hoops every once in a while. I'm not saying every writer needs that kind of a break, but some do. It's all about finding what works for you. If writing fanfiction is hindering your original stuff and (and I need to stress this) you're actively pursuing a writing career, maybe you want to consider sutting back or stopping. If you could A) care less about getting published or B) like to use fanfiction as a tool to develop skills and/or a place to blow off steam, then good for you.

 

[Anders Ämting]

To be honest I'm surprised this topic hasn't come up before.

So: who writes fanfiction?

*raises hand*

Not a whole lot these days, but sometimes the urge resurfaces.

What sorts of things do you write fanfiction of?

Oh, you know. Stuff I'm a fan off. I'm a bit all over the place, really.

It's different from when I write my own stuff, of course - they are different arts, and fanfiction requires another approach and other methods.