Fan-Fiction?

[JazzTD]

What do you think about fan-fiction? (not the site, the actual fan fiction)

Would you write it? Would you read it? Have you written it? Thoughts on it?

Personally I enjoy fan fiction, I have written some and there are various stories I absolutely adore despite being fan fiction. But I do know people who think it's demeaning.

What do you think?

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

I've written it. I've read some. Now that I'm trying to actually make writing my career, I would no longer write fan fiction (except in certain narrow circumstances, e.g. a challenge, or if asked by the original author).

You can't publish or make a living from fan fiction, and since my goal is to be published and make a living doing this, writing fan fiction does me no good at all.

 

[Xanados]

I'm currently writing short stories set in the Warcraft IP as it is a universe I love dearly.
Hm, Benjamin, atleast you can win writing contests! (Reffering to the Blizzard Writing Contest.)

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

Yeah, there is that; I actually did enter the Blizzard 2011 Writing Contest. I wonder when they announce the winners? It's been a couple of months...

That would fall under the "asked by the original author" category, though. Or in this case, the company that owns the copyrights.

 

[Sparkie]

Ben already won the Legendary Sidekick Trigger Challenge. There is no greater height of achievement.

Personally, I find fan fiction uninteresting to read. Why would I write it?

 

[Xanados]

Ben already won the Legendary Sidekick Trigger Challenge. There is no greater height of achievement.

Personally, I find fan fiction uninteresting to read. Why would I write it?

Why do you find it uninteresting? Surely you would if it was a franchise you liked?

 

[Sparkie]

Why do you find it uninteresting? Surely you would if it was a franchise you liked?

I'm picky, I guess. Granted, some fan fic can be both well-plotted and well-written. But when it comes to reading and writing, I prefer a bent towards originality. I'd rather see a writer use his own world over someone else's.

 

[Telcontar]

I've written a lot of it, but much like Ben now that I'm serious about starting a career as a writer I'll be leaving it behind, with the obvious exceptions of writing contests or - may it be - hired work! Though I suppose if they hire you to write a book in their world, it isn't really fan fiction...

The only exception is a story that's been brewing in my head set in the Warhammer universe. It's been incubating for such a long time it seems a shame to me if I don't get it out on paper.

 

[myrddin173]

For me it really depends on the individual fanfic. There is one I follow religiously based on an anime I watched as a kid. By now the fanfic has surpassed the original in length. The most recent chapter, the 68th not counting various "specials", is almost the length of HP and the Philospher's Stone, suffice to say chapters are few and far between...

Anyways the thing is the author strives to keep the pre-existing characters true to themselves but also having them grow. She even added a standard item from other fanfic's of the show that really has no basis and actually made it work.

So I guess what I'm trying to say that fanfiction is good when it stays true to the original. (Though a good parody is always good to)

Edit: Oh and the author of the aforementioned fanfic has been writing said fanfic since she was 13 which is about 11 or 12 years ago. The earlier chapters show her inexperience but there is no doubt she has grown as a writer. And is incredibly dedicated.

I also think fanfic is good for beginner writers, its an exercise that can give them skill they can later use. Similar to how art students go to museums and paint famous paintings.


(Also keep in mind We would ask that fanfic not be posted on this site)

 

[Xanados]

(Also keep in mind We would ask that fanfic not be posted on this site)

Oh...
I posted Warcraft fan fiction in the showcase section quite a while ago now. I wondered why it was devoid of any response for the first few days. I'm also working on fan fiction at the minute. Can I atleast make a thread linking it to my blog when said fiction is complete?

 

[myrddin173]

Can I atleast make a thread linking it to my blog when said fiction is complete?

You would have to double check with Black Dragon but I would say yes. Since in that case this site would not be the one hosting it.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Hello everyone =) I like fanfictions and I do write them, but I see the practice of writing fanfics as a game and a joke that nobody should take seriously at all!! When I write fanfics I just have fun writing freak and crazy stories without making any real writing effort, so in my opinion fanfics should be recreational only.

I honestly do not understand those fanfiction "authors" that put so much effort and energy into writing their little fanfics- It doesn't matter at all how long or well written a fanfic can get, it's just a stupid fanfic and it will always be!! I have talked to many writers of super long fanfics telling them to create their own worlds and their own characters, to be more like us, but they never listen =(

In case anyone would like to read my super freak fanfics like the Happy Hogwarts Friends series, Battlestar Fleur, Of Titans and Fairies or maybe Vengeance (all are very short fanfics) you can easily find Sheilawisz at fanfiction.net and maybe laugh yourself sick with my little monsters!!

@Myrddin: I have a question for you!! Are parodies allowed in the Showcase section?? I have a little story that is a parody of the first Narnia movie (not a fanfic, it has characters and a world of its own) and I want to share it, but it's derivative work after all... I asked Black Dragon, no answer so far =(

 

[Steerpike]

Fanfic might help new authors for a brief period, but I recommend moving away from it fairly quickly if you really want to be a serious writer of original fiction. If your only interest is in writing fanfics, there is certainly nothing wrong with doing so. If you want to move into more serious, original fiction, fanfic is more of a crutch than anything. You're not developing all of the skills you need because so much of it has already been done for you and you're just piggybacking on the work of others. Like with most things, if you're not exercising a particular skill you aren't developing it.

 

[Sheilawisz]

I agree, Steerpike!! Fanfics are alright for people who have just started to write anything, and I am sure that many of us here in Mythic Scribes started that way =) The first stories that I wrote in my life were Thundercats fanfictions, and that was good to start with, but any person seeking to become a real writer must abandon the fanfics game and create his or her own real works.

Sadly, many people writing fanfics have real talent and they refuse to write or create anything of their own... such is the case of a very talented 13 year old girl that I met at fanfiction.net some months ago- she is brilliant, but she seems to have no interest in creating her own characters or stories =(

Sometimes I feel sad for them, they do not know the pride and joy of creating your own world...

 

[Devor]

Normally when I think of fanfiction I think of someone who's writing with another writer's characters. But there's a lot of shared world projects and even some video games where the line can get pretty blurred. As those projects employ a large number of talented fantasy writers, and may provide a valid avenue for some fantasy writers to become published, I don't think they should be dismissed.

Oh, to add. In television one way you break into screenwriting is to write a script for the latest hot new show, the ones who need writers. I think some pieces could be seen as doing the same, or practicing for the same, in a video game or a shared world.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

I've never really read any fan-fiction. To me, knowing that it's not cannon is enough to diminish it's value. I don't think anyone but the original author is qualified to write their characters. Fans have favourites, and wants, and a bias that would distort (or even tear apart) the authors world and themes, and it means that I can find little meaning in it. As a reader, I want substance. As harmless fun or an exercise though, I don't really care, I just won't read it myself.

 

[Xanados]

I've never really read any fan-fiction. To me, knowing that it's not cannon is enough to diminish it's value. I don't think anyone but the original author is qualified to write their characters. Fans have favourites, and wants, and a bias that would distort (or even tear apart) the authors world and themes, and it means that I can find little meaning in it. As a reader, I want substance. As harmless fun or an exercise though, I don't really care, I just won't read it myself.

What if the fan-fiction revolves around characters that aren't actual written heroes in the universe? I'm writing a 6 and a half page fan-fiction in the Warcraft series that has nothing to do with any major lore characters.

Edited for stupid grammatical errors.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

What if the fan-fiction is revolves around characters that aren't actual written heroes in the universe? I'm writing a 6 and a half page fan-fiction in the Warcraft series that has nothing to do major lore characters.

That's not so bad. I suppose it depends on the world too though. I'm not likely to read anything based on the Warcraft world because I think of it as a world designed for games, so whilst there might be fewer themes to push against when writing fan-fiction, it's not likely to appeal to me emotionally.

 

[Sheilawisz]

I believe that writing for shared world projects like Star Wars expanded universe, games like World of Warcraft, tv series and so on is a different matter, not actually the same as writing fanfics!! Anyway, I prefer to write with my own characters and my own worlds, it makes me feel so proud =)

Well, it seems that I will not be granted permission by Black Dragon to share my parody The Timelines of Nornium in the Showcase... Maybe I could try with that new self-promote section??

 

[Xanados]

I believe that writing for shared world projects like Star Wars expanded universe, games like World of Warcraft, tv series and so on is a different matter, not actually the same as writing fanfics!! Anyway, I prefer to write with my own characters and my own worlds, it makes me feel so proud =)

Well, of course I am working on my own project as well. I'm pretty sure most people that write fan-fiction are writing their own stories, too. I'm working on a project that has over fourty pages of documentation...