Opinions on developing a fan-fic into something more?

[nwillmott8897]

I know this is probably going to sound very "E.L.James-like" of me, but is it actually possible to take something written solely for the purposes of fan-fiction, and tweak it to make it into an actual story that could be seen as completely stand alone from the original fan-fiction?

Like most teenagers that own a Tumblr, I've written my fair few fan-fictions in my time, but there's one Supernatural one that I'm actually quite fond of... It's completely free from smut and actually has quite the serious and in-depth plot. However, I feel that I can't be 100% proud of the work (even though the people that have read it all say its surprisingly well thought out, literate and would be as good as a real book if I continued it), because after all it's only the continuation of a plot that's already been handed to me.

Although the fic itself is only about 40% finished I already have a detailed plan of exactly what's going to happen. So the matter at hand really would be... If I scrap the idea that it's Supernatural themed, rename everything related to the show, and tweak a couple of things so that it's not obviously anything to do with Supernatural, would it make my work any more acceptable as a serious piece of literature? I would despise going to such an extent, only to find out (if I even get it published) that people look down on it like E.L.James's 50 Shades of Grey, simply because it's origins as a fan-fiction...

Don't get me wrong, this story isn't some sex-filled romp with no actual plot, it is in fact quite the opposite and deals with some pretty intense issues... But I fear that will all get looked past simply because of it's fan-fiction origins...

Would you look down on a book simply because of it having first been a fan-fiction, or am I simply worrying too much? Thanks!

 

[TWErvin2]

There is nothing wrong with being inspired by another work, be it a novel, story, movie, TV series, documentary, historical event, etc. That's where writers get their ideas.

My concern would be continuing a plot already started elsewhere.

Changing names, and tweaking the setting? Will that be enough to set it apart, as a creative work belonging to you?

Will readers be able to pick up on the plot and events and characters without the background of the series your work is based on--the plot you're continuing?

In truth, I think it'd be better to put your creative efforts into something that's all of your own--your own world, characters, plotlines, etc.

There are examples where authors have been strongly inspired and paralleled other well known works. The Iron Tower Trilogy and associated works written by Dennis McKiernan are closely aligned with JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books. McKiernan's works were published and sold pretty well and launched a successful career as an author. But he did have his detractors--some strong ones, based upon the content and parallels that many considered a 'rip-off' of Middle Earth.

You can come up with your own characters and storylines and be very successful. Take Confessions of a D-List Supervillain by Jim Bernheimer. He created a world with superheroes that stands on its own, and doesn't borrow or parallel anything from Marvel or DC Comics, etc.

That's my two cents. Good luck moving forward, whichever creative direction you take.

 

[Chilari]

That's sort of what I'm doing with my WIP: the original story began as fanfiction, but it's not dependent on the source material. It took me a few goes to get the setting right and preserve the key themes of the story, but what I have planned now is both quite close to the story of the fanfiction I wrote, and distant from the source material in setting. The source material was a post-apocalyptic children's TV show set in the modern day; my WIP is set on an island in a colonial era, abandoned by the authorieis due to a plague, with convicts, servants and soldiers left behind. The key theme that I had in the fanfiction - how justice works following the collapse of society - remains intact, as do key character relationships. Some character names reflect the names of characters in the original series, but are not the same (and in some cases have switched gender). I would say only three characters have much owed to the original series.

The point here is that the core theme is what was important to me when I was writing the fanfiction - a theme I felt was underexplored in the series, treated in a manner that lacked maturity. That's why I wrote the fanfic in the first place - the series didn't satisfy me on that point, so I wrote a fic which did, and then adapted that theme to the original fic. So what I have now isn't based on the TV series at all in terms of the story, it's based on what I wrote in reaction to dissatisfaction with it; and only a few minor points have much to do with the original series.

Meanwhile enough has changed - such as the massive change to the setting and background - that I doubt anyone reading my story without being told where the idea came from would have any idea that there were any kind of link there at all.

For me it's not just been about tweaking. I've made failed attempts at adapting this story from fanfic to original before, and in some cases that was because I tried to tweak instead of carrying out a full overhaul; in other cases it was because I lost what was the core of the story. It took time to get to where I am now, gradually working out what was important, which characters were fundamental to the story, how much I could change about them, what the best setting would be to allow the conditions I wanted in terms of a lack of formal society, contested authority, a system using slavery and so on. And in fact there's a huge chunk of both the source material and the fanfiction which was important to those stories - central, even - which is completely gone from my current version because it is not important to the story I want to tell. In fact, it wasn't until I realised that chunk wasn't important that I found the right way of telling the story, because all previous attempts at the adaptation kept that chunk in some form or another - and it formed a massive distraction to me.

 

[Fabsfan]

It is possible...I've done it. The fan-fic is an easy write because it's something you're so familiar with. In my case the story was written as a backstory for a character I play. It started as a simple little 2 or 3 paragraph idea and when I was finished it was a forty chapter novel. I tried to find how to publish it with the owner's blessings and when I couldn't, I went back and re-tooled it. First thing is to change all the character's names. Then go and change all of the place names. Then tweak the story so it doesn't follow the fan-fic perfectly and there you have it.
Once you've done all of that, it's no longer a fan-fic, but your story inspired by whatever you're a fan of.

 

[Ireth]

That's exactly how my WIP Tenth Realm came to be. It started as a LOTR crossover RP with original characters, and I took it and tweaked the elves and orcs to be Norse light-elves and black-elves, renamed, added and took away some of the characters, developed some new plotlines, and boom. Original fiction. It's working out well so far.

 

[Ophiucha]

To be fair to E. L. James (and that's the last time I'll ever write that phrase), it's not like 50 Shades was very obviously ripped from Twilight. It was awful, but in unique ways.

Yes, you can adapt ideas from your fanfiction and put them in an original work. For one, I imagine you'll find the story changing a bit as you re-draft and tweak the characters, so the ties it has to the Supernatural plot will loosen quickly. Make a few suitable changes to the format - nobody will ever be able to tell it's a Supernatural fanfic if there's a woman in the cast, for instance - and add a couple of unique elements to the worldbuilding and you'll be fine. Just really let the story grow, don't try to hold it to what you've done with the fanfic because even the smallest of changes to a character can butterfly effect into a significant change to the story, in the end.

 

[teacup]

As long as it's not easily distinguishable as being a fanfic of Supernatural, I'd say it's fine.

You should name the 2 MCs Dan and Sean

 

[Aprella]

I am doing this as well, though my WIP doesn't depend on any 'content'. The fan fiction part are characters that have evolved more or less to 'my' characters so it's easier to transform them completely to original characters.
I aim to have the fan fiction version finished this week and than start to adapt it to an original story. The fan fiction started out as something for fun (I co-write it) and loads of things are just wrong or missing in it.
I'm going to try and blog regularly about the progress of turning the fan fiction into an original story but we're basically starting from scratch and just keeping some concepts and the main plot line (though that needs a lot of work as well)

 

[buyjupiter]

I would advise getting somebody who doesn't watch Supernatural to do a good critique for you. If they can't pick up on the origins, then you've done your work of making it your own.

From watching tumblr/facebook feeds explode with the whole "will they/won't they" that the writers are doing for Supernatural and the two MCs, try to stay away from that maybe? (I don't watch the show, follow the tumblr fan fic, etc...so I might be wrong about which characters they're playing chicken with?)

In my own experience at untangling my work from (very) unintentional sources of inspiration, you have to have a critical eye as to where people will see the similarities...and if that puts you at risk for lawsuits. In my case it's the general idea. I have a kingdom that is inherited by the last person who can inherit it, this MC is notified by postcard, there's not much to the castle--it's rundown, miserable, and damp. There's a talking tree and a princess who isn't princess-like at all. There's humor. There are no wizards, no kingdoms for sale, but it reads very much like a send-up of Magic Kingdom for Sale. I've had to pull back and go ok, I can shift the inheritance to something else, I've got the darker element already that I need to make a lot more of, and the Princess may have to go or have her role shift. I know the humor will have to go, which makes me sad, but I like the basic idea too much to just drop it now that I've realized it's a little too similar to Terry Brooks.

I hope any of that helps.