Fan Fiction: Is it a problem?

[lion el jhonson]

Just asking because I read alot of fanfiction. Particularly that of the mass effect, Halo, Left 4 Dead and Friday the 13th variety. Before you say anything, yes, these are all romance fics. Every single one. For Mass Effect I prefer the story to have a Quarian,Turian or Krogan interest. For halo I prefer Elite on human. For Left 4 Dead I prefer SI(except the boomer and spitter) on human(female)or vice versa. Friday the 13th Jason on OC(female). I like my stories not to be to unrealistic, realism I like because it makes me more involved with the story. Are there some I just read for "release"? Yes. Are there some where I search for genuinely decent story? Yes. I think we all have our little things. Me? I like Fan Fiction. Its mostly harmless(I say mostly because I think we have all read cupcakes), these people aren't trying to rob from original creators of material. I believe, they simply wish to express they're creativity and like of something through the written word. Me, personally, I like it. A friend of mine however thinks that all FF writers are unoriginal, talent-less hacks who should all be beaten to a bloody pulp.

So whats your opinion on Fan Fiction? Do you like it? Hate it? Anything in between?

I will hold no secrets on this. If you want to know about me personally. ask.

Also, if you have any questions or was confused by something I said then By all means ask away.

Personally, I really didnt like the way I wrote this post out. There are probably things I missed, It is poorly worded and I just had a hard time of thinking of how to write this post.

 

[OniaPL]

I like the idea of fan fiction, and I like some fan fiction. I don't read much of it as I can rarely find one which I would be interested in and which is not terrible. Many people see fanfiction as an opportunity to write their own "Mary Sue" -stories, when in my opinion fanfiction should be used to expand on the universe the original work established.

Also, without the concept of fanfiction we would not have this.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4719325/1/My_Immortal_REPOST

Actual story starts in chapter two.

 

[LordFisheh]

I've read some really, really good ones, of a quality better than many published books. But most are such a pile of utter crap that I can't begin to describe them. I think a lot of it just comes down to people putting their daydreams on paper, which leads to Mary Sues, forced 'awesomeness' and general failure. What I relly can't stand, though, is crossover fics. I just don't get them, or how anyone could take them remotely seriously. They smack far to strongly of 'hey, wouldn't it be AWESOME if x met y' - and throw away any pretence of not just being someone's daydream masquerading as a story.

 

[The Madman]

Never read any but approve of its existence. If people want to share and trade their own personal takes on a particular story then by all means they should feel free.

 

[Death Carr]

I read lots of evangelion fanfic (entirely romance)
and am actually in the process of writing one of my own

 

[Brightzide]

My immortal...Onia PL beat me to it. ''The car was flying circumcising overhead.'' ...I dont need to say much more on the matter

 

[smithy_2045]

Bad fanfiction is a problem. So 99.996% of it.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

Well, I haven't read any fanfic that were bad and NOT hilarious, or any that disturbed me. Then again, I haven't read much fanfics, and even then I avoid all the terrible stuff, but the ones I read I enjoyed, and I always wanted to write one of my own, so I'm okay with them. I don't really see it being any threat to the source material.

 

[FalloutJack]

I think that fanfiction should be, ironically, left to those who are skilled enough to make REAL fiction, like it being a hobby for FUN performed by those who CAN truly write.

The most I know about Evangelion's background info is the completely-ridiculous non-canon story called "Nobody Dies". It takes the piss out of the real series and delivers a solid mind-blowing laugh. Because why not?

Other fanfics...not so hot.

 

[Vrex360]

Unless the author's name is Annie Wilkes, then no it isn't.
Fan fiction is harmless. Weird and sometimes creepy but harmless. Plus it can be a great way for a young writer to get some practise, working with pre-existing characters and settings as a way to learn how to set up stories.
Oh and a truly great fan fiction has to be the Halo fan fiction 'The enemy of my enemy'. Despite a few spelling and lore errors, I find it to be a very good story.

 

[hazabaza1]

Nah, I wouldn't see it as a problem. Creepy as shit, but not a problem.

 

[the Dept of Science]

The phrase "first world problem" springs to mind.

For me, I'm not going to read fanfiction when I could be reading Vonnegut, Murakami or Dickens. I know it makes me sound pretentious, but we learn most from reading great works and I think there are better things that I could be doing with my time than reading about Left4Dead zombies getting in love triangles with the survivors.

 

[Craorach]

The phrase "first world problem" springs to mind.

For me, I'm not going to read fanfiction when I could be reading Vonnegut, Murakami or Dickens. I know it makes me sound pretentious, but we learn most from reading great works and I think there are better things that I could be doing with my time than reading about Left4Dead zombies getting in love triangles with the survivors.

"great works" is a pretentious term in and off itself.

While I agree that there is much to be learned from classic works.. reading and understanding Shakespeare is a wonderful thing.. modern books, even mass produced works like Games Workshop's licensed fan fiction can have its moments of clarity no matter how poorly written.

The same is true of amateur fan fiction. If nothing else, some of those fan fiction writers will go on to become writers we see on bookstore shelves. Their way their writing develops tells us something about how that process works and them as a person.

Any writing, no matter how technically poor, teaches us something.. even if it's not something we want to learn.

 

[repeating integers]

The phrase "first world problem" springs to mind.

For me, I'm not going to read fanfiction when I could be reading Vonnegut, Murakami or Dickens. I know it makes me sound pretentious, but we learn most from reading great works and I think there are better things that I could be doing with my time than reading about Left4Dead zombies getting in love triangles with the survivors.

"great works" is a pretentious term in and off itself.

While I agree that there is much to be learned from classic works.. reading and understanding Shakespeare is a wonderful thing.. modern books, even mass produced works like Games Workshop's licensed fan fiction can have its moments of clarity no matter how poorly written.

The same is true of amateur fan fiction. If nothing else, some of those fan fiction writers will go on to become writers we see on bookstore shelves. Their way their writing develops tells us something about how that process works and them as a person.

Any writing, no matter how technically poor, teaches us something.. even if it's not something we want to learn.

You know, I'd say I enjoyed Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn trilogy more than a lot of "great works". It actually is legitimately very good (Abnett really is very good at making you care about his characters).

 

[Craorach]

You know, I'd say I enjoyed Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn trilogy more than a lot of "great works". It actually is legitimately very good (Abnett really is very good at making you care about his characters).

Abnett is great, Eisenhorn is on my list to read after I've finished the current Heresy books.

One of the greatest values of these books is that their link to Games Workshop will make people who would not normally read books, read these. The Heresy books, for example, can teach a lot about good intentions and how people in times of stress can make decisions that have far reaching consequences.

Gaunt's Ghost's can show the horrors of war and the loss involved for the people it touches, both physical and psychological.

The Ciaphas Cain series is pretty good at showing the difference between perception and reality of individuals.

Look at that, this has suddenly become another 40k thread >.>

Edit: In other licensed works, that pretty much represent professional fan fiction.. Blizzard's stuff can be pretty good. I Mensgk and Spectres, as well as the Christie Golden books surrounding Thrall and the Cataclysm are amazing works that use their fantastic settings to make observations about human nature.

 

[Archer666]

Not really a problem. 99% of them are hilariously awful and 1% is actually not all that bad. I don't read any of it unless its an interesting concept written atleast semi-competently.

 

[Sirron Kcuch]

I have no problem with it; unlike fanboys, I don't have to deal with it if I don't want to.
BTW I find the concept of Fallout Equestria hilarious

 

[Kahunaburger]

The phrase "first world problem" springs to mind.

For me, I'm not going to read fanfiction when I could be reading Vonnegut, Murakami or Dickens.

This more or less summarizes my opinion as well. If it's your thing, it's your thing. (On the other hand, I do reserve the right to laugh at bad fanfic.)

 

[Dandark]

There is nothing wrong with fan-fiction, if someone doesn't like it then they can just not read it.