Fan Fiction

[Breakdown]

I've noticed that at least a few Escapist posters write fan fiction, but I can't really see the appeal. Why not write something original instead? I mean, fan fiction has a pretty bad reputation.

So, why write do you write fan fiction? Or read it?

 

[Queen Michael]

I read it because one in a thousand fanfics is really, really good. And I know how to find that one in a thousand.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Because it's fun. Not to mention easier than writing a completely new setting. With a pre-existing one, everyone already knows what various regions and characters look like, and some will like it simply because it's a decent story set in a universe they already like.

For me, I tend to write one or two stories whenever I get particularly immersed in a certain game or movie, often covering things the original work glossed over or focusing on characters I particularly liked. I've written stories for Final Fantasy, Shin Megami Tensei, James Bond, The Matrix and Star Wars. After enjoying AM2R, I am now working on a Post-Fusion Metroid story set on a completely new planet.

I know that apparently a fair number of writers get their enjoyment from writing extremely OOC romances and sex scenes to go with them... but that's not my bag, baby. The only scene like that I ever wrote was between two of my married OCs. If you want recommendations for stories I really enjoyed and which helped inspire me to get into it, feel free to sound off. Anything written by Magus 523 after about 2005 would be a good start- you can really see him improving as time passes, and he is apparently remaking his very first fan fiction, a novelization of Chrono Trigger, as a kind of swan song before he quits.

 

[Zontar]

It has advantages such as having a pre-existing setting and set of characters to work with and work off of. Plus it forces you to think outside the box because the box is already made and expectations are there, so to get noticed you need to leave it to get any attention.

And as others have stated it's also fun. I know I was very happy to get an SG1/BSG crossover I was working on for 2 years done with this week.

 

[Saetha]

I read fanfic because it takes the edge off of the wait for the next installment of whatever the fan fic's of. Also because a rare few fanfics are really damn good. But mostly because of the wait thing - I want to continue to see the characters and world but the actual creators just can't make content that fast. Thus, fan fic.

I don't write it, and never intend to, because as you point out I feel like that time's better spent making original content. I can see the appeal to writing fan fic as being, like, training wheels. You write a story in an established property because you don't want to have to spend time hashing out original characters/plots/worlds. (And certainly, I know of a few fan fics that were good when they were rehashing the base work, and then suddenly became very bad when they started introducing original content.) So in that way, I think some people use it as a way to write without going through the whole hassle of the creative process.

 

[Hades]

I read fan fiction from time to time because I don't know why I should care about someone's shitty original characters. I do know I care about the Fire emblem cast or Pit and Palutena.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Fanfiction writing can bring about some of the worse stories to have ever existed that it makes even stuff like Fifty Shades of Gray look like Shakespree.

Heck I wonder what the actual twilight fanfiction FSOG was based is like

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I mean I haven't in a long time, but sometimes you just want to play around in someone elses sandbox. Theres something you want to do with a certain character.

Fanfiction writing can bring about some of the worse stories to have ever existed that it makes even stuff like Fifty Shades of Gray look like Shakespree.

Heck I wonder what the actual twilight fanfiction FSOG is really like?

Well if they're like my novel Stephanie Was Drunk, it started out as a fuller house fic until I realized the character I made were only the fullerhouse characters in name only... so now I'll change the names and change some of the more superfluous details.

with Twilight that was probably easier, since none of the characters are really characters and more like blank slates for the reader to project on to.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Meh I enjoy it. Helps me get over gaming plot fatigue.

 

[Hawki]

I write fanfiction because while I can write original pieces (submitted a 3000 word short story to a writing contest last week), original fiction is far harder to get an audience for. Far harder to write as well. In the knowledge that I'm unlikely to ever reach the stage of being a published author, fanfic is really the only guarantee for me to write works that are actually read. That said, I do sometimes write in obscure settings that give me carte blanche for worldbuilding and characters, so they might as well be original stories at the end of the day.

I read fanfiction because I feel a sense of obligation to repay those who review my works on ff.net. And fanfic is very much the epitome of Sturgeon's Law, but every so often, you come across a story and/or author that produces quality material. Those moments do make slumping through my 'to review' list worth it.

And in the realm of shameless plugging, http://fanfiction.wikia.com/wiki/User:Hawki

 

[MiskWisk]

Well, firstly, working with a pre-existing setting is significantly easier than creating your own. You have character templates to work off of that people already have a sense of attachment too and a world with established mechanic to manipulate. If you want an example of mainstream fanfiction, the comic industry is in fact probably the largest sector. After all, how many writers actually came up with their characters? Ultimately, all fanfiction is is a new author looking at a setting and going, "What would this do?"

Secondly, and this ties into the first point, it is a fairly good way to practice writing. The template means that someone can write a quick story and the readers will immediately critique it in comparison to the original author's style. This can be both bad and helpful if one is willing to look past the harsh criticism and posts in communities with strong and helpful fanfiction communities (i.e. don't expect much from ff.net or AO3 while SB and SV are far more likely to give decent criticism)

Thirdly, no author can fully expand on the potential of their world. Some are excellent at it or go into such detail (*cough* Tolkien *cough*) that someone reading it can be struck with inspiration that results in a great story. Others however either fail to really achieve the potential of the setting (SAO) or the focus of the story is so narrow (Naruto) that there is a huge amount of unfilled space that an author can work with.

Fourthly, well, everyone thinks "what if..." at some point and that is probably what most fanfic authors do too. What if this character was late? What if he never met her? What if, what if, what if. Once that inspiration has struck, not writing it down can be a massive disappointment as you may not remember it later. Sure, you could jot it down to later create your own story but frankly not a lot of us have the motivation or capability to actively pursue a career in writing. That's where fanfic comes in.

Finally, it's because we're fans. It's in the name, fanfics. We want to see more stories in those worlds. We want to spend more time with those characters we fell in love with. We want to cheer them on as they struggle through adversity. We want to cry with them when they are sad. We want to witness them rise to greatness in their world. Eventually the story that the original author told ends but that is no reason we have to let them die. We can continue to explore their character and world. The greatest fanfics are written by people who ultimately love the series they are writing about, flaws and all. They are fans in the truest sense and whether they simply are inspired by the original work and saw a new path to tread or wish to create a piece of work that fixes what they see as the flaws in a series they wish to see become great.

Huh, that got longer than I thought it would. I think I should stop now before I start ranting about stuff that gives fanfics a bad name. Why neglect fics ever became a thing is entirely beyond me...

EDIT:

And in the realm of shameless plugging, http://fanfiction.wikia.com/wiki/User:Hawki

*Spits tea*
Bloody hell! 1500 stories!?

 

[Derekloffin]

One, it is a bit easier. You don't have to do all the establishment, you don't have to develop a world, and there is a fair audience.
Two, it is just fun. You get to goof around in a setting, doing things the original probably would never dare with the setting.
Three, it is decent practice to going to something all your own. Because you have a ready audience you can see what sort of things work and what don't. You can experiment with different, and different approaches and get at least some feedback. Go with something completely new and it will likely completely unnoticed.
Now those are the reasons I do it, but here is a few others too:
Four, it can get you a significant following. Again ready made audience, you catch their interest you can have quite the following going and that can stroke anyone's ego.
Five, you want to preach the good word... but do it subtly... or at least have deluded yourself into thinking your being subtle. Yes, a lot of authors will do this. Rather than argue on a forum about the series in question, they'll put their argument into semi-solid form in the way of a story.
Six, just to vent. Latest episode ticked you off? That particular character's fandom a bunch of no nothing losers? Well, time to break out the poison pen... er, keyboard, and tell them off by way of destroying them in story form.

As to why read it, mostly out of fun and lack of satisfaction with the available canon content.

That said, yes, a great deal of fanfiction is total and complete *bleep*. Hell, I've written some complete and total *bleep*, not the so *bleep* it is good either type. Nope, just plain *bleep*.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Also you would not BELIEVE the amount of Homosexual porn is in fanfics, and thee=se are mostly written by females, for a mostly female audiance. And sometimes they do it between 2 characters that should not even be gay for each other at all. (Even making up some bullshit to impregnate a male charcater)

 

[MiskWisk]

To retort to the people talking about the majority of fanfics being terrible:
Remember, Sturgeon's law is not 90% of fanfics are garbage, it's 90% of everything. All the other entertainment industries aren't any better, it's just they have an easier time of burning the evidence.

 

[busterkeatonrules]

I enjoy reading fan fiction for a number of reasons, but mostly because it makes for some fun, safely non-canon 'what if' - scenarios in the vein of the 'what if' - machine seen in certain episodes of Futurama. A prime example would be 'Double Rainbow' by ProBrono which, incidentally, is my personal all-time favorite fan work.

Spoiler: Dramatic reading - Click to View

There is also the occasional bit of absolutely brilliant weirdness, such as defender2222's magnum opus 'The Many Secret Origins of Scootaloo' (seriously, if you're into MLP at all, check this one out!)

Also, as has been pointed out before, the vast majority of fan fiction is... well, some kind of mindblowingly terrible. But in a situation where anyone can write and publish anything, there is going to be the occasional 'accidental' classic. The most famous example of this, is probably 'Light and Dark the Adventures of Dark Yagami'. (Yup, that's how the title is spelled.)

Unlike the infamous 'My Immortal' whose cringiness inherently drives people away, 'Dark Yagami' is actually genuinely enjoyable - if not necessarily in the way its author intended. This person has no sense of narrative, cohesion, grammar, punctuation or spelling, and indeed seems to have trouble even with the basic concept of Language itself. Yet 'Dark Yagami' is, in its own bizarre way, a timeless masterpiece. Yeah. We're talking forty-two chapters (and at least three epilogues) of what may perfectly justifiably be described as rambling, incoherent gibberish - and I genuinely and earnestly recommend it!

---

And I enjoy writing fan fiction because it's great fun, and great practice. I'm not gonna write a masterpiece right off the bat in any case, so I feel it makes sense to begin with a medium where I can publish my work at any time I choose and immediately get useful feedback.

(Now, if I could only work up the nerve to post any of it anywhere...)[/small]

 

[CrazyGirl17]

I write fsnfiction just for the fun of it... though I haven't put up anything in a long time. Mainly due to a paranoid fear of being seen as a bad writer... though maybe I should get back into it...

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

So there are quiet a few FF writers. What are everyone's specialties and accounts? What's your shame?!

 

[Angelblaze]

So there are quiet a few FF writers. What are everyone's specialties and accounts? What's your shame?!

Specialties: ....forced sex, emotional trauma, pain play and convoluted plot. Anyone else out there write gay Destiny fanfiction?

Accounts: See above as to why I'm not comfortable with it. Edit: Well, I just realized my account name on both sites is the same as the one I have now. Whelp.

Shame: See above along with an over 80k word fanfiction I wrote while still in grade school (Publish date:12/16/2010 holy crap.) that somehow has over 180k views.

Part of the appeal of fanfiction is not just building a new world with old characters, but dropping them in a setting in which its like 'oh, holy shit, it fits.'

Two of my particular favorites: Kuroshitsuji in an actual monarchy of princes battling for supremacy (Not my fanfiction, just something I thought about). Hunter x Hunter in a traveling circus, which I'm currently writing.

Edit: Dear god I just peeked my head into my old fan fiction.

Author notes in bold at the beginning and end in fanfiction.net.

Little to no physical description of character's actions and emotional depth and somehow, somehow, immense amounts of purple prose.

Actually a pretty decent plot-line in the beginning but my god does that devolve quick.

A pun so bad I actually cringed. Alloys. Fucking hell.

 

[FalloutJack]

Well, I've done both. Fanfiction is essentially for fun, although I did attempt to sell a story to CyberConnect once because it was written professionally with the intent to add to the .hack world they had so lovingly created. It didn't take, but I enjoyed writing it.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Bad writing is bad writing, period. It doesn't have to be fan fiction to make it bad.

That being said, fan fiction usually does fall into the terrible area because of the very reason a lot of people like to write it: passion for the source material. People fall in love with the world they know about--it it Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and my cup of tea, My Little Pony. For every world that someone else created, there are countless fans that want to play around in it.

People write fan fiction stories so that they can have their own adventures in the world that they love. Sadly, more often than not, this puts out a lot of Mary Sue characters, who are better than even the original cast, all the original cast immediately adores the new Mary Sue, and usually rules of the universe--or character traits--are broken in order for a Mary Sue character to do something that the writer has always dreamed of doing. Their absolute love of the world often blinds them to rules.
Plus, there's the fact that a lot of people just can't write well. Plain and simple.


As for myself, I wrote my own ending for Mass Effect 3 because that ending pissed me off. It's just over fifty pages, and I much prefer it to the crap we got. That's another reason why people will write fan fiction: to fix something they see as broken.
I've also written a lot of MLP stores on FimFiction.net. The reason I write all the pony stories is because I like being part of the community, and I like other people reading my stuff. I also like explaining things in the show, like why these two characters are together, or what happened after this episode aired. My stories on there are usually very well received, though I'm nowhere near as popular as the people that get featured.