Poll: Fan Fiction and tie-in fiction: are you a writer, reader or dismisser?

[Valksy]

Reader and particularly something of a f/f slash fan. Always amuses me these days that shippers of all varieties are known about and even encouraged.

I used to be in writing circles, although mostly as a beta reader and line editor but don't have the concentration any more.

As for dismissing - here is a pro-tip, if people don't like it they shouldn't read it. Boggles my mind that people actually put time and effort into telling others that they don't like something (as if the people they tell should give a damn).

 

[Tolerant Fanboy]

Reader and writer. The former because, sometimes, the fanwork is better than canon. (I'm looking at you, Naruto.) The latter because it's good practice, and it's fun to see what ludicrous scenarios I can create. Make Pen-Pen omnipotent and give him the voice of George of Takei? Sure! Unite the vending machines of Tokyo under a malevolent sentience and pit it against Sailor Moon? Hell yes! Have Ryoga Hibiki wander into Milliways? Why not?

 

[Unknower]

I write it, then I read it and then I dismiss it.

...

Seriously though, I sometimes read it.

 

[pelopelopelo]

I'm not a massive fan, but I don't mind it, per se.

For me much of the fun of writing is creating new worlds, so writing them doesn't really hold much appeal to me. I like all of my fiction to exist within the same universe anyway, no matter the genre or time period (I know world-building and one universe don't really correlate, but it's the small things... for instance a psychological ghost story set in the 50s is in the same universe as an epic scifi set several hundred years into the future I'm writing. It's not obvious, but there are hints here and there), and I don't like to break that rule, so fanfic can't really work for me.

Still, I've got no issues with it, and I've read a couple of decent ones, so... whatever.

 

[TankTop]

I used to write (a very, tiny, insignificant bit, and not well) and read, but I've since moved back to writing normal fiction (still not good, but hey. I find it works).

 

[A-Heart-Of-Gold]

I once was a writer, now I am just a reader!!!

 

[Revolutionary]

And the winner is (drumroll) Two of the above!
(what an anticlimactic thread)

 

[Looking For Alaska]

I used to read and write alot of it when I first realized I wanted to be a writer (still do) and loved to read (still do) but now that I've realized there's so much great literature out there with fresh characters and worlds I do neither any more.

I guess I've "outgrown" it.

 

[The Diabolical Biz]

I'm a dismisser, as I haven't read fan-fiction, and I don't really want to, as I'd rather enjoy the stories from the minds of the original creators, or designated writers...

 

[crazyfoxdemon]

I'll admit to being a lover of fan fiction....

 

[SpikeyGirl]

Read it, write it, generally consider it training wheels for fiction writing.

Since I started writing fan fiction: my grammar and vocabulary have improved, I can get an idea of what kind of stories people like so I know what kind of things to write to get a specific audience to read, my typing speed has also increased and I generally feel more able to write fiction without it being dry or repeating descriptions.

It also gets the annoying ideas out of my head to make room for what I'm supposed to be learning.

 

[DSK-]

I once based a a mock GCSE english paper and actual GCSE english coursework on Starcraft and Unreal Tournament respectively. Does that make it fan fic?

I think its pretty cool that other people want to take ideas and universes of other media and make their own stories with it. The only fanfic I have read is 'Mock Effect'. It did not disappoint.