Poll: Fanfiction. Yes or no?

[Yokai]

The problem with fan fiction is that it's 85% absolute garbage, and an additional 14% may be well written but still consists of illogical gay romance stories written by some yaoi fangirl in high school. I don't have the patience to find the 1% that doesn't make me cringe, facepalm repeatedly, and is actually enticing enough that I want to read it. I'll stick with my Full Life Consequences, thank you very much.

 

[JenXXXJen]

If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. It's not like they're difficult to avoid. This is why I can never understand people 'hating' fanfiction. It's just so easy to ignore.

And y'know, there are some really good one's. They're massively in the minority, but they exist. And while it does depend on the fandom, they aren't that hard to find.

Besides, even the really bad one's are still entertaining. It's great when you get gems like, say, OPEN-HOLE-MAN-POOPER.

 

[therookie95]

I only like parodies but i consider them to tecnically be fan fictions since it basically is one, like the one hiimdaisy writes just cause their actually entertaining

 

[quiet_samurai]

I read a Highlander fanfic online whilst working the graveyard shift once. I was really bored and was looking up stuff on the projected remake of the original movie. It was actually pretty decent, I read the whole thing in two shifts. The main character was a Roman politician/war veteran that was a victim of an attempted assination. It actually had some real life historical figures in it as well.

 

[Ickorus]

Depends, some of it can be good and as long as it's nothing to do with my favourite characters im happy.

For instance I don't mind most of the L4D fan fiction so long as they don't try to drag the main characters into it.

 

[BoxCutter]

Meh, i've read some fanfiction. Some of it is pretty damn entertaining and well written. Not all of it though, definitely not all of it.

 

[Mr Montmorency]

Fanfiction for Sliders was better than the real thing.

 

[OrpheumZero]

I only like parodies but i consider them to tecnically be fan fictions since it basically is one, like the one hiimdaisy writes just cause their actually entertaining

In my earlier days I used to primarily write parodies, mostly about the Legacy of Kain. Let's just say the things were bizarre as hell (Raziel getting drunk, the world getting drunk, and the Elder with tourettes).

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2151039/MelasZepheos

Right, shameless plug over (GO THERE IF YOU LIKE KIM POSSIBLE OR TEEN TITANS), *ahem*, I like fanfiction, provided it's the 10% good. I also think it is worth wading through the 90% not good to find the good.

I do also find some enjoyment from reading the bad ones (narm charm and all that) and do like to comment on them in the hopes that I might help make authors better, and would hope they would do the same for me.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Fan fiction is mind poison to me, for a variety of reasons. The most glaringly obvious flaw is that most people who write fanfics are terrible writers, so it wouldn't even matter what it was about, it's not going to be any good because the author is a hack.

But then you move onto the actual subject matter, and the typical scope of fan fiction ensures it doesn't even matter if the writer can produce a decent turn of phrase - it's going to be some wretched author-insertion fan wank, horribly nonsensical "people who should not ever get pregnant/have sex with each other suddenly do!" scenarios, or a ridiculous cross-over that does not make any sense. Plus it feels extremely lazy to use established characters to populate your twisted fantasies spewed out onto the web, especially when you're probably making them say/do things they never would in the official version of whatever you're making fanfic about.

And on the rare occasion where a fan-fiction author produces a work that's actually decent and respectful of the source material, I still have a personal mental block stopping me from enjoying it, as I have this hang-up about stories being canonical: I don't like reading things that verge from canon, even if it does so in an entertaining and competent way. Heck, I hate it when established canon is thrown out the window in official reboots.

So while I do not contend there is no such thing as good fan fiction, I am incapable of enjoying those isolated points of light in the writhing tentacle-rape filled sea of darkness.

 

[OrpheumZero]

I agree that the overflow, nay, flood of romance/slash fiction is staggering and often makes any sites that feature the stuff nothing but cesspools of teenaged girls wanking their fangirl dreams all over the place, but I've also found some gems from time to time. There's an exquisitely written Silent Hill novelization that brilliantly captures the atmosphere and story of the original game even better than the movie (which is certainly the only good game-to-movie adaption). Another was an interesting tale where Wesker from the Resident Evil series goes to the town, finds that he can't use his powers and is assaulted by visions of his past, though unfortunately the story never got completed. Another really story was a One Piece fiction where the crew gets drugged at a bar and instead of passing out, become totally crazy, uncharacteristic versions of themselves (Sanji crying about no women liking him, Robin stripping, Ussop as a psuedo announcer/ringleader, and Zoro as a player).

True, to waste time shifted through shitty fiction is almost as unappealing as shifting through actual shit, but there are actually quite a number of gleaming gems to be found if you have the patience.

 

[Deleted]

Just wanted to get people thoughts on fanfics. Personally, I love it, I'm big on reading so it opens up a whole new world for me. I write it too, so check out HopefulMemories at fanfiction.net

For every good fanfiction there are 10,000 bad ones. I'm not willing to sift out the shit to get the good stuff, so no I don't really like fanfiction.

And usually they're bastardizations of a video game but with gay sex and original characters thrown in. I thought Jet Set Radio was sacred until I read a yaoi fanfic about it O_O

 

[OrpheumZero]

And on the rare occasion where a fan-fiction author produces a work that's actually decent and respectful of the source material, I still have a personal mental block stopping me from enjoying it, as I have this hang-up about stories being canonical: I don't like reading things that verge from canon, even if it does so in an entertaining and competent way. Heck, I hate it when established canon is thrown out the window in official reboots.

Yeah, I could never stand for some people's stories where they try to establish 'additional canon' that is poorly ("conveniently" as they would put it) forgotten just in time for the events of the next official story arc. As I said a while back, someone this did this Soul Reaver story where Kain appearantly goes back in time a few times and this somehow allows him to buff up and give Raziel his wings back (sans the rest of his original vampire body) and then have strange over the top, near DBZ style fights with the Elder god.

 

[Matthew Lynch]

It depends on the quality of writing. Some fanfics are so bad that they can be classified as health hazards and are made by professional trolls who just wanna cause as much offence against humanity and the written word as possible. Case in point of troll writing can be found here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5968898/1/THE_HUEMN_CENIPED_2_THE_HUMEN_MILIPEDE (caution: It is bad enough to cause eye bleeding)

Others are solid 24 carat gold. I know of one 'Dawn of the dead' fanfic on Fanfiction.net that was so good the writer was approached by a publisher. I cannot place a link for the kick ass DotD fic 'As the world dies' as the writer has removed it since the publishers came to her/his door.

Most are just average however, written by people who have an idea and do not care about reviews, instead writing cause they like to write stories.

 

[OrpheumZero]

Yea, the people who won't even at least acknowledge some ****ing criticism are boneheads. Honestly, it disgusts me when someone claims they want to be recognized as a writer, but won't at least consider improving their skill when someone points out their mistakes. If I didn't accept even the slightest criticism, I'd probably still be writing confusing blocks of texts.

 

[Matthew Lynch]

Yea, the people who won't even at least acknowledge some ****ing criticism are boneheads. Honestly, it disgusts me when someone claims they want to be recognized as a writer, but won't at least consider improving their skill when someone points out their mistakes. If I didn't accept even the slightest criticism, I'd probably still be writing confusing blocks of texts.

Mhm...but Sue Mary, the writer of the link I added, doesn;t get comments....cause there is too much to critisize...plus the only 'positive' comments are clearly her using clone accounts.

 

[Squid1361]

Some fanfiction is decent writing...

others...let's just say...CANNOT UNSEE

 

[OrpheumZero]

Oh I've seen that kind of shit occasionally, some idiot makes up random accounts (or uses anonymous review) to give praise and make it look like they get a billion reviews and hits a day. F***ing egotistical prats. I'm surprised fanfiction.net doesn't make it so that you can't add views/hits with your own account (I can understand it not working for when you not signed-in, but it would be useful in keeping people from making look like hundreds of people are reading their works).

 

[Matthew Lynch]

Some fanfiction is decent writing...

others...let's just say...CANNOT UNSEE

*points to my evidence link* I am certain my eyes nearly imploded rather then look at it. People who write brain implodingly bad fanfics should have their computers confiscated till they learn what 'good writing' means.

 

[Natmonkey]

I'm a big fan of fanfic (being a writer of it myself), but only if it's good. I don't want to read some poorly spelled piece of crap with a story someone's pulled out of their ass. You need to put a little thought into that. And I detest too much "and then"s. Make it readable.