Poll: FanFiction, your opinion

[Ivan Torres]

No, kill it.

Some fanfiction is still pretty good, but most just ruin everything about anything you can think of.Just my opinion though.

 

[zeldagirl]

To find good fanfiction, you need to know where to look. Places like fanfiction.net don't cut it - you really have to sift through the chaff to get to the wheat. But smaller, more personalized communities like those found on Live-/InsaneJournal, Dreamwidth, etc, you can find communities dedicated to GOOD fanfiction. And a lot of it, too.


It also depends on the fandom in which you are active. I know plenty of active fandoms with AMAZING fanfiction writers - you just need to know where to look.

 

[zeldagirl]

Like I said, look at personalized communities on LJ, IJ, Dreamwidth and such. I can spend all your time browsing FF.net, but you'll be better served on personal journals.

 

[Zay-el]

I don't really mind fanfiction. Sure, 90% are horribad, but even those can end up ridiculously hilarious, for all the wrong reasons. I have also written several and though I know they range from bad to worse, I don't really want to delete them. I still write short stories occasionally and it's good to look back and see how much I've improved over time. Some of them can also end being on par with the source material, for instance, there's a Tiberium Wars fanfic that's miles above the official novelization.

That, and it's a good exercise for non-native English speakers, like me.

Maybe they should redirect their creativity to something more productive, like writing an original novel or not writing fanfiction, or perhaps getting a job.

That would work, except for a couple of things:

1: Most people who write fanfics are 13-18. If they had written original novels, you can pretty much bad they'd be horrible, so it's still better if they stick within a fandom. Also, fandoms are a little easier and good for practice, because you at least have a set framework to begin with.
2: Like I said, most aren't really the age to get a job, or even if they are, they might not have the time for it, next to school. Not every single kid needs to or should work.

 

[Agayek]

I hate it with a passion. On one hand, I completely understand why someone can write it -- maybe to expand on the lore of the original story in a "oh, I hadn't thought of that" way.

On the other hand, it usually freaking sucks. Hard. I have never run into good fanfiction.

Fanfiction is like videos made in GMod. Almost all of it is complete and utter shit, but there are a few gems.

Unlike Gmod videos, I have yet to come across these gems.

I can probably point you at some decent fanfiction, if you're at all interested, depending on the topic. Generally, the most popular sources are the stupidly popular animes, specifically the "big 3", but there's usually some decent stuff for just about anything.

Some good pieces that you may enjoy:

The Denarian Renegade [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3473224/1/The_Denarian_Renegade] - If you've read Harry Potter and are at all familiar with the Dresden Files, this one is fun as hell. It's the first in a trilogy that's been completed, and definitely worth a look. Basic premise is Potter finds a special silver coin and proceeds to go Beyond the Impossible.

Broken Mirror [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5430338/1/Broken_Mirror] - First in a sequence of Dresden Files works. Each of them basically reads like a short story by Jim Butcher (the author of the original books), and they are quite awesome.

The Hill of Swords [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6154638/1/The_Hill_of_Swords] - Familiar of Zero story wherein a young mage goes to summon a familiar and gets Emiya Shirou, of Fate/Stay Night. Quite well written, and a very interesting take on the original storyline.

Mass Effect: Emergence [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6163685/1/] - ME2 story, wherein Shepard wakes up in the Cerberus lab a week early. Ends up breaking out, and along with EDI get to deal with the fallout.

All but the last one are complete stories, with rather satisfactory results, in my opinion. If you want to start, these could be good. They're more actiony than some people care for though, so I can't guarantee it.

 

[zeldagirl]

Another point to make about fanfiction - while many people write for the sake of enjoying writing, others use it as an opportunity to write creatively and hone their writing skills - if you find a good beta reader and editor, you can really prepare yourself for a writing career (which many fanfiction writers I've met have wanted to do). So, you may find some not very well written things - but think of it instead as people actively trying to improve a hobby they enjoy partaking in.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

I have nothing wrong with the concept. It's just that the majority of it is crap.

But I'd say it's also a great way to hone writing skills. You want to write a story but you don't want to create a whole entire world and roster of characters to write about? Write a fan fiction.

Also when writers are asked to work on a long running tv series or something isn't that essencially fan fiction? From that perspective Doctor Who has been mainly fan fiction since it's return. The new big budget Star Trek? Fan Fiction. The new Hitch Hickers Guide to the Galaxy book? Fan Fiction.

The only problem with Fan fiction is a lot of it is written by amerture writers. Some of those writers stay crap some become better from honing their skills online. It's like anything else, you have to dig though a lot of crap to get to the good stuff.

 

[Thespian]

Fanfiction is proof that if writers simply did whatever the fans wanted, everything ever would suck.

 

[Saviordd1]

Hate MOST of it. However I do enjoy "Renegade" (A "what if" asking if the C&C universe led into the ME universe IE GDI instead of the alliance, its surprisingly good) and "Mock Effect" which was just fucking hilarious

 

[Sir Prize]

Well, I've written some fanfic, but stopped a few years back.

It's not a horrid idea, but a certain amount of it IS pretty bad. Best thing to do when looking for the good, look at the summary first because that will give you some idea of what the writer is like. Also go into it with a heathly idea that some writers bash characters, write mary sues and use OOC too much. Lastly, it's probably best to avoid anything over T on fanfiction.net.

 

[LCP]

Haven't seen enough to form a valid opinion.

 

[Thyunda]

As a writer, I don't even try fanfiction. I read and watch other things because they have stories and characters I would not have conceived myself. They simply don't fit in my style. So I don't touch it. I don't want to brutalise my favourites.

As for reading it...I've never seen one done well. It's as though they only write these fictions to put themselves in the story, and all the compliments come from their American and Japanese friends who end all of their compliments with 'huggles'...and conveniently enough none of their compliments actually refer to anything specific within the text, and merely say that the author is 'amazingly talented' and 'adorable', and anybody who criticises the 'masterpiece' either doesn't get it, or is just jealous of the writer's incredible skill or stunning good looks.

 

[Lost Cause]

I suppose really it all comes down to taste; I personally despise attempts to shoe-horn Yaoi into a series where there is no need of it simply because some fangirl saw two guys in it and decided they must obviously be bonking each other.

 

[Saviordd1]

I hate it with a passion. On one hand, I completely understand why someone can write it -- maybe to expand on the lore of the original story in a "oh, I hadn't thought of that" way.

On the other hand, it usually freaking sucks. Hard. I have never run into good fanfiction.

Fanfiction is like videos made in GMod. Almost all of it is complete and utter shit, but there are a few gems.

Unlike Gmod videos, I have yet to come across these gems.

I can probably point you at some decent fanfiction, if you're at all interested, depending on the topic. Generally, the most popular sources are the stupidly popular animes, specifically the "big 3", but there's usually some decent stuff for just about anything.

Some good pieces that you may enjoy:

The Denarian Renegade [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3473224/1/The_Denarian_Renegade] - If you've read Harry Potter and are at all familiar with the Dresden Files, this one is fun as hell. It's the first in a trilogy that's been completed, and definitely worth a look. Basic premise is Potter finds a special silver coin and proceeds to go Beyond the Impossible.

Broken Mirror [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5430338/1/Broken_Mirror] - First in a sequence of Dresden Files works. Each of them basically reads like a short story by Jim Butcher (the author of the original books), and they are quite awesome.

The Hill of Swords [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6154638/1/The_Hill_of_Swords] - Familiar of Zero story wherein a young mage goes to summon a familiar and gets Emiya Shirou, of Fate/Stay Night. Quite well written, and a very interesting take on the original storyline.

Mass Effect: Emergence [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6163685/1/] - ME2 story, wherein Shepard wakes up in the Cerberus lab a week early. Ends up breaking out, and along with EDI get to deal with the fallout.

All but the last one are complete stories, with rather satisfactory results, in my opinion. If you want to start, these could be good. They're more actiony than some people care for though, so I can't guarantee it.

If your into ME fanfic like you said (and i feel stupid for this since i just posted it) look up "renegade" and "Mock Effect" both very good reads and laughs respectively

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I just see it as a harmless bit of fun and I have come across some very well written pieces and some very bad ones.

I hate it with a passion. I have yet to come across anything that is written above a 3rd grade level.

I'd offer some of mine up then, if you like Mass Effect. No masterpieces, but in terms of grammar and spelling they're close to immaculate.

Personally I love fanfiction, and I write it myself. However, fanfiction is a dirty trench of innards and filth. It can take a long time before you find any pearls in there.

Fenris' is some of the very good stuff I have read.

If you hate it then why are you reading it? Is what I would say...live and let live.

 

[chowderface]

I am not charitable towards fanfiction. Fanfiction is automatically bad until proven otherwise, and I feel under no obligation to give it the opportunity to do so.

In fact, I've only ever read two good fanfictions in my life, and that's because by their very premise they slingshotted themselves out of fanfiction and into the glorious lands of parody. The first is "Those Lacking Spines", which is a parody of fanfiction tropes masquerading as Kingdom Hearts fanfiction. I forget the title of the second, but it's a crossover between the Muppet Show and Star Trek: The Next Generation; as a crossover I would normally say "WE DON'T NEED NO WATER LET THE ************ BURN", except that it very rapidly degenerates into just an episode of The Muppet Show, with the crew of the Enterprise getting sucked into the madness. There's even a scene where Worf is one of Dr. Bob's nurses on a Veterinarian's Hospital sketch, it's a riot.

The thing that bugs me about the rest of fanfiction is that it's bad, but not bad enough to qualify as hilarious. This category only includes one that I've ever found; a crossover between Dragon Ball Z and (wait for it) The Diary Of Anne Frank. Goku gets magicked into WWII Germany, saves Anne Frank, then does battle with Hitler, who goes Super Saiyan.