Poll: FanFiction, your opinion
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Love it, met many good friends through it and seen a fair few branch out and be published for real.
I was never a fanfic writer myself, I don't have the discipline to obey someone else's canon. I was a beta reader/line editor for a number of years and never involved myself with anyone other than people who already knew how to write.
I was mostly involved with a thriving community around popular TV show "Xena Warrior Princess." And during those years of broadcast, we saw a popular US fan writer actually go so far as being invited by the producers to write some episodes.
I had a good time with people, enjoyed myself deeply and read a lot of very decent fan fiction.
Those days are gone now I suppose, I see a lot of people writing for fun (which should really be the only reason you do it) and putting their content up in public without so much as a spellcheck. I find that very sad, but not unique to fan writing.
If you like it, read it. If you like to write it, enjoy yourself. But don't waste a moment of time worrying about what other people think of you for doing so.
I was never a fanfic writer myself, I don't have the discipline to obey someone else's canon. I was a beta reader/line editor for a number of years and never involved myself with anyone other than people who already knew how to write.
I was mostly involved with a thriving community around popular TV show "Xena Warrior Princess." And during those years of broadcast, we saw a popular US fan writer actually go so far as being invited by the producers to write some episodes.
I had a good time with people, enjoyed myself deeply and read a lot of very decent fan fiction.
Those days are gone now I suppose, I see a lot of people writing for fun (which should really be the only reason you do it) and putting their content up in public without so much as a spellcheck. I find that very sad, but not unique to fan writing.
If you like it, read it. If you like to write it, enjoy yourself. But don't waste a moment of time worrying about what other people think of you for doing so.
It's okay. Le Morte d'Arthur was fanfiction, after all. Although it gets a bad rap because of the Internet
There's next to no doubt that the vast majority of fanfiction is horrible, and there's several reasons for that. The ability to publish something online without any editing to catch anything from basic typos to just plain horrible writing, concepts, and plotlines would probably be the primary issue. It's fairly safe to assume all published books are reviewed/evaluated prior to being released, and that by itself helps eliminate a huge proportion of the garbage out there (or at least the really horrible stuff). Some of the really bad stuff still manages to get a public release, but it's often because it's a byproduct of it riding on popularity. Back to fanfiction, the lack of this required reviewing is the reason so much of it is downright horrid.
Nevertheless, there is such a thing as good fanfiction out there. Unfortunately, the problem is sifting through all the junk to find it. Perhaps one of the more notable examples would be RE-TAKE [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/RE-TAKE], which is doujin (fan-made manga) which continues/wraps-up the (in)famous Neon Genesis Evangelionanime series (which can be called pure fanfic rocket fuel). Like many other fanfics, it does contain some pornographic content (yet it's only 1% of the original product, almost exactly)... but what's interesting about RE-TAKE is that they later released a version which cut all of it out without any significant changes to the story.
In my opinion, fanfiction holds a lot of potential. The problem is that much of that potential is wasted; too many of the writers are too focused on fulfilling their own fantasies rather than writing a good story. The few which try to go for a good story, using a previously established work's mythos as a starting point, tend to produce better material (no guarantees, but at least heading in the right direction). Given some time & practice, they may become great writers someday. Now if only the majority would realize this.
Nevertheless, there is such a thing as good fanfiction out there. Unfortunately, the problem is sifting through all the junk to find it. Perhaps one of the more notable examples would be RE-TAKE [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/RE-TAKE], which is doujin (fan-made manga) which continues/wraps-up the (in)famous Neon Genesis Evangelionanime series (which can be called pure fanfic rocket fuel). Like many other fanfics, it does contain some pornographic content (yet it's only 1% of the original product, almost exactly)... but what's interesting about RE-TAKE is that they later released a version which cut all of it out without any significant changes to the story.
In my opinion, fanfiction holds a lot of potential. The problem is that much of that potential is wasted; too many of the writers are too focused on fulfilling their own fantasies rather than writing a good story. The few which try to go for a good story, using a previously established work's mythos as a starting point, tend to produce better material (no guarantees, but at least heading in the right direction). Given some time & practice, they may become great writers someday. Now if only the majority would realize this.
Love it! Some times it's quite good and can suprise you. Other times it's quite bad and can/will make you laugh your ass off. Usually it's amusing to read either way.
Most of the good ones i've read focus on What If? scenario's rather than try and shoehorn porn/an author avatar into the plot. Most of the bad stuff focuses on horrifying shipping. More yaoi than you can handle!
Most of the good ones i've read focus on What If? scenario's rather than try and shoehorn porn/an author avatar into the plot. Most of the bad stuff focuses on horrifying shipping. More yaoi than you can handle!
I am okay with fanfic in theory because I have wondered "what would happen if characters x, y, and z were in situations a, b, or c". Although Sturgeon's law seems to hit fanfic a lot harder than other topics. I only have a problem when they completely derail characters or ship characters that showed zero sexual/romantic connection in the original work (I.e. my hatred of "Zutara").
Put this in too http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FanFicRecommendations it'll help a lotSomeLameStuff said:
O.T. decently made ones are pretty good but most can just be plain bad
and one guy that I do like is tastychainsaws the guy manage to combine lucky stars universe with fallout 3 and it came out pretty damn awesome
There are some fan-fictions I've read that are good, like one about Super Smash Brothers Brawl, which dealed with a variety of universes colliding together. It was an actual half decent plot, much better then that one the actual game designers came up with.
But on the most part fan-fiction is just bad, loose and all OMG's about either themselves and their favourite characters or their favourite character and the protagonist.
But on the most part fan-fiction is just bad, loose and all OMG's about either themselves and their favourite characters or their favourite character and the protagonist.
I always figured fan-fiction is meant to be written rather than read, the story you read at the end is just a by-product of its main purpose. To the person writing it, while they write it, it's probably the most engaging story imaginable, afterwards it's just kinda...meh.
But generally I'd say if someones not creative enough to come up with their own characters and setting, they're probably not creative enough to make a compelling narrative. Good for them to try though, maybe?
But generally I'd say if someones not creative enough to come up with their own characters and setting, they're probably not creative enough to make a compelling narrative. Good for them to try though, maybe?
i absolutely hate fan fictions, for this reason;
"oh! read my fan fiction please!!!"
what's it about?
"edward meets justin bieber and they..."
yeah i've heard enough, fuck off.
"HEY >:C "
seriously? go back to 8th grade little girl
and that's why.
HOWEVER, i'm totally cool with not fan fictions but rather stories that fans write with illustrations like a comic that are totally awesome, like if iron man and captain america fought nazi juggernauts (see modern warfare 2), that'd be epic as hell
"oh! read my fan fiction please!!!"
what's it about?
"edward meets justin bieber and they..."
yeah i've heard enough, fuck off.
"HEY >:C "
seriously? go back to 8th grade little girl
and that's why.
HOWEVER, i'm totally cool with not fan fictions but rather stories that fans write with illustrations like a comic that are totally awesome, like if iron man and captain america fought nazi juggernauts (see modern warfare 2), that'd be epic as hell
Try this one and see if it doesn't change your mind. It's one that I wrote, and I've been praised for my writing on this very site, specifically dialogue, so I can guarantee this is written above a 3rd grade level (I studied English Literature at A-Level, after all...).GreatTeacherCAW said:
Repetition. That was the worst part. The same routines over and over again. Trying to find a way out. Trying to survive. For Tom, it was nothing like his life so far. He'd always been used to everything changing every day, new assignments and operations to plan, recruits to train, and orders changing all the time. True, military life was all about routine. But at least they varied. Not like this. He couldn't bear it any more.
Tom-B292. That was how they knew him. They who had looked up to him ever since joining the outfit. He was their mentor, their role model - and now he would be their leader. The younger Spartans had trained under Tom for years and now their commander was missing, presumed dead. They were stuck in a strange place, something the mysterious doctor kept referring to as a 'Dyson Sphere', whatever the hell that was. Every day they'd spent trying to escape, or looking for food and shelter and warmth. Something to help keep them all alive. And there were the frozen bodies too. The other SPARTAN-IIIs, trapped in cryogenic storage, but neither dead nor alive. From what Doctor Halsey had explained to them, the other Spartans knew that their comrades-in-arms were in Slipspace. Incredible, but true. It made no sense to any of them, but then again, they were just soldiers.
Looking at the others as Chief Petty Officer Mendez, now acting CO, tried to get a fire going, Tom thought back to the days when he was still a child, before he'd ever heard of the SPARTAN project. It had been a long way from here, the 'shield world' that these (what had Halsey called them? 'Forerunners') had built, and the cave the group was now hiding in. Uncertain of the local flora and fauna, the group had made their way through a series of valleys in the mountains of this world, hiding during the day and travelling at night, attempting to keep ahead in case any of the Covenant had succeeded in following them through the portal they had used to get here. Not knowing, of course, that there were no more Covenant to follow them. Not after Kurt's sacrifice.
Tom was reminded of the camaraderie he had felt back then, back in his early days. He'd been born on a distant world in the Outer Colonies. Tom had visited so many worlds since then, he could barely remember it now. While he was barely more than a child, his homeworld had been attacked by the Covenant. He'd watched through the windows of a UNSC ship as Covenant cruisers and destroyers had swarmed the planet. He'd seen the bulbous dropships as they flew down to the surface, filled with vicious Brutes and Elites, Grunts and Jackals, fully prepared for the massacre they were about to inflict upon a terrified populace. Tom had been there when the Covenant ships opened fire, raining down plasma and fire on the place he had known as home. When the onslaught had ended, and the evacuation ships were making their way out of the system to safety, nothing was left but glass and ash. Tom knew he would never forget that day. No matter how much he could remember of his world or his family and friends, he would never lose his memories of that simple brutality. It was what drove him on through the hard times, what kept him resolute. He'd spent days after landing on Arcadia, on a safe planet, searching among his fellow refugees, asking everyone he saw if they could help him find his parents. But on the fourth day he'd given up. He realised they'd never even made it off the planet, unlike him. A fear that was confirmed when the man from the government came to see him.
Tom had been put in a small room with a group of other children, somewhere in the refugee camp on Arcadia. He recognised one or two, people he'd seen and played with back home. They were all refugees like him, some from his own world, others from different places. Looking around, Tom knew that they all had one thing in common. They were all orphans of the Covenant. Remembering those days, he thought back to the words that had been spoken. Being told that they would all have a choice, to get revenge on the creatures responsible for their families deaths. To become the best that they could be, to fight with honour and to do a great service for all humankind. Tom had been spurred by those words, but not as much as another. He could recall seeing her for the first time, and noticing a kindred spirit among these strange children and the emotionless soldiers. Comparing their differences, and their similarities. He, grubby and snot-nosed, with messy black hair, standing tall despite everything he'd been through. Barely six years old, yet head and shoulders above most of the other kids in the room. A stark contrast to her, - clean, small and pale with short and tidy black locks and a tiny figure, barely noticeable among the group of children listening intently to the big man in the shiny armour. Though they were so different, Tom knew they were the ones most inspired by what the armoured man was saying. By the soldiers standing there with him. And by their memories of what the Covenant had done to them, and those they had loved. They would be the ones to fight the hardest when they had the chance. The ones who would truly understand what it meant to be a SPARTAN.
Tom would never forget the moment he first met Lucy. And everything they'd been through since. But looking back at the past couldn't be enough. He knew, all that mattered now? was the future.
Tom-B292. That was how they knew him. They who had looked up to him ever since joining the outfit. He was their mentor, their role model - and now he would be their leader. The younger Spartans had trained under Tom for years and now their commander was missing, presumed dead. They were stuck in a strange place, something the mysterious doctor kept referring to as a 'Dyson Sphere', whatever the hell that was. Every day they'd spent trying to escape, or looking for food and shelter and warmth. Something to help keep them all alive. And there were the frozen bodies too. The other SPARTAN-IIIs, trapped in cryogenic storage, but neither dead nor alive. From what Doctor Halsey had explained to them, the other Spartans knew that their comrades-in-arms were in Slipspace. Incredible, but true. It made no sense to any of them, but then again, they were just soldiers.
Looking at the others as Chief Petty Officer Mendez, now acting CO, tried to get a fire going, Tom thought back to the days when he was still a child, before he'd ever heard of the SPARTAN project. It had been a long way from here, the 'shield world' that these (what had Halsey called them? 'Forerunners') had built, and the cave the group was now hiding in. Uncertain of the local flora and fauna, the group had made their way through a series of valleys in the mountains of this world, hiding during the day and travelling at night, attempting to keep ahead in case any of the Covenant had succeeded in following them through the portal they had used to get here. Not knowing, of course, that there were no more Covenant to follow them. Not after Kurt's sacrifice.
Tom was reminded of the camaraderie he had felt back then, back in his early days. He'd been born on a distant world in the Outer Colonies. Tom had visited so many worlds since then, he could barely remember it now. While he was barely more than a child, his homeworld had been attacked by the Covenant. He'd watched through the windows of a UNSC ship as Covenant cruisers and destroyers had swarmed the planet. He'd seen the bulbous dropships as they flew down to the surface, filled with vicious Brutes and Elites, Grunts and Jackals, fully prepared for the massacre they were about to inflict upon a terrified populace. Tom had been there when the Covenant ships opened fire, raining down plasma and fire on the place he had known as home. When the onslaught had ended, and the evacuation ships were making their way out of the system to safety, nothing was left but glass and ash. Tom knew he would never forget that day. No matter how much he could remember of his world or his family and friends, he would never lose his memories of that simple brutality. It was what drove him on through the hard times, what kept him resolute. He'd spent days after landing on Arcadia, on a safe planet, searching among his fellow refugees, asking everyone he saw if they could help him find his parents. But on the fourth day he'd given up. He realised they'd never even made it off the planet, unlike him. A fear that was confirmed when the man from the government came to see him.
Tom had been put in a small room with a group of other children, somewhere in the refugee camp on Arcadia. He recognised one or two, people he'd seen and played with back home. They were all refugees like him, some from his own world, others from different places. Looking around, Tom knew that they all had one thing in common. They were all orphans of the Covenant. Remembering those days, he thought back to the words that had been spoken. Being told that they would all have a choice, to get revenge on the creatures responsible for their families deaths. To become the best that they could be, to fight with honour and to do a great service for all humankind. Tom had been spurred by those words, but not as much as another. He could recall seeing her for the first time, and noticing a kindred spirit among these strange children and the emotionless soldiers. Comparing their differences, and their similarities. He, grubby and snot-nosed, with messy black hair, standing tall despite everything he'd been through. Barely six years old, yet head and shoulders above most of the other kids in the room. A stark contrast to her, - clean, small and pale with short and tidy black locks and a tiny figure, barely noticeable among the group of children listening intently to the big man in the shiny armour. Though they were so different, Tom knew they were the ones most inspired by what the armoured man was saying. By the soldiers standing there with him. And by their memories of what the Covenant had done to them, and those they had loved. They would be the ones to fight the hardest when they had the chance. The ones who would truly understand what it meant to be a SPARTAN.
Tom would never forget the moment he first met Lucy. And everything they'd been through since. But looking back at the past couldn't be enough. He knew, all that mattered now? was the future.
Fine, it's not brilliant, but still a damn sight better than almost everything else I've seen on fanfic websites. This is only the first chapter, by the way, as I had a mental block afterwards and haven't been ready to carry it on yet (to be fair, I do plan to continue it soon...). This one is on Fanfiction.net, for the record, which is interesting because roughly 95% of stuff on that site is utter crap. I hope my work can be considered as one of the decent 5%. There are the odd few fanfics I have read that are half decent, like a nice one based around one the extra TIPS from the sound novel Umineko no Naku Koro ni. And one of my friends does an excellent comedy one that's still ongoing, that's a mashup of Kingdom Hearts and The Weakest Link. Yes, you read that correctly. Here's the link, though be warned, it is aimed pretty much only at KH fans anyway. My friend is slightly obsessed over the series. But nevertheless, he is a pretty good writer, surprisingly enough...
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3807417/1/bKingdom_b_bHearts_b_bWeakest_b_bLink_b
Sadly he hasn't updated for a long time. He's like Little Kuriboh when it comes to updates. Takes a hell of a long time, but when updates do come, they're pretty damn good...
Short answer: No
Long answer: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Long answer: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
If I plagiarize on my midterm essay, but put on the beginning of it "Oh hey profffessror I like 2tatlly plagerized:, none of this work is mine lolololol r&r!" I don't think the professor is going to appreciate my lack of original work simply because I admitted my intellectual theft.emeraldrafael said:
Oh you're right, putting in your own character into someone's work is a great jumping off point, as long as you also put in your own other characters, setting and story, thus making it your own work, then yes you got yourself a fantastic jumping off point!
Man your also so right about how nothing is new anymore in fantasy and science fiction. Man, George RR Martin should've realized you can't do a fantasy story without elves and shit and shouldn't have wrote his Song of Ice and Fire series, instead he should've concentrated on his SasukexNarutoxOrichimaruxThekitchensink fic. As should've Joss Whedon with his LeiaxTroi fic instead of creating firefly because "all space operas are just cookie cutter clones of star wars and star trek."
You make me sick.
I have no problems with the idea itself. It is just writing mixed with fandom, it is usually in good fun, it is a good way to artificially create 'more' of something that you love. Most Fan Fiction writers generally know when to keep their writings to themselves or within the confines of an area or people that are specifically dedicated for that sort of thing.
Emphasis on 'Most'.
Unfortunately what many people who do not care for Fan Fiction see are the people with absolutely no awareness of the quality of their work. The types who fill their stories with obvious author surrogates, Mary sues, Purple Prose, and gallons of angst. Who get defensive towards any sort of opinion that is critical towards their work, usually because nobody 'understands' it. Who try to show it off to random people at every chance; like say... shove their terrible Sonic fan fiction into the Gaming Discussion forum when they have absolutely no place or purpose. Just as a completely out-of-the-air example.
But as I said, those are just the unfortunate minority that get painted as the face of Fan Fiction. Most others know that they are only really writing for themselves, and only show it to those who they know will actually care; or otherwise are actively trying to improve the quality of their writing.
If someone has some idea where Master Chief learns to be a wizard and transforms himself into a skimpy dressed Bunny girl who must fend off an army of dragons; that's kinda weird, kinda REALLY weird, but hell, go for it. There's no real valid way to say people should not be allowed to do this sort of thing.
Just keep it to where it is welcome.
Emphasis on 'Most'.
Unfortunately what many people who do not care for Fan Fiction see are the people with absolutely no awareness of the quality of their work. The types who fill their stories with obvious author surrogates, Mary sues, Purple Prose, and gallons of angst. Who get defensive towards any sort of opinion that is critical towards their work, usually because nobody 'understands' it. Who try to show it off to random people at every chance; like say... shove their terrible Sonic fan fiction into the Gaming Discussion forum when they have absolutely no place or purpose. Just as a completely out-of-the-air example.
But as I said, those are just the unfortunate minority that get painted as the face of Fan Fiction. Most others know that they are only really writing for themselves, and only show it to those who they know will actually care; or otherwise are actively trying to improve the quality of their writing.
If someone has some idea where Master Chief learns to be a wizard and transforms himself into a skimpy dressed Bunny girl who must fend off an army of dragons; that's kinda weird, kinda REALLY weird, but hell, go for it. There's no real valid way to say people should not be allowed to do this sort of thing.
Just keep it to where it is welcome.
That's not necessarily true. It is true that most fanfiction is bad, but if you search around, and you include the fancomics (they count) there is some pretty awesome fanfiction. I myself have written some based on Sonic the Hedgehog and a lot of people have told me it's pretty good. What I mean is, fanfiction isn't bad by definition. It just has a massive stigma attached.Inkidu said:
Next time, why don't you try having an actual argument? It makes your point seem much more valid.
