Poll: Fanfiction: your opinions

[zfactor]

Some of it is good, but most of it is bad; and it is all non-cannon anyway (except the good stuff that tries to make sense). I'm OK with it if it follows the plot of whatever it is about (like a backstory of some character).

What I'm saying is fan fiction is fine if it covers characters or events not covered by the main story of whatever the author made the fiction on and it follows the rules of the copied story (i.e. Naruto doesn't have guns, No lightsabers in Mass Effect, etc)

 

[Songbird-O]

I'm always on the lookout for good fanfiction. But as has been said before, 99% of it is crapola. To me, fanfiction should expand on what is interesting and fill in the blanks of a good story or character. athey should explore characters and events instead of stapling names to bland stereotypes and random fetishes. Some people are inspired by good stories, and write good studies of events or characters.

Likewise, some people are such good writers, that they can turn crap into gold.

But good fanfiction is few and far between.

Among other things, I like Fire Emblem. A lot. I've noticed that one of its big problems is that the series as a whole is a breeding ground for the worst of fanfiction. For various reasons, ranging from FE4's generation system to support conversations to brother sister incest, and many more things for creepy fans to cling to. But since there are so many events and characters to expand on, a couple of good writers catch on to the more interesting things and expand on them as a whole. It's really great to see diamonds shining through a river of fecal matter.

 

[HentMas]

i actually hate fan fic, its like stealing someone elses thoughts-dreams-hopes and reshaping them to your tastes, then why not make your own story? that way you cant posibly offend anyone and leave the soul intact on the original story... i have made some really good pieces of literature inspired in several books, but i would never ever dream of ruining someone elses world and work just because i want to see "ron kissing harry" or things like that

its just wrong, it takes away the spirit that you liked of the story in the first place.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Fan fiction is a vent for creepy fans to vent their creepyness into an unthought out ball and shove it on the internet for other creepy fans to scream at and smash their faces into the screen. "deep breath". Some nuggets of awesome do exist but its like scuba diving for pearls in a see of sewage, it really isnt worth it in the long run. There were 6000 twilight fanfics on a fanfic site i stumbled onto and 20 lord of the rings ones. I almost took my life there and then

99% of fanfiction is this:

X represents a character from an anime/movie "cough" edward cullen "Cough"

"I get married to X and have 50 children with X all called X and they all look just like X and we live in a house called X in a country called X with X's identical twin that looks the same as X and i have posters of X on every surface of my house with X, OMFG X IS SO DAMN AWESOME"

"fan girl/guy scream and explosion"

I have a very low opinion of fanfiction. There is a reason for this.

 

[bassdrum]

The only good fan fiction (in my opinion) is something like Half Life: Full Life Consequences. I don't really give a damn what you think the characters of your favorite game/book/movie/anime/whatever should do, unless your idea is so ridiculous that I can have a good laugh about it. Granted, if someone can make something good that doesn't make me feel embarrassed to have read or watched it, I may partake.

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

Fanfiction disgusts me. I've yet to read a good fanfiction. All of it is just bullshit.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

So after sticking my big toe into the vast sea that is fanfiction I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it. Granted it is 99% poo but now and again one stumbles upon a nugget of gold. I'm not restricting it to anime/manga but tv shows, games, books, movies...thoughts?

Guilty pleasure...I read some bad ones, good ones, and so bad it's awesome.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I hate fanfiction, but that is mostly due to the fact that I don't believe that anyone other then a series or franchise's original creator is 100% qualified to add anything to said series or franchise. In absence of the original creator, the second most qualified would be the company that owns it (although they've been know to fuck things up too), and the absolutely LEAST qualified would be the fans.

 

[tomtom94]

I question how many writers of Kingdom Hearts fanfiction actually played the game.

The plot of the first game revolves around Riku being blinded by his love for Kairi and turning to the darkness to have her back...and yet the internet still believes he's gay.
I googled something once, and got a KH fanfic as one of the result. The extract began "Sora wanted to prove to Axel..." and there I stopped reading.

OT: Fanfiction is I suppose an excuse for your writing to be on the internet. It makes it easier, since you don't have to create characters or locales. However quite a lot of it is just plain rubbish.

 

[Kurokami]

So after sticking my big toe into the vast sea that is fanfiction I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it. Granted it is 99% poo but now and again one stumbles upon a nugget of gold. I'm not restricting it to anime/manga but tv shows, games, books, movies...thoughts?

People have the choice of reading it and it isn't always bad, I say yay... I don't really read much of it (and I sure as well haven't written any yet) but there's not much to object to, if its good great, if its bad don't read it.

 

[Andaxay]

I don't think it can recover after My Immortal.

Oh heck, I remember reading that on ff.net absolutely ages ago. And weeping in agony.

There is so much rubbish in the fan fiction world, but like the OP said, occasionally, there is that good piece that I enjoy reading time and again. It fits the story, makes sense, and most importantly, the author actually knows how to spell. I delve into a few different areas, mainly video game fiction, and avoid any and all summaries that state "rate, pls."

 

[Lexodus]

Fanfiction ruins otherwise great anime/shows/games/etc.

I question how many writers of Kingdom Hearts fanfiction actually played the game.

It seems Furburt has ninja'd yet another poor soul. I was close to being ninja'd too, HA! You'll never ninja me.

I, however, have several times.



OT: I write fanfiction (or, rather, parody fanfiction, mocking the people who write what I write as srs bsns), but most of the subtle (and often incredibly unsubtle) humour is lost on the morons that lurk fanfiction websites. In one story I made a schlong joke basically the entire focus of the narrative (i.e, two people talking, two people overhearing and jumping to conclusions), even including the subtle-as-a-brick line 'You could try and beat it away. I hear your girlfriend has skilled hands, great for manual labour', and somebody posted a review saying that they didn't have a clue what (overhearing characters) could possibly have thought that (conversing characters) were talking about.

Parody fiction and WELL WRITTEN, CANON-FRIENDLY fiction is good. However, as you said, 99 (more like 99.999...1) % of it is utter shit, deserving only a cruel and unusual death.

 

[B-Rye]

Go into it expecting all of it to be crap and you won't be disappointed. Might even be surprised when you find something readable.

I think fan fiction should not be the sole endeavor people dedicate their writing to. If used it should be used as a TOOL for the following:

1) Cure for writer's block
2) Improving writing skills and proficiency to be applied elsewhere (school work, essays, and other writing in general if/when it applies)

Feel free to add other practical reasons if you desire.

And before you ask how this could actually apply (if you cannot come up with your own conclusion) consider this:

As humans, it is necessary for us to communicate our ideas effectively. Written word can often improve spoken word if applied properly. There will be times in life where we will be called upon to use the English language (rather any language we speak) in a higher capacity than an American 4th grader. Dates, meetings, social outings, child rearing, etc. All of these will not be as pleasant as they can be if you lack strong communication skills.

If one chooses to write fan fiction it should be a tool for improving one's communication skills and a supplemental exercise to other writing endeavors. I'll probably think of other reasons, but that is my two cents on the matter.

I agree, 99% of fan fiction is crap. Here's some friendly advice to some of these authors: edit and read your work out loud. If the material sounds terrible spoken then you probably need to tidy it up. The least you could do is make the content less of an eye sore.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

Sturgeon's Law surely applies to it.
I guess there are some good ones, but the amount of shitty ones is overwhelming.

 

[Lexodus]

I'm always on the lookout for good fanfiction. But as has been said before, 99% of it is crapola. To me, fanfiction should expand on what is interesting and fill in the blanks of a good story or character. athey should explore characters and events instead of stapling names to bland stereotypes and random fetishes. Some people are inspired by good stories, and write good studies of events or characters.

Likewise, some people are such good writers, that they can turn crap into gold.

But good fanfiction is few and far between.

Among other things, I like Fire Emblem. A lot. I've noticed that one of its big problems is that the series as a whole is a breeding ground for the worst of fanfiction. For various reasons, ranging from FE4's generation system to support conversations to brother sister incest, and many more things for creepy fans to cling to. But since there are so many events and characters to expand on, a couple of good writers catch on to the more interesting things and expand on them as a whole. It's really great to see diamonds shining through a river of fecal matter.

I saw a decent one with Zihark and Illyana. It made me weep for joy, because I'd been trawling the site for hours to find something other than slash where it has no place, incest where it has no place (although Ephraim and Eirika were a little creepy sometimes) and something in which at least half the words were spelled out correctly.

 

[B-Rye]

I hate fanfiction, but that is mostly due to the fact that I don't believe that anyone other then a series or franchise's original creator is 100% qualified to add anything to said series or franchise. In absence of the original creator, the second most qualified would be the company that owns it (although they've been know to fuck things up too), and the absolutely LEAST qualified would be the fans.

Joe Quesada and Spider-Man: One More Day... there's the evidence to support of those last bits.

It made the the entire previous year before "One More Day" one big "what if". There was potential for true greatness with the new status quo, but no Joe had to go and say screw that and piss all over what was good about Spider-Man at that time.

True, the least qualified are the fans, that's why they write fanfiction and aren't hired.

 

[DarkRyter]

Most of it sucks, horrifically, but some of it is good.

 

[LWS666]

i'm pretty sure it's ay or nay.

also, if it's good fan fiction (like the sort samus does) i'll read it. if it's something stupid then i won't. simple as that.

 

[Songbird-O]

I'm always on the lookout for good fanfiction. But as has been said before, 99% of it is crapola. To me, fanfiction should expand on what is interesting and fill in the blanks of a good story or character. athey should explore characters and events instead of stapling names to bland stereotypes and random fetishes. Some people are inspired by good stories, and write good studies of events or characters.

Likewise, some people are such good writers, that they can turn crap into gold.

But good fanfiction is few and far between.

Among other things, I like Fire Emblem. A lot. I've noticed that one of its big problems is that the series as a whole is a breeding ground for the worst of fanfiction. For various reasons, ranging from FE4's generation system to support conversations to brother sister incest, and many more things for creepy fans to cling to. But since there are so many events and characters to expand on, a couple of good writers catch on to the more interesting things and expand on them as a whole. It's really great to see diamonds shining through a river of fecal matter.

I saw a decent one with Zihark and Illyana. It made me weep for joy, because I'd been trawling the site for hours to find something other than slash where it has no place, incest where it has no place (although Ephraim and Eirika were a little creepy sometimes) and something in which at least half the words were spelled out correctly.

I've found quite a few good ones. Each one makes me weep with joy, and I leave an essay of constructive criticism in their comment boxes so that they are encouraged to make another one.

Although what's good and what isn't is subjective, but I think everyone can at least agree on what is decent, what shows promise, what can appeal to other people, and what isn't god-awful.