Fan Fic Writers/Readers/Fans/Opponents

I'm curious about other members' feelings about fan fiction.

It seems every popular novel and film has its fan sites, which usually include fan fiction. The first time I came across slash, I was speechless. Now I hear about stories that incorporate characters from two or more different authors, all one happy family. I hear about the HP/conversion stories (a new one, for me), and I wonder.

So who among us writes fan fiction? Who reads it, voraciously or otherwise? Who reads and offers to beta, but doesn't write? Who is completely opposed to it?

I did indulge a little, many years ago, but found it too limiting. First, it frustrated me to use characters who had already been so well-developed by their creators. I though it was funny, the way fan fiction writers decreed what was canon for each character and story, while the original writer was left out in the cold. What a strange thing!

Second, I wanted to write much longer stories than the average fan fic reader prefers. (I know some writers do write novel-length stories, and they do have fans. I'm talking about the majority, novelettes, short stories, serial stories.)

In the end, I began to feel that fan fiction was cheating, taking a short-cut, writing for the lazy. I still feel that way, for the most part.

Don't get me wrong: I do understand that when the creator isn't working fast enough, the fans want to run ahead. It feeds the desire for more. Instant publishing, instant gratification. I also understand the addiction to writing it: the instant feedback that internet writing allows. Who can resist those compliments, those pleas for more, those requests to reprint and frame sections of dialog? (I actually got one of those, once. How odd.)

Some years back, I learned that several authors (The Original Authors, that is) objected to the use of their work and their characters for this purpose. I thought they were being silly, since it proved how much their fans liked what they'd done. I also wondered whether they were not over-reacting; where's the harm in it? Why be so posessive? Let the fans love your stuff; more sales for you in the end, right?

I sympathise more now with the objections since I've been through the labor of creating my own characters. I wonder how I'd feel if someone took my creation, my children, and had their way with them? I wonder how I'd feel if I found my two favorite male characters written into slash fiction? In any case, I'd probably call a lawyer!

I know that almost no one objects to the stuff these days; it seems to be a given, that any popular story will generate fan fiction. I think some authors even approve of it. But if it does break copyright laws, and if the original authors do object...what then? Do you think it's just a guilty pleasure? Harmless? Questionable? Sinful, evil, criminal?

Just curious,
ned

Roger J Carlson said:

Another thing that occurs to me about fan fiction is that it's something of a force of nature that would be difficult to control. For instance, suppose JK decided she didn't want any Harry Potter fan fiction and sued to have the sites take it down. If she won, she would actually lose because she would be alienating the very fans who buy her books by the millions.

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I've heard rumors that Ann Rice stated that she objected to it; the 'news' that she would prosecute caused a lot of anger and probably did alienate many of her fans, but there's no proof she said any of the things she's supposed to have said.

If she did object, I see her point. The so-called disclaimer that fan fiction writers place before each story is useless in any legal sense. But as you say, there's no real way to stop it.

As for alienation, I suppose that since Mrs. Rice informed her readers that she's returned to Christianity and will not be writing any more vampire books or erotica, she's alienated a good many of them already.

I wonder about this author; I've not read her new book about Christ because the subjects of her previous novels have been so opposed to Christianity. When I first saw the book in stores, I was horrified that she'd touch a subject so sacred to so many people.

Then I heard she'd returned to Christianity. I doubted, and supposed it was a ploy to get more readers for the new book. If she's sincere, then it took guts, and I wonder how many Christians, unable to forgive her past, will give the book a try. If she's sincere, she'll have to endure a lot of abuse from both her old fans and those who won't choose to believe in her new life. After the subjects she's chosen in the past, will she ever be accepted as a Christian writer?

ClaudiaGray said:

I think it's Sturgeon's Law that says 99% of EVERYTHING is crap. Fanfiction is no exception to the general rule.


I write original fiction, but I wrote fanfic and still do when I have the time (though this is becoming rarer). I didn't learn everything I need to know about writing that way, but I learned a lot and got some brilliant FB.

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Thanks for responding, and for being so candid about your feelings. It's nice to hear from someone who doesn't oppose fan fiction.

I agree about the feedback. I wrote only two or three stories altogether, but found a wonder of a friend who still reads my rough drafts for me. This person has never forgotten a grammar rule, and knows how to use them! What DID people do, in the olden days, before the internet? Abuse one's relatives and friends? The horror.

Fac fiction is responsible for some of my earliest successes in writing, and for forcing me to learn the difference between good writing and garbage. I found a love I didn't know I had.

It forced me to do historical research I'd never have done otherwise, and I gained a love for history that remains to this day. Because of it, I started studying the craft of writing seriously, and because of it, I'm now back in college earning an English Degree with an emphasis on technical writing.

All this because someone told me to read a story someone else had written about a TV series I liked. Isn't life amusing?

veinglory said:

Marie de France was writing fanfiction in the 11th century, the late great Lawrence Dibdin wrote a piece of fanfiction just this last century that haunts me to this day.

Like the little girl with the curl, when it is good it is very good indeed--but when it is bad it is horrid.

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Ha! Too true.

After reading your comments, I thought of something more. I heard there have been more than thirty different 'sequels' to Jane Austen's novel Emma alone. Isn't that fan fiction as well? The difference is that the copyright is no longer valid. The fansite, pemberly.com, lists more than sixty sequels to this and other Austen novels.

There have been sequels to GWTW, as well as parodies.

Several authors have had Star Trek, Star Wars and other Science Fiction books published, though they were not the original creators. I suppose there's a lot more "Fan Fiction" out there than we realize; the difference is, some writers are actually getting money for it.

Do you suppose Byron was a fan fic writer? He didn't invent Don Juan, after all.

Roger J Carlson said:

Not at all. They are authorized to write within that "world". They can't do whatever they want because they must follow strict guidelines.

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Obviously, or they'd have the socks sued off them, poor sods.

I guess the small amount of fan fic I've read generally followed rules, which was why I made the comparison. It wasn't sci-fi, but none of the stories I read went nuts with the characters or the period. It did follow rules, and seldom wandered outside what the original writers created. If one could ignore the bad writing habits, it was otherwise tolerable.

I understand this isn't always the case, however. Much of fan fiction goes far outside the intention of the author, so I think I lucked out seeing what I did before seeing anything else out there. Well, maybe not luck. The owner of this particular board reviewed all the stories, and it was fairly benign, no slash, and no erotica, wich did weed out some of the more far-fetched plots. It really focused on good plots and good writing. Things I've seen since have left a pretty bad taste in my mouth, I'm sorry to say.

ClaudiaGray said:

IThe best fanfiction and the best media tie-ins have very little to do with each other, in terms of the kind of writing involved.

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How so? Can you be more specific? I haven't read tons of fan fic, honestly, but what I've seen involves many kinds of writing. I'm curious, not defending either position. I just want to know what you mean by "kind of writing." More formula? More "script friendly?"

I asked the question here because I don't generally post in other forums. So many members have mentioned either reading or writing fan fiction that I was curious about how Christian writers feel about the habit/hobby.

Sokal said:

12th century. And how is her stuff like fan fiction?

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Sokal, where have you been hiding these day? Totally off topic, but I'm in the middle of a great bio of Robespierre called "Fatal Purity." Since you're a history maniac, I think you'd like this one. Nice to see you again!