Fan-fics

[SummerRayne]

I have a general forum were I asked people this question. But I wanted a more black and white answer from people. So I would love mainly yes and no answers to the questions.

I'm not sure about my answer, but I know a absolutely awesome writer who also writes fan fic fiction on aff. BUT there are also writers who don't write so well fan-fiction and otherwise. Take the poll! :-)

[madlodger]

I find this poll mildly insulting to fanfic writers.

Are is it like the saying Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't write, make fan fiction.

^could be betaed.

It could be helpful to poll voters if you provided your definition of "real writers" and listed criteria to qualify as such.

[RikuDrak]

I'd vote "no" simply because my overall opinion towards fanfiction and its authors (I haven't found a single enjoyable, well-written fanfic anywhere where there are fanfics ever) is rather negative and skeptical, but I have to agree that there are plenty of original fiction authors that are bad at writing. They can't introduce their characters subtly, or in the way one should when you have original characters and just expect their reader to love them as they love them from just reading their name.

I'm torn.

[Keith Inc.]

How do you define a 'fanfic' writer?

If it's something like: Using characters that you are not the original creator of, then

Wouldn't that make the Divine Comedy FanFic?

Wouldn't that make the roof of the Sistine Chapel FanArt?

God, Satan, Adam are not original to those artists. Nor are the settings: Heaven, Hell, Garden of Eden. Events like Creation.

I think it's certainly possible to have 'real' writers doing the fanfic thing.

[Kanashii]

I'd vote "no" simply because my overall opinion towards fanfiction and its authors (I haven't found a single enjoyable, well-written fanfic anywhere where there are fanfics ever) is rather negative and skeptical, but I have to agree that there are plenty of original fiction authors that are bad at writing. They can't introduce their characters subtly, or in the way one should when you have original characters and just expect their reader to love them as they love them from just reading their name.

I'm torn.

Well, let me ask you this. What would be something that would catch your boat to read? I saw in your profile you like dark, demented stuff. I write alot of it, some of it too dark for the average reader and alot of mob/Mafia stuff. I have also some Soprano's and Harry Potter fanfic and it's pretty dark, and violent (My deatheaters do some really vile things, stuff JK Rowling could never write about)...

So I ask you, as an author...What do YOU find arousing? What kind of story do YOU want to read (fan fic OR original)? If you got the time for a LONG novel I invite you to check out "Tender is the Night" it's not the usual porn fest found on here. I also write (like Keith) alot of kink stories in the BDSM realm (ponyplay, kidnapping, bondage, torture).

What are YOU looking for? Have you typed in the AFF search engine under summary to see if you can find what you might fancy? Have you looked? I found some great authors both in original and fanfic by typing in words and phrases under the search engine.

Again, if you don't find anything YOU like, why not write it yourself? That's how I started as an author. I began writing stories with elements *I* enjoyed and craved.

[Terri]

It all really depends on the writers. I've read some HORRIBLE fanfics - all over the net. But then I've also read some that nearly make me cry at the idea that I'll never be as good as those who in turn have greatly inspired me in that department.

As for me, I write both original fiction and fanfics and I've gotten great reviews on both fronts. As have friends of mine as well as my inspirations - most of whom are fanfic writers - or at least were

[kaimono]

i would say it depends. some writers are people who dedicated some parts if not whole of their lives to writing. fanfictions may be just another form of their enjoyment. however, there are some who are not really writers. they are probably people who really love a certain series or characters, and want to see a certain scenario take place, therefore they write fanfictions. do i make sense? it is hard to think with the lack of sleep

[Lore]

This is how I see it:

Original writers - have both good and bad stories

Fan fic writers - have both good and bad stories

And in the end, that's all it really comes down to. I've read SO many awful original stories that it's not even funny, but I'm not judging original writers on a whole and saying they can't write for shit based on those that I've read. At the same time, I have a hard time finding really good fan fics - but they're definitely out there.

If you're looking into a small fandom, be very prepared to get hit in the face with bad writing. ZelosxRegal gets no love and the few fics I've found for it have been so bad I want to cry. xD And if you're looking into a large fandom, be prepared to wade through shit to get to the best.

[Kanashii]

I also wanted to add something here, from an older persons perspective....

You have to remember we are on a Media OVERLOAD age. YouTube, Ipods, IPhones, easy programs on your computers to make your own song fic videos, and the power of the internet. TV news and shows that span the globe on over 200 channels. There is so much media overload it's nearly impossible to get away from it!

So yes; now a days, anyone, anywhere can post up a story on Myspace, AFF, LJ or wherever and everyone sees it. Growing up in the late 60's and early 70's certain shows/books or Sci-Fi/Horror/Fantasy often had FAN CLUBS, all done via regular postal mail. People would write fanfic back then too, and have to ponderously type it out on a typewriter, get it bound up and then sell it at conventions or to their friends. And even then, there was something for everyone (Just using Star Trek the original series and Lord of the Rings as an example) there was Slash, there was Mary Sues, there were BDSM stories. But none of this "instant post".

The only way to find these glorious nuggets was to attend conventions in person OR join the fan club (cost money) and then BUY the printed stories. I still have lots of them in a box somewhere. Because there was not this "instant gratification and media overload" you treasured these things more. (and money spoke, if no one bought your fan fic story at a con, well... You know.)

So we (as a generation) were a generation of READERS of material you had to HOLD in your hands. (TV stations actually shut DOWN at midnight until like 6 am...Imagine that!) We read classics, we read stories of every variety from Melville to Doyle, Shakespear to Milton, Homer to Heinlen and everything in between. Our imaginations were on overload!

Also correct writing techniques were stressed more in school, and you didn't have internet shorthand. So usually what was written out was done with good grammar and usually excellent punctuation. (That's what your friends and fellow fans were for! To help beta your fanfic before you got that baby printed up!) It was a much more "face to face" in person time.

So, part of "why" you may think there is material that is just "thrown up on the internet" with no regard to plot, characters, canon, etc, is...Because there is!

Anyone with a computer and who can type can post anything. Media overload.

The "nuggests and gems" are still there out there. (Well written fanfics and original stories) but one of two things happen...

1) The author gets so little FEEDBACK and hits that there story is buried by other stories that other 16-18 year old "Squeeeing" fangirls/Fanboys want to read.

2) The author's story is so well written they sell it and publish it. Some of us just go underground and give our stuff to the same circle of true Fans we grew up with in the 60's and 70's who remember what it was like to actually have to HOLD a written fan fic in your hand... Who had to type it out over weeks sometimes months. When you had to pay for it.

Media overload isn't going to go away, but we as readers can be more savy in using the SEARCH features to look for exactly what we want. And/or...WRITE the kind of story you want. (Don't see a fan fic you like? Write it) Talk with authors who's work you DO like and ask if they know any other authors who write of similar topics or styles...

It's a world of INSTANT communication and gratification, but yet many of us forget the true power of just one on one talking (even if it is IM or in an email). Ya never know, you just might meet a really true friend in your fandom or one who enjoys the same things as you (insofar as original writing and such).

Ok, so the old person has rambled on now...But I am giving an honest answer (I hope) what a few of you have been truly asking.

[Ginevra]

Kanashii makes a wonderful point about communicating, in person, by IM or whatever.

I've recently begun working with a Beta...who I think goes far beyond what a Beta is expected to do. We have been IM-ing like mad, bouncing ideas back and forth for both of our stories and it has kept us moving. And it is marvelous to be able to cut and paste a bit of in progress work to get an opinion. Or ask some off the wall question that would send your spouse running for cover--before you get too deep into whatever piece you are writing and have to rewrite.

This relationship has sparked a number of plot bunnies for both of us and has kept us moving on our works in progress. I am really enjoying the collaboration of working with her and my Live Journal friends. Much more intimate than here at AFF, though AFF is reaping some of the rewards through the stories I post.

Great point. Writing isn't solely about pleasing yourself. If others don't enjoy your work, what was the purpose of posting it in the first place?

[YuriChampion]

I'd vote "no" simply because my overall opinion towards fanfiction and its authors (I haven't found a single enjoyable, well-written fanfic anywhere where there are fanfics ever).

You need to head over to FF.Net and read Kim Possible: Mind, Body, and Soul. It renewed my faith in FF.Net specifically and in fan fiction as whole.

[kokiden]

I'm really divided on this topic, so I was very interested to read what others had to say.

I think fan-fiction and original fiction are quite different in a couple of ways. First, with fan-fiction, most authors don't take the trouble to introduce the characters, as we are writing for an audience who may know more about the characters than the author does. I am a bit bothered about that, when I think back to my story and realize I haven't had to go to the trouble to introduce the character the way I would in an original story.

The other way that I think the two are quite different is a more substantial reason. I think that fan-fiction is an extension of fantasy--as in daydreams or sexual fantasies. Fantasizing is something I've done all of my life, so I know the process well. To me, fan-fiction is the process of putting those fantasies down on paper and making them coherent and believable to others.

I think that's one reason why there is so much emphasis on writing in character in fan-fiction. The author is running up against all of the fantasies and desires of the readers, who feel jarred if the fantasy doesn't move in the direction most pleasing to them.

This may sound very negative with regard to fan-fiction, but right now that's all I'm writing. I enjoy writing it, and I see the value of writing it. The writing process is almost as creative as original writing (I say "almost," because we fan-fiction writers do not have to make up our own characters or properly introduce them), and it certainly brings joy to those who read it. There are some immensely talented and skilled writers working in fan-fiction. I have to admit, when I read them, I always think, "Please, please write original fiction! Go to the next level!"

[Maiafay]

I'd vote "no" simply because my overall opinion towards fanfiction and its authors (I haven't found a single enjoyable, well-written fanfic anywhere where there are fanfics ever) is rather negative and skeptical, but I have to agree that there are plenty of original fiction authors that are bad at writing. They can't introduce their characters subtly, or in the way one should when you have original characters and just expect their reader to love them as they love them from just reading their name.

I'm torn.

Interesting, do you feel that way about your own work?

[Lost_Soul]

>_>

o_o

I'll answer that I am inbetween, sense you want a yes or no answer without the baggage. ; I don't want to offend anyone so I will keep my mouth shut... >.>

[Helluin]

Yes, because the art of writing well is technique, not content.

As a teacher, I've read hundreds of badly-written original works (and a few badly-written plagiarized ones ).

I've also read a few pieces of fanfiction that are stunning.

However, fanfiction is amateur fiction, and as in amateur golf, watercolors, or anything else, the spectrum of ability among amateurs is going to be a much wider range than among professionals who make a living off of that skill or art.

Edited January 23, 2008 by Helluin

[Becca Star]

I really say it all depends on the person who's writing mainly because I've seen work that took an episode and just rewrote it to what they wanted....

That to me isn't much of a writer... It's still writing... but it's practically stealing...

Does that make any sense? I mean I understand as a fan fic writer that I am in my own way also stealing, but I try to come up with original ideas or enviroments that are not always seen in the series or book...

Get it? I hope someone does...

[Keith Inc.]

I really say it all depends on the person who's writing mainly because I've seen work that took an episode and just rewrote it to what they wanted....

Well, I've done that. Not to steal it, i mean i clearly identified which Trek episode i was adapting.

I just reimagined 'Trouble with Tribbles' with Winnie the Pooh as Kirk. It took more than just replacing the word Kirk with Silly Old Bear every time it came up. I think it stands up to scrutiny as fanfic of both the 100 Acre Federation and WoodFleet.

[Becca Star]

Hehehe... I want to read it!!!

But that's not what I mean...

OK... like the InuYasha Second movie.. where Inuyasha and kagome kiss... basically someone would rewrite the whole movie and replace Kagome with Sango....

That's what I'm talking about...

[Keith Inc.]

Hehehe... I want to read it!!!

http://cartoon.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600040749

OK... like the InuYasha Second movie.. where Inuyasha and kagome kiss... basically someone would rewrite the whole movie and replace Kagome with Sango....That's what I'm talking about...

Okay. That's pretty poor, as fanfic goes.

[Lost_Soul]

I really say it all depends on the person who's writing mainly because I've seen work that took an episode and just rewrote it to what they wanted....

That to me isn't much of a writer... It's still writing... but it's practically stealing...

Does that make any sense? I mean I understand as a fan fic writer that I am in my own way also stealing, but I try to come up with original ideas or enviroments that are not always seen in the series or book...

Get it? I hope someone does...

I get what you mean. o.o I try to do that myself by adding my own original ideas in the fan fic I am writing so that it doesn't seem like I'm stealing the whole idea. I mean, of course you use the already created characters but I add my own and put in a different plot to the story but not so much that it doesn't fit with the whole story originally, just sown in together for another story on the side of said original plot done by the actual creator; understand what I mean? ;>_> I think I just confused some people... >.<; sorry! 0_0 NVM X3;

[AmberRose]

Yes, because the art of writing well is technique, not content.

As a teacher, I've read hundreds of badly-written original works (and a few badly-written plagiarized ones ).

I've also read a few pieces of fanfiction that are stunning.

However, fanfiction is amateur fiction, and as in amateur golf, watercolors, or anything else, the spectrum of ability among amateurs is going to be a much wider range than among professionals who make a living off of that skill or art.

Very nicely put and I agree completely. It reminds me of the arguments artists have over whether fan art is true art or if digital art is true art. Content is important is important but creativity and presentation is what it's really about.

[Lost_Soul]

I found that you are a true writer if you have works published, even if it means you have fan fiction stories published. I found a woman, S.D. Perry, who has written several novels on Capcom's 'Resident Evil' and several other stories on Star Trek, Aliens, and others that are based on tv series. I was told she got permission from Capcom to write novels on their game 'Resident Evil', some based on the actual game following the story and some loosely based on the game and changed a few things in the story. So I guess, you can say Fan Fiction writers are writers if published. I also think, in my opinion, that fan fic writers are writers also if their story has a plot to it, and it's not all about SEX/SMUT in their stories, that their is a storyline that follows without it seeming like your reading porn/erotica.

[Quatre Winner]

I voted "Depends on how well the story is written". Both on here and on ffnet, I've had to really DIG in order to find the gems that really stand out. What I think takes a lot of skill is crossovers; that is, taking two fandoms and, for all intents and purposes, mashing them together. Sure, you can just toss some characters into another fandom and watch them wallow around, but without a plot binding the two different fandoms together, all you get is something of a crack fic that deserves to be buried. However, in some cases (like, admittedly, my own), it is kind of like cheating if you just steal the antagtonist of one story and use him in another. That shows a lack of creativity, when you can't come up with your own villian. I mostly write crossovers to explore how characters react in different situations, and combine the two storylines when I can so it seems as if they were actually supposed to be together.

... I think I diverged from the topic. Oops. In any case, a writer is defined by the skill with which he or she writes; a person who writes exclusively "chat-fics" where the characters go into a chat room to interact can't really be called a writer because all they're using is dialogue, and in chat rooms the most conflict you'll get is between two characters with opposing personalities. That's just what I think, though.