Is fan fiction looked down by most of you? - Writers Forum

Sunny Rabbiera · 05-07-2008, 01:12 PM

Alright here it goes, my main form of writing is in the form of fanfictions and not those of original works.
In your eyes do you feel this is a bad thing?
I use fanfiction as practice, to get into writing you need practice right?
I actually remember writing my first fanfiction when I was 10 years old, a fanfiction modeled after my favorite book as a kid 20,000 leagues under the sea.
All writers need a starting point, but is doing fanfiction as bad as people make it out to be?

astralis · 05-07-2008, 06:05 PM

I think fan fiction is fantastic. But, I don't read it unless it's published (simply based on time). A guilty pleasure of mine is reading Star Trek novels. Those books are essentially fan fiction vetted by professional editors and many of the writers started as amateur fan fiction writers.

Those who write for television series are also essentially writing fan fiction.

For many, writing fan fiction is not only a starting point, but it is also a professional end point.

Ungood · 05-07-2008, 07:15 PM

I have no problem with Fan Fiction. I think it is wonderful and in many ways the highest form of prise to what you are writing about.

I have no idea why anyone would look down upon Fan Fiction.

Ungood.

Malone · 05-07-2008, 07:19 PM

I think the people who put it down are just insecure with their own stuff. The majority of the internet writing communities dislike it because the majority of internet communities suck at writing. I've never read any of it besides some star wars book when I was little, but I don't think it's inherently bad.

alanmt · 05-07-2008, 07:30 PM

I would say that there is a broader spectrum of writer ability in fan fic, so there is more bad stuff, and some of it is a virtual marysue-o-rama of glorified wish fulfillment. There is some great stuff, but you have a much bigger haystack to dig through to find it.

lin · 05-07-2008, 09:08 PM

Wow, I wasn't expecting this outpouring of fondness for fanfic. (Judging from your thread title, neither were you)

Cool.

JosephB · 05-07-2008, 09:38 PM

I don't look down on it. I think if people enjoy writing it, that's fine for them.

Personally, I'd rather write my own characters; it's what I enjoy most, so I can't relate to the idea of using ones that exist. I also am not onto any TV show or movie enough to be inspired to write about it. So the whole concept is just a little strange to me.

Maybe I'll try a Dumb and Dumber story. I could get into that.

Ilasir Maroa · 05-07-2008, 09:56 PM

I really enjoy, and occasionally write, and often read and review fan fiction on several forums.

The main reason I feel people look down on fanfiction is that not only is there a far broader spectrum of writing ability, but the bottom of the pyramid is far larger, in the main because most fanfiction writers are extremely unresponsive to critique; and I've actually been suspended for "flaming" a fanficcer who didn't want to hear anything but that everyone loved his story more than anything they'd ever read before. When I go on ff.net, in the sections I browse, I am the only person leaving a response besides "OMG< tht wa so toetally awsum!" Most fanficcers don't write to improve, but because they want to play around with or see a continuation for a story/series that they really enjoyed. So generally, many of them are awful, and they're not looking to improve.

Okay, done with the rant. Remember, I am a fanficcer.

I've seen plenty of people who can spin a good yarn, though most of them suck at actually staying on-story, and in-character, which is the challenge that fanfic creates, and the reason I write it.

Malone · 05-08-2008, 12:41 AM

I write Jenna Jameson and Dora the Explorer fan fiction.

Modest Me · 05-08-2008, 01:08 AM

Malone, you make me laugh..

I've never read 'fan-fiction' nor have I ever written any.
But, idk, I do in a way look down on it, but in a way I don't.

I don't look down on it in a 'theres better writing out there than that' way, but in a 'whats the point' way. Why write it? I mean I have seen movies or shows that I wish they would take in a different direction, and it would be nice to see that, but I'm not about to go write it myself.

But it has to be a hard thing to do, you know. Its someone else's characters- you have to follow someone else's guidelines.. If the author says that the character normally wouldn't do something, you can't write fanfic where they do that (well you could, but it wouldnt be right).

mandax · 05-08-2008, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malone

I write Jenna Jameson and Dora the Explorer fan fiction.

I laughed out loud at this.

Anyway, Fan Fiction lies in a special place in my heart. Role-playing, as well. When I was full-on obsessed with Harry Potter a few years ago, I started RPing. It was in doing this that I learned many of the basics of writing. Any sort of writing can be beneficial to your craft, so I don't look down on any type.

I think people only look down on Fan Fiction because they think it requires less thought and imagination (since many of the settings and characters have been created by someone else). But when you think about it, it may even be more challenging to find yourself able to write someone else's character accurately and learn how they would respond to different situations. It still requires skill, in my opinion, and it shouldn't be considered inferior to other types of writing.

LionofPerth · 05-08-2008, 02:17 AM

As a fanfic writer, I use it to improve my own writing. As for storywise, honestly, in some ways fanfiction can be a lot harder than own, original work, as you have such a clearly defined..... and limited workable area. Don't get me wrong, my crossovers are rather different, at least that's the type of reviews I get about them, with 55,000 thousands hits to one, and over sixty thousand to another, but I think it's a case of the general writer in that field is not a person who looks to better their own work. In a way, I guess fanfiction in the new pulp novel, something lihgt, fluffy, and generally, pretty cliched.

As for supporting it, yeah, I do. Some of the stories out there are works of genius, with talented writers behind them.

My profile if anyone wants to read my work, at least that which I am happy with to leave online at the moment. I suppose, my best two stories are Beyond the Rim and Darkness, with Sleight of Hand. The others, I'm not so sure on.

LionofPerth - FanFiction.Net

Mike C · 05-08-2008, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lin

Wow, I wasn't expecting this outpouring of fondness for fanfic. (Judging from your thread title, neither were you)

Cool.

Up to me to spoil the party then.

Yes, I look down on it, while grudgingly conceding that it has a place... if you're under 16.

Sure, use it to practice your writing skills, if you must, but you'll never get anywhere or be taken seriously unless you take that little leap and invent your own characters and situations. Until then, you're painting by numbers and calling yourself an artist.

What irks me most about it - even more than the fact that most of what I've seen is atrociously written - is the reasons people use to justify it; primarily "It's harder to write fan fiction than normal fiction because you have to work within the confines of someone else's characters and worlds".

Utter, unmitigated bunkum.

LionofPerth · 05-08-2008, 02:44 AM

On a whole I agree the above point, most people do the same basic thing. Look at the vast number of stories in the Naruto and Harry Potter sections of FF.net.

That being said, some people try to do something with, and every so often, there is a story which does something new, and different.

In a way, it is harder, as you have less area in with to work, but in comparison, when writing your own work you make the rules as you go, so if you desperately want to have something like, we'll use Warp speed from Star Trek as an example, you can justify it by saying 'it simply is.' You can't do that in fact fiction. People want to know how something fits into that universe you are working in. And if you do introduce something new, you need to justify it somehow, as the 'it simply is' reason doesn't work.

I'm hardly praising my own work here, but you can write entirely new stories with fanfiction, it just takes alot of time and effort.

Vee · 05-08-2008, 04:24 AM

I haven't read this thread and I've only skimmed the OP, however I find most fan fiction presumes you are all ready familiar with the characters and just puts words in their mouth and a little bit of action.

There is no detail to why the character behaves that way or the character's occupation or prime role of their occupation. A lot of fan fics are also just love stories ppl want to see in their fave show, even when it would never happen or would be unlikely to happen. If particular characters generate sexual tension you don't want them to get together or you'll never recapture that spark that made the show so great.

I've gone out of my way to read fan fiction of shows I've liked and most of it is/was absolutely crap. Only in more recent times have I found reasonable fan fiction, just don't ask me to point out where because I don't know.

Whilst I do not really have anything against fan fiction, I do but that is only because most of it is so poorly done.