McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Fanfiction - Good or Evil?
ethyachk:
Fanfiction is something you should write, you should cherish, then keep to yourself that you ever wrote it and likely burn it, just to make sure. Sometimes having a platform to start from is a great spring board into writing. But never let fanfics see the light of day. Please. Won't somebody think of the children?
novium:
--- Quote from: ethyachk on June 27, 2006, 12:52:12 PM ---Fanfiction is something you should write, you should cherish, then keep to yourself that you ever wrote it and likely burn it, just to make sure. Sometimes having a platform to start from is a great spring board into writing. But never let fanfics see the light of day. Please. Won't somebody think of the children?
--- End quote ---
hah, yes, that was my impression of it.
neminem:
We're discussing two different things here, I see. One I can comment on, while the other I can't, really.
I'm not an author, can't write to save my soul. So I can't really say whether writing in another's world would be helpful in terms of getting better at, well... what? Writing? I can't imagine it wouldn't. If your goal was to get better at world-building, then obviously you wouldn't get much practice if you used someone else's base. But if you were just practicing writing, I don't know why it would be any different - in fact, I imagine it could be harder in some ways, having to adapt your own writing style such that pre-existing characters spoke and acted in ways that wouldn't break existing characterization.
As a voracious reader, though, I can say this - most fanfic sucks a lot, to the extent that I really don't bother with it, as it's mostly a waste of time. But that's not the fault of fanfic itself, it's merely the fact that the genre attracts far too many people who write about as well as I do, but have much bigger egos ;). I love to see different takes on the same stories, or the same characters, or the same worlds, but only when they're worth bothering with. If I were a famous writer, I'd be flattered by any and all attempts at fanfic in my world - even though I'd be even more saddened at how much most of it would suck a lot.
Incidentally, I absolutely love covers; in fact, I go out of my way to collect them. Have gigs and gigs of it. I've also deleted gigs and gigs, because again, I only keep ones that are actually worth keeping. It seems that fewer people with little talent consider themselves to have talent in music than it writing, though, so it's at least worth bothering. Or at least, less of the music that sucks ends up being discussed and passed around the internet.
ethyachk:
--- Quote from: neminem on June 28, 2006, 02:05:26 AM ---
As a voracious reader, though, I can say this - most fanfic sucks a lot, to the extent that I really don't bother with it, as it's mostly a waste of time. But that's not the fault of fanfic itself, it's merely the fact that the genre attracts far too many people who write about as well as I do, but have much bigger egos ;).
--- End quote ---
I have had a distressing number of contacts with fanfic writers who were so proud of what they'd done they were sure that once the author read their fanfic that it would become accepted as a part of the world and would be published. Worse, some fanfic crazies even thought the authors would hand creative control of the world to these fanfic maniacs.
If that sounds unbelieveable, I should mention that I once dated a girl who honestly believed she was a fairy princess, daughter of Oberon and Titania, with her very own angelic guardian who she spoke to frequently. She was one of the fanfic people.
Lesson to be learned: don't date the people I date. Bad idea.
-S
Jon Crenshaw:
--- Quote from: ethyachk on June 28, 2006, 12:28:37 PM ---
--- Quote from: neminem on June 28, 2006, 02:05:26 AM ---
I have had a distressing number of contacts with fanfic writers who were so proud of what they'd done they were sure that once the author read their fanfic that it would become accepted as a part of the world and would be published. Worse, some fanfic crazies even thought the authors would hand creative control of the world to these fanfic maniacs.
If that sounds unbelieveable, I should mention that I once dated a girl who honestly believed she was a fairy princess, daughter of Oberon and Titania, with her very own angelic guardian who she spoke to frequently. She was one of the fanfic people.
Lesson to be learned: don't date the people I date. Bad idea.
-S
--- End quote ---
.
--- End quote ---
QFT.
Sounds like we may have dated the same kinds of people.
Eyaugh, glad I'm over that phase. ;)
But spot on about some of the fanfic crazies out there
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