McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Fanfiction - Good or Evil?

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Brodie:
I've never really been big on reading or writing fan fiction. Even after I started a little fan fiction thing with some friends involving comic book characters (I classify it as such because it's not getting publish and we're not paid for it), I still tend to avoid delving into the genre.

However, there are worlds - not specific characters - that I would love to do fan fiction stories in, creating whole new characters of my own. Somewhere earlier on this thread someone mentioned fanfic not really conducive to creativity. I have to argue against that, based on how I feel about fanfic. When a writer wants to play around in a specific setting without using the characters that known for that setting, I think that's creative. It says alot about a writer when fans want to play around in the world he or she created.

Also, for me, I would never dream of touching characters I've grown to care about (being loving or hating them). Those characters are sacred, in my opinion, and I wouldn't dream of touching them with my unworthy imagination. That, and it wouldn't be canon. And I would never be able to live up to the original author's style.

There aren't many settings I would delve into writing fanfic for, whipping up new characters and stories that wouldn't interfere with what's come before. But, the Dresdenverse is one I would love to play around in. Lately, I've been thinking of ideas I could use, but only because I so badly want to run/play an RPG campaign in Dresden's world, as do a few of my friends. I'll likely end up running the game, being the one that's exposed the others in my group to the series, but I definitely will be avoiding using characters from the books as much as possible.

Xenith:
I like fan fiction and am tremendously grateful to it. I was a part of X Files fandom while it was hot and wrote fanfic for about 4 years. Before I got involved, I didn't know I could write but disovered that I could after I wrote my first couple of stories. There is nothing like the thrill of writing a hot story with lots of cliff-hangers!

Am I stealing somebody else's characters? No, I'm borrowing them and not making a dime off it. In XF at least, the creator has implicitly given his fans permission to write (he used the name of a fan-fic writer in two eps of the X Files as a sympathetic character). That said, fan-fic is only good to teach you plotting, basic writing, dialog but not character development since you're taking a given character and taking it from there. I'm ready to create my own primary characters now, although I did have a blast with the plotting. I just need a place to do it and, hopefully, sympathetic and knowledgeable people to write with.

I haven't written in other genres and don't plan to borrow Harry or anybody else from the Dresdenverse!

black roses:
For me, it helps me hone my skill. I write alot of original fiction, but I have a fanfic story going on at the same time, too. And the main reason I turned to it is quite simple: It's nice. It's really nice to have people read your writing and respond, while you're working on it. Nice to know someone's reading, and someone likes it. Most writers never know, not until they're published, and even then... with fanfic, you get responses, usually.

I usually use ff.net to post. And yes, it is hard to find good writing, but when you do, it's well-worth the wait. It's really hard to find good het, but again, I like slash and het, so I don't really care either way.

But I never write fanfic for an author I truly love- I would never for Golding or Burgess. I think their writing is perfect. And I don't use Butcher, either, but only because I never really wanted to.

Sil76:
I tend only to do fanfic for books/fandoms which are complete -- ie, the canon is set and there is not going to be more story from the author.  I'll bend a little when doing little one-offs for somebody's birthday or something, but for the real, going to spend some real effort and time, stories, I prefer my stuff to be well sunk in established canon.  Guess any Dresden stuff isn't going to happen for a while  ;D

RMatthewWare:
I've never written fanfic, and I can't recall reading any either.  I suppose, however, that anything that gets you writing is good, especially if you enjoy it.  Just realize that anything you write will never be published.  If it helps you figure out how to write, then wonderful.  But at some point, if you want to be published, you need to move on.

Matt

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