Thoughts on fanfics?

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson wrote Dune fanfic. It was really, really bad.

 

I'm a fan. I both read and write fanfiction in addition to original fiction, though under two different pseudonyms.

 

I don't consider licensed works to be fanfic. I think it is useful to distinguish between creations made by fans acting on their own and licensed works commissions by the IP owners or their agents and licensees.

 

I can see original writers not being as ‘flattered’ by fanfic. I also see that they have restrictions or constraints that fanfic writers don’t as well. I don’t think it’s an attack or criticism of the writer as much as their stories have opened some insights that their readers have seized on. I’m surprised at some stories that come from fanfic, but it just means that I didn't interpret or see a given story from their perspective.

 

Why is it bad? I enjoyed having new Dune stories to read. But I did not read all of the books they published. I remember the Butlerian Jihad, The Machine Crusade, and whatever the last book in that trilogy was, then House A, House H, and House...C? I can't remember the emperor's surname. I know there were others that explored the bene g sisters, the mentats, and probably the face dancers but I haven't read them - I got tired of spending my money on hardcover books at $40 a pop when I could wait a few months and read the same book for $10.99, $12.99 etc....and then while waiting, I completely forgot about the series! Other books seized my attention.

 

It's basically Star Wars with Dune characters.

"Bene Gesserit mind tricks" my great aunt Fanny.

 

To me, fanfiction is a writing exercise. It helps writers take a break and just create. I love writing fanfiction, because I get to explore thoughts and theories I had about a story world. Hell, I have even written what I could consider Fanfic for my own novels! Just silly stories for me. That's what fanfiction is. Something fun to work on the aspects of writing such as plot, characters, etc. It's also fun to share it.

I have read enough fanfiction to know that there are a lot of bad one, but... there are a few that I just LOVE. I love, love, love. Because someone or myself thought of an new idea that was completely missed by the author or was forgotten. Fanfiction to me is NO different than fan art, or dressing up as someone for Halloween. It's an expression of love for a world and work of art.

 

I just gotta ask, how many writers actually read the fanfics of their own work and say, "that was insulting?" I think fanfiction can be weird, but I never would read any of my own work. That's the fandom land I will never step into, because that's not my place as an author.

 

YEAH! And what about the Illiad, Paradise Lost or the Divine Comedy? I mean, they all could count for fanfiction. Also, what about Star Wars? Is that a fanfiction of an Akria Kuwasawa film? Like... where's the line?

 

I know it has been a long time since anyone was on this, but my 2 cents. Bless your hearts! LOL Fanfiction is all I write, but they are so far away from canon, I doubt they can be included in the fandoms.

What several people have said is correct, there are a LOT of bad fics out there, but there are a LOT of good ones, too. To each their own.

 

Some fan-fiction stories are better than even published novels, but there are lots, lots, and lots of bad fan-fiction online. Unfortunately, this means that the good fan-fic writers get a bad rep as well.

Fan-fiction can help novice writers to learn the basics of writing stories. I myself began as a fan-fiction writer before moving on to original stories. Having an established universe and established characters allows the writer to jump right into story-writing. On the other hand, I believe that this advantage of fan-fictions gradually becomes a disadvantage if one wants to further develop their skills.

 

I don't see it as a disadvantage. I never would have researched subjects as much as I do nor would I ever care what tense a writing was. I have learned so much and I get tired of people thinking that a fanfic writer does not put as much work into their stories as other writers.

Yes, fanfic has a cheat sheet, but to make them good, the writer has to be good. Lame, I know, but it's true. Maybe my first fics were crap, yes, and I held onto the characters as canon. But now that I have cut my teeth on an established fandom, maybe I feel better about my own original works.

It's all hard.