Fanfics - pro or con

[Kaysow]

I'll shamefully admit to reading fanfics many years ago.

Why people? It's just redundant and unprofessional. Based off a story I know by heart, I cannot take it seriously when none of the original creators are in on it. If you wanna be a writer, then write your own universe.

[Sailor Star Dust]

.....*sniff* I just died a little inside after reading that post... :cry: (Though I plan on writing my own story at some point, so who cares? ^^; )

[Hunter21]

I'll shamefully admit to reading fanfics many years ago.

Why people? It's just redundant and unprofessional. Based off a story I know by heart, I cannot take it seriously when none of the original creators are in on it. If you wanna be a writer, then write your own universe.

.....*sniff* I just died a little inside after reading that post... (Though I plan on writing my own story at some point, so who cares? ^^; )

Been there and done that. I created a whole world of Mythology back in college for a creative writing class. (All together the story was over 200,000 words long) But that means absolutely nothing to me because it was just an assignment. I enjoy writing fanfics much more because I want to do it. Don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you what you should and should not do as a writer because it is only that person's opinion. (Not to mention irresponsible of the person if they truly are a writer as they should know better than to try and squash someone else’s writing endeavors) Write whatever makes you happy and challenges you as a person as that is more the true essences of a writer than anything.

[Mr. Tines]

I've split this divergence from the recommendations thread, because it is a separate topic; and not one I can see an obvious prior thread to direct to.

@Kaysow
This novella I wrote, 30 years ago -- is it a fan fic?

This incomplete novella I started six years ago -- is it a fan fic?

Where outright fan fic merges into AU fic merges into serial numbers filed off merges into "influenced by" are all fuzzy boundaries.

The worst thing about fan fiction is that so many people do it who simply cannot write decent narrative prose -- or decent prose of any sort.

[The Eva Monkey]

As I've said on more than one occasion:

I'd rather douse myself in gasoline and set myself on fire than read fan fiction.

My beef with fan fiction is that writing is probably the easiest creative format available to fans. However, writing fan fiction competently or with skill is much more difficult than many realize. For every solid fan fic, there are at least 100 that are not even worth reading the title of. If I didn't have to wade through vast amounts of crap, I might be interested in the medium. But for now, I'm going to stick to creative forms with some inherent creative or technical learning curve, such as fan parodies, AMVs, and fan art.

Not to mention the simple fact that if I were to devote the time to read something of significant length, I would much rather read a real book, preferably non-fiction that will offer me a new experience and a chance to learn about the world.

[BobBQ]

Pretty much everything I write is original; I've been doing TToR404 mostly to get away from the Sidereal mythos for a bit and do something a little different... and also to see if there can be such a thing as a well-done self-insert.

As Aaron pointed out, the biggest problem with FF in general is the 90% garbage ratio.

[C4]

Fan-fiction.. can't get behind it. The only fanfic that I've read is most of Eva-R, and I only read that because I was impressed by its ambitious scale. That is, I thought it was big enough to sucessfully establish its own identity separate from the series. It was marginally successful in my view.

However, most fanfics don't have any draw for me at all. I'm not interested in seeing already established, professionally written characters in the hands of amateurs. Of course, some amateurs are amazing writers, but if their writing is so good, they should have a proper outlet for their ability.(Proper = original(original = in a brand new creative universe))

[Timstuff]

Seriously though... While most FFs do suck, there are a lot that are well written or fun to read. Yeah, it's somewhat of a guilty pleasure, but fanfiction helps satasfy your thirst for more of a particular fiction even when official stuff isn't being made.

[The Eva Monkey]

Screw fan fiction, I want to see more non-porn doujinshi get translated into english.

[THE Hal E. Burton 9000]

I have stated this elsewhere; but, I shall reiterate my view again.
Roughly 80 or 90 percent of FF out there is :( :roll: :x :twisted: :? :shock: doo doo. But there is always that 10 to 20 percent that can rival even the better mangas.
FF is like ["popular"("music")] today. :shock:

[Mr. Tines]

Doujinshi are just fanfics with pictures. And finding non-porn ones is, regrettably, a more thankless task than finding adequately written prose-fics.

Even something like Re-Take felt the need for an obligatory sex scene, the sort of thing that went out with the '80s in prose.

[Sailor Star Dust]

Screw fan fiction, I want to see more non-porn doujinshi get translated into english.

Good point. *sigh* Hell, I'd translate some myself if I knew more Japanese.... :( (Read: MORE KANJI)

[Hunter21]

:shock: There is non-porn doujinshi out there

[Ornette]

:shock: There is non-porn doujinshi out there

Ayanami Fans is one.

[DatDude]

:shock: There is non-porn doujinshi out there

No way, for real?

[BobBQ]

:shock: There is non-porn doujinshi out there

Ayanami Fans is one.

And Misatogelion!

Both are, funnily enough, by none other than Azuma Kiyohiko.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

I would regard a lot of what happens in the discussion forum as a form of fan fiction. That is, fan fiction which fills in the unsaid details with (un)reasonable conjecture. I've considered writing some Eva fan fiction myself, but a lot of the standard objections have made me think twice.

The biggest problem with most fan fiction is that it essentially rejects many aspects of the original work, and replaces them with something else. This is often taking to be an essential part of fan fiction, where writers declare liberty to "reinterpret" the original work. Applied to Evangelion, seven times out of ten, you get Shinji the Angst Ridden instead of Shinji the Depressed, which loses a huge part of the essence of the story.

Fan Fiction that is about expanding, not reinterpreting, the original work, is actually enjoyable to read most of the time. However, vice versa is usually the norm.

[DatDude]

I would regard a lot of what happens in the discussion forum as a form of fan fiction.

Truer words were never spoken

[BrikHaus]

Fan fiction can be like books, movies, anime, or anything else. If you don't like it, just ignore it. Don't post about how much it all sucks, how poorly it is written, or that it's not good because it doesn't follow canon. You should discuss it like anything else, with an open mind or not at all.

I just checked FanFiction.net and saw that there are currently 4884 stories for Evangelion alone. I doubt that anyone here who has said "90% of fanfics are crap" [I'm paraphrasing not picking on anyone in particular] can confirm their claim by having actually read and reviewed them all. And seriously, if they are so bad, then why do you people keep reading them?

[THE Hal E. Burton 9000]

I just checked FanFiction.net and saw that there are currently 4884 stories for Evangelion alone. I doubt that anyone here who has said "90% of fanfics are crap" [I'm paraphrasing not picking on anyone in particular] can confirm their claim by having actually read and reviewed them all.

I personally have read around several hundred Eva fan fics in my time. Most seemed to suffer from what others have already said:

The worst thing about fan fiction is that so many people do it who simply cannot write decent narrative prose -- or decent prose of any sort.

My beef with fan fiction is that writing is probably the easiest creative format available to fans. However, writing fan fiction competently or with skill is much more difficult than many realize.

I would regard a lot of what happens in the discussion forum as a form of fan fiction. That is, fan fiction which fills in the unsaid details with (un)reasonable conjecture.
The biggest problem with most fan fiction is that it essentially rejects many aspects of the original work, and replaces them with something else.
Fan Fiction that is about expanding, not reinterpreting, the original work, is actually enjoyable to read most of the time. However, vice versa is usually the norm.

And seriously, if they are so bad, then why do you people keep reading them?

Some of this has been said elsewhere; but, it is either there has not been anything that's come out from the original creators in quite sometime and the fanatics want something to whet their appetite; or, folks cannot think of better things to do to escape from the horrors of reality (or more pertinent things to bitch about ).