tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post2184315618540672999..comments2024-03-27T23:59:01.850-07:00Comments on Writing About Writing (And Occasionally Some Writing): Is Fanfic Legit? (Mailbox)Chris Brecheenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07819138776404280633noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-91986129256593744522021-04-07T21:10:02.680-07:002021-04-07T21:10:02.680-07:00Wanted to leave this here because I can not even.
...Wanted to leave this here because I can not even.<br /><br />Imagine believing that myths and legends aren't fanfiction (how many people do you think wrote those? do you honestly think they weren't listening to each other and picking what they liked and what they wanted to change as they wrote their versions?). Imagine believing classic literature and history based stories aren't fanfiction (ever heard about Dante? Virgil? Everyone that ever wrote anything about King Arthur? You *do* know it is fanfic even if the source material is old, real o a religious text, right?). Imagine living in a world so detached of reality that you believe fanfiction == pop culture...<br /><br />Some people are clearly too fragile to accept that all the books they workship are fanfiction, testaments to the love and hate these authors had for the original canon, and that everybook they will ever write will be fanfiction, a tried and used trope, inpired by someone else's work, in a setting isn't exactly the same but is similar enough to what we recognize as familiar to be understandable. As long as there's a canon, an initial idea used as base, it is fanfiction. Even if you change the names, even if you tweek it a little bit, even if you want to be original. Do you have a medieval fantasy setting? Does this story uses common tropes? Is it based on someone's experience?<br /><br />Fanfiction. All of it, fanfiction.<br /><br />In all honestly, I feel sorry for all the anti-fanfic writers out there. I can not imagine what it must be like to have been touched by someone's writing to the point you want to make something like it, something more, something that is theirs and much as it is yours, where the emotions that weren't named are acknowledged and the options that were forgotten are explored, where the things that made you love and hate and cry and dream can be revived once again, different yet the same... and then refuse to accept that pure, irreplaceable feeling because "fanfic icky"<br /><br />Don't be scared of fanfiction. Embrace the reality of writing and, in the process, embrace the you that is an excited, honest to a fault, starry-eyed fan.Anamihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09750869371494341438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-86289427858892497312020-07-25T06:11:29.223-07:002020-07-25T06:11:29.223-07:00It's almost like you've never actually rea...It's almost like you've never actually read fanfiction. Way to go shitting on something that you LITERALLY have no clue about. Bravo. I bet you feel awesome about yourself for it too.Crysaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09203108637459489012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-5846205009778048142019-10-20T05:04:46.174-07:002019-10-20T05:04:46.174-07:00I’ve seen some really good fanfic, and lots of ree...I’ve seen some really good fanfic, and lots of reeeeally bad fanfic. But you know what? Many of them are young writers needing practice on both their skills and their confidence, so why not try the easy, prebuilt world with a built-in following first? You wouldn’t expect a guy, first day in flight school, to fly a 747. It’s spending time somewhere that makes you happy after a crap day. It’s wish fulfillment. It’s discipline to get in the seat and make words. And it is the will to write something, anything, and it’s literacy (many people can’t read at all). All of that, if the writer works at it, can turn into an author who evolves into a published one. Who are we to hate on someone else’s happy place and/or learning curve? Published authors all started by writing bad work. Yes, copyright is a thing, but IMO, unless you are passing off the original work as yours and you’re clear on that disclaimer, I’m ok with it. You don’t have to like a thing to let it live. And so much the better if the original author is ok with it! Either way, I don’t think fic will ever die.Nicki Greenwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04141358402777633639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-29229252868629045802018-03-22T01:16:47.730-07:002018-03-22T01:16:47.730-07:00It could be argued that *because* there is absolut...It could be argued that *because* there is absolutely no chance of monetary reward, fanfic is the "purest" kind of writing ;)Akcipitrokulohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935515409759907878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-22963536042619215672018-03-21T04:19:10.406-07:002018-03-21T04:19:10.406-07:00I agree with Mary Anne (Hi, Mary Anne!) It doesn&#...I agree with Mary Anne (Hi, Mary Anne!) It doesn't interest me as a writer. I always want to change things. A lot. Until the universe becomes so much my own I have to change everything, and then it isn't fanfic anymore. It doesn't interest me as a reader, because it's all too often just not very good, but even if it is.... I see entire series based on other people's work (Rex Stout's, Ian Fleming's) and they just don't measure up to the originals. I want Archie to be the Archie I know, Nero to be Nero the way I remember him, James to be James, Ian Fleming's James, M to be...Judi Dench (well, I really like her characterization of M). When someone else writes in that universe it changes things I LIKE about the original universe. And not, I'm afraid, for the better. Not for me, anyway. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-72915893149262311052018-03-20T19:52:54.754-07:002018-03-20T19:52:54.754-07:00Thanks, Chris. Personally I don't want anythin...Thanks, Chris. Personally I don't want anything to do with fanfic. As a reader AND a writer. The intellectual property issues are reason enough for me to shun it. But wait, there's more.<br /><br />Please don't get mad at me, but most of today's popular culture isn't designed to move the reader, viewer, listener, whatever. It's not supposed to engage their emotions and enable their imaginations. In short, it doesn't even try to do what I believe true art should do. And what I look for in the works I read and watch.<br /><br />Instead, pop cult is power fantasy. It gives its consumers the thrill of accomplishing that which they can't in real life. Of gaining control over anyone and anything. <br /><br />And, of course, it preaches to the choir. It "proves" what they already believe is "true". Even though it's just fiction, or a highly slanted version of reality. And therefore proves nothing.<br /><br />So why would I want to write in such a universe? I don't. There just isn't anything there that excites me as a creative artist. Or even an imaginative reader.<br /><br />The kinds of works that DO inspire me mostly date from before popular culture. Myths, legends, classic literature. And of course, reality, both past---history---and present---current events. And my own experiences.<br /><br />If I can't find this creative stimulation in today's pop culture, I certainly won't find it in its parasite culture, fanfic. So I'll give it a pass. And if millions of readers and writers are into it, I certainly won't be missed.Mary Anne Landershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01846610621610508819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-88241145827993012802018-03-20T17:28:35.849-07:002018-03-20T17:28:35.849-07:00I wrote fanfic for years. Then I realized that I w...I wrote fanfic for years. Then I realized that I would never get anywhere writing fanfic because I couldn't publish it, so I finally stopped writing fanfic and got on with writing my own stuff.<br /><br />And that's my only real serious beef with fanfic. You're not working on *your* story. But hey, if you're happy, whatevs. :)Terra C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13834400436471431634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-46768793440310640212018-03-20T15:52:46.084-07:002018-03-20T15:52:46.084-07:00Way back in the day, there was a group in Glasgow ...Way back in the day, there was a group in Glasgow that got VHS tapes mailed to them which had latest episodes of TNG taped off tv sent to them, and they hired a room once every 6 weeks and charged entry to cover cost of that. Federation Agaisnt Copyright Theft got wind and were going to shut it down, but Paramount (this was a LONG time ago) basically said "are you kidding us? They watch them there and buy the videos they like the minute they hit the shelves. Leave our free advertising alone!"<br />Akcipitrokulohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935515409759907878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-2085504192109886142018-03-20T14:36:48.395-07:002018-03-20T14:36:48.395-07:00Every Disney animated motion picture is fanfiction...Every Disney animated motion picture is fanfiction of the original story. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07816033622139592823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660089177097719300.post-26777255097525690092018-03-20T14:00:29.805-07:002018-03-20T14:00:29.805-07:00Fanfic also has a long and gloried history from th...Fanfic also has a long and gloried history from the days before copyright was a thing. For my Ancient Novel class in college we read what basically amounted to a Biblical fanfic about Joseph and his Egyptian wife. Modern retellings of stuff like Robin Hood are really just fanfiction as well. You like the characters and want to invent your own adventures with them. Oh and then of course there's the entire Star Wars extended universe. Mercedes Lackey's has published anthologies of short stories set in her world but not written by her. So what really sets "legitimate" fiction apart?Kali Rainwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02238897346276656886noreply@blogger.com