I just came back from a trip to Fermilab (to give a talk at the Collaboration meeting), and I noticed, on the plane from Phoenix, that the woman next to me was reading a book
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I think this is partially a matter of coincidence. You just happened to encounter a "fan" off the internet, which is bound to occur at some point, since there are many fans of many things -- it may just not be obvious in real life.
In regards to the writing, though, "fanfiction" as pastiche or genre has long been acceptable for certain things. Classics such as Sherlock Holmes and H. G. Wells have long had imitations and subsequent additions which have been received by the public with an interest that often outstripped the quality of the pastiche. I imagine Pride and Prejudice would fall into this category as well. For that matter this sort of thing is what likely contributed to the "creation" of certain classics, such as the stories of Robin Hood, and the Arthurian cycle, and possibly even the Iliad and the Odyssey. On the other side of the quality issue, there are all of the endless tie in novels for various movies, television series, or fantasy/science fiction stories. The vast majority of that body of work will be almost instantly forgotten, because it doesn't have any merit of its' own. So the question of quality writing, and the presumable ultimate goal of being published, is a question of writing *well* -- whether it's pastiche or original fiction. In my opinion, the issue with pseudo-fanfiction is not that it is set in someone else's world, using someone else's characters, but that this is taken as an excuse by the authors to not produce solid characterization and plot in their own right.
I'm not sure where this sits on the scale, being more of a "what if" than it is a sequel or a conclusion, but I have to say that I wonder how easy it is to make a story using someone else's characters. It always feels a bit dishonest to me, even when licensed, to create a story using someone else's characters and someone else's universe.
In regards to the writing, though, "fanfiction" as pastiche or genre has long been acceptable for certain things. Classics such as Sherlock Holmes and H. G. Wells have long had imitations and subsequent additions which have been received by the public with an interest that often outstripped the quality of the pastiche. I imagine Pride and Prejudice would fall into this category as well. For that matter this sort of thing is what likely contributed to the "creation" of certain classics, such as the stories of Robin Hood, and the Arthurian cycle, and possibly even the Iliad and the Odyssey. On the other side of the quality issue, there are all of the endless tie in novels for various movies, television series, or fantasy/science fiction stories. The vast majority of that body of work will be almost instantly forgotten, because it doesn't have any merit of its' own. So the question of quality writing, and the presumable ultimate goal of being published, is a question of writing *well* -- whether it's pastiche or original fiction. In my opinion, the issue with pseudo-fanfiction is not that it is set in someone else's world, using someone else's characters, but that this is taken as an excuse by the authors to not produce solid characterization and plot in their own right.
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Oh well, just differences I suppose.
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