Fanfiction or Bust?
Some hot ass bitch who I know, she writes what they call "fanfics" or fanfiction or "made up stories by people who are not licensed". She was recently talking about how creators/producers/writers/actors of certain creations HATE fanfiction. I can somewhat relate, hell a large number of people can relate to hating fanfiction.
Why?
Because 97% of it is just bad writing, and of that 97%. Then for the more prudish humans, who are still afraid of their genitals, who cannot dig the fact that 3/4ths of them are porn. 1/3rd of that porn is gay porn, which is something only straight women read, which alienates most men... and lesbians.
Now I can see why anyone could hate bad writing. But come on, is this really hurting television, movies or the nerd medias like video games and comic books?
Hell no. How the fuck can having die hard fans ever hurt a medium? That is a load of bullshit
These writers, actors, and creative folks have forgotten. They were fucking fans too.
Since I know the world of comic books the best, I will use this as an example. You can imagine that it is true for movies and television as well.
Almost all comic book writers, are fan fiction writers. I cannot think of one person that came into comics without being a fan first. Most of these guys worked in the fanzine community back in the day. Some of them were letterhacks who wrote in to the monthly letter columns. Now these guys get paid to do what "fanfic" writers do, control the fate of their fandom's characters.
Joss Whedon is a television writer, who actually took a break from a much more lucrative business to write his fan favorite, X-Men. The fact that Joss is getting paid and published by Marvel is the only thing that makes his fake stories anymore "canon" than that of any other X-Men fan.
Cause face it folks, it is all fucking fiction!
None of it is real.
You cannot have more real or official "fiction". Fiction by its nature is just something someone made up.
In the end, what you call canon, is just as made up as anything written by fans.
Examples?
Kevin J. Anderson and Timothy Zhan revived Boba Fett after his death in Return of the Jedi. Something fan fiction had been doing for years..
William Shatner, his own biggest fan, has written novels about Captain Kirk.
Horror and Fantasy novelists such as Peter Straub, Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Neil Gaiman have all written "official" stories that take place in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft.
Humorist and novelist Dave Berry writes a series of novels about his childhood favorite, Peter Pan. These books are published by Disney and have been given an "official" status by the estate of Peter Pan's creator.
Comic book writer and artist, Frank Miller is in the process of making a film version of his favorite comic, Will Eisner's Spirit....
See? Fans.. writing Fiction...
So why would creative people hate fanfiction so much?
When they are themselves fans, writing fiction?
Perhaps they just don't like the 97% of the bad writing and have never seen the 3% that is actually good.
That or they just don't like the idea that one day, these people maybe the competition... or they might loose their own jobs to the next up and coming writer and it might just be a writer who busted their chops writing the very characters they work with, in fanfiction....
Knowing human nature, I bet it is the later.
[Next Issue: The Wonders of Metropolis!]