Dear Would-Be Journalist,
(In response to this article.)
Fan fiction is a work created by a fan of that work or even someone who is not all that familiar with the original text. It explores ideas, concepts, and settings set forth by the original author. These ideas include characters, plotlines, and typical action-based sequences you might see in the original work. The thing that distinguishes fan fiction from normal fiction is that fan fiction was written by fans for fans and usually contains situations that the characters might not normally find themselves in. This is where the genius of the written work occurs. People are imaginative and creative and get attached to characters, becoming inspired through this attachment. Fan fiction is a work that could change the face of writing and publishing (very slowly, of course, as most things are when it comes to any sort of bureaucracy) over the course of the next 20 years. It’s with these ideas in mind that we reach your point. You write “Fanfic is seen as the lowest point we've reached in the history of culture - it's crass, sycophantic, celebrity-obsessed, naive, badly written, derivative, consumerist, unoriginal - anti-original,” and for lack of a better word - you’re wrong!
I am a huge fan of fan fiction. As I was growing up, there was a huge stigma placed on reading and enjoying these works - likely for the same reasons that you find fan fiction repulsive, the works are considered unoriginal. But the problem with this statement is that fan fiction, in spite of copying the ideas of other authors, is original work! What makes fan fiction original is that the situations put forth are created by the author of the fan fic. Aside from the settings being just that little bit different from the original, it’s impossible to view fan fiction as anything other than an original derivative work. The authors of fan fiction do not regularly converse with the original author in order to learn every aspect that the original author is ‘in-the-know’ about. Because fan fiction authors will never know everything about this universe, their work will always have to have bits and pieces of their own experiences and ideas. The very idea that you find this amount of original thought “anti-original” is absolutely ridiculous. I’d also like to point out that many fan fiction authors utilize original characters to use in plotlines that they’ve created - this requires some level of creativity which fuels the originality fire.
Another of your points is that fan fiction is badly written. Excuse me, but I find this absolutely retarded and uninformed of you. The pre-requisite of fan fiction is not ‘badly written’ and I can see already that this is merely the thought of some man-child who couldn’t find the fan fiction that he wanted to read about his favorite Star Trek characters. Fan fiction has some of the most talented writers in the world that may or may not have been officially published - there are several published authors who write fan fiction, it is not just a bunch of middle-aged women trying to live out their sexual fantasies through transformative works. But then I take issue with my own statement because not all published authors are messiahs of writing. In fact, there are hundreds of people who get published (or even self-publish) who shouldn’t be writing at all. The point to be made here is that being published does not make you some sort of writing prodigy - all it means is that you got your foot in the door and got someone to read your work. Unless, of course, you self-published then it’s possible that your work was not even looked over. I have read fan fiction that is written far better than several things that have actually warranted a book cover and printed type. Fan fiction is written by aspiring writers who come up with cohesive plotlines and can properly develop characters. This is not to say that there isn’t badly written fan fiction, but it’s two sides of the same coin - badly written fan fiction and badly written published fiction exist. One is not better than the other. And it’s ridiculous to make such assertions.
Finally, you describe fan fiction as the lowest cultural point of society. The problem with this statement is that fan fiction is not a modern creation and the fact that fan fiction has survived centuries and been built upon speaks of the longevity and effect it has had on culture. Many works throughout time started out as fan fiction and were later published and considered original works - a lot of these works have been become considered classics. It can be argued that any work about vampires is merely fan fiction based on Bram Stoker’s original work from 1897 and then where does all of your respect for authors such as Anne Rice go? It shouldn’t go anywhere! Anne Rice has still written something wholly original in her series of vampire novels - the same can be said of authors of fan fiction. Today’s fan fiction can be tomorrow’s best seller; all it takes is the changing of a few names. This is best exemplified by 50 Shades of Grey, which is not made fun of because it was once fan fiction, but is instead shunned in the fan fiction community because it is a horrible mainstream success that falsely depicts BDSM relationships. This is not a facet that is exclusive to fan fiction - many points in original works can be contested and detested as well.
With all of this in mind, it’s easy to find the shame in enjoying fan fiction…but only if you mind what other people think of you for reading fan fiction. Fan fiction is something that opens up people’s favorite universes and keeps the interest in the fandom alive far past the original exhibition date, without fan fiction the world of Harry Potter would have ended with the release of the final movie in 2011. Now, the fandom relies heavily on fan works to keep the love alive. I know that I enjoy fan fiction because it gives me situations and inside-views of a character that I might not ever receive from the original work. This allows me to view things from a different perspective and enjoy the original work more.
Fan fiction is a work created by a fan of that work or even someone who is not all that familiar with the original text. It explores ideas, concepts, and settings set forth by the original author. These ideas include characters, plotlines, and typical action-based sequences you might see in the original work. The thing that distinguishes fan fiction from normal fiction is that fan fiction was written by fans for fans and usually contains situations that the characters might not normally find themselves in. This is where the genius of the written work occurs. People are imaginative and creative and get attached to characters, becoming inspired through this attachment. Fan fiction is a work that could change the face of writing and publishing (very slowly, of course, as most things are when it comes to any sort of bureaucracy) over the course of the next 20 years. It’s with these ideas in mind that we reach your point. You write “Fanfic is seen as the lowest point we've reached in the history of culture - it's crass, sycophantic, celebrity-obsessed, naive, badly written, derivative, consumerist, unoriginal - anti-original,” and for lack of a better word - you’re wrong!
I am a huge fan of fan fiction. As I was growing up, there was a huge stigma placed on reading and enjoying these works - likely for the same reasons that you find fan fiction repulsive, the works are considered unoriginal. But the problem with this statement is that fan fiction, in spite of copying the ideas of other authors, is original work! What makes fan fiction original is that the situations put forth are created by the author of the fan fic. Aside from the settings being just that little bit different from the original, it’s impossible to view fan fiction as anything other than an original derivative work. The authors of fan fiction do not regularly converse with the original author in order to learn every aspect that the original author is ‘in-the-know’ about. Because fan fiction authors will never know everything about this universe, their work will always have to have bits and pieces of their own experiences and ideas. The very idea that you find this amount of original thought “anti-original” is absolutely ridiculous. I’d also like to point out that many fan fiction authors utilize original characters to use in plotlines that they’ve created - this requires some level of creativity which fuels the originality fire.
Another of your points is that fan fiction is badly written. Excuse me, but I find this absolutely retarded and uninformed of you. The pre-requisite of fan fiction is not ‘badly written’ and I can see already that this is merely the thought of some man-child who couldn’t find the fan fiction that he wanted to read about his favorite Star Trek characters. Fan fiction has some of the most talented writers in the world that may or may not have been officially published - there are several published authors who write fan fiction, it is not just a bunch of middle-aged women trying to live out their sexual fantasies through transformative works. But then I take issue with my own statement because not all published authors are messiahs of writing. In fact, there are hundreds of people who get published (or even self-publish) who shouldn’t be writing at all. The point to be made here is that being published does not make you some sort of writing prodigy - all it means is that you got your foot in the door and got someone to read your work. Unless, of course, you self-published then it’s possible that your work was not even looked over. I have read fan fiction that is written far better than several things that have actually warranted a book cover and printed type. Fan fiction is written by aspiring writers who come up with cohesive plotlines and can properly develop characters. This is not to say that there isn’t badly written fan fiction, but it’s two sides of the same coin - badly written fan fiction and badly written published fiction exist. One is not better than the other. And it’s ridiculous to make such assertions.
Finally, you describe fan fiction as the lowest cultural point of society. The problem with this statement is that fan fiction is not a modern creation and the fact that fan fiction has survived centuries and been built upon speaks of the longevity and effect it has had on culture. Many works throughout time started out as fan fiction and were later published and considered original works - a lot of these works have been become considered classics. It can be argued that any work about vampires is merely fan fiction based on Bram Stoker’s original work from 1897 and then where does all of your respect for authors such as Anne Rice go? It shouldn’t go anywhere! Anne Rice has still written something wholly original in her series of vampire novels - the same can be said of authors of fan fiction. Today’s fan fiction can be tomorrow’s best seller; all it takes is the changing of a few names. This is best exemplified by 50 Shades of Grey, which is not made fun of because it was once fan fiction, but is instead shunned in the fan fiction community because it is a horrible mainstream success that falsely depicts BDSM relationships. This is not a facet that is exclusive to fan fiction - many points in original works can be contested and detested as well.
With all of this in mind, it’s easy to find the shame in enjoying fan fiction…but only if you mind what other people think of you for reading fan fiction. Fan fiction is something that opens up people’s favorite universes and keeps the interest in the fandom alive far past the original exhibition date, without fan fiction the world of Harry Potter would have ended with the release of the final movie in 2011. Now, the fandom relies heavily on fan works to keep the love alive. I know that I enjoy fan fiction because it gives me situations and inside-views of a character that I might not ever receive from the original work. This allows me to view things from a different perspective and enjoy the original work more.