Fanfiction thoughts
I've read some quotes from famous/wellknown authors in which they disparage fanfiction. They say "Write your own stuff." or that fanfiction is akin to prostituting their work. Their work is their child, their raison d'etre, their shiny unicorn and it's blasphemous and heinous to have it taken and used.
My thoughts are this:
1. If you didn't want your kids prostituted you shouldn't have sold them in the first place. If your work is so precious that you fear for its integrity, DON'T GET IT PUBLISHED. But if you wanted to get it published to make money, share your brilliance, have your story heard THEN GUESS WHAT - if people like it, they will want to live in that world. Wasn't that the whole point? To get people to read your stuff and like it? IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY. Honestly, fanfiction about your work is like a BIG FAT LOVE LETTER from fans saying that they LOVE YOUR IDEAS.
2. If I ever get published (which I would like to one day - seriously i want to make money here!) I would be flattered and honored that people liked my characters and world so much that they wanted to put all that effort into it FOR FREE! I can't imagine someone liking my stuff so much that they want to play around in it all the time FOR FREE (DID I MENTION THE FREE) and in their SPARE TIME. For reals, yo.that would be so humbling and flattering to me. (*dreams of becoming a writer whose stuff gets fanficced)
3. If number 2 happened and I DID get published and people LIKED IT enough to write fanfiction about it then SHIT, y'all, I better keep my game good. I stopped reading commercial fiction because fanfic writers were/are THAT GOOD and I realized how BAD commercial fiction often was. If I were a published writer, I'd probably still poke around on the internets and write fan fiction for other fandoms to keep on my toes and because it's fun and I like doing it. Because the amount of talent that is out here in fanfaction is BOGGLING. Omg, the fact that this work is put out FOR FREE (again with the free!) just for the LOVE of it is staggering.
4. some writers have been quoted as saying fanfiction is lazy. Okay, the setting up of characters and occasionally setting is somewhat easier because everyone shows up 'in the know' but if you are building an AU, then you're still world building and using characters. So maybe it's easier writing at the start. but lazy? How can anyone who pushes out the volume that some fanfic writers do be called lazy? Lazy people don't get 20000, 40000, 80000, 200000 word fics finished. In some ways, I do find fanfiction 'easier' than original fic because I feel like I can skip over some stuff that my reader is already in tune with but I wouldn't call myself lazy.
it's only my opinion. And hey, I'm just a pimp out there prostituting other peoples kids so what do I know anyway?
My thoughts are this:
1. If you didn't want your kids prostituted you shouldn't have sold them in the first place. If your work is so precious that you fear for its integrity, DON'T GET IT PUBLISHED. But if you wanted to get it published to make money, share your brilliance, have your story heard THEN GUESS WHAT - if people like it, they will want to live in that world. Wasn't that the whole point? To get people to read your stuff and like it? IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY. Honestly, fanfiction about your work is like a BIG FAT LOVE LETTER from fans saying that they LOVE YOUR IDEAS.
2. If I ever get published (which I would like to one day - seriously i want to make money here!) I would be flattered and honored that people liked my characters and world so much that they wanted to put all that effort into it FOR FREE! I can't imagine someone liking my stuff so much that they want to play around in it all the time FOR FREE (DID I MENTION THE FREE) and in their SPARE TIME. For reals, yo.that would be so humbling and flattering to me. (*dreams of becoming a writer whose stuff gets fanficced)
3. If number 2 happened and I DID get published and people LIKED IT enough to write fanfiction about it then SHIT, y'all, I better keep my game good. I stopped reading commercial fiction because fanfic writers were/are THAT GOOD and I realized how BAD commercial fiction often was. If I were a published writer, I'd probably still poke around on the internets and write fan fiction for other fandoms to keep on my toes and because it's fun and I like doing it. Because the amount of talent that is out here in fanfaction is BOGGLING. Omg, the fact that this work is put out FOR FREE (again with the free!) just for the LOVE of it is staggering.
4. some writers have been quoted as saying fanfiction is lazy. Okay, the setting up of characters and occasionally setting is somewhat easier because everyone shows up 'in the know' but if you are building an AU, then you're still world building and using characters. So maybe it's easier writing at the start. but lazy? How can anyone who pushes out the volume that some fanfic writers do be called lazy? Lazy people don't get 20000, 40000, 80000, 200000 word fics finished. In some ways, I do find fanfiction 'easier' than original fic because I feel like I can skip over some stuff that my reader is already in tune with but I wouldn't call myself lazy.
it's only my opinion. And hey, I'm just a pimp out there prostituting other peoples kids so what do I know anyway?