Three arguments (about fanfic) that I'm sick of seeing

[tawg]

I was reading a blog last night written and maintained by Lee Goldberg (I initially didn't know who he is, but in reading I discovered that I've seen a lot of the shows he's worked on and heard of two of his novels before). I was cruising the fanfiction tag of his blog (spoiler: he's not a fan of it). While there were certainly posts that I agreed

Comments

[dark_dreymer]

Ugh, that last point so hard. I don't know why people translate "I write sometimes, for fun" into "Ka-Ching!" I try to explain to people by using their own hobbies as an example, "Oh you bake muffins, why aren't you selling them!?" "Oh you like to play video games, how is that gonna make you money!?" "Oh you volunteer at a charity shop, how much does that pay!?"

I still get it all the time from people though, I think it's partly a lack of understanding of how professional writing works. Everyone thinks you're gonna be the next Stephen King or JK Rowling.

I've found I get a lot less of the "Are you gonna get it published?" when I tell people I mostly write gay porn though XD

Can I also chip in an argument against fanfic that annoys me? "It's not a rounded writing experience so it's worthless." Yes, writing fanfic does mean you're working with a ready-built toolset as far as characters and the world go, but that doesn't mean you can't expand on it. The Star Wars universe is incredibly expansive and only a thin sliver of its lore

[tawg]

I have the same response with comic books and television shows. The argument that a text only has worth if it is completely original is one that is incredibly ignorant of the challenges and strengths of working within an existing framework, and also of the natural redundancy of concepts.

[annlarimer]

Lee Goldberg had a very, very bad experience with a Seaquest fanfic writer (supposedly including stalking and death threats), and this has colored his opinion of fandom somewhat. Also, he is a massive tool.

[tawg]

Yeah, I'm actually quite keen to read his book "Beyond the Beyond" because a lot of it is based on the shitty experiences of himself and others. And I've seen plenty of stories around of fans just being quite rude and thrusting their fanfic upon writers who don't want to know. So I can certainly see plenty of justified reasons to be wary of fandom. If the argument was "I don't like fanfic because I've had some really horrible personal experiences in which fanfic was a key role", my response would be "That's really unfortunate, but a good reason not to like it". Few people ever come out and frame their distaste that way, though. I almost always see that emotional reason paired with one of the big three arguments above.

[annlarimer]

Beyond the Beyond is based on a rather charming episode of the 90s series She-Wolf of London, which is well worth a look. (You don't need to know the show at all, just be vaguely familiar with Star Trek via cultural osmosis. It's on DVD.) The book, alas, is made of bile and dulled razors, the characters are thin, and the jokes aren't funny (one character has a fax machine in his bathroom, and accidentally wipes himself with William Katt's resume - oh my sides). Fandom isn't undeserving of a good old-fashioned savaging, but this wasn't it. Shame, 'cause he totally has the experience to write it from. I don't know if it was a lack of distance or that his writing just kinda sucks.

Do people who draw constantly get told that they should give up this doodling bs because clearly what they really want is to be a professional artist? It's framed more in terms of a backhanded complement ("Why are you working HERE?"), but yes, some do. (There's also the assumption in comics and manga fandom that absolutely every reader wants to be a pro

[enmuse]

Well-said all around! After 13 years of understanding what fanfic is - and giving a name to it - I've definitely developed a confident attitude about my writing. For a while there I felt kind of ashamed due to some of the arguments you mentioned above. Now I wonder how the hell anyone has the write to try and make me feel bad about writing - something I enjoy immensely and has gotten me through some really rough times!

One of the really crazy things with the whole "if you want to be a real writer..." argument is that there are so many things out there that are officially published (albeit cleared/approved) fanfiction! Star Wars and Star Trek anyone? Halo, Warhammer, Buffy, Angel, Charmed, Man from UNCLE, and a ridiculous long list of others? What about all the things paying tribute to other works? And if fanfiction is chastised for being "unoriginal" then I want someone to show me hard evidence that everything else they enjoy is even 90% original! There are archetypes and story structures that have been used billions of times. Are

[tawg]

there are so many things out there that are officially published (albeit cleared/approved) fanfiction!Yes yes YES