This will have to be a quickie… I’ve been meaning to get to the computer to write a bookish musing post, but the laptop’s down again (we just — finally — caved and bought a new one), and M’s been hogging the desktop, whenever she can, for the last week.
Doing what, you ask?
Reading Harry Potter fanfiction.
I don’t remember how she got started on it; perhaps Hubby set her on to a site, or perhaps she discovered it on her own, but the girl’s addicted. So much so that her “regular” reading has gone down (I think she’s finished a book or two, maybe, in the past week, but that’s down from her usual amount of four or five), and it’s caused some tension with her younger sisters who also want their share of computer time.
And, I have to admit: I don’t like it. Not because she’s on the computer. No: I don’t like it because I have a bias against fanfiction.
Hubby — who writes fanfic — and M have gone the rounds with me as to why I don’t, and all I can come up with is that it’s not “real” writing. I feel like it’s a bunch of first or second drafts out there, and that it’s much like brain candy (which I do admit, many books are): there’s no inherent *worth* in creating stories from someone else’s imagined universe.
So… my question for you today is this: what do you think about fanfiction? If you do read/write it, why? What do you get from it? Or, if you don’t, why not? What turns you off about it?
I know I’m biased. But I promise to try and keep an open mind.
The Book Nut 
I have never read any fan fiction. I did once browse some fan fiction for the T.V. show Firefly, and I noticed that some of it seemed very well thought out and extremely well written. It seems like it would be a fun genre to explore.
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I've never read any fanfic, but like you, I think I hold some strong biases. It just seems, well, quite silly and juvenile, you know?
When I was a kid, I loved the cartoon She-Ra. My bestie and I would choose characters from the show and act out different plots in the backyard. That is what always comes to mind when I think of fanfic – me as a kid giving a new problem in She-ra's world so I could have hours of playtime.
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I've never read any…it just doesn't hold any appeal.
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like softdrink, I have no desire. I'd rather read a book 🙂
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I know of some friends who read fan fiction. They say the draw for them is the ability to explore more with a character or protagonist that they love. Take how beloved Harry Potter is, they can read about him in many more stories and situations, especially if the original author is done (ahem, J.K.Rowling). I can see the attraction. I on the other hand think it is unoriginal. I would rather read a fresh idea then keep “beating a dead horse”. I think it really speaks of human nature and our struggle with letting go of things we love. (Deep, huh? haha)
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J., that's an excellent point. You can complain that some books are knock-off of others (Eragon comes to mind), but at least the author attempts to be original. Whereas fanfiction is dependent upon another author's creation.
And softdrink: why doesn't it hold appeal??
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I read a lot of fan fiction when I was in middle school–only, ahem, it was about NSYNC, so I suppose the same rules don't apply. In terms of its literary value, however, I can't help but think of Wide Sargasso Sea (which you can interpret as a kind of fan fiction of Jane Eyre) and the less acclaimed Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall (Gone With the Wind). There are hundreds more titles like these, only because they are published they're not considered “fan fiction.” Maybe for some, fan fiction is a way to not only spend more time with beloved characters, as a previous commenter said, but to grow as a writer?
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I don't read or write fanfiction, not technically, but my cousin does. However, her fanfiction is not related to someone else's characters but to a band that she loves. Personally, I find her fanfiction habit a little destructive – she used to write novels, and now has written probably 200,000 words of fanfic in the last year. She's stopped writing or reading anything but this fanfic stuff, and she has no intention to publish it anywhere but on the web.
I don't have a bias against fanfic or people who write it. I'm sure it can be a great writing exercise and there are obviously people who have done it and later published it (I'm thinking of Cassandra Clare here). But for me personally, I don't feel like it's anything more than an exercise in writing, especially if it involves someone else's characters. If you're using someone else's imagination, you aren't using your own.
Having said that, there are people that I know, band members, that I do fantasize about and that leads me to fiction ideas. This is what I mean about “not technically” above. I remove those ideas from their origins. That's important to me. I never write about those band members, but in a way, it's sort of fanfic. But fanfic gone pro. They're original ideas, they're taken away from who I was thinking about, and they're turned into actual novels that I'm trying to publish. The fanfic part of them is very low in the overall process, when it exists at all.
I don't personally plan to ever read fanfic. It's just not my thing. I also don't plan to write it. But I don't begrudge other people doing it (though if my kids start reading it, I will definitely put a time limit on their computer usage, which I do already so that should be okay).
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Whereas fanfiction is dependent upon another author's creation.
An open question to any and all: can you name any work of “real” fiction that is utterly independent of any other author's creation?
Fan fiction is obviously dependent upon characters which one author created; that's why it's called “fan fiction”–because the author's characters have fans. But unless you assume that original characters are the be-all and end-all of all “true” fiction, then I think you might be forced to admit that no fiction is actually, truly, independent. Every writer is always dependent on someone else for something.
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Hi Melissa! I do not write or read fan fiction and didn't really “get it” until I encountered an article about the subject in one of my MLS courses. The piece is by Henry Jenkins and it's called “Why Heather Can Write.” (You can find it here: http://www.technologyreview.com/business/13473/page1/) Jenkins points out that for kids, writing fanfic and critiquing others' contributions can be a great way for a fledgling writer to stretch his or her wings and hone the craft of writing. As you point out, there are lots of “first drafts” floating around out there, but there are also fanfic writers who edit, rewrite, actively try to improve upon their writing, and go on to write work in other contexts. Please don't sell them short! There's also the community aspect of belonging to a fandom, which I think is probably important for fanfic writers of any age.
Anyhow, that's my two cents on the subject. I think Jenkins makes the case more eloquently that I do. 😉 That said, I'm a newish reader of your blog and have really enjoyed your posts in recent weeks. There's a blogger award for you on my blog — check my 2/23 post for details. I don't know if you participate in awards, but I just wanted to let you know I look forward to reading more of your thoughts! 🙂
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I am both a fanfic reader and writer. Speaking from that perspective, I have to say that fanfic gives me the freedom to hone and experiment with my writing in what I would consider a “safe” and encouraging environment. There is a community that surrounds the hobby, most of whom offer constructive contrit and suggestions for improvement. Even better, they are encouraging of my efforts, both in fanfic and original fic. I would argue that the opportunity to get input on my writing without having to worry about whether or not someone is going to steal my idea (because it will never be published) is freeing and often helps me get over writer's block. And, in turn, it helps keep me plugging away at the original story. I agree with the previous poster – I wouldn't sell fanfic short.
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I used to write it, and I have a few unfinished ones out there (including in the HP fandom!) I considered it practice, and I know that I weeded out some of my own little annoying quirks of style and honed my plotting and characterization skills by doing it. (Because I will tell you, there's nothing more glaring than a really, really OOC moment, especially when seventy-two readers comments on it.) Basically, it was a way to play in someone else's sandbox and say “what if?” a lot.
As to reading it, of course the quality is highly variable, even more so than your usual library crapshoot. But sometimes there's really good stuff out there. I also find it fascinating because it's a way that book-lovers of all ages interact with their favorite stories. I started to say new, but then remembered that fanfiction has been around since the first time some Greek dude made up a new story about Zeus to slip into the oral tradition.
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