Fanfiction — No Longer a Dirty Word in Fiction?
For this week’s roundtable, let’s talk about fan fiction. For a long time, it was synonymous with both “amateur” by professionals and “theft” by IP owners. But that has seemed to be changing as time moves on. So, this one is for all the fan-fic writers out there. Let’s chat.
What is your experience with fan-fic?
Angelia Sparrow: I got into pro writing from fanfic. I have done a few filed-off pieces (took an old Star Wars fiction, made Luke a girl and Han a cat-girl, kept the plot, changed the end)
Kay Iscah: I’ve written four or five fanfiction novels, including a perspective trilogy (same story from 3 different limited perspectives), a novella, and some short pieces. But I’m careful to separate it under a different pen name from my professional work, and think it’s important to respect the copy right holder’s wishes when it comes to writing fanfiction. I’ve also edited or beta read stories for others.
Ed Erdelac: I started out writing Star Wars fanfic and was eventually hired to write the real thing a couple of times. My last novel was a thinly disguised Friday The 13th fanfic.
Bobby Nash: I started out writing the characters I knew and loved. That helped me learn the basics of writing and eventually it led to creating my own characters and telling their stories.
Jana Oliver: My first few stories were fan-fic though I never uploaded those so no one else has read them. All three were book length (a Dr Who and 2 Babylon 5s). My fan-fic proved I could handle plotting and the story structure, and so I started writing books set in my own worlds.
I do not read fan-fic, especially anything based on my main UF series due to the legal implications. I just ignore that those exist, though I was kinda jazzed when they first appeared.
Danielle Procter Piper: The most valuable thing I’ve learned in writing fanfiction is that another writer is going to jump you and nitpick your work, telling you how you’re not following the original ideas to the letter. It’s fanfiction. I can do what I want.
Susan Roddey: Oh, do I have thoughts on this… Let me preface this by saying fanfiction writers are absolutely lifting IP from the creators. That’s just the way of the craft. HOWEVER… I cut my writing teeth on fan fiction. Granted, most of it is terrible and will never, ever see the light of day beyond what used to exist on Livejournal and in old Yahoo! Groups, but it helped me learn how to write. When the rules of the world are pre-defined, it’s easier to focus on technique – dialogue, plot, characterization, etc. I took what I learned playing in others’ sandboxes and used it to create my own original work.
Read the full article:
https://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2024/03/fanfiction-no-longer-dirty-word-in.html
