Good evening, bloggers! Before I get started with today's topic, I'd just like to inform you that the word of the week is perfidious, an adjective meaning "treacherous," "faithless," or "disloyal." The actual Latin root of the word, "perfidus," means "faithless." Wow!
Today's topic is fan fiction. There is a big debate when it comes to fan fiction: some love it, while others hate it. Some find it helpful for gaining writing experience, while others think it's a waste of time. Personally, I think it's fun to read, but this isn't a blog on my personal opinion. This is a blog on information, and that's what you're going to get.
For years, people have extended the joy of a good book, band, movie, play, or game, by using the pre-existing characters from that entertaining past time and creating stories with them. The name comes from the fact that they, the fans, are creating fiction on their favorite past-times. Whoa!
Pro: For starters, it's a great way for someone to stick their toe into the writing field. Instead of starting out with the whole deal, having to create the characters AND the plot AND the world they live in, fan fiction gives the new writer an template of characters and settings to use, subplots to dive into, that way they only have to mix them around and mold them into something new, rather than starting from scratch. It's a lot easier for many people to write fan fiction than original fiction. After all, everything's all set; all you have to do is set the formulated characters on a new adventure.
Con: However, some people, like myself, find it harder to write fan fiction than original fiction, since they find it hard to get into the characters' heads. When you're writing your own story, you need to get inside the character's head in order to learn his personality and learn what he would do in certain situations. In fan fiction, there's an extra step. You have to step into the author's head so you can understand and step into his or her character's head. Some people write fan fiction without playing the character very well, but as a perfectionist, I prefer to do it right or not do it at all.
Pro: Some authors/creators/imagineers find it flattering that fans would create fiction based on their original works. They take it as a compliment.
Con: Others think of it as stealing. Think about it: Would you want someone publishing a story about the characters you worked so hard on? It's like they took the easy way out. That could be YOU with the published new book. Even though fan fiction is hardly ever published, people still post it online on different websites, such as Fan Fiction.net and Live Journal.
Pro and Con: Some authors become such great writers from the frequent practice and they can't get out of the habit of writing fan fiction. I find so many stories online that I can't help but think, "This is amazing! If only he or she changed the character names, this would be an original story!" Not only are some fan fiction pieces extremely well written, but the settings and characters get molded so much that they become completely new people. It really helps people discover their own writing style with the easy practice.
Con: It's really sad that amazing authors get stuck in the habit of writing fan fiction when they could be doing so much more.
Pro: It helps people create a name for themselves. If you're popular enough in the world of fan fiction, it's much easier to get a fan base once you hop onto original fiction. For example, Sarah Rees Brennan started out in Harry Potter fan fiction, then wrote her own original novel trilogy with a ready-made fan base of people continued to love her writing after reading her fan fiction.
Con: Some publishers will refuse to support an author that posts work online, as if part of them is already published to Live Journal or other sites, their work being seen for free instead of published. Even if it's fan fiction, publishers dislike the fact that a prospective published author is posting his work online, and thus will not publish his original fiction if and when he ever starts writing it. It can be a big road block for aspiring published authors. This happens a lot more for people who publish their original fiction online than it does for fan fiction, but some publishers just dislike it.
In the end, fan fiction has its pros and cons. It's up to you to make the decision, I just supply the facts.
That's all for tonight, writers! I'm exhausted, but I hope you enjoyed today's post. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...
Question: Do you read or write fan fiction? Why or why not?
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