Fanfiction Explained
Posted: Monday, August 03, 2009
by Pam Johnson
Once upon a time there was a a girl, or guy, who was so entranced by the characters of her favorite show..or book..Or movie...or game... that she began to write little stories with the characters of that beloved fandom featured as the characters of her very own stories. So it came to be that fan fiction was born.
Well, maybe it happened that way. Since its not in my realm to know who actually wrote the first fan fiction story show-casing their favorite characters, that is just one possible scenario, but you get the gist of the message.
With the arrival of the internet, though, these folks came to a new awakening. They could reach millions in the clicking of a mouse. Authors, and the readers who love their work, gathered on mailing lists where it only takes one post to reach all the folks in the group and internet-based journals like Live Journal, Insane Journal and Dreamwidth. Websites housing a single author or fandom sprang to life beside massive warehouse archives where a fan could discover almost any possible fandom.
Of course, the writers still contribute to fanzines, fan created magazines that consist of a collection of author's writings. These stories generally are exclusive to the ezine until they time-out, just like any other magazine. Only thing is the authors are not paid for their creative endeavors.
So, why write fan fiction instead of creating their own original characters and publishing their work on the mainstream market? A simple response would be love. The love these amateur authors have for the characters. And a desire to see them continue in their make-believe life long after a show has gone to pasture or a movie has dwindled into rerunville.
Fanfiction writers are not simply teenie boppers with bubblegum dreams, gathering in giggling groups in the back booth of the local cafe. Oh, no. The authors of fan fiction can and do range from the very young, to be sure, but they are also the professional teachers and lawyers. They are the cop down on the corner. They are grand-mom or granddad dreaming of younger days, or maybe something a little more NC-17 rated. They are the man in the pulpit, preaching the ways of God. They are the dreamers. They see the characters and ask what would happen if...then proceed to write that idea down.
Fan fiction is divided into three main genres, General, heterosexual and slash. General and hetero stories are pretty much self-evident. Slash, however, might not be as easily recognizable to the novice reader, or writer. This genre is most usually defined as a same sex romantic relationship. Gay fiction. The genre is divided into two types, where slash is two, or more men. Femme slash is two or more women.
A fad, you might think. Not likely. Fan fiction has been around since the days of Jim Kirk and Spock. They write the television shows they love, the games, the books, movies....anywhere a character is loved.
Make no mistake, the media creators know about fan fiction. Supernatural actually tipped their hat to the writers in one episode when Sam discovered an author was chronicling their exploits in the form of novels.
Some author's except fan fiction as a reality of the game, sort of like the paparazzi, others, not so much, but fan fiction is a recognized form of writing. Its been featured in writing magazines, like Writer's Digest. Look up fan fiction in the on-line Websters and there it is.
Approve or not, Pandora has opened the box. This particular dirty little secret is coming out...growing...multiplying.
Who can tell, maybe someday these hard working artists in their own right will reach a place where they can stand up before thier more acceptable peers, head held high, pride shining in their eyes and accept a Fan Writer's Award.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Great article. Well done.I find fan fiction is better to write than to read. It has been a very long time since I ever wrote any but when I did it was my interpretation. Whereas when you read it, it's someone elses interpretation of the characters.RE: Connor Davidson
nice to hear from a fan fic writer. Can I ask what pen you wrote under?
I also write fan fiction, started cuz I found journaling to be a pain, and I wanted to experiment on the racier side of writing than I'd allowed myself to do in the mainstream fiction. Sorta got sucked in from there. Now I write a couple dozen fandoms and am webmistress of a rather large archive.
You mentioned Jim Kirk and Spock. I wonder if all these "Trekkies" practice a form of fan fiction. (?)I had not heard of "Fan Fiction" until a few days ago. I would have never dreamed it was such an enterprise!(Pun intended)This is a really good article.Re: Ken McCreless
Thanks for reading.
Not into the whole Trek scene, actually, although I am a big fan of the Trek arc and in all honesty I have written one or two Trek based shorts, and I don't do the conventions...might give it a look if something good hits the area... but with all the costumes and things that go into conventions, I would suspect there is some role play involved, more of a story teller feel, though, not story writing
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