So, my friend and i are obsessed in reading and occasionally writing fanfics.Fanfics are for your information, stories written on fanfiction.com, this site is made for people whom don't like a handling in a story eg. the death of Fred Weasley in the Harry Potter series, and can therefore write their onrewritten versions of the story.But there's always arguments on there on if the author of the real stories should read these fanfics.The well-known pros are, yes of course they should read them, it's going to make them happy to find out we are so intertwined in their stories.and the cons are no, they'll use our ideas and might accidentally write them into thei own sotires because they think it's their own stories and therefore getting claims.-MayesticMe and her BFF
Fanfiction
Started by
Guest_mayesticme
, Jun 24 2011 03:42 PM
5 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_FierceWolf
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Posted 27 June 2011 - 06:33 PM
I'm of the opinion that reading fan fictions could be good for authors while developing the story, mostly because that would give them a fairly good understanding of what their readers want and think, and thus could lead the story towards the satisfaction of majorities in an expectant public. On the other side, I believe the author should always have the final word, in the end it is their story and their characters and should be able to write it however they want without any obligation to the readers other than to provide them with more material to read.On a side note, not all the fanfics are in the site you provided, nor is it necessary to be published there to be considered fanfic. "Fan fiction (alternately referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF, or fic) is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters (or simply fictional characters) or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. Because of this, many fanfics written often contain a disclaimer stating that the creator of the fanfic owns none of the characters. Fan fiction, therefore, is defined by being both related to its subject's canonical fictional universe and simultaneously existing outside the canon of that universe.[1] Most fan fiction writers assume that their work is read primarily by other fans, and therefore tend to presume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based." --- From Wikipedia.Thus, if you want to debate exclusively about the fics in that site, I'd recommend you to state that rather than to make a deficient definition.
#3
Guest_parueki
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Posted 14 July 2011 - 06:47 AM
I feel like reading fanfics is not good for the author because it takes away from their creativity and freedom to do what they want. If they read fanfics, they do get a sense as what the fans want, but they may also feel pressure to write according to what the fans want instead of following what they as the author want. They might also feel that the fans are totally misinterpreting the story they are writing and take it as if they are not effective in getting the message they want out in the world, leading to all kinds of problems. On the other hand, fanfics can be a good source of entertainment for writers, as the do see that they have people who like their work. Also, it might be interesting for them to see how the people interpret their work or how people want things to go. I guess it depends on the author's viewpoint.
#4
LizasLilProtege
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Posted 17 July 2011 - 08:10 PM
Well this is a sticky topic, as it's something that I've dabbled in myself over the years, yet have mixed feelings about. First off, fanfic isn't something that's limited to that one website. A person can write fanfiction about anything.... Not just fictional characters either, as you'll find if you do a search for fanfiction on just about any band. 
So your definition is partially correct, but at the same time, it's not just for changing the outcome of how a certain story went down. A good majority of them seem more like the author either writes themself in, either as themself or under a thinly veiled guise, and tend to write romantic storylines about their said character or celebrity, anything ranging from pre-teen swoony dribble about how they went on to marry Justin Beiber, to long, epic tales of how they completely rewrote the future history of the object of their affections. Some are good, some are *terrible* a lot are somewhere in the middle. You also have the cross-over fanfics where they collide two (or more) fandoms to create a story with these characters....either seriously or as a joke (see: crack fics). The legality of this is somewhat murky territory. Typically, if you're making no money off it and you're not publishing it for real, just on the internet, you'll run into no problems. But this also leads us into the territory of the question you've posed. Say that you've written a fanfic about a book (say, Harry Potter for example). For how many of these stories are out there, there simply aren't enough hours in the day for J. K. Rowling to read these. But if she could, and if she wanted to, yes. You run the risk that the author could steal your ideas for a future book. But you know what...? You've used their characters, which they have every copyright to, and they have every right to use the idea. Why is that? Well, you used their characters without their express written consent and permission. They don't need yours to use an idea about their own characters. Now, the chances of this actually happening? They're pretty darn slim. I don't think I've even heard of a case of this happening ever, but, I won't rule out the possibility that it has somewhere, in some fandom, happened. Likewise, if you're writing about a real person, you run the much more real danger of them suing you for unlicensed usage of their persona and possibly damages to their public image (again, not saying that it's likely, but this one actually has happened to people before.) But to answer your question of whether or not authors should read fanfiction of their work...................Why not?If they feel so inclined to see what their fans have done with their characters and to see what the general feelings are about the storylines, and seeing any common themes among the stories, why shouldn't they? It's free feedback in a way, free entertainment in another. It's an odd thing for me to write about because I wrote an original story once, MANY years ago, that I'd long forgotten about that I'd published on the internet. About a decade later, I found out that the story had not one but two Livejournal communities dedicated to THAT story, complete with fanart and spin-off fanfiction about it in both. On the one hand I felt a little weirded out that anyone even knew about it, since I'm not a published author or anything, but... It's also somewhat of an ego boost, I have to admit! I won't lie, I did go through and read the fanfics that they'd posted about my story, and while I had a good laugh over most of them, there were a few good ones in there too. And the thought did enter my head at the time wondering if "real" authors ever did the same thing. I have a feeling that some of them have, at least on occasion, taken a peek. As they should if they so feel. I can't give you a concrete yes or no here because I feel that this is a decision that should be made by the authors in question themselves; not the people writing the fanfiction.
So your definition is partially correct, but at the same time, it's not just for changing the outcome of how a certain story went down. A good majority of them seem more like the author either writes themself in, either as themself or under a thinly veiled guise, and tend to write romantic storylines about their said character or celebrity, anything ranging from pre-teen swoony dribble about how they went on to marry Justin Beiber, to long, epic tales of how they completely rewrote the future history of the object of their affections. Some are good, some are *terrible* a lot are somewhere in the middle. You also have the cross-over fanfics where they collide two (or more) fandoms to create a story with these characters....either seriously or as a joke (see: crack fics). The legality of this is somewhat murky territory. Typically, if you're making no money off it and you're not publishing it for real, just on the internet, you'll run into no problems. But this also leads us into the territory of the question you've posed. Say that you've written a fanfic about a book (say, Harry Potter for example). For how many of these stories are out there, there simply aren't enough hours in the day for J. K. Rowling to read these. But if she could, and if she wanted to, yes. You run the risk that the author could steal your ideas for a future book. But you know what...? You've used their characters, which they have every copyright to, and they have every right to use the idea. Why is that? Well, you used their characters without their express written consent and permission. They don't need yours to use an idea about their own characters. Now, the chances of this actually happening? They're pretty darn slim. I don't think I've even heard of a case of this happening ever, but, I won't rule out the possibility that it has somewhere, in some fandom, happened. Likewise, if you're writing about a real person, you run the much more real danger of them suing you for unlicensed usage of their persona and possibly damages to their public image (again, not saying that it's likely, but this one actually has happened to people before.) But to answer your question of whether or not authors should read fanfiction of their work...................Why not?If they feel so inclined to see what their fans have done with their characters and to see what the general feelings are about the storylines, and seeing any common themes among the stories, why shouldn't they? It's free feedback in a way, free entertainment in another. It's an odd thing for me to write about because I wrote an original story once, MANY years ago, that I'd long forgotten about that I'd published on the internet. About a decade later, I found out that the story had not one but two Livejournal communities dedicated to THAT story, complete with fanart and spin-off fanfiction about it in both. On the one hand I felt a little weirded out that anyone even knew about it, since I'm not a published author or anything, but... It's also somewhat of an ego boost, I have to admit! I won't lie, I did go through and read the fanfics that they'd posted about my story, and while I had a good laugh over most of them, there were a few good ones in there too. And the thought did enter my head at the time wondering if "real" authors ever did the same thing. I have a feeling that some of them have, at least on occasion, taken a peek. As they should if they so feel. I can't give you a concrete yes or no here because I feel that this is a decision that should be made by the authors in question themselves; not the people writing the fanfiction.
#5
mariovsonic999
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Posted 07 August 2011 - 01:03 AM
In my opinion, fanfics can be like booksHowever, if it is badly written, then it's badIt can be fun and entertaining to write fanfics
#6
Yuto
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Posted 07 January 2012 - 05:07 AM
I don't see what's wrong with the idea. Personally i've never been to the site, but in my spare time i write a lot of fanfiction as well. I don't think it can be wrong to get your stories approved or published. It also helps the one who wrote it to appeal to the reader, in what interests them. I also agree that this topic debate should have to come more from the people who write "Fanfic", rather than ones who have an opinion about it, good or bad.
Edited by Hyperblade Zero, 18 April 2012 - 06:21 PM.
