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Hello my fellow Emberlings! So I have been busy with other things and I have finally gotten back on SE. To the point, I was wondering on the rest of your opinions on fanfiction. What do think about the whole idea?
I think that fanfiction is a good starter for writers, to develope a sense of writing ideas. But I do think that it should be watched out for because at the same time you could be spreading things that are not true at all in your writing. I don’t think that fanfiction is great, but I don’t think it is bad either. I want to hear your opinions on this topic!
I love reading fan-fiction, but I don’t really write it. My first ‘book’ I ever wrote(not that I finished it) was actually a fan-fiction though. So… I think it’s a good thing, but you do have to do a lot of research to make sure you’re not contradicting anything in the canon. (Not like my 8 year old self did any research, but still.)
I’ve actually written two blog posts on this topic. XD The first was “The Benefits of Fanfiction” (so that gives you a clue to my thoughts on it, lol) and the second was “Fanfiction vs. Original Fiction,” basically outlining the pros and cons of each in relation to each other.
Like @kari-karast, my first “novel” was loose fan-fiction. Very loose, because I based it off of a Legend of Zelda-related video game that didn’t give you much story, it just included the world and that was what intrigued me. Almost all of the characters in my story are original, and from that story have sprung an entire series, and from that world (which I’ve modified to be no longer so Hyrule-ish) has sprung an entire universe, so I definitely think it was a benefit for me, lol.
I also think it’s good practice, to copy experienced authors (whether it’s their worldbuilding or their characters or whatever) and learn through that what works and what doesn’t.
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Worldbuilding enthusiast. Singer. Fan of classic literature.
I’ve heard about fanfiction before, but I’m not entirely sure what it is. Is it simply writing a book based on a preexisting fictional universe?
To the glory of God and for the advancement of His kingdom.
Personally, I love writing and reading fanfiction. It’s incredibly fun to try and create a good story within the limitations of a pre-existing universe with pre-existing characters(I despise OC’s in fanfiction most of the time… though I have met a few people who can do them well).
Plus… there’s so much that can be explored in fanfiction. I’m one of those people who love a good story, but love analyzing a good story even more. A good story is one that gives me ideas, like… ATLA. If you’ve ever seen the Nick show Avatar: The Last Airbender, you’ll know what I mean. It’s got an excellent hard magic system and amazing, fleshed out characters with believable arcs and backstories. And yet, at the same time, there is so much to explore. For example, the “magic” of ATLA is called bending – the ability to manipulate the elements. There is only one “Avatar”, who is the only person who can master all four elements. Everyone else is separated into Water, Earth, Fire, and Air nations that stay pretty separate from each other.
But…. how do they stay peaceful and avoid political strife if they stay separate from each other? What happens if there is a natural disaster(like a tsunami) in a nation that has no power over water, and the water-benders don’t help stop it? And if the Avatar is the only person who can master all four elements, can other people master 2, or 3 elements, just not 4?
See what I mean? I love fanfiction because you have this pre-existing universe and characters, and usually a pre-existing plotline, but within that you have SO. MUCH. FREEDOM. You can explore things like “what happens if a bender learns to manipulate more than one element?” Or, “what happens when countries don’t communicate?” I don’t know about you, but that’s something that I love doing, and fanfiction allows me to do it without creating an entire new world/magic system/character/setting/style.
Plus, you get to torture your favorite characters. When isn’t that great? XD
"A hard heart is no infallible protection against a soft head."
- C. S. Lewis
I’m much more likely to enjoy writing fanfiction than reading it. If I knew where to find good fanfiction (and had time to read it and all the original fiction I want to read) that might change, but I tend to know the reputation of fanfiction and it’s… usually not great. (Which is probably selling fanfiction authors short, but… :P) So I write it occasionally, just for fun, but I don’t read it.
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Worldbuilding enthusiast. Singer. Fan of classic literature.
I love all of these opinions! Thanks guys! Keep them coming!
Also I am curious, @r-m-archer what Zelda game were you talking about? I am in love with the games and I love the newest one The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild.
Link’s Crossbow Training. It’s a shooting game set in Hyrule. That and Twilight Princess are the only two I’ve gotten a chance to play, but I really like the universe and characters. 🙂
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Worldbuilding enthusiast. Singer. Fan of classic literature.
@r-m-archer Thanks!
No problem! 🙂
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Worldbuilding enthusiast. Singer. Fan of classic literature.
@ella-grace Well, my first book-length writing was actually a crossover/mashup fanfiction, that I still have not finished cuz then I moved onto other stuff. So, I think fanfiction can be interesting. Sometimes it’s cool to read fanfictions that are really accurate to what the original author was writing. 🙂
@r-m-archer I was just about to ask what your Legend of Zelda fanfic was also! I LOVE Zelda! 😀 Yes, especially Breath of the Wild. I’ve never played Link’s Crossbow Training, but I want to cuz I’ve heard it’s good. I have Twilight Princess but never actually got to play it yet, cuz then I got BotW, heh, heh. I started reading the Twilight Princess manga comic books though.Tolkien/Batson book lover, anime fangirl, TLoZ, SW, SC fan, Stirlingite, Owl Citizen, Team Grimmie \|/
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