Today's topic is thoughts on FanFiction. I have to say, I have mixed feelings. When I was a teen, I used to write stories featuring me and whatever band or actor or show was hot at the moment. Star Trek stories anyone? And, I still enjoy reading good Star Trek based books... with a disclaimer (and here's where the other side of the coin comes in).... as long as they are true to canon.
There are many authors who got their start writing fanfic, and I can see it's usefulness as a writing tool...as practice.
I personally don't read fanfic these days... when I enjoy authors' characters, I want to read their vision of their stories... not someone else's.
I don't read it much either. Like you, I have mixed feelings but recognize it is a great place for writers to start.
ReplyDeleteI don't read much of it these days, unless one of my friends has written it. I'm on the fence about sticking to cannon since sometimes cannon goes off the rails. But I can totally understand why you'd want that for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI've read fanfic sometimes that I don't quite put together with its original inspiration. If they could put "in the style of Marion Zimmer Bradley" or whatever, that might be a tad helpful. Not my favorite, but I can really see people's writing get stronger and stronger this way though.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read it in a while but I loved it back in the day. Lots of new ideas to work with.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, i haven’t read fanfic since I was in late high school or early college age either. It seems to be a stage a lot of teens go through.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad to have gone through it, but like you I also prefer to read original work now.