So, for this week, I'm going to be taking a look at fan fiction and trying to figure out whether or not you should write it. So, let's talk about writing.
For starters, let me tell you that I hate fan fiction. My biggest problems with it is that it is often written poorly, whether it be because of the punctuation, grammar, usage, or the story is just terrible, and because most fan fic writers out there write as if everything they've ever learned about writing came from reading erotica. Things are phrased weirdly, there's always a sexual tension, and there's a strange focus on the characters body parts.
Mostly though, I hate it because it's about ego--people are just writing a story with characters they like with a storyline that they want to see. And in doing so, their own impressions of the characters and their world is all they take into account, and you're likely to find non-canonical bull sh*t everywhere. I once read a Final Fantasy VII fanfic where the guy made Vincent Valentine a douchebag who drank beer and sat in his chairs backwards.
 |
| That's not who Vincent is. He's a real cool guy. |
But, I have to admit: I have dabbled in fanfic writing myself. I once tried writing a FFVII fanfic, and my first attempt at writing a novel was full of "homages," actually more like "rip-offs," to other works i.e. the game Drakengard, Van Helsing, or The Lord of the Rings. Sure, I was impressed with the fact I had written forty chapters or more, totaling over 400 pages before I stopped, but I knew I was ripping sh*t off. Hell, two other attempts I made at novels were other rip-offs. However, despite my past, I am vehemently against the practice of writing fan fiction. Why? What harm could it do me? Well, let's look at the list.
1. Non-canonical bullsh*t.
Alright, I admit that this has less to do with the actual writing of fanfics and more to do with the fact that I hate fan ships and people ruining my favorite characters on sh*tty as f*ck storylines. But honestly, if you like a character, why would you change said character to match your ideals and dreams? Probably because your an egotist, like I said before. If you have genuine care for a character, you would adhere to the established rules of the story's universe and not make your favorite character more bad ass than they were in the game, movie, or book, and you wouldn't make them fall in love with your waifu or husbando from that same medium. It's seriously BS.
2. Wasting an original story.
Fanfic writers use the characters they want and insert them into a story they want to see play out. I don't fault them so much for this because like all fans, I too am hungry for content and want more from my favorite shows, movies, and video games. But, if you're going to go through the trouble of making an original story, why wouldn't you also therefore make original characters, and then make yourself an original story story?
This one I fear has less to do with ego and more to do with laziness. Creating characters and a universe can be challenging, but writing a good story that doesn't break the rules of the universe and doesn't throw away the limits you've imposed on your characters is where the real challenge comes in. With a fanfic, writers don't really worry about this. They already have fully developed characters, their universe, and they have "sample work" in the form of the original media. Ergo, it's easier for them to write a story of their own when most of the hard work has been done for them. And, if they do happen to break the rules or throw away the limits, meh, it's their fic; they can do with it what they want.
So, all this complaining then begs the question: is there anything good about fan fiction?
I honestly can't say. I have read some fan fiction, and not all of it is terrible--just most of it. But for those pieces of good fan fiction, I have to ask, why write good fan fiction when you can change the names and basically invent an original story? It always comes back to that for me. If you're going to go through the trouble of writing a story, write an original story!
But anyway, like I said, not all fan fiction is bad. In fact, my sister has written a number of Resident Evil short stories. She even got some feedback from a fan who said that reading those fics always made her feel better on crappy days. The reader even printed them out and put them in a binder. Now, that's a pretty strong compliment. And, some people would argue that my RWBY fan project RWBY: The Novelization is fan fiction. The devout fanfic'ers on the site don't, but some of those losers actually took the time to tell me a show can only be "anime" if it comes from Japan. It's like, really, dude? You're going to be that much of a stickler. I understand disliking American attempts at anime because they almost always suck, but to be like, "It's not anime unless it came from Japan," I have to wonder about you.
Anyway, I do know that there are people out there who cherish my RWBY:TN. One of the reasons why I started re-editing and rereleasing it was because I had taken a break from writing it, which I needed, and I said I wouldn't be working on it for a while in favor of some of my original work. One of my readers actually commented saying she was disappointed because she liked The Novelization so much. I had no idea, and that's what got me working on it again. So, what are the redeeming qualities on fan fiction?
Well, for one, they help bring together the fandom and even brighten up a fan's day to read a well put together piece. Another boon is that so long as the fanfic writer doesn't violate the characters' character or the universe's laws, it can be a dandy little practice for people who want to try writing but are either scared to come up with an original story or don't have the time to put into creating an original story. It's also possible that by writing fanfics, some writers will evolve into writing full stories.
So, I guess there are some good things about fan fiction, but generally, I still hate it. Again, it keeps coming back to the idea of writing an original story. So much time and effort is spent writing a fanfic, just write an original story instead. I just can't get around that point.
Anyway, that's it for this week. Next week, I'm not sure what I'll cover. It'll either be on why I chose to self-publish my novels over traditional, or why it bothers me that it bothers other people that main characters have "plot armor." We'll see which one burns my ass more when I come back to writing a Let's Talk About Writing. So, until next week...
Keep writing, my friends.
Stalk me everywhere:
Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
No comments:
Post a Comment