fan fiction

Fan fiction seems to be a bit like Marmite: fans of original fiction either love it or hate it.

When I took my ‘first foray’ into the realms of fan fiction, I was surprised to encounter a wider range of sub-genres, tropes and terminology than I had realised…

Sequels and prequels to other authors’ narratives, along with spin-off texts, new characters and ‘non cannon’ rewrites can prove contentious–especially when fans feel that the new text undermines or distorts aspects of the original work.

Yet, for some people, it extends the enjoyment gained from the original text and adds dimensions to the fictional universe in question. It can prove satisfying to read (or write) a character’s backstory or find out what happens next–even if these events and characters were created by someone else and/or not generally considered to be ‘cannon.’

In some cases, prequels, sequels and rewrites by different writers–without the approval or authorisation of the original author-have become published or otherwise firmly established in mainstream culture. Examples include Jean Rhys’s ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ (a prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’), and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage adaption (and rewrite) of Gaston Leroux’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and a sequel, ‘Love Never Dies.’

In the case of the latter, Lloyd Webber’s narrative is arguably better known than the story it was based on.

Does this mean that, what essentially began as a form of fan fiction has now entered the literary/cultural ‘cannon’? If so, at what point does this happen and how do we decide which ‘fan fictions’ become ‘cannon’?

I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on the topic of fan fiction, particularly with regards to ‘intertextuality’ and Barthes’ theories on ‘The Death of the Author.’

Last week, Archive of Our Own (AO3), a major fanfiction archive and network, won the Hugo award for Best Related Work, an award never before given to a website or unpublished fan work. Fan fiction is the genre that comprises unpublished, written fan works based on other media, such as comics, television, film, and books. Perhaps because it is written by "amateurs" or because it is unpublished, fan fiction has often been scoffed at as unprofessional or self-indulgent. But for fans, fan fiction can be a way of reshaping popular media to reflect their identities. Members of the LGBT community in particular often criticize popular media for lacking compelling narratives surrounding LGBT themes, and when left unsatisfied, many fans turn to fanfiction to see themselves in the media they otherwise enjoy.

How does fanfiction fill a void in representation for LGBT fans? What role does fanfiction serve in building and maintaining a fanbase, if any? And what happens when any particular piece of media garners a notable LGBT fan fiction fanbase? What transformative properties do LGBT fan works enact upon media, and what are the positive and negative consequences?

Analyzing how fan-fiction has evolved as something sort of niche and obscure on the internet, written by a usually younger audience to explore the different ideas they wanted to see from shows and movies they loved. Now it has become a wildly viral thing where some people explore those same ideas but with real people including YouTubers, band members and Hollywood celebrities. An interesting approach might be how the ones based on true people might affect those celebrities or internet personalities.

Fan fiction has a rather negative image within the literary genres. Works such as Fifty Shades of Grey do not not necessarily help the genre to renegotiate its stand in the literary world. Why is it that fan fiction is oftentimes seen as problematic? What are some positive examples? What might be the future of fan fiction?

As our world is becoming more socially digitized and interactive, it is undeniable that fandoms have become important aspect in keeping franchises alive, but how important has fan influence become? Transmedia is a growing technic narrators’ in franchises have begun to use in which a single story is told across multiple platforms and adaptations. Although transmedia’s rise through social media and influence have been covered in a few topics and articles on the artifice before, how has fan fiction influenced transmedia storytelling?

Examples may include looking into fanon versus canon and instances where a highly popular canon has become fanon (such as Matt’s appearance in the anime Death Note). Another important aspect to look into is the “Boba Fett Phenomenon” where a side character becomes so wildly popular within the fandom that a franchise is forced to give them a backstory and more character development.

Although I struggled to find a source for this, I remember my Digital Media professor once discussed that there was a scandal in the Dr. Who fandom where a popular fanfiction actually guessed the fate of the current season. The fan who had written the story was sworn to secrecy or told to change their story (can’t recall exactly…) as to preserve the integrity of the show. Regardless, I think this is another example where fan fiction was integrated as an unauthorized expansion within a universe (and therefore has become a piece of transmedia storytelling).

A great theorist for transmedia and fan fiction is Dr. Henry Jenkins.

I wrote an Artifice article called "Can You Really Fall in Love with a Fictional Character?" (That’s not shameless self-promotion, that’s context for this topic). I got a comment about what the topic looks like in the context of fan fiction.

Based on comments I’ve seen, many people express their love for a fictional character by writing “self-insert” fan fiction in which they have a relationship with that character.
Fan fiction could also be used to express agape, non-personal interest in the well-being of the character. A fan can rewrite the ending of a story so it is happier for a particular character. This is often called “fix-it” fiction.

I’m not sure if there is enough subject matter here for a full article, but then again, I am not enough of a subject matter expert on fan fiction to write it myself. If you know more about fan fiction, perhaps you could flesh it out more?

There are lots of bad movies out there, especially when one gets into sequels and part three, four, etc. In opposition to this, there is some great fanfiction written that by far surpasses a poorly made, poorly written movie. Think about "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull" and what a disappointment that was to the franchise. There are fanfiction stories out there which are much better stylistically and storyline-wise.

This topic was inspired from multiple conversations I have had with people pertaining to my own writing. The first full-length fiction piece I wrote was a fan fiction based off of Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games. While I expect most people to react with a wrinkled nose or an amused chuckle, several have been enthused by the concept, articulating that fan fiction is a valuable part of the dialogue between author and reader.
My question then surrounds the purpose of, and thereby value of, fan fiction literature. Is it supposed to be a semi-rational approach to an author’s work, exploring underdeveloped facets of their created world, in a kind of creative dialogue? If so, much fan fiction seems to fall short, as the characters developed or plots imagined do not coincide with the author’s original content at all (The character arcs found in the Dramione ship from the Harry Potter fandom is a key example). In that case, then, is the purpose of fan fiction really a sort of wish fulfillment for the fan base, a resource through which they can create – as all fiction writer’s do – their own version of reality? Each approach comes with its own set of artistic constraints and merits, and I’m curious as to whether or not one approach can be “valued” over the other.