History Main / FanFic

One famous example of this is the anime ''[[Anime/{{RanmaOneHalf}} Ranma 1/2]]'', released well before the Internet became ubiquitous and when many fans had no easy access to the original source material. All manner of details (including the explanation of Akane's mallet as either a [[KiAttacks ki attack]] or as residing in a [[HyperspaceMallet hyperdimensional pocket]], her {{Flanderization}} into a "psychobitch", her [[LethalChef lethal cooking]] (rather than being just bad), and the names and fates of the many [[ParentalAbandonment missing mothers]]) were never touched on in the show but became standardized in ''Ranma'' fan fiction over the course of approximately a decade. The process was accelerated and exacerbated by the appearance of fanfiction written by people who had never actually ''seen'' the show itself and whose only exposure to ''Ranma'' was other fanfiction.

* [[RationalFic]]

Due to the inexperience of many fan fic writers, fan fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of horrible, ''horrible'' writing. However there are fan fics out there that are [[FanFicRecommendations INCREDIBLY good]]. Sometimes being just as good as, if not better than, the original work.

* [[RationalFiction RationalFic]]

* RationalFic

* [[RationalFiction RationalFic]]

* RationalFiction

* RationalFic

Due to the inexperience of many fan fic writers, fan fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of horrible, ''horrible'' writing. However there are fan fics out there that are [[FanFicRecommendations INCREDIBLY good]]. Sometimes being just as good, if not better, than the original work.

Due to the inexperience of many fan fic writers, fan fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of horrible, ''horrible'' writing. However there are fan fics out there that are [[FanFicRecommendations INCREDIBLY good]]. Sometimes being just as good, if not better, than the original work. Lol JK they're all awful.

Due to the inexperience of many fan fic writers, fan fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of horrible, ''horrible'' writing. However there are fan fics out there that are [[FanFicRecommendations INCREDIBLY good]]. Sometimes being just as good, if not better, than the original work.

No statement on the legality of fanfic has ever been given in American formal law or in its courts. Some argue that it's a form of copyright infringement; however, see [[http://www.tushnet.com/law/fanficarticle.html "Legal Fictions: Copyright, Fan Fiction, and a New Common Law"]], and note the above precedents.

* http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/PokemonBlackAndWhite3/PokemonBlackAndWhite3

* http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/PokemonBlackAndWhite3/PokemonBlackAndWhite3

Due to the inexperience of many Fan Fic writers, Fan Fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of horrible, ''horrible'' writing. However there are FanFics out there that are [[FanFicRecommendations INCREDIBLY good]]. Sometimes being just as good, if not better, than the original work.

FanFic is the place where EpilepticTrees are planted and cultivated. Expect many, many, ''many'' more fics to star the EnsembleDarkhorse than TheHero.

Saying "It was a {{Fanfic}} episode," though, is not usually a compliment.

Some franchises -- such as ''Franchise/StarTrek'' -- have actually turned fan fiction into a profit center by creating {{Tie In Novel}}s. These books are usually penned by young and upcoming authors, often former {{Fanfic}} writers, and represent an intermediate step between fan fiction and completely original fiction.

Although {{Fanfic}} exploded along with the Internet, it existed ''well'' before the Net did. Such luminaries as John Stuart Mill contributed unauthorized, original stories set in a fictional universe. Before medieval French troubadours were shipping [[ArthurianLegend Launcelot and Guinevere]], the ancient Greeks were writing plays about relationships between characters in ''Literature/TheIliad''. In {{Plato}}'s ''Literature/{{Symposium}}'' one character complains that a play by {{Aeschylus}} got the characterization of Achilles and Patroclus wrong. [[SlashFic Namely, that it got the]] LoverAndBeloved dynamic backwards.

Not all {{Fanfic}} is written, though that's the most common form. It can be in any [[{{Formats}} format]] that can tell a story. In Japan, ''{{doujinshi}}'' (amateur "comic books") is a common vehicle; and with the increasing ease of their production on personal computers, [[FanVid fan videos]] (ranging from {{anime}} series, to ''StarWars'') have already appeared.

The distinction between {{Fanfic}} and original fiction, as we know it today, is largely created by modern copyright law; much of classical writing is actually "fanfiction" based on older sources. The major distinction between fanfic and a story inspired by another story is that the story a fanfic is based on has one or more "official" versions, usually owned by a company, a creator, or both. Thus, things like ''[[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/infancythomas-a-mrjames.html The Infancy Gospel of Thomas]]'', a piece of biblical apocrypha featuring [[CharacterizationTags Angry!Uber!]]Baby Jesus, or variations on [[ArthurianLegend Arthurian legend]] where there is no Holy Grail and Lancelot's affair with Guinevere never happens, would not "count" by this definition.

No statement on the legality of {{Fanfic}} has ever been given in American formal law or in its courts. Some argue that it's a form of copyright infringement; however, see [[http://www.tushnet.com/law/fanficarticle.html "Legal Fictions: Copyright, Fan Fiction, and a New Common Law"]], and note the above precedents.

Authors often have conflicted reactions to fan fiction set in "their" universe, which sometimes leads to a FanworkBan. JKRowling has largely embraced Franchise/HarryPotter FanFic, albeit with certain limitations, for example, and TamoraPierce [[http://tamora-pierce.com/faq.html#fanfic advises aspiring writers]] that fan fiction can be a good way to hone one's writing skills. By contrast, Sir Creator/{{Terry Pratchett}} acknowledges it exists and is cool about it, pointing out that ''everything works so long as people are sensible about it.'' He adds two caveats: anyone doing Literature/{{Discworld}} fanfic shouldn't even ''think'' of doing it for money, and authors should take care not to put it where he might see it. GeorgeRRMartin, author of the epic fantasy series ''ASongOfIceAndFire,'' [[http://grrm.livejournal.com/151914.html expressed his disdain for the practice]], saying that "creating your own characters is a part of writing." He's even gone so far as to threaten legal action should he become aware of any fan fiction set in the Westeros universe. In contrast, writer/journalist James Bow [[http://bowjamesbow.ca/2010/05/07/in-defence-of-f.shtml makes a rather firm case]] for supporting FanFic, pointing out that it forms a stepping stone ''towards'' creating your own characters and setting. As far as media businesses are concerned, reactions have ranged from ArchieComics demanding immediate removal to ParamountPictures taking some of the better ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fanfics and having them published in print books.

Authors do have non-emotional reasons to worry: as Creator/MercedesLackey had long taken pains to point out on her website, a fan writer was once able to wrest control (via a successful lawsuit) of part of ''{{Darkover}}'' away from its creator, MarionZimmerBradley. This is the ultimate nightmare of ''any'' writer, fan or professional, and drives some of the more draconian efforts to suppress fan creativity. (Lackey herself was once infamously on the draconian side of the divide in part because of this event, but in early 2010 reversed her stand on fanfiction thanks to an association with CoryDoctorow.)

It should probably be noted that several big-name authors are ''themselves'' writers of FanFic. Both StephenKing and NeilGaiman have written (for example) stories dealing with Cthulhu, Dracula, and Sherlock Holmes, and label these stories FanFic.

One famous example of this is the anime ''[[{{RanmaOneHalf}} Ranma 1/2]]'', released well before the Internet became ubiquitous and when many fans had no easy access to the original source material. All manner of details (including the explanation of Akane's mallet as either a [[KiAttacks ki attack]] or as residing in a [[HyperspaceMallet hyperdimensional pocket]], her {{Flanderization}} into a "psychobitch", her [[LethalChef lethal cooking]] (rather than being just bad), and the names and fates of the many [[ParentalAbandonment missing mothers]]) were never touched on in the show but became standardized in ''Ranma'' fan fiction over the course of approximately a decade. The process was accelerated and exacerbated by the appearance of fanfiction written by people who had never actually ''seen'' the show itself and whose only exposure to ''Ranma'' was other fanfiction.

Another famous example is the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fanfic ''TheDracoTrilogy'', which was apparently so widely read that details such as Blaise Zabini being female and Ginny's name being Virginia were taken to be canon, [[{{Jossed}} although they were both refuted by later books]].

Currently, the [[NotableFanfictionArchives largest source of fanfiction on the Net]] (and probably anywhere else) is the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named]] FanFictionDotNet, which as of 2013, offers approximately nine million stories across all but a select few canons (which were banned due to creator request) and an automated system for posting. A newer site called an [[http://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own]] is starting to nip at FanFictionDotNet's heels though with over half a million stories and less restrictions on what can and can not be posted. And to top it all off, in mid 2013 Amazon joined in the act with its Kindle Worlds program, which allows for the publication and sale (!) of fan fiction from specific 'verses.

Currently, the [[NotableFanfictionArchives largest source of fanfiction on the Net]] (and probably anywhere else) is the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named]] FanfictionDotNet, which as of 2013, offers approximately nine million stories across all but a select few canons (which were banned due to creator request) and an automated system for posting. A newer site called an [[http://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own]] is starting to nip at FanFictionNet's heels though with over half a million stories and less restrictions on what can and can not be posted. And to top it all off, in mid 2013 Amazon joined in the act with its Kindle Worlds program, which allows for the publication and sale (!) of fan fiction from specific 'verses.

Currently, the [[NotableFanfictionArchives largest source of fanfiction on the Net]] (and probably anywhere else) is the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named]] FanfictionNet, which as of 2013, offers approximately nine million stories across all but a select few canons (which were banned due to creator request) and an automated system for posting. A newer site called an [[http://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own]] is starting to nip at FanFictionNet's heels though with over half a million stories and less restrictions on what can and can not be posted. And to top it all off, in mid 2013 Amazon joined in the act with its Kindle Worlds program, which allows for the publication and sale (!) of fan fiction from specific 'verses.

* HighSchoolAU

* ZombieFic

Currently, the [[NotableFanfictionArchives largest source of fanfiction on the Net]] (and probably anywhere else) is the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named]] FanfictionNet, which as of 2013, offers approximately nine million stories across all but a select few canons (which were banned due to creator request) and an automated system for posting. A newer site called an [[http://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own]] is starting to nip at FanFictionNet's heels though with over half a million stories and less restrictions on what can and can not be posted.

Due to the inexperience of many Fan Fic writers, Fan Fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of horrible, ''horrible'' writing. However there are FanFics out there that are [[SarcasmMode INCREDIBLY good]]. Sometimes being just as good, if not better, than the original work.

Due to the inexperience of many Fan Fic writers, Fan Fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of horrible, ''horrible'' writing. However there are FanFics out there that are [[Sarcasm mode INCREDIBLY good]]. Sometimes being just as good, if not better, than the original work.

Due to the inexperience of many Fan Fic writers, Fan Fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of horrible, ''horrible'' writing. However there are FanFics out there that are [[Sarcasmmode INCREDIBLY good]]. Sometimes being just as good, if not better, than the original work.

Due to the inexperience of many Fan Fic writers, Fan Fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of horrible, ''horrible'' writing. However there are FanFics out there that are [[FanFicRecommendations INCREDIBLY good]]. Sometimes being just as good, if not better, than the original work.

Currently, the [[NotableFanfictionArchives largest source of fanfiction on the Net]] (and probably anywhere else) is the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named]] FanfictionNet, which offers a couple million stories across all but a select few canons (which were banned due to creator request) and an automated system for posting. A newer site called an [[http://archiveofourown.org/ Archive of Our Own]] is starting to nip at FanFictionNet's heels though with over half a million stories and less restrictions on what can and can not be posted.

(Fun fact: knowyourmeme.com considers fanfiction a meme, even though it clearly is not.)