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4[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentAvengers https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/msmarvelfic.png]]]]
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6->''"Fan fiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker."''
7-->-- '''A ''[[Magazine/TimeMagazine Time]]'' article''' discussing [[MostFanficWritersAreGirls a certain phenomenon]].
8
9''[[LetsSeeYouDoBetter If you want something done right, do it yourself]].''
10
11Fan Fiction is a form of Alternate or Expanded Universe created by the fans of a work, rather than the work's original creator. Fan Fiction stories, or "Fanfics" as they are often called, are written for any number of reasons, such as:
12* to continue a story that ended prematurely (see {{Continuation}});
13* to redo a story the way the author thinks it ''should'' have gone (see FixFic);
14* to see what would happen if certain characters are placed in unusual situations (see AlternateUniverseFic);
15* to see what would have happened had events from canon played out differently (see WhatIf);
16* to see what happens when the characters of one franchise encounter the characters of another franchise (see {{Crossover}});
17* to see who would win in an all-out throwdown (see LetsYouAndHimFight and UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny);
18* to imagine oneself in the fictional universe (see SelfInsertFic);
19* to get the characters to have crushes on, have sex with, date, marry, or have children with each other or the author/reader (see {{Shipping}})
20
21Due to the inexperience of many fanfic writers, fan fiction has gained a reputation for being a source of [[SoBadItsGood horrible, horrible writing]]. However there are fanfics out there that are [[FanFicRecommendations INCREDIBLY]] [[SturgeonsLaw good]] -- sometimes arguably being just as good as, if not better than, the original work.
22
23Saying "It was like a fanfic episode," though, is not usually a compliment.
24
25Fan fiction is often the place where EpilepticTrees are planted and cultivated. Expect many, many, ''many'' more fics to star the EnsembleDarkhorse than TheHero.
26
27Although fanfic exploded along with TheInternet, 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 [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Lancelot and Guinevere]], the ancient Greeks were writing plays about relationships between characters in ''Literature/TheIliad''. In Creator/{{Plato}}'s ''Literature/{{Symposium}}'' one character complains that a play by Creator/{{Aeschylus}} got the characterization of Achilles and Patroclus wrong. [[SlashFic Namely, that it got the]] LoverAndBeloved dynamic backwards.
28
29Not all fanfic is written, though that's the most common form. It can be in any {{format|s}} that can tell a story. In Japan, {{manga}} ''{{doujinshi}}'' (amateur "comic books") are a common vehicle; and with the increasing ease of their production on personal computers, FanVideos (ranging from {{anime}} series, to ''Franchise/StarWars'') have also appeared.
30
31The distinction between fanfic and original fiction, as we know it today, is largely created by modern copyright law; much of classical writing is actually "fan fiction" 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 Myth/ArthurianLegend where there is no Holy Grail and Lancelot's affair with Guinevere never happens, would not "count" by this definition.
32
33No statement on the legality of fanfic, based on works still under copyright, has ever been given in American formal law or in its courts. The two most common arguments for fanfic being legal involve either implied consent -- companies and authors have every right to enact a FanWorkBan as evidenced by [[Website/FanFictionDotNet FanFiction.Net]]'s banlist but are mostly tolerant -- or fair use -- the non-profit, educational and transformative use of the work justifies its existence; see [[http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1347&context=elr "Legal Fictions: Copyright, Fan Fiction, and a New Common Law"]]. The first is something of a misunderstanding of how legality works; you would need active permission from the rights holder for fanfics to be legal and silence does not impart permission. The latter is the main argument that sparked the development of the Organization of Transformative Works, a fan labor advocacy site.
34
35Authors often have conflicted reactions to fan fiction set in "their" universe, which sometimes leads to the aforementioned FanWorkBan. Creator/JKRowling has largely embraced ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fanfics, albeit with certain limitations, for example, and Creator/TamoraPierce [[http://www.tamora-pierce.net/frequently-asked-questions/publishing-faq/ advises aspiring writers]] that fan fiction can be a good way to hone one's writing skills. Sir Creator/TerryPratchett acknowledged it exists and was cool about it, pointing out that ''everything works so long as people are sensible about it.'' He added two caveats: anyone doing ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' fanfics shouldn't even ''think'' of doing it for money, and authors should take care not to put it where he might see it -- since he didn't want to risk being accused of plagiarising his plagiarists (so to speak) for his own future plots, however inadvertently. Creator/GeorgeRRMartin, author of the epic fantasy series ''Literature/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 fanfics, 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 Creator/ArchieComics demanding immediate removal to Creator/{{Paramount}} taking some of the better ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fanfics and having them published in print books.
36
37It should probably be noted that several big-name authors are ''themselves'' writers of fanfics. Both Creator/StephenKing and Creator/NeilGaiman have written (for example) stories dealing with Cthulhu, Dracula, and Sherlock Holmes, and label these stories fanfics. Contributors to franchises such as ''Series/DoctorWho'' such as Creator/PaulCornell have often posted wholly unofficial stories to their blogs and websites, above and beyond their fully licensed scripts and novels.
38
39Some franchises -- such as ''Franchise/StarTrek'' -- have actually turned fan fiction into a profit source by creating {{Tie In Novel}}s. These books are usually penned by young and upcoming authors, often former fanfic writers, and represent an intermediate state between fan fiction and completely original fiction.
40
41In the end, more and more media outlets are recognizing that fan fiction and other fan works are a simple fact of life. And as art imitates life, it's now possible to find ''fake'' fan fiction created as part of a marketing campaign. For example, the 2010 season of Showtime's ''Series/UnitedStatesOfTara'' introduced a new character, an artist who had created and published a comic book character named "Princess Valhalla Hawkwind". As part of the promotional buildup for this, Showtime actually created a [[http://www.princessvalhalla.com "fan site"]] complete with fanfic, fan art, and fan video.
42
43Some fan fiction becomes well-known enough to influence other fanfics, which themselves influence more fanfics, and so on in a domino effect. This can and does result in the creation and perpetuation of {{Fanon}} -- when one author comes up with a "cool detail" and others blindly copy it without realizing it was a fellow fan's invention and didn't belong to the official source material. Furthermore, characters can become {{Flanderized}} by the feedback loops of fan fiction, sometimes [[MemeticMutation changing dramatically from their original form]].
44
45Eventually, this accretion of fan-born details and mutations turns into things that "[[CommonKnowledge everybody knows]]" about the series. Those new to or unfamiliar with the original material are frequently confused into believing that it ''obviously'' must be {{canon}} if so many people mention it, even "facts" of the EpilepticTrees variety. This is especially the case with series that have long runs and which gloss over details which are unimportant to the plot but are of interest to the fans and the fan writers.
46
47One example is the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fanfic ''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, [[OutdatedByCanon although they were both refuted by later books]].
48
49Another example of this is the manga/anime ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', released well before the Internet became ubiquitous and when many fans had no easy access to the original source material. All manner of details[[note]] (including the explanation of Akane's mallet as either a [[KiManipulation 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 {{missing mo|m}}thers)[[/note]] were never touched on in the actual 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 fan fiction written by people who had never actually seen the show itself and whose only exposure to ''Ranma'' was other fan fiction.
50
51It's not surprising that fans of some shows occasionally pen [=FAQs=] solely to reduce the accumulation of {{fanon}} in this way.
52
53Another problem with fan fiction is sometimes writers don't do their research even when it is very simple. A common occurrence is when an author from a country other than the original work's country of origin writes characters as if they are from their own country. An example is ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' where non-British writers (particularly American) make characters act and think like an American would; this also happens vice versa as seen in ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey''.
54
55Currently, the largest source of fan fiction on the Net (and probably anywhere else) is the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named]] [[Website/FanFictionDotNet FanFiction.Net]], which as of 2022 offered approximately 14 million stories across all but a select few canons (which were banned due to creator request) and an automated system for posting. The fanfic-archive-turned-repository site Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, part of the larger [[http://transformativeworks.org/ Organization for Transformative Works]], has over 10 million stories and less restrictions on what can and cannot be posted. In mid-2013, Amazon.com joined in the act with its Kindle Worlds program, which allows for the publication and sale (!) of fan fiction from specific 'verses, which was shut down in 2018.
56
57See also MemeticMutation and {{Shipping}}. For fanfic-specific tropes, see FanficTropes.
58
59Of course, the hive mind has [[FanFicRecommendations a few favorites]]. There are also [[SoBadItsGood/FanWorks a few favorite unfavorites]], if that doesn't [[LogicBomb confuse you too much]]. [[TroperWorks Some here have even written a few]].
60
61Note that since this is intended to be an index of fics with pages, a Administrivia/RedLink will be frowned on and given a very brief (week or two) grace period before being removed by your fellow tropers. Start the page for the fic if you think it should be in this index.
62
63'''This page is for the sub-medium of {{literature}}. Other types of fan work belong on the subpages of FanWorks (FanFilm, FanVid, FanMusic, FilkSong, and so on).''' We're working on moving the misplaced works -- help {{Fan Film}}s, {{Fan Vid}}s, and others get to their correct index!
64
65%% The following is an admin message. Please do not remove it.
66'''Special note for authors of fanfics''': The fact that you wrote the fic gives you no say in whether or not we have a write up on it, unless you create the page for it yourself. Furthermore, you do not have more say on the contents of the page than any other author. You quite expressly do ''not'' have the right to have our page taken down because you wish to disown your work or because you don't like the tropes we have found in it. [[Administrivia/TheFicMayBeYoursButTheTropePageIsOurs The page here is ours. The fic is yours.]] Those are different things.
67%% -- admin message ends
68----
69[[index]]
70[[foldercontrol]]
71
72[[folder:Categories of Fan Fiction]]
73'''By format:'''
74* AfterActionReport: A fan fiction based on a game.
75* {{Drabble}}: A fan fiction that is 100 words long.
76* {{Lemon}}: A fan fiction which explicitly contains sex. Banned on [[Website/FanFictionDotNet FanFiction.Net]] if the sex is explicit enough to warrant an MA rating, though there has been some disagreement over where the line between M rated and MA rated content should be drawn.
77* {{Lime}}: The fan fiction has sex in it, but it's not explicit; softcore Lemon.
78* LogFic: A story told in the form of a computer document.
79* {{MST}}: Story in which characters riff a previously written work via snarky comments inserted into the original text. Banned on [[Website/FanFictionDotNet FanFiction.Net]].
80* ScriptFic: A fan fiction in the form of a script. Banned on [[Website/FanFictionDotNet FanFiction.Net]].
81* SongFic: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Banned on [[Website/FanFictionDotNet FanFiction.Net]] if copyrighted lyrics are quoted within the text.
82\
83'''By genre:'''
84* AccusationFic: A fan fiction where an episode is rewritten so that the character the author blamed gets the worst of it.
85* BetrayalFic: A fan fiction where the main character is betrayed by their loved ones, usually resulting in a swift change of alliances and demeanor.
86* CoffeeShopAUFic: A fan fiction set at a coffee shop, usually in a romantic context.
87* CrackFic: Bizarre fan fiction.
88* CurtainFic: A fan fiction that has a domestic chore as the plot.
89* DarkFic: A fan fiction which is much more serious than the official work.
90* DeathFic: Killing off a character in fan fiction.
91* FiveThingsFic: A fan fiction involving six (or more) similar scenarios, where the final scenario deviates from the others.
92* FusionFic: A {{Crossover}} where the characters in Work A replace the characters in Work B.
93* GenFic: A fanfic not focused on shipping.
94* HighSchoolAU: Rewriting the characters as high school students.
95* HistoricalAU: A fan fiction about placing the characters in a different time period.
96* HurtComfortFic: A fan fiction about Alice comforting Bob who is emotionally or physically hurt. Sometimes focuses more on the hurt than the comfort, or vice versa, which can lead to the subgenres Hurt No Comfort and Comfort No Hurt.
97* KidFic: A fan fiction where characters start a family.
98* LetsWatchOurShowPlot: A fanfic where the characters are forced to watch episodes of their source material.
99* MagicalGirlAU: Rewriting the characters as {{Magical Girl}}s.
100* ModernAUFic: Fics set in a contemporary (and often mundane) setting.
101* PerspectiveFlip: A re-write of the original events, but from a completely different point of view -- often that of the villain.
102* PornWithoutPlot: The story is dirty, but has no plot.
103* PornWithPlot: The story is ''still'' dirty, but ''does'' have a plot.
104* RationalFic: A fan fiction written to reward the canon author for their good thinking.
105* RecursiveFic: When a fan fiction gets popular enough to have fan fiction of its own.
106* SeriesFic: A series of fanfics.
107* SlashFic: {{Shipping}} of two characters of the same gender. Generally called slash for men and femslash for women.
108* SoulmateAUFic: A fan fiction that involves soulmates meeting each other.
109* SugarWiki/{{WAFF}} (Warm And Fuzzy Feeling): A fan fiction designed to be cute.
110* WarFic: A fan fiction where the characters fight in a war.
111* ZombieFic: A ZombieApocalypse in a fan fiction.
112\
113'''By relationship with canon:'''
114* AlternateHistory (where "canon" here is RealLife)
115* AlternateUniverseFic: The rules of the canon have been warped.
116* {{Continuation}}: Continuing the story.
117* DeconstructionFic: {{Deconstruction}} through fan fiction.
118* ElsewhereFic: A fan fiction set somewhere that is not where the main characters are.
119* FilmFic: A fan fiction which is the plot of a film.
120* FixFic: The writer is re-writing the story the way they think it "should" be.
121* FlashForwardFic: A lot of time has passed after the events of the canon.
122* HateFic: A "fan" fiction written by a member of the work's {{Hatedom}} to mock it.
123* OriginalFlavour: A fan fiction that sticks as close as it can to the original canon material.
124* ParodyFic: A fan fiction spoofing the original work.
125* PatchworkFic: Characters from different adaptations are in the same story.
126* PeggySue: Character finds themselves back in time with the chance to change history.
127* PseudocanonicalFic: Expanding the universe.
128* RevengeFic: A fan fiction that has something bad happen to a character the writer doesn't like.
129* SuperFic: The characters are re-imagined as superheroes.
130* TrollFic: A fan fiction that is supposed to be bad.
131[[/folder]]
132
133[[folder:Related Topics]]
134* CompletedFic
135* DeadFic
136* FanWebcomics
137** CompletedWebcomics
138* FanWorks
139* FanficAuthors
140* FanficRecommendations
141* FanficTropes
142* FanficsPre2000
143* FanficsOfThe2000s
144* FanficsOfThe2010s
145** FanficsOf20102011
146** FanficsOf20122013
147** FanficsOf20142015
148** FanficsOf20162017
149** FanficsOf20182019
150* FanficsOfThe2020s
151** FanficsOf20202021
152** FanficsOf20222023
153* FanfictionArchives
154* FanWorkBan -- authors who forbid FanWorks. They tend to mostly be writers, and the type of fan work they tend to mostly ban are fanfics.
155* OneShotFic
156* ScienceFictionFanfic
157[[/folder]]
158[[/index]]
159
160[[folder:Fanfics by Medium of Source Material]]
161* FanWorks/{{Crossovers}} (multimedia)
162* FanWorks/AnimeAndManga
163* FanWorks/ComicBooks
164* FanWorks/ComicStrips
165* FanWorks/FanWorks
166* [[FanWorks/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
167* [[FanWorks/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
168* FanWorks/{{Literature}}
169* FanWorks/LiveActionTV
170* FanWorks/{{Music}}
171* FanWorks/TabletopGames
172* FanWorks/{{Theatre}}
173* FanWorks/VideoGames
174* FanWorks/VisualNovels
175* FanWorks/WebAnimation
176* FanWorks/{{Webcomics}}
177* FanWorks/WebVideos
178* FanWorks/WesternAnimation
179* FanWorks/OtherMedia (miscellaneous)
180* FanWorks/RealLife
181[[/folder]]
182----
183->'''Statler:''' These stories did do something right.\
184'''Waldorf:''' What do you mean?\
185'''Statler:''' They make the source material look amazing in comparison!\
186'''[[JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf Both]]:''' Do-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!

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