Line #13 Main/MostFanficWritersAreFans


1	Most writers of {{fanfiction}} are fans of whatever work they're writing for.
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3	This may ''seem'' obvious and not significant--why, after all, would it be called "fanfiction" if it were not written by fans?--but it actually has a serious impact on the general storytelling style of fanfiction when compared to original fiction. Fanfiction is, at its most basic, ''a work of fiction that uses elements from a different preexisting work''. This means that most writers of fanfiction will, generally speaking, be ''very'' familiar with their subject matter--the lore, the {{worldbuilding}}, the characters, and the original plot of the work they're borrowing from--and will expect their audience to be similarly familiar with these elements.
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5	Often, a fanfiction, whether written or in some other medium, will focus on one or more of these elements--typically those that the writer is most interested in. In doing so, fanfiction will often omit important, sometimes even plot-relevant, pieces of information, while moving on under the assumption that the audience, being familiar with the work, will know that information beforehand.
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7	Fanfiction, therefore, tends to have an air of ''incompleteness'' to it. What would usually fall to exposition in an original work is often left undone in fanfiction, as the work of explaining the world has already been performed by the preexisting fiction. (In fact, fanfic reviewers and readers alike may frown at any and all of the writer's attempts to explain things that "we already know".) This can be confusing for someone who has never experienced the original work--even if it is, say, merely a [[SpinOff spin-off of another show]]--and is why most fanfiction is rarely viewed outside of the resident fandom for the original work it is based on. Ironically, while fanfic is associated with PurpleProse, this can also create BeigeProse as well, as fans usually assume readers know what characters look like and will skip description for the same reason they skip exposition, unless describing an original character, {{Crossover}} character, or something like a CanonImmigrant or LateArrivalSpoiler that's within the universe of the canon but not instantly familiar to the readers. Or describing their favorite in PurpleProse...[[note]]{{Crossover}} fics tend to be an exception, with authors feeling the need to make them accessible to fans of either depicted property. This isn't a rule though, and often only one of the universes has exposition provided for it.[[/note]]
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9	Now, this all may seem like common sense, but it also explains some of the darker [[DieForOurShip aspects]] [[RonTheDeathEater of]] [[DracoInLeatherPants fanfiction]]. When a writer of fanfiction spends all their time with members of the same fandom, there is a reinforcing effect. Things that would never (well, at least ''in theory'') fly in original fiction because editors are considered almost pervasive in fanfiction, and SturgeonsLaw is in full motion here.
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11	Ultimately, this leads to [[SturgeonsLaw the majority]] of fanworks being full of WishFulfillment and other forms of indulgence that are endemic to amateur fiction, with the added strangeness that it's being done by preexisting characters ({{Original Character}}s not withstanding) who may or may not be acting in character. This is why many people have a thorough disdain for fanfiction, and why searching through the refuse for good fiction (the beautiful [[SturgeonsLaw 10%]]) can be painful. However, it also means that when you ''do'' find the really good stuff, the reward is all the more satisfying.
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13	Now, to introduce more possible confusion, there are those who write "fanfiction" who [[FanworkOnlyFans are not actually ''fans'' of the work]] in question they're writing for. The most common form of this manifests as works by the {{Hatedom}} of a work, which often exist solely to bash a character/element of the work in question ([[DieForOurShip not]] [[RevengeFic that]] [[DeconstructionFic a]] [[FixFic fan]] won't sometimes do the same). Other times, someone who's never even seen or read the original work will write a fan work [[TransplantedCharacterFic that's only slightly related to the original source material, taking the basic concepts and creating something more akin to original fiction]]. Such writers often do this for works in the public domain, and you can find this type of fiction in [[AirportNovel airports around the world]].
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15	To make a note on the concept of a {{Hatedom}}, there are a few occasions where a ''fan'' will write a fanwork which ''seems'' to be bashing the original piece of fiction, or an aspect of it, but without any actual intent in terms of ''insult'':
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17	* The DeconstructionFic: The DeconstructionFic is designed to do just that: tear down the original work of fiction, and milk every bit of FridgeLogic ([[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism and every shred of idealism]]) for all its worth, to show what would "really" happen in a more realistic setting. When done by the {{Hatedom}}, it will typically be used to show how a work of fiction is nonsense, but a fan could do it as well, perhaps simply for DarkerAndEdgier / LighterAndSofter points, or maybe just to do something more unique than the average, generic fanwork.
18	* The FixFic: The author doesn't like some aspect of the work. In the hands of either a fan or a [[{{Hatedom}} hater]], this type of fiction will typically result in tons of CharacterDerailment (and possibly DieForOurShip) in order to "fix" the work, [[TitleDrop hence the name]].
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20	Needless to say, fan works are a complex form of fiction--like original fiction, of course.
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22	! Please do not add examples to work pages; this merely [[Administrivia/DefinitionOnlyPages defines the term]].

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