In the last decade, at least online, fan fiction
has taken the world by storm. It is how many authors got their start in
writing and honed their skills. One author told me that she wrote the stories
for the pure pleasure of it because she was a diehard fan and wanted to see her
favourite characters live on.
Dictionary: fan fiction (also informal fanfic) noun:
fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV
series, movie, etc. Which also includes video games, manga, anime series and
comics.
And now fanfic has become so entrenched in our
modern culture, events that used to be classified as perhaps a sci-fi
convention or anime convention or comicon are now simply referred to as fan
conventions. People like to read never-ending sagas about their much-loved
characters, especially when a certain series has ended. Crossovers or mixing
universes is also popular—hell Wolverine can date Buffy or anyone else that
might turn his crank. And although there are rivalries between such fans as Trekies
and Star Tards, and they can be fierce, there are many people who love both.
This type of writing has even found a home in
modern publishing. In North America artists make fan based comics, and in Japan they print doujinshi, rewriting entire plots or
creating completely new and exciting ones. Slash is another hugely popular
branch of fan fiction.
Dictionary: Slash fiction is a genre of fan
fiction that focuses on interpersonal attraction and sexual relationships
between fictional characters of the same sex.
I don’t know if fan fiction will change any of the
original creator’s minds, but it sure as hell makes things interesting. It is
inspiration at its best. One thought can lead to another and another and then
suddenly the author is writing about a totally different universe, something they can call their own. So I think
fan fiction has its place. Some argue it’s a rip-off of the original works and
of course that brings the issue of copyright infringement to the forefront. Don’t
get me wrong, I don’t support piracy, it’s wrong and costs the hardworking
author. But if the fanfic is written for the sheer enjoyment and not to make
profit, then it isn’t hurting anyone. As I see it, it’s a huge ego booster to
have so many people admire your work, and admire it in such a unique way.
Just for the fun of it, I’ve added a bunch of slash
images. Do you know the pairings?
All these fantastic drawings belong to their respective creators!
Blak Rayne
No comments:
Post a Comment