Fanfiction

zeo1fan

Did not know how to class this so I figured I'd place it under 'Everything Else'. ^_^ So the climate of fanfiction and how it's viewed is seriously changing; a Twilight fanfic (Fifty Shades) has been on the best-seller list, a Fifty Shades Fanfic has been turned into a book in its own right (Devil's Brand), and Penguin has/is turning a One Direction fanfic into a book in its own right:

http://www.sugarscape.com/tags/books/772164/one-direction-fanfiction-gets-publishing-deal-penguin-books

And now this has happened:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1001197421

Kindle is going to start publishing self-submitted fanfiction professionally (People are going to receive royalties for writing about other auteurs' worlds and characters). Aside from the obvious problem that comes with blurring the line between fandom and canon, what are your thoughts on fanfiction as well as these developments?

open_sketchbook

There are fanfics I enjoy. I give zero fucks about any kind of canon. But the vast majority of fanfiction are basically just war crimes against language and rational thought.

So, basically, resounding meh.

zeo1fan

There are fanfics I enjoy. I give zero fucks about any kind of canon. But the vast majority of fanfiction are basically just war crimes against language and rational thought.

So, basically, resounding meh.

That's an amusingly cynical way of looking at things.

Victor Frost

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

zeo1fan

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

What's that?

Churba

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

What's that?

Harry Potter the motherfucking Science Wizard.

Jordan O.

There are fanfics I enjoy. I give zero fucks about any kind of canon. But the vast majority of fanfiction are basically just war crimes against language and rational thought.

So, basically, resounding meh.

That's an amusingly cynical way of looking at things.

But also the correct one? I mean you have seen the vast majority of the shit written out there right?

Axel

A really good fanfiction. Example of the best kind of fanfiction.
Essentially, Harry's aunt marries a very rational, intelligent man and Harry is raised by a rational, loving, and intelligent family.
In addition, numerous characters act more/less rationally, Ron is basically not a character, and everything is more interesting. Harry is a young savant and very interesting character despite this, and the overall world of Harry Potter is treated with more finesse, and its elements are used properly. For instance,

Voldemort is implied to have put a Horcrux on the Moon.

In my humble opinion, it is a more interesting and thought provoking read than the actual Harry Potter books, which, while having great world building and some great characters, has extremely generic, boring, and predictable protagonists.

open_sketchbook

Not the moon. Even better. On Pioneer 11.

Axel

Oh. Right. Yeah. That is even better.

zeo1fan

A really good fanfiction. Example of the best kind of fanfiction.
Essentially, Harry's aunt marries a very rational, intelligent man and Harry is raised by a rational, loving, and intelligent family.
In addition, numerous characters act more/less rationally, Ron is basically not a character, and everything is more interesting. Harry is a young savant and very interesting character despite this, and the overall world of Harry Potter is treated with more finesse, and its elements are used properly. For instance,

Voldemort is implied to have put a Horcrux on the Moon.

In my humble opinion, it is a more interesting and thought provoking read than the actual Harry Potter books, which, while having great world building and some great characters, has extremely generic, boring, and predictable protagonists.

That sounds like a really nice, naturally flowing story.

zeo1fan

There are fanfics I enjoy. I give zero fucks about any kind of canon. But the vast majority of fanfiction are basically just war crimes against language and rational thought.

So, basically, resounding meh.

That's an amusingly cynical way of looking at things.

But also the correct one? I mean you have seen the vast majority of the shit written out there right?

I think fanfiction can serve as a good set of training wheels until a person either goes on to write for the franchise (ala Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who) or moves on to writing original works.

P_TOG

But the vast majority of fanfiction are basically just war crimes against language and rational thought.

This sentence summarizes exactly why I love fanfiction.

Banta

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

I keep trying to read this story, and I can't get past the first few chapters.

Eryn

That is exactly how long you need to give it before it starts really finding its groove and getting better by leaps and bounds. I started getting more into it sometime in the chapter 5 to 7 range.

Viga

There are fanfics I enjoy. I give zero fucks about any kind of canon. But the vast majority of fanfiction are basically just war crimes against language and rational thought.

So, basically, resounding meh.

This is pretty much my opinion now. It represents a prior thought which was: Fanfic sucks.

Running a fansite for a few months helped curb my extreme distaste for fanfic. I even started one of my own. (Never finished, got bored.) Mostly because of what fanfic can do. It can sedate those feelings you might have about a media and what you want to happen. Or you wish a character got more development so you create it.

I can't completely hate fanfic anymore. Especially since its in the origin and history of slash and yaoi.

zeo1fan

There are fanfics I enjoy. I give zero fucks about any kind of canon. But the vast majority of fanfiction are basically just war crimes against language and rational thought.

So, basically, resounding meh.

This is pretty much my opinion now. It represents a prior thought which was: Fanfic sucks.

Running a fansite for a few months helped curb my extreme distaste for fanfic. I even started one of my own. (Never finished, got bored.) Mostly because of what fanfic can do. It can sedate those feelings you might have about a media and what you want to happen. Or you wish a character got more development so you create it.

I can't completely hate fanfic anymore. Especially since its in the origin and history of slash and yaoi.

Have you ever noticed that guys have little to no control over their hormones in a lot of slashfic?

Banta

Methods of Rationality is coming to an end. I assume Harry will win by talking everyone to death.

In "honor" of that, I figure I should recommend various fanfics I've read over the years that I've actually enjoyed.

Naruto
Written in Reverse: Once the possibility of one's chakra migrating through time and space has been accepted, the soul is only a lunging step away. The Sage of Six Paths meets his descendents with certain expectations in mind, but love is hardly predictable, and Naruto is all seven hells of stubborn when those precious to him are involved. (Time Travel) (Naru/fem!Sasu)

The Howling Wind: Wisp: I became a shinobi. Breeze: I made an enemy. Gust: I fell in love. Squall: I started a war. Gale: I died for Konoha. (AU)

Life in Konoha's ANBU: ANBU!Naruto. Drafted into ANBU at a young age, Naruto is guided to the path of a Captain. Leader of Team Sigma, the Hokage's Personal Guard, Naruto will lead his team and defend his Village to the best of his ability. Threats besiege the Land of Fire from all sides, and only Naruto stands before them...

Harry Potter

Gentlemen Usher of the Scarlet Rod: Every seventy years members of the Order of the Bath, a British order of chivalry, are being killed off. That is until Harry is brought in to hunt the killer or killers down. Harry/Padma.

The Skitterleap: Fifty years ago, Grindelwald won the duel that shaped the world. In a land overwhelmed by darkness, a hero emerges: a young wizard with the power, influence and opportunity to restore the light. Harry Potter, caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse, must decide what he truly believes. Does this world deserve redemption? Or, more importantly, does he?

Cauterize: "Of course it's missing something vital. That's the point." Dennis Creevey takes up his brother's camera after the war.

Harry Potter and the Wastelands of Time:Take a deep breath, count back from ten… and above all else – don't worry! It'll all be over soon. The world, that is. Yet for Harry Potter the end is just the beginning. Enemies close in on all sides, and Harry faces his greatest challenge of all - Time.

What You Leave Behind: The Mirror of Erised is supposed to show your heart's desire - so why does Harry Potter see only vague, blurry darkness? Aberforth is Headmaster, Ariana is alive, Albus is in exile, and Harry must uncover his past if he's to survive his future.

Dresden Files

Devil You Know: My day had started on a down note. First Elaine had been sick, then I found out my mentor wanted to shove me in a straitjacket. It shouldn't have been a surprise when I died. But, nothing could have prepared me for my life being saved by a devil—or becoming one myself. Still, the magical girl was the biggest surprise.

Ranma 1/2

Haigeki: His friends kidnapped by magical girls, Ranma is pushed beyond his limits to retrieve them.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Puella Magi Homura Magica: Living in the world Madoka's sacrifice created, Homura, Mami and Kyouko uneasily coexist while fighting the demons of Mitakihara Town. But as the miasma thickens and the demons multiply, the fragile peace of their lives threatens to shatter once more.

I think I might make this a semi-regular thing. I've got a lot of stuff in the archive.

Churba

I kind of enjoyed the Whatley Academy series, which is still ongoing. It's not so much a fanfiction as a love-letter to superhero comics and a whole bunch of "What if X person just used their powers intelligently".

Banta

I'd recommend Worm to you then. It's an original work, a web-serial, that does superheros well. It has it's ups and downs in terms of story quality, but overall it's worth a read.

The author also has another web-serial that's a lot better called Pact; it takes the whole urban magic thing and does it really well. It's story and mechanics work better for me than Worm's did, which is why I rate it higher.