Who reads fan fiction?

[Dani257]

I'm not sure if this should go here or in the Books folder, but I figured since these aren't real books, it would be okay here. Feel free to move it, though.


For those of you who don't know (and I assume that means you don't read it) fan fiction is when fans of tv shows write stories about the characters. This is only for personal enjoyment and sharing with friends. Naturally, they can't make any money. I have a few types that I read regularly. X-Files, West Wing, Lois and Clark (one good thing is, even after a show ends, you can still continue the stories) and ER.

Some of it is really good, and could even be an episode of a tv show. Some is really bad. People want a certain thing to happen (like putting two people together) and they manipulate things and make characters act in ways that are totally wrong.

Ok, I'll admit. I've written fan fiction. It's fun and it's a little easier, since one part has been done for you. The characters are ready made. Plus, since you know this is just for fun, it kind of keeps you from freezing up.

[amykhar]

I never heard of it before today. Where do you even find such a thing?

Amy

[quasar]

I read a lot of fanfiction. Mostly scifi shows, but also some Trixie Belden and some other stuff. I read it mainly on my Palm. There's a site that already has fanfiction formatted for PDAs called You Want Fries with That? (http://www.e-fic.com/fries/indexjs.html) that I use, as well as rolling my own from stories posted all over the net.

Amy, I can't believe you've never heard of it. It's everywhere online. Try the above link for Doc files you can read on your iPaq, or www.fanfiction.net as a starting point for other stories. Go to google and type in "fanfic <book or tv show or movie>" and you will most likely find dozens if not hundreds of sites.

Janice

[Dani257]

Fanfiction.net seems to be having some maitenence problems. They say they should be back by the eighth or the ninth.

You can also do a search on Deja.com to find newsgroups for tv shows that do stories.

[quasar]

Originally posted by Dani257
Fanfiction.net seems to be having some maitenence problems. They say they should be back by the eighth or the ninth.

Really? I was just there (checking the url) when I made my last post and it seemed fine.

Janice

[frazzledspice]

When my husband was in his late teens, he used to write a fanzine with about 6 other writers who were interested in science fiction.

It was like a literary magazine with a very limited circulation

One of the highlights was the round robin story. A different member would add a chapter to a story each month, creating a novel featuring everyone's ideas and writing style.

This was before computers (the late 1960's) and I'm sure that now it would even be easier and more entertaining to participate in this hobby.

When I get back home Thursday, I'll have to share your post with him, Angela.

[Redlass]

The first writing I ever did was fanfiction. I started in junior high when two of my friends were doing it for Battlestar Galactica. We later branched out into Star Wars, Wonder Woman, Remington Steel, Doctor Who, The A-Team, and Knight Rider. We found a few other people who did it and guiltily exchanged long letters every other day with the latest "episode." We thought we were nuts, so we never told anyone (this was in the days before the Internet was anything but a scientific exchange of data). We eventually grew out of it, but several of us have stayed in touch and several of us have gone on to be "real" writers (including one of us who has one several prestigious writing awards and even had one of her books make it on the New York Times Notable Books of the Year list.

I would be scared to look at fanfiction now. Too many scary memories!