tell that to Una McCormack, she got the gig writing DS9 'Hollow Men' and 'Worlds of DS9: Cardassia' after Marco Palmieri read her fan-fic. and that's just ONE example i can think of. without getting into writers who entered Strange New Worlds and got pro-writing gigs afterwards...
Is Fanfic worthwhile?
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tell that to Una McCormack, she got the gig writing DS9 'Hollow Men' and 'Worlds of DS9: Cardassia' after Marco Palmieri read her fan-fic. and that's just ONE example i can think of. without getting into writers who entered Strange New Worlds and got pro-writing gigs afterwards...
hellsgate
Commodore
Above all, writing fan fiction is just for FUN. I love escaping into my own world. A racy holosuite encounter. A battle scenario. It's all good, Folks. I especially enjoy writing imaginary back-stories for others' starship/starbase 3D renders at SciFi-Meshes.
I'm happy for those people who found pro-lit careers from "Strange New Worlds", but for me I'm going to remain being happy just noodling around in the RPG-based side of things. I really don't understand why some contributors to TrekBBS find (some or all) fan fiction as deleterious to a professional writing career, when its been proven that "there's more than one way to skin a cat" as the old saying goes.
I'm hoping my own anthology helps someone in the same way. It would be such a rush to learn that someone's life took off due to a search engine hit on my Geocities & Angelfire websites via Google.
I'm happy for those people who found pro-lit careers from "Strange New Worlds", but for me I'm going to remain being happy just noodling around in the RPG-based side of things. I really don't understand why some contributors to TrekBBS find (some or all) fan fiction as deleterious to a professional writing career, when its been proven that "there's more than one way to skin a cat" as the old saying goes.
I'm hoping my own anthology helps someone in the same way. It would be such a rush to learn that someone's life took off due to a search engine hit on my Geocities & Angelfire websites via Google.
no, but you're the one who started claiming it was worthless and quantifying all fan-fic on the basis of what you've read which, clearly, is not a representative sample.
mayhap, you should try reading some of the fan-fic posted here, and then start casting your jejune, prejorative, ameliorative, pretentious opinions and aspertions.
mayhap, you should try reading some of the fan-fic posted here, and then start casting your jejune, prejorative, ameliorative, pretentious opinions and aspertions.
Now you're just being deliberately obtuse.
By your own admission, you haven't read much(if any) serious fanfic. I echo the suggestion above; why don't you read some of the stories here before you keep bashing fanfic and the people who write it?
Many of the writers here are very talented, and much of the stuff posted here is, in my opinion, frankly superior to many of the published Trek novels. To simply dismiss it out of hand for the reasons you've described is intellectual snobbery of the highest order.
I'm well versed in both German and English/American literature, but I also read and write Trek fics. It might not be 'high literature', but it helps me and other writers develop our craft, and to me it's just as worthwhile as a Shakespearean play or Goethe's Faust.
I would echo the others in saying that you need to read our works before casually dismissing them. Our works speak for themselves. If, after reading them, you still feel the way you do--fine, that's your right and prerogative. But, until then, we really can't have much in the way of a worthwhile discussion.
Also, remember, in their time, you could say that the Iliad and Odyssey were fan fiction.
Also, remember, in their time, you could say that the Iliad and Odyssey were fan fiction.
And left constructive commentary? Around here we try to HELP each other. Its not a slam contest-there are other forums at other sites if you feel the need. But here its respectful to say if you read a story and maybe what you like about it. Stick around here long enough and all of us helpful types will provide you with an education free of charge.
I think it depends what you want out of it, I used to write fanfic but I realized almost noone would read it and I wouldn't get any recognisition.
If you only do it for your own sake, all power to you but don't expect any credit. Better to try write a real book which I'm gonna try .
If you only do it for your own sake, all power to you but don't expect any credit. Better to try write a real book which I'm gonna try .
I'm continually baffled at the people opposed to fan fic wasting theirs and our time in the FanFiction thread. I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't spend any time on the "Reality TV," BBS's because I find reality TV a waste of time.
To misskim86...while you're trying to write a real book, by which I can only assume you mean a book destined to be submitted for publishing or eventually self published, I am actually writing a publishable novel. If you surveyed the writers here, I think you'd find a large number of them are doing just that.
Fan Fiction is something I write for the pure pleasure of it. I do it as a reward after writing in my Novel. I do it so that I can get feedback on my writing immediately, and use that feedback to further my writing skill. When one is freed from thinking of writing for editors or readers or money, what's left is writing for it's own sake. The pure and simple telling of a story.
If some of us choose to tell stories in someone elses created universe, so what? It provides a framework of reference that others can come into and read about with some understanding of what to expect.
Criticising fan fiction because it uses a setting already in existance is like criticising historical fiction writers for writing about historical periods. When you look at it that way WEB Griffith writes WWII fan fiction, and Jane Austen wrote Victorian England fan fiction.
I'm not comparing my writing to either of theirs, and I'm not saying there are not some people who need a good deal of of practice writing who attempt to write fan fiction.
But I'll tell you this, I've seen writers on this BBS that couldn't write in complete sentences or keep a certain tense throughout a paragraph evolve personally as writers before they even completed a single story.
If only for the development of better writing skills, then writing fan fiction was worth it for them. If you only see it as wasted effort because there is no profit in it, then please go to the Ferengi Rules of Aquisition thread, you'll have more fun there. Or, consider how much time you waste in the shower just cleaning yourself, when you could be doing deep knee bends and brushing your teeth at the same time.
Is it worth it to write fan fiction? I think that's a different question than "Is it worth it for some people to read fan fiction?" If you don't want to read it, don't, but that doesn't in any way validate your statements that it's not worth writing. Every form of entertainment has it's supporters and detractors. If no one liked to read fan fiction, I doubt this thread would exist.
I'm going back to writing my stories now, bye bye.
To misskim86...while you're trying to write a real book, by which I can only assume you mean a book destined to be submitted for publishing or eventually self published, I am actually writing a publishable novel. If you surveyed the writers here, I think you'd find a large number of them are doing just that.
Fan Fiction is something I write for the pure pleasure of it. I do it as a reward after writing in my Novel. I do it so that I can get feedback on my writing immediately, and use that feedback to further my writing skill. When one is freed from thinking of writing for editors or readers or money, what's left is writing for it's own sake. The pure and simple telling of a story.
If some of us choose to tell stories in someone elses created universe, so what? It provides a framework of reference that others can come into and read about with some understanding of what to expect.
Criticising fan fiction because it uses a setting already in existance is like criticising historical fiction writers for writing about historical periods. When you look at it that way WEB Griffith writes WWII fan fiction, and Jane Austen wrote Victorian England fan fiction.
I'm not comparing my writing to either of theirs, and I'm not saying there are not some people who need a good deal of of practice writing who attempt to write fan fiction.
But I'll tell you this, I've seen writers on this BBS that couldn't write in complete sentences or keep a certain tense throughout a paragraph evolve personally as writers before they even completed a single story.
If only for the development of better writing skills, then writing fan fiction was worth it for them. If you only see it as wasted effort because there is no profit in it, then please go to the Ferengi Rules of Aquisition thread, you'll have more fun there. Or, consider how much time you waste in the shower just cleaning yourself, when you could be doing deep knee bends and brushing your teeth at the same time.
Is it worth it to write fan fiction? I think that's a different question than "Is it worth it for some people to read fan fiction?" If you don't want to read it, don't, but that doesn't in any way validate your statements that it's not worth writing. Every form of entertainment has it's supporters and detractors. If no one liked to read fan fiction, I doubt this thread would exist.
I'm going back to writing my stories now, bye bye.
All I've really taken note of in this thread is someone dropping a few big words as some pretense to being super intelligent while displaying an extremely narrow view (narrow mindedness the very contradiction to intelligence?) on what fan fiction is or can be.
fan fiction is many things... it can be a creative release for people who work in professions that stifle creativity; it can be a wannabe authors means to 15 minutes of fame; it can be written for the self, or for others; it can be an expression of what you think a series should have been; it can be the exploration of ones self; a statement about society, life, emotion... the list is endless.
the one thing it is not, is pointless. fan fiction is worthwhile so long as the author deems it to be so. the end.
fan fiction is many things... it can be a creative release for people who work in professions that stifle creativity; it can be a wannabe authors means to 15 minutes of fame; it can be written for the self, or for others; it can be an expression of what you think a series should have been; it can be the exploration of ones self; a statement about society, life, emotion... the list is endless.
the one thing it is not, is pointless. fan fiction is worthwhile so long as the author deems it to be so. the end.
No, actually you said:
misskim86, I did read your post better. Anyone who has studied linguistics knows that using the word but is a way to cause the subconscious mind to delete the previous statement. So when you said "all power to you but..." you changed the implied intent of your sentence to "If you only do it for your own sake, don't expect any credit."
It's just like when your boyfriend is trying to be polite about your new hairstyle. If he says "I like it, but..." What do you focus on, the "I like it" part, or the "but?"
Also, just another perception. If you really want to write that book, and get it done, you must stop trying and just do it. Try is another one of those funny words. It actually connotates failure, and your subconscious picks up on that as well.
When you want to make plans to do something with a friend and they say "I'll try to be there," how confident are you that they will show up? Probably not very (or you shouldn't be)
Try comes with a presupoosition that what is being tried probably won't be sucessful. Just for fun, say "I'm writing a book, and people are going to love it," while thinking of your book. How does it feel compared to saying, "I'm trying to write a book, and I hope people like it."
That's why Picard said "Make it so," instead of "Number One, try to go to warp 5."
Play with it, have fun!
I'll show you what I mean.
I'm not trying to be critical of what you said, but when you post that you are trying to write a real book, as opposed to I can only assume a fake fan fic story, it does seem like a bit of an insult to all those on here taking their time to write fake stories. This is just my opinion, but It seems like your little message was full of hidden (or not so hidden) meaning aimed at just such a striking a nerve.
How does it read? Does it seem that there is more than one layer of meaning? It's sort of like your more power to you statement isn't it? I can fall back and say it's a supportive statement, but it's really not, is it?
Anyway, people do pick up on subtle meanings here.
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