Fan fiction
Encyclopedia
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor
regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. Because of this, many fan fictions written often contain a disclaimer stating that the creator of the work owns none of the characters. Fan fiction, therefore, is defined by being both related to its subject's canonical
fictional universe
and simultaneously existing outside the canon of that universe. Most fan fiction writers assume that their work is read primarily by other fans, and therefore tend to presume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based.
Media scholar Henry Jenkins
explains the correlation between transmedia storytelling
and fan fiction:
began writing Part Two of Don Quixote, but he had probably not gotten much further than Chapter LIX by late July of 1614. About September, however, a spurious Part Two, entitled Second Volume of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha: by the Licenciado (doctorate) Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda, of Tordesillas, was published in Tarragona
by an unidentified Aragonese who was an admirer of Lope de Vega
, a rival of Cervantes.
The turn of the 20th century saw parodies and revisions of Lewis Carroll
's Alice in Wonderland by authors including Frances Hodgson Burnett
and E. Nesbit
. In addition, there were several fan-authored versions of Arthur Conan Doyle
's Sherlock Holmes
stories.
In 1945, C. S. Lewis
adopted certain elements from J.R.R. Tolkien's then largely unpublished legendarium
(mostly Númenor, there spelt Numinor) and incorporated these into the last novel, That Hideous Strength
, of his Space Trilogy
. As Lewis and Tolkien were personal friends, this could be seen more as an "homage".
Before about 1965, the term "fan fiction" was used in science fiction fandom
to designate original, though amateur
, works of science fiction
published in science fiction fanzine
s, as differentiated from fiction that was professionally published by professional writers; or fiction about fans and fandom.
However, the modern phenomenon of fan fiction as an expression of fandom and fan interaction was popularized and defined via Star Trek fandom
and their fanzines published in the 1960s. The first Star Trek
fanzine, Spockanalia, was published in 1967 and contained some fan fiction. These fanzines were produced via offset printing and mimeography, and mailed to other fans or sold at science fiction conventions for a small fee to help recoup costs. Unlike other aspects of fandom, women dominated fan fiction authoring; 83% of Star Trek fan fiction authors were female by 1970, and 90% by 1973.
Fan fiction has become more popular and widespread since the advent of the World Wide Web. In addition to traditional fanzines and conventions, Usenet group electronic mailing lists were established for fan fiction as well as fan discussion. Online, searchable fan fiction archives were also established. The online archives were initially non-commercial hand-tended and fandom- or topic-specific. These archives were followed by non-commercial automated databases. In 1998, the not-for-profit site FanFiction.Net
came online, which allowed anybody to upload content in any fandom. The ability to self-publish fan fiction at an easily-accessible common archive that did not require insider-knowledge to join, and the ability to review the stories directly on the site, became popular quite quickly. FanFiction.net now hosts millions of stories in dozens of languages, and is widely considered the largest and most popular fan fiction archive online.
LiveJournal
(founded in 1999) and other blog
ging services played a large part in the move away from mailing list
s (both electronic and amateur press associations) to blogs as a means for fan communication and the sharing of fan fiction. Although much fan fiction today is published to archives, it would be impossible to tell whether more or less fan fiction today is posted directly to blogging services than to fan-fiction-specific archives.
also began appearing around the 1960s and 1970s, where independently published manga
and novels, known as dōjinshi
, are frequently published by dōjin
circles; many of these dōjinshi are based on existing manga
, anime
, and video game franchises. Manga authors
like Shotaro Ishinomori
and Fujiko Fujio
formed dōjin groups such as Fujio's . At this time dōjin groups were used by artists to make a professional debut. This changed in the coming decades with dōjin groups forming as school clubs and the like. This culminated in 1975 with the Comiket
in Tokyo.
which is frequently abbreviated AU. There are two main sub-categories of alternate universe fan fiction: stories that exist in the same "world" as canon, but change one or more major plot points (e.g. a character dies who is still alive in the source material or some event in the characters' lives is altered) and stories that take some or all characters from the source material and put them in an entirely different situation (e.g. Draco Malfoy
and Hermione Granger
are pop star
s, rather than students at a school for wizards
).
There are several categories of "canon" stories as well, that is, stories that do not contradict the source material in any way. Missing scenes fill in parts of the story that were "left out" of the source. Episode Codas (a term that applies only to fan fiction based on TV shows) are stories that pick up at the end of an episode. These are usually written shortly after an episode airs, when viewers are left wanting more. Other categories, like pre- and post-series refer to stories that depict events taking place outside the chronological scope of the source material. Futurefic refers to any story that takes place after the currently available canon.
, "Femslash
", "Heterosexual", and "General" (sometimes abbreviated "Gen"). In almost all fandoms, slash refers to same-sex male pairings. The term originates from the slash between the names of the characters in a relationship (e.g. Kirk/Spock
). Although all pairings are denoted with a slash, only same-sex pairings are referred to by that term. (Thus, although often written out as Harry/Ginny, to use a canon heterosexual relationship from the Harry Potter fandom
, these relationships would not be called slash.) Femslash, or sometimes femmeslash, refers to same-sex female pairings. Het, an abbreviation for "heterosexual," refers to opposite sex pairings (e.g. Bolt and Mittens (fan fiction for the film Bolt)). Gen is an abbreviation for "general" and refers to stories which do not contain a romantic or sexual plot.
More women than men read romantic fan fiction. While men who are attracted to an actress often search for revealing photographs of her, women attracted to an actor often seek out erotic stories with a character he plays. A fan of Orlando Bloom
, for example, might search for "Legolas
erotica".
. There are some specialized genre categories that only apply to fan fiction or, at least, the terminology is specific. "Crack", "Angst", and "WAFF/fluff/schmoop" are well-known examples.
Certain tropes
are also used and reused in fan fiction. There are so many of these that it would be impossible to name them all, and they vary greatly from fandom to fandom. High school and College AUs are common in many fandoms that do not already take place in school settings. "Hurt-comfort" is also broadly popular.
has a somewhat different connotation in reference to fan fiction than it does in mainstream culture. Sexual tropes or situations are often referred to as kinks whether or not they are particularly "adventurous." Sometimes the term is even more broadly applied to describe plots or tropes that people enjoy, regardless of whether or not they are sexual in nature.
are stories that incorporate two or more different sources. For example, an author may take a character from Canon A and place him or her in the universe of Canon B, or characters from two or more fandoms may meet at a neutral location. These stories often include romantic or sexual pairings between characters from different canons.
. Fanfiction.net
and other archives may have their own specialized rules. Terminology for story length also varies. Some commonly used terms are drabble
(either a story of exactly 100 words or a very short story), ficlet (longer than a drabble, but still very short) and one-shot (only a chapter long). Longer stories may be called longfic, epic, full-length, or novel-length, but these are typically not labels that would be applied by the author.
On Fanfiction.net, the ratings are K (for anyone), K+ (for nearly everyone), T (for teen), and M (for mature).
It is often considered wise in fan fiction circles to acquire the aid of a "beta reader
," sometimes shortened to "beta," whose responsibilities are roughly those of a professional editor to a commercial author—with the exception that the "beta" is most commonly a volunteer who works without pay and on a casual basis and communicates through E-mail
or private message systems. Writers are discouraged in some circles from posting fan fiction that has not at least been checked for grammatical, spelling, consistency and plot errors by a beta reader. In late February 2008, FanFiction.net set up an area of their site that contains a list of authors willing to "beta" other authors' "fics."
or "reviews". Reviews can be given by both anonymous
and registered users of most sites, and sites are often programmed to notify the author of new feedback, making them a common way for readers and authors online to communicate directly. This system is intended for a type of bond between the reader and the writer, as well as helping the author improve his or her writing skills through constructive criticism, enabling him or her to produce a better work next time. Occasionally unmoderated review systems are abused to send flames, spam
or trolling messages. As a result, the author of the story can either disable or enable anonymous reviews, depending on his/her preference. Internet fanfiction gives young writers a wider audience for their literary efforts than ever before, resulting in improved literacy.
Recently fan fiction has seen greater use of the forum or LiveJournal
blog
format. Built around message board systems, stories are posted on threads with feedback interlaced and immediate. This style of fan fiction is more interactive but also can be a distraction since the stories and comments are between each other. These communication methods make fan fiction sites and blogs useful affinity spaces
as writers are able to take readers' feedback and improve their skills and abilities as writers. This informal learning
is a side benefit for many fan fiction authors, some of whom eventually attempt or go on to writing professionally.
under United States copyright law
.
Some argue that fan fiction does not fall under fair use. The 2009 ruling by United States District Court
judge Deborah A. Batts, permanently prohibiting publication in the United States of a book by a Swedish writer whose protagonist is a 76-year-old version of Holden Caulfield
of The Catcher in the Rye
, may be seen as upholding this position regarding publishing fan fiction, as the judge stated, "To the extent Defendants contend that 60 Years and the character of Mr. C direct parodic comment or criticism at Catcher or Holden Caulfield, as opposed to Salinger himself, the Court finds such contentions to be post-hoc rationalizations employed through vague generalizations about the alleged naivety of the original, rather than reasonably perceivable parody."
Others such as the Organization for Transformative Works
uphold the legality of non-profit fan fiction under the fair use
doctrine, as it is a creative, transformative
process.
In 1981 Lucasfilms Ltd.
sent out a letter to several fanzine publishers asserting Lucasfilm's copyright to all Star Wars characters and insisting that no fanzine publish pornography
. Lucasfilm did not want the family-friendly aspect of the story and characters to be corrupted, despite the obvious draw that explicit content has for the fans. The letter also alluded to possible legal action that could be taken against fanzines that did not comply. Later that year, the director and legal counsel of the Official Star Wars Fan Club sent fanzine publishers a set of official guidelines. Lucasfilms supported fan publications contingent on their upholding these guidelines.
In recent years, several prominent authors have given their blessings to fanfiction, notably J.K. Rowling. Rowling said she was "flattered" that people wanted to write their own stories based on her characters. Naomi Novik
is another author who is supportive of fan fiction: she is a member of the Organization for Transformative Works and began as a fan fiction writer. Similarly, Stephenie Meyer
has put links on her website to fan fiction sites about her characters from the Twilight series.
However, Anne Rice
has consistently and aggressively prevented fan fiction based on any of her characters (mostly those from her famous Interview with the Vampire
and its sequels in The Vampire Chronicles
). She, along with Anne McCaffrey
and Raymond Feist, have asked to have any fiction related to their series removed from FanFiction.Net
. George R.R. Martin, who was selected by Time magazine as one of the "2011 Time 100" and is most famous for his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire
, is also strongly opposed to fan fiction, believing it to be copyright infringement and a bad exercise for aspiring writers.
Fan labor
Fan labor is a term used to refer to the productive creative activities engaged in by fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups...
regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. Because of this, many fan fictions written often contain a disclaimer stating that the creator of the work owns none of the characters. Fan fiction, therefore, is defined by being both related to its subject's canonical
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
fictional universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
and simultaneously existing outside the canon of that universe. Most fan fiction writers assume that their work is read primarily by other fans, and therefore tend to presume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based.
Media scholar Henry Jenkins
Henry Jenkins
Henry Jenkins III is an American media scholar and currently a Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the USC School of Cinematic Arts...
explains the correlation between transmedia storytelling
Transmedia storytelling
Transmedia storytelling, also known as multi-platform storytelling, cross-platform storytelling, or transmedia narrative, is the technique of telling stories across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies...
and fan fiction:
Precursors
It is not certain when CervantesCervantes
-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...
began writing Part Two of Don Quixote, but he had probably not gotten much further than Chapter LIX by late July of 1614. About September, however, a spurious Part Two, entitled Second Volume of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha: by the Licenciado (doctorate) Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda, of Tordesillas, was published in Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
by an unidentified Aragonese who was an admirer of Lope de Vega
Lope de Vega
Félix Arturo Lope de Vega y Carpio was a Spanish playwright and poet. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century Baroque literature...
, a rival of Cervantes.
The turn of the 20th century saw parodies and revisions of Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Alice in Wonderland by authors including Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
and E. Nesbit
E. Nesbit
Edith Nesbit was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television...
. In addition, there were several fan-authored versions of Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
stories.
In 1945, C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
adopted certain elements from J.R.R. Tolkien's then largely unpublished legendarium
Legendarium
Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...
(mostly Númenor, there spelt Numinor) and incorporated these into the last novel, That Hideous Strength
That Hideous Strength
That Hideous Strength is a 1945 novel by C. S. Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological science fiction Space Trilogy. The events of this novel follow those of Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra and once again feature the philologist Elwin Ransom...
, of his Space Trilogy
Space Trilogy
The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a trilogy of science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis, famous for his later series The Chronicles of Narnia. A philologist named Elwin Ransom is the hero of the first two novels and an important character in the third.The books in the trilogy...
. As Lewis and Tolkien were personal friends, this could be seen more as an "homage".
Modern phenomenon
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...
to designate original, though amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
, works of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
published in science fiction fanzine
Science fiction fanzine
A science fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day...
s, as differentiated from fiction that was professionally published by professional writers; or fiction about fans and fandom.
However, the modern phenomenon of fan fiction as an expression of fandom and fan interaction was popularized and defined via Star Trek fandom
Trekkie
A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the Star Trek franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.-History:In 1967, science fiction editor Arthur W...
and their fanzines published in the 1960s. The first Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
fanzine, Spockanalia, was published in 1967 and contained some fan fiction. These fanzines were produced via offset printing and mimeography, and mailed to other fans or sold at science fiction conventions for a small fee to help recoup costs. Unlike other aspects of fandom, women dominated fan fiction authoring; 83% of Star Trek fan fiction authors were female by 1970, and 90% by 1973.
Fan fiction has become more popular and widespread since the advent of the World Wide Web. In addition to traditional fanzines and conventions, Usenet group electronic mailing lists were established for fan fiction as well as fan discussion. Online, searchable fan fiction archives were also established. The online archives were initially non-commercial hand-tended and fandom- or topic-specific. These archives were followed by non-commercial automated databases. In 1998, the not-for-profit site FanFiction.Net
FanFiction.Net
FanFiction.Net is an automated fan fiction archive site. It was founded in late 1998 by Los Angeles computer programmer Xing Li, who also runs the site. The first fics to be posted were a few stories about Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
came online, which allowed anybody to upload content in any fandom. The ability to self-publish fan fiction at an easily-accessible common archive that did not require insider-knowledge to join, and the ability to review the stories directly on the site, became popular quite quickly. FanFiction.net now hosts millions of stories in dozens of languages, and is widely considered the largest and most popular fan fiction archive online.
LiveJournal
LiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
(founded in 1999) and other blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ging services played a large part in the move away from mailing list
Mailing list
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the...
s (both electronic and amateur press associations) to blogs as a means for fan communication and the sharing of fan fiction. Although much fan fiction today is published to archives, it would be impossible to tell whether more or less fan fiction today is posted directly to blogging services than to fan-fiction-specific archives.
Japanese dōjinshi
A similar trend in JapanJapanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
also began appearing around the 1960s and 1970s, where independently published manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and novels, known as dōjinshi
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
, are frequently published by dōjin
Dojin
, often romanized as doujin, is a general Japanese term for a group of people or friends who share an interest, activity, hobbies, or achievement...
circles; many of these dōjinshi are based on existing manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, and video game franchises. Manga authors
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
like Shotaro Ishinomori
Shotaro Ishinomori
was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and tokusatsu, creating several immensely popular long-running series such as Cyborg 009 and Himitsu Sentai Goranger, what would go on to become part of the Super Sentai series, and the Kamen Rider Series...
and Fujiko Fujio
Fujiko Fujio
was a nom de plume of a manga writing duo formed by two Japanese manga artists. Their real names are and . They formed their partnership in 1951, and used the Fujiko Fujio name from 1954 until dissolution of the partnership in 1987....
formed dōjin groups such as Fujio's . At this time dōjin groups were used by artists to make a professional debut. This changed in the coming decades with dōjin groups forming as school clubs and the like. This culminated in 1975 with the Comiket
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
in Tokyo.
Categories and types
Fan fiction can be categorized in a number of ways. Some of these categories are similar to original fiction, some are specialized. Please note: these categories apply to western fandoms. International fandoms have different conventions.Relationship to canon
Stories are also categorized by their relationship to canon. The most common term is alternate universeAlternative universe (fan fiction)
An alternative universe , commonly abbreviated as AU, is a type or form of in which canonical facts of setting or characterization in the universe being explored or written about are deliberately changed.Stories that fall into this definition are usually what-ifs, where possibilities arising from...
which is frequently abbreviated AU. There are two main sub-categories of alternate universe fan fiction: stories that exist in the same "world" as canon, but change one or more major plot points (e.g. a character dies who is still alive in the source material or some event in the characters' lives is altered) and stories that take some or all characters from the source material and put them in an entirely different situation (e.g. Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He is a Slytherin student in Harry Potter's year. He is frequently accompanied by his two accomplices, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who act as henchmen...
and Hermione Granger
Hermione Granger
Hermione Jean Granger is a fictional character and one of the three protagonists in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. She initially appears in the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as a new student on her way to Hogwarts...
are pop star
Pop Star
"Pop Star" is a 2005 single from Japanese singer Ken Hirai. The single went on to top the 2005 Oricon Charts and is known for its remarkable music video, featuring Ken in seven different personas, including a raccoon and his own manager. The Video also helped Ken break into the US and Canadian...
s, rather than students at a school for wizards
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
).
There are several categories of "canon" stories as well, that is, stories that do not contradict the source material in any way. Missing scenes fill in parts of the story that were "left out" of the source. Episode Codas (a term that applies only to fan fiction based on TV shows) are stories that pick up at the end of an episode. These are usually written shortly after an episode airs, when viewers are left wanting more. Other categories, like pre- and post-series refer to stories that depict events taking place outside the chronological scope of the source material. Futurefic refers to any story that takes place after the currently available canon.
Romantic or sexual pairings
There are four main categories that refer to the romantic or sexual story elements. "Slash"Slash fiction
Slash fiction is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on the depiction of romantic or sexual relationships between fictional characters of the same sex...
, "Femslash
Femslash
Femslash is a subgenre of slash fan fiction which focuses on romantic and/or sexual relationships between female fictional characters. Typically, characters featured in femslash are heterosexual in the canon universe; however, similar fan fiction about lesbian characters is commonly labeled as...
", "Heterosexual", and "General" (sometimes abbreviated "Gen"). In almost all fandoms, slash refers to same-sex male pairings. The term originates from the slash between the names of the characters in a relationship (e.g. Kirk/Spock
Kirk/Spock
Kirk/Spock, also commonly referred to as "K/S" and referring to James T. Kirk and Spock from Star Trek, is a pairing popular in slash fiction, possibly the first slash pairing according to Henry Jenkins. Early on, a few fan writers started speculating about the possibility of a sexual relationship...
). Although all pairings are denoted with a slash, only same-sex pairings are referred to by that term. (Thus, although often written out as Harry/Ginny, to use a canon heterosexual relationship from the Harry Potter fandom
Harry Potter fandom
The Harry Potter fandom is a large international and informal community drawn together by J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The fandom works through the use of many different forms of media, including web sites, fan fiction, podcasts, fan art and songvids...
, these relationships would not be called slash.) Femslash, or sometimes femmeslash, refers to same-sex female pairings. Het, an abbreviation for "heterosexual," refers to opposite sex pairings (e.g. Bolt and Mittens (fan fiction for the film Bolt)). Gen is an abbreviation for "general" and refers to stories which do not contain a romantic or sexual plot.
More women than men read romantic fan fiction. While men who are attracted to an actress often search for revealing photographs of her, women attracted to an actor often seek out erotic stories with a character he plays. A fan of Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...
, for example, might search for "Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
erotica".
Genres and tropes
As with other forms of fiction, fan fiction stories can be written in any genreGenre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
. There are some specialized genre categories that only apply to fan fiction or, at least, the terminology is specific. "Crack", "Angst", and "WAFF/fluff/schmoop" are well-known examples.
Certain tropes
Trope (literature)
A literary trope is the usage of figurative language in literature, or a figure of speech in which words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning...
are also used and reused in fan fiction. There are so many of these that it would be impossible to name them all, and they vary greatly from fandom to fandom. High school and College AUs are common in many fandoms that do not already take place in school settings. "Hurt-comfort" is also broadly popular.
Kinks
The term kinkKink (sexual)
In human sexuality, kinkiness and kinky are terms used to refer to a playful usage of sexual concepts in an accentuated, and unambiguously expressive form....
has a somewhat different connotation in reference to fan fiction than it does in mainstream culture. Sexual tropes or situations are often referred to as kinks whether or not they are particularly "adventurous." Sometimes the term is even more broadly applied to describe plots or tropes that people enjoy, regardless of whether or not they are sexual in nature.
Crossovers
CrossoversFictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
are stories that incorporate two or more different sources. For example, an author may take a character from Canon A and place him or her in the universe of Canon B, or characters from two or more fandoms may meet at a neutral location. These stories often include romantic or sexual pairings between characters from different canons.
Length
Categorization by story length varies greatly among fandoms and among individuals. It is a common practice in many fandoms to list word count in the header information, especially on LiveJournalLiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
. Fanfiction.net
FanFiction.Net
FanFiction.Net is an automated fan fiction archive site. It was founded in late 1998 by Los Angeles computer programmer Xing Li, who also runs the site. The first fics to be posted were a few stories about Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
and other archives may have their own specialized rules. Terminology for story length also varies. Some commonly used terms are drabble
Drabble
A drabble is an extremely short work of fiction of exactly one hundred words in length, although the term is often erroneously used to indicate a short story of fewer than 1000 words...
(either a story of exactly 100 words or a very short story), ficlet (longer than a drabble, but still very short) and one-shot (only a chapter long). Longer stories may be called longfic, epic, full-length, or novel-length, but these are typically not labels that would be applied by the author.
Ratings
It is common, especially in fandoms based on U.S. source material, to provide a rating based on MPAA movie ratings G through NC-17. Ratings are usually accompanied by a brief statement of the reason for the rating; sexual content, violence, or language, for example. "Adult" or "Mature" are also commonly used to refer to content equivalent to an R or NC-17 rating.On Fanfiction.net, the ratings are K (for anyone), K+ (for nearly everyone), T (for teen), and M (for mature).
Story creation in the online era
Fanfiction is often posted serialized as a "work in progress" or WIP, with new chapters published in sequence, sometimes as soon as they are finished. Chapters may take anything from a day to several months to be updated and often remind readers of their place in the story with each new installment. Most archives allow authors to upload individual chapters sequentially under a single title with a main link to the first chapter, and each chapter easily linked to via a drop down menu.It is often considered wise in fan fiction circles to acquire the aid of a "beta reader
Beta reader
A beta reader is a person who reads a written work, generally fiction, with what has been described as "a critical eye, with the aim of improving grammar, spelling, characterization, and general style of a story prior to its release to the general public."The author or writer, who can be referred...
," sometimes shortened to "beta," whose responsibilities are roughly those of a professional editor to a commercial author—with the exception that the "beta" is most commonly a volunteer who works without pay and on a casual basis and communicates through E-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
or private message systems. Writers are discouraged in some circles from posting fan fiction that has not at least been checked for grammatical, spelling, consistency and plot errors by a beta reader. In late February 2008, FanFiction.net set up an area of their site that contains a list of authors willing to "beta" other authors' "fics."
Interactivity in the online era
Unlike traditional print publication, the internet offers the option of giving and receiving rapid feedbackFeedback
Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of the same Feedback describes the situation when output from (or information about the result of) an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or...
or "reviews". Reviews can be given by both anonymous
Anonymity
Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
and registered users of most sites, and sites are often programmed to notify the author of new feedback, making them a common way for readers and authors online to communicate directly. This system is intended for a type of bond between the reader and the writer, as well as helping the author improve his or her writing skills through constructive criticism, enabling him or her to produce a better work next time. Occasionally unmoderated review systems are abused to send flames, spam
Spam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
or trolling messages. As a result, the author of the story can either disable or enable anonymous reviews, depending on his/her preference. Internet fanfiction gives young writers a wider audience for their literary efforts than ever before, resulting in improved literacy.
Recently fan fiction has seen greater use of the forum or LiveJournal
LiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
format. Built around message board systems, stories are posted on threads with feedback interlaced and immediate. This style of fan fiction is more interactive but also can be a distraction since the stories and comments are between each other. These communication methods make fan fiction sites and blogs useful affinity spaces
Affinity spaces
An affinity space is a place where informal learning takes place. According to James Paul Gee, affinity spaces where locations where groups of people are drawn together because they share a particular common, strong interest or are engaged in a common activity...
as writers are able to take readers' feedback and improve their skills and abilities as writers. This informal learning
Informal learning
Informal learning is one of three forms of learning defined by the OECD. The other two are formal and non-formal learning. Informal learning occurs in a variety of places, such as at home, work, and through daily interactions and shared relationships among members of society. For many learners this...
is a side benefit for many fan fiction authors, some of whom eventually attempt or go on to writing professionally.
Legality
Fan fiction is a derivative workDerivative work
In United States copyright law, a derivative work is an expressive creation that includes major, copyright-protected elements of an original, previously created first work .-Definition:...
under United States copyright law
United States copyright law
The copyright law of the United States governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the laws of the United States.Copyright law in the United States is part of federal law, and is authorized by the U.S. Constitution...
.
Some argue that fan fiction does not fall under fair use. The 2009 ruling by United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
judge Deborah A. Batts, permanently prohibiting publication in the United States of a book by a Swedish writer whose protagonist is a 76-year-old version of Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield is the 16-to-17 years old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He is universally recognized for his resistance to growing older and desire to protect childhood innocence...
of The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major...
, may be seen as upholding this position regarding publishing fan fiction, as the judge stated, "To the extent Defendants contend that 60 Years and the character of Mr. C direct parodic comment or criticism at Catcher or Holden Caulfield, as opposed to Salinger himself, the Court finds such contentions to be post-hoc rationalizations employed through vague generalizations about the alleged naivety of the original, rather than reasonably perceivable parody."
Others such as the Organization for Transformative Works
Organization for Transformative Works
The Organization For Transformative Works is a non-profit organization that advocates for the transformative and legitimate nature of fan labor activities, including fan fiction, fan vids, anime music videos, and real person fiction...
uphold the legality of non-profit fan fiction under the fair use
Fair use
Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
doctrine, as it is a creative, transformative
Transformation (law)
In United States copyright law, transformation is a possible justification that use of a copyrighted work may qualify as fair use, i.e., that a certain use of a work does not infringe its holder's copyright due to the public interest in the usage...
process.
In 1981 Lucasfilms Ltd.
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
sent out a letter to several fanzine publishers asserting Lucasfilm's copyright to all Star Wars characters and insisting that no fanzine publish pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
. Lucasfilm did not want the family-friendly aspect of the story and characters to be corrupted, despite the obvious draw that explicit content has for the fans. The letter also alluded to possible legal action that could be taken against fanzines that did not comply. Later that year, the director and legal counsel of the Official Star Wars Fan Club sent fanzine publishers a set of official guidelines. Lucasfilms supported fan publications contingent on their upholding these guidelines.
In recent years, several prominent authors have given their blessings to fanfiction, notably J.K. Rowling. Rowling said she was "flattered" that people wanted to write their own stories based on her characters. Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik is an American novelist. She is a first-generation American; her father is of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, and her mother is an ethnic Pole. She studied English Literature at Brown University, and holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from Columbia University...
is another author who is supportive of fan fiction: she is a member of the Organization for Transformative Works and began as a fan fiction writer. Similarly, Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is an American author known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages...
has put links on her website to fan fiction sites about her characters from the Twilight series.
However, Anne Rice
Anne Rice
Anne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...
has consistently and aggressively prevented fan fiction based on any of her characters (mostly those from her famous Interview with the Vampire
Interview with the Vampire
Interview with the Vampire is a vampire novel by Anne Rice written in 1973 and published in 1976. It was the first novel to feature the enigmatic vampire Lestat, and was followed by several sequels, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles...
and its sequels in The Vampire Chronicles
The Vampire Chronicles
The Vampire Chronicles is a series of novels by Anne Rice that revolves around the fictional character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman turned into a vampire in the 18th century....
). She, along with Anne McCaffrey
Anne McCaffrey
Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...
and Raymond Feist, have asked to have any fiction related to their series removed from FanFiction.Net
FanFiction.Net
FanFiction.Net is an automated fan fiction archive site. It was founded in late 1998 by Los Angeles computer programmer Xing Li, who also runs the site. The first fics to be posted were a few stories about Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
. George R.R. Martin, who was selected by Time magazine as one of the "2011 Time 100" and is most famous for his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally planned as a trilogy, the series now consists of five published volumes; a further two...
, is also strongly opposed to fan fiction, believing it to be copyright infringement and a bad exercise for aspiring writers.
See also
- Canon (fiction)Canon (fiction)In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
- Collaborative fictionCollaborative fictionCollaborative fiction is a form of writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a story.Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally - many collaboratively written works have been the subject of a large degree of academic research.-...
- DōjinDojin, often romanized as doujin, is a general Japanese term for a group of people or friends who share an interest, activity, hobbies, or achievement...
- DōjinshiDojinshiis the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
- FandomFandomFandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
- FanFiction.NetFanFiction.NetFanFiction.Net is an automated fan fiction archive site. It was founded in late 1998 by Los Angeles computer programmer Xing Li, who also runs the site. The first fics to be posted were a few stories about Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
- FictionFictionFiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
- Legal issues with fan fictionLegal issues with fan fictionLegal issues with fan fiction arise due to the prospect that a piece of fan fiction may constitute a derivative work, most prominently under United States copyright law.-United States copyright law:...
- Media fandomMedia fandomMedia fandom refers to the collective fandoms focused on contemporary television shows and movies. Media fandom has a focus on relationships and is distinct from science fiction fandom, anime fandom, book fandom, music fandom, soap opera fandom, sports fandom, and video game fandom.-History:Media...
- Wold Newton familyWold Newton familyThe Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the science fiction writer Philip José Farmer...
- Cthulhu MythosCthulhu MythosThe Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
Further reading
- Black, R. (2008). Adolescents and online fanfiction. New York: Peter Lang.
- Bode, Dana L. "And now, a word from the amateurs". TransformativeWorks.org, Transformative Works and Cultures, 1 (2008).
- Fowler, Karen JoyKaren Joy FowlerKaren Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation....
. Wit's End. Putnam, 2008. A novel about a mystery writer who constantly battles fan fiction about her famous detective. - Hellekson, Karen, and Kristina Busse. Fan fiction and fan communities in the age of the Internet: new essays. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2006. ISBN 0-7864-2640-3.
- Jenkins, Henry. Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture (Studies in Culture and Communication). New York: Routledge, 1992. ISBN 0-415-90571-0.
- Lawrence, K. F. (2007) The Web of Community Trust - Amateur Fiction Online: A Case Study in Community Focused Design for the Semantic Web. PhD thesis, University of SouthamptonUniversity of SouthamptonThe University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
. (URL retrieved on 20 August 2008) - Pugh, Sheenagh. The Democratic Genre: Fan Fiction in a Literary Context. Bridgend, Wales: Seren, 2005. ISBN 1-85411-399-2.
- Grossman, Lev. The Boy Who Lived Forever. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2081784-1,00.html
External links
- Fanfiction.net—the largest fan fiction gallery on the internet
- Chilling Effects about copyright issues of fan fiction
- "Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars?: Digital Cinema, Media Convergence, and Participatory Culture"—Henry Jenkins on fan fiction