Why Fanfiction Isn’t Encouraged on the Philippine SF and F Writers ML
I often find myself seriously considering writing about fanfiction in this blog. These days, I read just about the same amount of fanfiction as original fiction (by which i mean precious little) and from time to time I feel like sharing my thoughts on a particularly lovely piece of fanwriting.
But I do have some difficulty relating fanfiction to the themes I wish to discuss here, or on the Phil SF and F Writers ML. Certainly there are some spectacular fanfiction writers who are Filipino, but they usually write in English… or are not so keen on being identified as Filipino, for a variety of reasons. So talking about them on a blog called “Philippine Speculative Fiction” may not be met with much enthusiasm.
Finally, today, I came across a side of fanfiction that I could talk about. While contemplating the flash fiction contest (or, to be more precise, my unsurprising lack of ideas for good flash fiction), I realized something: There’s actually tons of great flash fiction on the Web – they’re called drabbles. They just stay under the radar because they’re done for and within fandom.
Some of them are quite standalone; even if you don’t know the original story or the characters involved, you’re still able to appreciate the cleverness and artistry of their writers. The essential criteria for “good” flash fiction are retained – brevity, clarity, cohesion and impact. However, such works don’t get circulated to non-fanfic readers – or, rather, it isn’t often that it occurs to fanfic readers to share them with non-fanfic readers, so that they can be analyzed and/or appreciated as fiction, not as tribute pieces.
And even if fanfic readers do decide to share them, it is rare that non-fanfic readers will want to read them. They’re still counted as “fanfiction,” after all, and there is still a stigma attached to fanfiction writing. Several, I should say. Call them misconceptions, call them myths, call them opinion or fact, but they’re firmly stuck to fanwork like an evil twin. These are just some of them:
- Fanfiction writers are not and can not be as good as “serious” writers, because they cannot think outside preset frameworks made by writers who have already been published.
- Fanfiction makes for poor writing practice, as even less-than-passable writing receives a generous amount of praise, especially if it features a popular romantic pairing or theme.
- 3. Fanfiction takes away the focus and creative energy you should be applying to writing original fiction. In the time that you spent writing five drabbles, you could have written a perfectly good original short story.
I’m not going to comment on any of these things at the moment. But for the record, none of the above applies to why fanfiction isn’t encouraged on the Phil SF and F Writers ML.
The Philippine Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Mailing List was originally founded to become an avenue for speculative fiction writers to share their work. Now I firmly believe fanfiction is a form of speculative writing… and if there are any objections, I’d love to hear them out. Fanfiction speculates on an existing production – a book, a TV show, a musical group, what-have-you. “Canon” information for that production exists, and writers are encouraged to adhere to it, similar to how original fiction writers are often held up to “realist” standards… but every writer is free to go beyond these standards. There are limitless possibilities to what you can do with characters, objects and scenarios that have already been made. This is freedom of thought no matter which way you look at it.
So why is fanfiction not encouraged on the Phil SF and F Writers ML? For one simple reason: nearly every existing piece of fanfiction already has a community that can take it in, archive it, promote it, and treasure it. If a fanwriter hasn’t found a community for her or his fanfic, she or he has every power to create one… or perhaps all the writer has to do is wait, because one will be created eventually.
Fandom is a whole other world that has artists, analysts, reviewers, writers, publishers and editors. The fans judge and support their own. There are communities for everything – from pairings, to alternate pairings, to alternate realities for those alternate pairings – even for people who rabidly dislike pairings, alternate pairings, and alternate realities for those alternate pairings!
There are even existing communities for Pinoy fanfiction. The LJ community pinoyfik is the first thing to come to mind, followed by the Pinoy Anime Fanfiction ML. If there are more, I’d love to know about them – I should be adding them to the links list during the next (long-delayed!) blogroll update.
See, there are communities for pretty much every permutation of fanstuff. But what about original Filipino speculative fiction? Who takes it in, who encourages it? It’s only recently that our awesome Pinoy publishers are turning out works of original fiction that are exclusively speculative. We’re still exploring avenues to publish more fiction written by Filipinos, and we’re steadily learning that not every story we tell has to stick to “canon”!
I’m not saying I aim to create such a community, however. All by myself, I can be little more than a small voice cheering the industry on. As well as every Pinoy spec fic writer who turns out something full of imagination and soul, and finds the courage to share it with the rest of the world. And as many Pinoy literary enthusiasts as I can find who attain recognition, or seek to attain recognition for Filipino-written speculative fiction as a whole.
I’m sure that fanfiction will find its way into some of my future posts, and I’m sure it’ll be relevant to the general subject of speculative fiction. After all, those of us who started off as book addicts and ended up as writers must have had our minds opened in that manner – we must’ve asked ourselves “what if” this book ended another way, “what if” these characters were in a different setting, “what if” this story was told from another point of view, and much more. We must all have wanted to build upon existing works of fiction – but not all of us have found it so easy to act on that desire.
Case in point: every person who was ever addicted to the Sherlock Holmes books growing up has written/has always wanted to write Sherlock Holmes fanfiction. Admit it. Every Holmesian has fantasized about going off on Mary Sue/Marty Stu-ish adventures with the great detective and the good Doctor who is always by his side. Or perhaps about writing the next great Sherlock Holmes case, endowed with the most clever and intricate plot never devised!
But perhaps some of us thought it would be a sin to even think about writing such things – after all, it takes considerable skill to pull off the right voice for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s immortal characters, who are rock-solid in the manner of true literary icons. Still, would you rather your adventures remain undocumented? Even if it were not a Mary Sue or a Marty Stu, would you not want to express your story ideas, even as a private form of tribute to the master storyteller who was so important to your literary upbringing?
I may not encourage posting fanfiction on the Phil SF and F Writers ML, but I’m certainly not against writing and sharing it. Taking my cue from a friend who actually writes exceptional Sherlock Holmes fanfiction, and should write more, I’m telling every other Holmesian, Pinoy or otherwise: If you’ve never ficced for this series, you should fic for it now. A drabble would do!
I must admit that instead of finding your essay explanatory, I found it more confusing. You should have said right off the bat that fanfiction is not going to be published in these MLs you mentioned because of the existence of fanfic communities. But no, you started it off as a condemnation of those who do write fanfics.
Being a writer of BOTH fanfics and original stories, I have experienced everything that you mentioned in your essay. However, to say that fanfic writers could never become “serious” writers because of the constraints of canon is, pardon my saying so, a load of bulls**t.
I am not sure if you’ve actually read some of the real good fanfics out there, especially since you are advocating drabbles, which in the community I am in is NOT even a considered a piece of fiction, fanfic or otherwise. There are some fanfics out there that have broken free of the canon restrictions and which could, with the simple changing of character names and settings, can already stand as original fiction. On the other hand, I’ve read several so-called “original” stories, which are nothing more than fanfics disguised as originals. Some so-called “original” writers even plagiarize fanfics of certain writers and pass them off as original fics that they have supposedly written.
You are probably not aware of this but there are well known authors, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling just to name a few, who prowl the Internet and actually read fanfics. Some of them have even gone on to write these fanfic writers themselves and encourage them to go professional because of their refreshing ideas. I personally have been a recipient of such an email from Rev. Dr. Wyn Craig Wade, who is a noted non-fiction writer, historian and fantasist in the U.S. In fact, there are fanfic writers who have gone on to become published writers of speculative fiction.
What is preventing fanfic writers from being recognized as “serious” writers are canon fanatics who severely restrict creativity on the excuse that characters should stay in character. Every individual has his/her own perception of a character. If one were to limit it exclusively to canon, then what a dull, boring world fanfic communities would be. Another thing preventing fanfic writers from being recognized as “serious” writers are people like you who are quick to criticize but do not see the gold mine of talent that is right before your eyes, something which published authors have taken note of.
Personally, I don’t wish to join your MLs, and others who have read your essay agree with me. Rather than criticize fanfics, I would encourage the writers to continue writing, to hone their skills, and then when they have gained enough confidence, to go on to writing originals. That is what nurturing talent is all about.
Dear Rory,
For a writer, you don’t know how to read. While your sermon is enlightening, it is not directed at the right audience.
If you read Bhex’s post, the “fanfic writers could never become serious writers” isn’t her opinion or her stance. It’s merely an example of the cons against fanfic, and one that she doesn’t necessarily believe or support. Hence the “But for the record, none of the above applies to why fanfiction isn’t encouraged on the Phil SF and F Writers ML.”
We’re not debating the value of your reply. It’s who it’s directed at. It’s like Bhex asking the question “what’s 1+1” and you answer “It’s an orange”. Which is to say an inappropriate answer to an entirely different question.
She is in no way discouraging fanfic writing. She is however stating there’s a proper venue for it and he reasons why the ml isn’t the place for it. It’s not because she doesn’t respect fanfics (if you read her post, she does). It’s because she wants a voice for spec fic while fanfics already have their own more popular communities.
But yes, people do make mistakes. So next time, take the time to actually read before jumping the gun. Been there, done that, and I’ll probably make the same mistake in the future, but that doesn’t excuse us from making it.
A lot of writers (especially for TV) consciously avoid fanfiction to avoid lawsuits.
The post did not criticize fanfiction. Rather, it simply talked about the arguments against fanfiction, opinions which the author of the post do not hold, if you truly read what she was saying.
to Rory:
As a highly accomplished writer, I am sure you are aware of the technique of using provocative titles and catchy leads to basically rile people up enough to read your post. That’s the technique I opted for in this post, and it seems I succeeded in riling you up, but not in getting you to read the post at all.
I’m sure you are aware that there are many more reasons why fanfic writers are looked down upon by some “serious” writers, and why fanfiction is having difficulty being accepted as literature, even if there are some fanfics out there that truly deserve to be given a Best Short Story or even Best Epic of the Year award. Still, because of these reasons, I’ve always wondered if by discouraging (note: not prohibiting!) fanfiction from being shared in the ML that I moderate, I was coming across as elitist, and that was what prompted me to explain my rationale in this post.
Apparently, it’s only too easy to come across as elitist. The best I can do, really, is ask you to read the post again and request that you ask for clarification on the points you feel you may have misunderstood, before assuming that I hate all fanfiction and are “quick to judge.”
I’m aware enough of the “serious” authors who don’t condemn fanfiction, as well as the authors who started off writing fanfic and proceeded to enjoy some success as commercial writers. I’m also quite certain that if people made fanwork based on my original fiction, I would be nothing but honored. Therefore, I’m not making a black-and-white division between original writers and fanfic writers; I am only stating the fact that there is a stigma attached to fanfiction, and later in my post I clarified that I do not like this stigma at all.
I admit you bring up an excellent point: for many (dare I say “most”?) fandom writers, fanfic is meant to be shared and enjoyed, not to be criticized. Many good fan writers don’t aspire to be recognized as “serious” writers, but only to be respected and liked by other fans for their accomplishments.
On the other hand, original fiction writers who share their work in free communities usually want their work not merely to be enjoyed or admired… but to be picked apart, edited, proofread, and commented on in a manner that is (hopefully) both constructive and professional. Even if they don’t actually welcome criticism, they do welcome the exposure, and also hope for the attention of colleagues and/or potential publishers. “Nurturing talent” comes in many different forms, after all.
If you just want to share your work with others just to have fun, there are other communities for that – and that is what I’ve been saying from the start. So if you and whoever else agrees with you would never want to join my ML, I suppose it’s no one’s loss.
to missingpoints:
yeah, i should probably have touched upon that – how some commercial writers or agencies don’t actually welcome fanfiction.
personally though, i believe fanfiction should be written and shared freely, just as long as no profit is made from them.
Hey, Rory.
I had to re-read the essay about fan fiction written by the owner of this site to make sure about what you said in your comment.
All the writer was doing in the essay was to enumerate the negative comments currently made about fan fiction by various pundits on the web. In no way does the writer share any of his/her own opinions about fan fiction. Take note: he/she only enumerated. He/she never said anything negative about fan fiction for him/herself. In fact, he/she raised some positive things about it, and did not use the essay to bring about any discussion or argument about these comments.
The writer is also correct in saying that there are many other websites that already address fan fiction much better than the Phil SF and F ML can. Plus, there is the added issue of copyright. I’m not too familiar with web laws, or if any of the websites that support fan fiction have permission from the owners of the created material to post the fan fiction that they do, but I do know that if actual paper (hard-copy) publications were to do so without permission, they would be legally liable to the proper owners of the created material.
Charles and Lynn said things much better than I did. Please re-read the essay, and please tell your friends to also re-read the essay. I’m sure you will find that your reaction in your comment, and theirs, may be misinformed.
May I offer my own personal opinion: I don’t see anything wrong with honing your writing skills with fan fiction, but seeing as without proper permission from the owners of the created material, your work–no matter how well written–can be published without liability, I also encourage you to continue writing your original stories too.
Regards.
Mmm… knee-jerk reaction from that Rory guy there. Though I do think that his opinion would have more credence if he had left a link to his name. Somehow, given that he hasn’t shown up again, it feels like a post-and-run affair to me.
As for fanfic, does it count that I did a semi-Nausicaa fanfic all in my head? :-D
Banzai: Rory’s a girl! Freelance writer for your rival publications. =)
to banzaicat:
what does a “semi-nausicaa fanfic” look like?? i’d really love to know! unfortunately, as i can’t get into your head, i hope i can at least pester you for a draft. i’m a big fan of miyazaki’s earlier work, myself!
charles: whoops, my mistake. though like I said, I generally don’t like unlinked comments since I don’t have a tag to how the other person thinks. Yanno, the context behind the person’s comments. but I suppose it’s better than anon comments.
but rory is a cool unisexual name though.
bhex: hehe trust me those stories will go with me to the grave…