What is Fanfic aka Fan Fiction?

Who Knows Better Than the Fans?

Have you ever watched an episode of your favorite series and groaned at the missed opportunity for true drama? at the cheesy way they got out of the predicament, or escaped the evil Morlord Kraska? Who hasn't?

From, probably, the dawn of literature, fans of a story have tinkered with it, changing characters, endings, plot points and resolutions.

Today, that's called Fanfic or Fan Fiction, or, to be pedantic, Fan-Written Fiction. Fanfic is simply fiction written by fans of a story, whether a show, movie, book or comic. And a good sign of a story's popularity these days is how much fanfic it generates.

But Isn't That Illegal?

Strictly speaking, writing and showing fanfic to others is a violation of the copyright of the originator. (Simply writing fanfic and showing no one isn't.) Yet copyright holders typically don't pursue their legal rights and enforce their copyright, at least as far as fan-written fiction is concerned. (There are notable exceptions, which I'll get to in a bit.)

The Star Trek franchise has even had fanfic contests and published anthologies of contest winning fanfic. Fans of Eric Flint's Alternate History novel 1632 and its sequels have written so many great tales set in the same universe and dealing with Flint's characters that he has anthologized several volumes of them, and the 1632 series is now essentially a 'shared universe'.

Let the Fanficcer Beware

While most television shows will turn a blind eye to fanfic written in their universe, some book authors are not so forgiving (while some, like Flint mentioned above, are quite open to fanfic). The authors that will come after fanfic writers in their universe, of course, have legal right on their side. Many of them claim that if they do not rigorously protect their copyright, the legal claim can be made that they do not own it any longer, and that anyone can write and publish books in the author's own universe.

I suspect that this is only part of the total reason why some authors object to fanfic. Novel writing is a different process from creating a movie or television show, in that it is a much more solitary process - characters, setting and plot are usually the product of a single mind, and as such, become much more personal to the creator. Having other people take your characters and jerk them around in ways you never would have can't help but offend.

Authors who object to fanfic in their universes include Anne McCaffrey, Anne Rice. Robin Hobb and Lynn Flewellyn. I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones you most often hear coming down on fanfic-writing fans.

But Why Do It?

The motives for writing fanfic are many and varied. Typically the fan loves the whole idea of a particular universe, but thinks the official execution leaves something to be desired. So the fan creates their own story to satisfy his/her own need the kind of story they'd like to see.

Breaking the Formula

Let's face it - episodic television has formulas and conventions that they simply will not violate, whether or not it would be better drama if they did. Actors, after all, are under contract for a certain period, and if a season starts with five main characters, you can be fairly sure, outside contract disputes, that it will end the season with five main characters. So when those five teleport down to the planet's surface, you know that however much danger they are placed in, those five, at least, are going to escape. (Pity the poor red-shirted extra.)

Fanfic allows fans to put characters in genuine peril from which they might not escape. Main characters are often 'offed' in fanfic, if it suits the story, something you will rarely see in show 'canon'.

What is Erotic Fanfic?

And of course, fanfic allows the fictional characters to finally have a love life. Novice actors who find themselves in a 'cult hit' often have to be gently introduced to what is fanfic, to prevent culture shock. But that's subject enough for a separate article.

A question perhaps more relevant than 'what is Fanfic?' might be 'Where is all the fanfic?' Use your search engine. It's Out There.