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I would like to present you, gentle reader, with Two Views on Fanction, or Why I Both Like and Can't Stand Fanfiction.
In the defense of fanfiction:
Fanfiction is a naturally occurring event. You read a book that you like, you want more. It isn't enough to just go back and read the book again, you want all the little bits explained, and more of the story that the author didn't write. So you write it. This, by the way, is not new to the digital age. My mom tells me how her friends used to write fanfic of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
It can be great fun to read. My favorite type of fanfics fall into two categories: the humorous, and the canon. Humorous fanfics are the sort that poke fun at the serious, epic nature of a book, or even better, at the serious nature of the fandom. The best sort involve Mary Sues and creative ways of killing them off. (A Mary Sue, for those who don't know, is an insertion of a perfect character who proceeds to rip the actual book to shreds while being annoyingly perfect.) The second sort of good fanfic is the canon fic. This is terribly hard to write well, and involves an extensive knowledge of the book in question. But it offers the reader a further glimpse into the characters, and the world, that they love.
For the author of a fanfic, it can be a great way to develop writing skills. The characters, the world, and the voice already exist. It is a good jumping off point. It isn't necessarily easy, though, as it requires a particular knowledge of the specific work.
Against fanfiction:
It is nearly impossible to write canon fiction. That is, it is nearly impossible to be completely true to the text. The best sort of books (or movies) do not only state things; they hint things. Bits of story or background are given in such a way that the reader may not be aware of the implications. For instance, it can be argued that Narnia from the Chronicles of Narnia should be thought of as a character, based on Lewis' use of the medieval notion of planets and stars.
Also, authors generally know more than they write. This has interesting implications for authors who aren't dead yet. What happens if JK Rowling writes a book that completely invalidates a set of fanfiction, previously thought to be valid? Was the work, in fact, true to the world of Harry Potter? I would argue that it is not. The author is the only one with the knowledge to be completely true to the characters and the world that they have created. I am not arguing that any additional information not included in the work should be considered on the same level as the book. Let the book stand by itself, but realize that the author knows the book in a way that no reader can.
This particular point is one that is most compelling to me. I know, as an author, how much work goes into writing a story, and how much background is necesary, but never explicitly stated. For instance, in the story I am writing, the stars are always spoken of in terms of dancing, and dawn is always personified. This is deliberate, but not explicit. I am quite sure that better authors than I do the same sort of thing. This is why I can't bear to read fanfiction of any works that I truly like. There is always something missing.
A summary:
I find, then, that I am not really in favor of fanfiction. I don't think it is bad, or should never happen, but I am inclined to view its merits with skepticism. I enjoy a light piece on a good work, but only when it does not take itself seriously, or attempt to be a continuation of the work. The other sort of fanfiction I like really doesn't even fall in the same category. I like retellings of stories. This is different, though, as it takes the story, and changes the trappings, in the process making a new story. Or, if it goes further, it changes the very essence of the story. It still comes from the same impulse though, a love of that particular story. This is part of why I love to read retellings of fairy tales.
In the defense of fanfiction:
Fanfiction is a naturally occurring event. You read a book that you like, you want more. It isn't enough to just go back and read the book again, you want all the little bits explained, and more of the story that the author didn't write. So you write it. This, by the way, is not new to the digital age. My mom tells me how her friends used to write fanfic of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
It can be great fun to read. My favorite type of fanfics fall into two categories: the humorous, and the canon. Humorous fanfics are the sort that poke fun at the serious, epic nature of a book, or even better, at the serious nature of the fandom. The best sort involve Mary Sues and creative ways of killing them off. (A Mary Sue, for those who don't know, is an insertion of a perfect character who proceeds to rip the actual book to shreds while being annoyingly perfect.) The second sort of good fanfic is the canon fic. This is terribly hard to write well, and involves an extensive knowledge of the book in question. But it offers the reader a further glimpse into the characters, and the world, that they love.
For the author of a fanfic, it can be a great way to develop writing skills. The characters, the world, and the voice already exist. It is a good jumping off point. It isn't necessarily easy, though, as it requires a particular knowledge of the specific work.
Against fanfiction:
It is nearly impossible to write canon fiction. That is, it is nearly impossible to be completely true to the text. The best sort of books (or movies) do not only state things; they hint things. Bits of story or background are given in such a way that the reader may not be aware of the implications. For instance, it can be argued that Narnia from the Chronicles of Narnia should be thought of as a character, based on Lewis' use of the medieval notion of planets and stars.
Also, authors generally know more than they write. This has interesting implications for authors who aren't dead yet. What happens if JK Rowling writes a book that completely invalidates a set of fanfiction, previously thought to be valid? Was the work, in fact, true to the world of Harry Potter? I would argue that it is not. The author is the only one with the knowledge to be completely true to the characters and the world that they have created. I am not arguing that any additional information not included in the work should be considered on the same level as the book. Let the book stand by itself, but realize that the author knows the book in a way that no reader can.
This particular point is one that is most compelling to me. I know, as an author, how much work goes into writing a story, and how much background is necesary, but never explicitly stated. For instance, in the story I am writing, the stars are always spoken of in terms of dancing, and dawn is always personified. This is deliberate, but not explicit. I am quite sure that better authors than I do the same sort of thing. This is why I can't bear to read fanfiction of any works that I truly like. There is always something missing.
A summary:
I find, then, that I am not really in favor of fanfiction. I don't think it is bad, or should never happen, but I am inclined to view its merits with skepticism. I enjoy a light piece on a good work, but only when it does not take itself seriously, or attempt to be a continuation of the work. The other sort of fanfiction I like really doesn't even fall in the same category. I like retellings of stories. This is different, though, as it takes the story, and changes the trappings, in the process making a new story. Or, if it goes further, it changes the very essence of the story. It still comes from the same impulse though, a love of that particular story. This is part of why I love to read retellings of fairy tales.