4G3NT_0R4NG3 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 What do you think of when you hear the words "fan fiction"? Do you think of creepy teenage girls writing with incredibly poor grammar about their favorite star trek characters getting it on? If you do, I hate you, or more accurately, I hate the stigma you've bought into. When I first started playing Warframe, I became completely immersed in all the lore and wonder of the universe. I love Warframe's setting and its characters, so I decided to create my own stories within that universe. However, I feel ashamed and humiliated whenever I say I write fan fiction. Why is that? Just the term "fan fiction" has a negative stigma attached to it. Fan fiction has become a creepy term, to the point where we automatically deem anyone who writes fan fiction to be creepy. Anyone who has read any of Kalenath's or Psychicandroid's work over in the Fan Zone section knows that this stigma could not be further from the truth. While there is a massive amount of creepy and poorly written fan fiction, there's also a massive amount of creepy and poorly written literature. Dante's Inferno was basically self-insert fan fiction. Why is it considered a classical piece of literature? This negative stigma does a massive disservice to the Kalenaths and Psychicandroids of the world, who create incredibly well written fanfiction that I would say is far superior to many published books I've read. This stigma personally damages me and my hobby. This is why I think fan fiction needs a re-branding, in the same way that comic books were re-branded as graphic novels to escape a negative stigma. I've been trying to think of what it could be re-branded as; right now, I just tell people I'm working on a "creative writing project" to avoid the stigma. I've thought of calling it "fan writing" or "fan stories", but ideally, I would like to avoid the word "fan" altogether. Post your ideas below for what fan fiction should be re-branded as. Whichever one I like best is the one I will refer to my fan fiction as from now on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magneu Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 +10, especially for the Dante reference. I will never look at "Inferno" the same way again. The age of the interwebs had brought a complete perversion on fan fiction, as literally anyone with a computer and connection can write whatever they want. I recently read a fan fiction about a syndicate mission from a Steel Meridian operatives point of view that met up with a Loki Prime to complete the mission; I actually had a shiver in my spine once or twice cause I would get reminded of stuff that happened in game in some passages. More of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llyssa Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I don't think most people see fan fiction as "creepy" so much as "written without any skill whatsoever". 99.9% of all fan fiction has a sincere, painful lack of talent that is brutally awful. Rebranding fan fiction as something else doesn't change the fact that it's brutally awful. By definition, it always will be--truly talented writers create new things of their own. As fan fiction, by definition, is entirely borrowed, at best it can be a rehash of someone else's work, and it will always be an inferior rehash there of. "Fan fiction" is already a rebranding of "inferior rehash". That's the best you can really hope for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snyphurr Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Creepy. *runs away* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldnacpeek Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I just say "stories" when referring to non illiterate, non creepy stories written about something that has a fanbase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4G3NT_0R4NG3 Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 it will always be an inferior rehash there of. That's not necessarily true. It's entirely possible for a fictional universe to be created with terrible writing, then for someone to write excellently written fan fiction set in that universe. I find that a lot of the fan Codex entries and imprints people create are actually superior to the ones that DE creates professionally. As previously stated, Kalenath's and Psychicandroid's work is better than many books I've read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdunSaveMe Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 It really doesn't. That's like saying the term 'fan art' is tainted because of bad sonic OCs. Also since when were comic books rebranded as graphic novels? I almost never hear anyone call them that, because comic book is an accurate term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4G3NT_0R4NG3 Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 (edited) It really doesn't. That's like saying the term 'fan art' is tainted because of bad sonic OCs. Also since when were comic books rebranded as graphic novels? I almost never hear anyone call them that, because comic book is an accurate term. It kind of is, just to a much lesser extent. If someone was to ask someone else what they were doing and they said "drawing fan art", most people would think somewhat less of them than if they just said "drawing". It's the same way with fan fiction, just to a greater level. When we think of fan art, we think of a picture of a character looking awesome. When we think of fan fiction, we think of the example I mentioned in the OP. In both examples, there's plenty of poorly made garbage, and plenty of extremely well done creative pieces. I'm not really sure why fan fiction has the stigma that it does when fan art doesn't. When someone hears the term "comic book", they think of something that a child would use to pass their time. When someone hears the term "graphic novel", they don't. "Comic book" has a certain childishness to it, since they are traditionally marketed at children. Edited May 4, 2015 by 4G3NT_0R4NG3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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