What is fanfiction and how to write it? What is fanfic What is fanfiction

What is fanfiction? This question visits many who have heard this incomprehensible foreign word. However, the term has no Russian analogue, therefore we have to use borrowing. So, fanfiction is a kind of fan art, based on original Fan fiction (creations of this direction) are created based on popular movies, TV series, books, comics, and sometimes songs. Having come to us from the West, they are rapidly gaining popularity.

More often than not, fans create their stories for fun. This, as a rule, is where it all ends, copyrights are not violated in any way. If it comes to publication, the relationship between the fan and the original author will be governed by the laws of the country where the work is being promoted.

Fanfiction authors are called ficwriters. They don't think about fanfic, they just do it. All this is read by ficreaders - people who are not only generous with the masters, those who want to once again plunge into their beloved magical world.

Anything your heart desires

The variety of types, genres and directions used by fiction writers sometimes makes it difficult to understand what fan fiction is. Fan-favorite films, books receive sequels, prequels, descriptions of events that happened, alternative plot developments, and an eerily popular pairing (a description of the characters' love relationships).

One of the main objects of amateur creativity is Harry Potter, fanfiction about which is as numerous as it is diverse. Someone describes the dramatic relationship of the little wizard with Aunt Petunia on vacation, others send him to travel in time and correct the mistakes of the past, others fantasize about what would have happened if Harry had gotten to Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, etc.

What is fanfiction for literature in general?

The artistic value of fanfiction is controversial. First of all, because their authors do not create new characters, but only borrow. But in the huge one there are periodically real diamonds that can be on a par with the original. In addition, the development of this direction creates a favorable environment for young writers who, having tested their strength, will be able to do their own unique works.

It also prevents fics from strengthening their positions that very often authors, in the process of writing and publishing chapters, abandon their works and never return to them. This is typical for non-professionals, the initial impulse comes up against the need for a detailed study of the work, and hands give up. Or there are more pressing concerns, because this is not the main activity of most ficwriters, but only a hobby.

There are a lot of fan resources on the global network, each of which has its own fanfic archive. Most of them are English-speaking, but the number of domestic ones is growing rapidly. Interest in literature among young people is in a deplorable state, so one can only be glad that a new direction has appeared that encourages people not only to read, but also to create!

Fanfiction (from the English fan - a fan and fiction - fiction) - a kind of creativity of fans of popular works of art (the so-called fan art in the broad sense of the word), a derivative literary work based on some original work (usually literary or cinematic), using his ideas of the plot and / or characters. Fanfiction can be a continuation ( sequel), prehistory ( prequel), a parody, "alternative universe", crossover ("Interlacing" of several works), and so on.

Beta (Beta) - a person who reads fanfic before publishing and helps make it better. Beta suggestions can be about simple things like spelling and punctuation, or more complex things like character characteristics, removing or adding individual scenes, and so on.

Beta-reader sometimes also called gamut- beta, which deals with literary proofreading

Disclaimer (English disclaimer) - a warning in which the author informs readers (and especially the copyright holder) that the fanfic or the site in question was not created for the purpose of making a profit, and indicates who exactly owns the rights to the characters used.

Warning (English warning) - warnings about the content of fanfiction, if there is a possibility of rejection from readers for any reason (slash, OOC, AU, obscene language, death of a character, etc.).

Rating (English rating) is an informal system of definitions adopted by fanfiction authors in order to give the reader a preliminary idea of \u200b\u200bwhat to expect, as well as how the content of fanfiction or fan art is suitable for certain age groups.

The following scale is commonly used (in ascending order):

G (General) - Fanfiction that anyone can read.

R (Restricted) - Fanfiction involving sex and violence, obscene language.

Sometimes the designations PG-15 or NC-21 are found - they drop out of the accepted list, the values \u200b\u200bare similar to PG-13 or NC-17, respectively.

NC-21 - in fanfiction there is a detailed description of cruelty and sex, various perversions, both moral and physical. On most resources, such fanfiction is prohibited.

Peyring (English pairing) - the graph is usually used for love fanfiction, describing romantic and / or sexual relationships. This line in the header allows you to determine which characters will be involved in such a relationship during the course of the action. Pairs are written with a slash - slash (First character / Second character). Well-known canon characters are usually identified by initials. In fandom jargon, there are usually words for famous pairings.

Drabble (Drabble) - excerpt. Often just a scene, a sketch, a description of a character. Drabble is sometimes meant to be a short (one hundred words) story that has double overtones and / or an unexpected ending.

Types of fanfiction:

By the presence of a love line in the plot:

"Jen" (from the English general audience) - the love line is absent or insignificant, “just an adventure”. The term originated from the abbreviated "general audience", any audience, and goes back to the ratings system adopted in cinema.

"Get" (from "heterosexual") - a defining love line, describes the relationship between heterosexual characters.

"Slash", or "slash" (from the English slash - a slash) - fanfic, in which there are romantic and sexual relations between representatives of the same sex, fanfic, containing descriptions or references to homosexual behavior or feelings. According to legend, the term originated from the custom of combining characters with a slash in a pairing graph.

Fem slash (eng. fem-slash) - fanfic, which describes romantic and / or sexual relationships between female characters.

According to the realities of the original world:

"AU" (from the English Alternative Universal) - there are significant discrepancies or even contradictions with the world of the original.

"Non-AU" (do not have special jargon) - there are no discrepancies with the original world, or they are controversial or of little significance.

According to the correspondence of the character of the heroes of fanfiction to their character in the original:

"OOC" (from English Out Of Character) - there are significant discrepancies or even contradictions with the characters in the original work.

"In character" - there are no discrepancies with the characters of the characters in the original, or they are controversial or of little significance.

Mary Sue (English Mary Sue) - an original character, according to the general opinion, is the embodiment of either the author himself, or what the author would like to be (the phenomenon is inherent only in female fanfiction). The pronounced classic Mary-Sue is not so difficult to recognize, as she is necessarily dazzlingly beautiful and extraordinarily intelligent. Traditionally, she has an extraordinary appearance - not just beautiful, but original and with a twist, as the author understands it. Mary-Sue's name is either as the author, or a complex original name. If the canon format allows, then Mary-Sue also has some incredible magical abilities. Appearing among the canon heroes, Mary-Sue overshadows everyone with her beauty and talents, inspires respect for goodies, envy of negative characters and insane delight of all representatives of the opposite (and in the slash - their own) sex. Then they do romance with those canon heroes that the author likes best, and finally they save the world, reveal ancient secrets, reconcile principled enemies, kill the main villain, etc. After saving the world, they happily marry the author's beloved hero ... well, especially "original" authors - they die a heroic death under the friendly sobbing of all the characters.

Marty Stu, aka Marty Stu or Maurice Stu - the male hypostasis of Mary Sue. Appears then to charm the heroine. Occurs somewhat less frequently than the average Mary Sue.

OFC (short for Original Female Character) - "Original female character." Typically appears in fanfiction for a romantic relationship with a canon character. In Russian fandoms, the abbreviation is often used IVP - a new female character. You have to be careful with EWP - they always risk becoming Mary-Sue.

Respectively NWO - a new male character.

"Genre" - a special note about the general "mood" of fan fiction.

General genres:

Action, Action - fanfiction with a dynamic plot, a lot of action, little riddles and hero relationships.

Humor (Humor) - humorous fanfiction.

Parody (Parody) - a parody of the original piece.

Dark or Darkfanfic (Dark, Darkfic) - a story with a huge number of death and cruelty.

Deathfic - fanfic, in which one or more heroes die.

Pov (Point of view) - "point of view", a first-person narration of one of the characters.

Smarm (Smarm) is a fanfiction in which one character makes it clear, in word or deed, how important friendship (without a hint of romantic or sexual relationship) with another character is to him.

Love genres:

Romance (Romance) is a fanfic about an affectionate and romantic relationship. It usually has a happy ending.

Drama (Drama) - a romantic story with a sad ending.

Angst (Angst) - these are strong experiences, physical, but more often spiritual suffering of the character, depressive motives and some kind of dramatic events are present in fanfiction.

Fluff (Fluff) is a warm, unclouded relationship between characters. Romance, romance and more romance.

Other genres:

H / C (Hurt / comfort) - "Carrot and stick", fanfic, in which one character, one way or another, suffers, and another comes to his or her aid.

ER (Established Relationship) - the established relationship between the characters.

Pwp (Porn without Plot - literally: pornography without a plot; or "Plot, what Plot?" - literally: Plot? What plot?) - plotless porn, unpretentious minimal plot, where the main emphasis is on bed scenes.

BDSM (Bondage, Domination / Discipline, Sadism, Masochism) - sexual practice, including coercion, sexual slavery, sadomasochism and other actions related to deliberate infliction of pain or restriction of freedom in order to obtain sexual gratification

Smat (Smut) - Fanfiction that describes nothing but sex between characters. Usually marked with an NC-17 rating.

), - as a rule, fans of original works become. Fanfiction is usually created on a non-profit basis (for reading by other fans).

At the turn of the 20th century, the world looked from a new angle to the work of Lewis Carroll "Alice in Wonderland": on its basis, parodies were created by such authors as Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett and Edith Nesbit. In addition, fans of Arthur Conan Doyle wrote several versions of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Contemporary view

Science fiction magazine " Spockanalia"Contained the first fanfic in the modern sense of the word.

Shortly before the beginning of 1965, the expression “ Fan fiction»Was used in science fiction fandom to designate a stand-alone work (although amateur, but made in the genre of science fiction and published in a science fiction magazine) as an industry distinct from the mainstream fiction created by professional writers; or a kind of art fanfiction based on some fandom.

Be that as it may, the modern concept of fan fiction - as the artistic embodiment of some kind of fandom through the interpretation of the fans' own fantasies - was popularized and clearly defined thanks to the Star Trek fandom and science fiction magazines published in the 1960s. years. The first science fiction magazine " Spockanalia”(1967) contained fanfiction. Many fans followed suit. Such science fiction magazines were produced using single print, mimeographed and distributed via mail to other fans or sold at sci-fi conventions for a fraction of the cost to cover the costs. Unlike other aspects of fandom, girls dominate fanfiction: in 1970, of the Star Trek fanfiction, 83% of the fanfiction was female, and in 1973, 90%. One scholar once remarked that fanfiction “ designed to meet the needs of a predominantly female audience for fictional storytelling that transcends the conventional film industry. " .

Japanese doujinshi

Also around the 1960s and 1970s, a similar trend began in Japan. In those days, amateur manga and novels became popular, known as doujinshi, widespread in doujin circles (a Japanese term for a group of people united by common interests, hobbies, etc.). Most of these doujinshi were based on existing manga, anime, and video game franchises.

Copyright

The proliferation of fanfiction in some countries may be considered an infringement of the copyright of the creators of the original works, which limits the commercial value of this kind of creativity. That is why fikwriters indicate the copyright holder - the author of the original, who owns all the rights to the characters used or the artistic world, without claiming to make any profit from this work. And the overwhelming majority of such works are created just for fun (or generally for the sake of a joke), rarely reaching a "real" publication in a serious publishing house.

Creative perspectives

Fan fiction is a contiguous type of creativity and includes both elements of the original world and fiction writer fiction that goes beyond the canons of the original. Since most fanfiction is oriented towards reading by other fans, it is often assumed that the reader should be familiar with the original work of art.

Fanfiction is what literature would look like in a post-apocalyptic world if it were reinvented by a bunch of talented pop culture fans locked in a bunker. They don't do it for the money. Not for that at all. Writers write and post their work on the Internet for their own pleasure. They are regular fans, but not the silent couch media consumers. Culture speaks to them, and they respond to it in its own language.

Original text (eng.)
Fanfiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker. They don "t do it for money. That" s not what it "s about. The writers write it and put it up online just for the satisfaction. They" re fans, but they "re not silent, couchbound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culture in its own language.

The encyclopedic ambitions of transmedia narratives often lead to the fact that in the plot there are some gaps, inconsistencies or understatements that imply an episode that cannot be told in more detail, but are limited only to hints. Therefore, passionate fans have an incentive to continue or think more carefully about these episodes of the plot with the help of their imaginations, which, in the end, results in their own creation. Fanfiction can be seen as an unauthorized addition to media franchises, fueled by the desire to “fill in the gaps” they have opened in the story of the original work of art.

Original text (eng.)
The encyclopedic ambitions of transmedia texts often results in what might be seen as gaps or excesses in the unfolding of the story: that is, they introduce potential plots which can not be fully told or extra details which hint at more than can be revealed. Readers, thus, have a strong incentive to continue to elaborate on these story elements, working them over through their speculations, until they take on a life of their own. Fan fiction can be seen as an unauthorized expansion of these media franchises into new directions which reflect the reader "s desire to" fill in the gaps "they have discovered in the commercially produced material.

Varieties of fanfiction

These are just some examples of fics from the English-speaking subculture. In reality, each author can create his own type of fanfiction, so there are so many varieties that they cannot be listed.

By the nature of the relationship

« Curtain story"- a story, as a rule," Slash", In which the couple behaves exaggeratedly at home, for example, they go to the store to buy upholstered furniture.
« Domestic disciplin"- fanfiction in which corporal punishment is present. As a rule, in such fanfiction one of the sexual partners beats up the other when he (she) does something wrong.
« Alternate pairing» (« Shipping") - fanfic, which describes the romantic or sexual relationship of couples who, according to the canon of the original work, do not feel love for each other.
"Slash" is a kind of " Alternate pairing"In which there is a romantic or sexual relationship between members of the same sex.
« Femslash» ( "Femmeslash", "Fem", "Saffic") is a fanfiction that describes romantic or sexual relationships between female characters.
« Fluff"- this is a warm, unclouded relationship between the characters.
« Het"(" Heterosexual ", "Shipping") - the plot mainly focuses on romantic or sexual relations between different sex characters. However, he can range from laid-back romance to outright eroticism.
« Smarm"- fan fiction, in which one character makes it clear, in word or deed, how important friendship (without a hint of romantic or sexual relations) with another character is for him.
« Gen"(From the English general audience) - the love line is absent or insignificant.
« Grapefruit"- denotes fan fiction in which there is violence or coercion to a sexual act.
« Lemon"- contains scenes of explicit sexual nature," Lemon»With a predominant emphasis on sex scenes with minimal plot refers to "PWP".
« Lime" - same " Lemon", Which has been censored and has more erotic than pornographic scenes.
"PWP" (from the English. Porn without Plot - pornography without a plot or from English. Plot, what Plot? - Plot? What is the plot? - plotless pornography, an unpretentious minimal plot, where the main emphasis is on bed scenes.
"UST" (English Unresolved Sexual Tension) - the characters are attracted to each other, but for some reason do not have sexual contact or even open romantic interaction.
« Vanilla"- fanfic about sexual relations without BDSM (sadomasochistic motives).

By way of creation

« Crossover"- fanfic, which uses the realities of several fandoms at the same time.
"Filk" - fanfic in the form of a song.
"POV" (from English Point of view) - a first-person narration of one of the characters.
« Profic»- professional works of art in which various authors describe the adventures of heroes in a world created by someone else. " Profic»Are written for profit, sold in bookstores and opposed to fanfiction. Examples include the book series on the universes of Dragonlance, Star Wars, Warhammer, or any other commercially successful universe whose authors allow franchising.
« Round robin»- fanfic, created by a group of authors, each of which writes his own piece in turn. As a rule, they are characterized by a sharp transition between parts and inconsistencies in style.
"RPF" (English real person fiction) - the heroes of these works are real people, as a rule, celebrities.
"RPS" (English real person slash) - describes homosexual relationships between real people who did not openly declare their homosexual orientation.
« Self-insert» ( "Author character") - this is the name for the cases when the author in one way or another "inscribes" himself into the context of his fanfiction.
"Song-fic" - fanfic, in which a song is often used (not by the creator of the fanfic).
"TWT" - in fanfic the temporal sequence of the action is broken.

According to the original

« AU"(From the English Alternative Universal) - there are significant discrepancies and contradictions with the original canon.
« NO-AU"- there are no discrepancies with the original world, or they are disputable, or insignificant.
« Original fanfiction"- sometimes this is called amateur works that do not affect any of the fandoms at all or have very little and indirect relationship.
Uber Fanfiction Uberfic - a kind of fan fiction, very close to " Original fanfiction”, But has a strong connection with the original. For example, a ficwriter uses in his FF Xenu and her friend Gabriel, although, apart from names and friendships, everything else in fanfiction is entirely fictional fiction, having nothing to do with the canons of the original.
« OOC"(From the English Out Of Character) - there are significant discrepancies and contradictions with the characters of the characters in the original work.
"OC" (from the English Original Character) - fanfic, in which the ficwriter creates a unique character image that is not included in any of the fandoms. Typically, such characters are secondary to fandom characters and often interact with them to help overcome obstacles. Unique characters are mysterious and unpredictable, while not at all like the image "Mary Sue".
"OFC" (from English Original Female Character) - a fanfic in which a ficwriter creates a unique image of a female character.
"OMC" (from English Original Male Character) - fanfic, in which a ficwriter creates a unique image of a male character.
"Mary Sue" (English Mary Sue), sometimes "Marysya" or "Masha" - a character, according to the general opinion, who is the embodiment of either the author himself or of what the author would like to be (the phenomenon is inherent, as a rule, in female fan fictions). Mary Sue usually stunningly beautiful and indescribably intelligent. Typically, they have very unusual eye and hair color, a complex melodic-sounding name, a turbulent past, and supernatural abilities. Usually they appear, overshadow all other heroes, go to bed with canon heroes attractive to the author, and then save the world. Following the salvation of the world, they either marry the canonical hero, or die a heroic death. Mary Sue is a derogatory definition.
Marty Stu, he is “ Marty Stu"(Eng. Marty Stu) or" Maurice Stew"(English Maurice Stu) (any male names are possible: Gertie, Matty, variations of surnames - Sue and Stu, sometimes a dismissive option Merisei) - male hypostasis Mary Sue... Appears then to charm the heroine. Slightly less common than average Mary Sue... There are heterosexual and homosexual Marty Sue .

By plot

« Angst”- these are strong experiences, physical, but more often spiritual suffering of the character, depressive motives and some kind of dramatic events are present in fanfiction. [ ]
"Dark", "Darkfic" - a story written from the position of the “dark side”: one of the antagonists of the original work is placed at the center of the narrative. [ ]
"Deathfic" - fanfic, in which one or more heroes die.
"Established Relationship" - describes the established relationship between the characters.
"Hurt / comfort" - fanfic, in which one character, one way or another, suffers, and another comes to his aid.
"Continuation" - continuation of the original work.

To size

« Ficlet"- a short one-part fanfic.
« Drabble"- an excerpt. Often just a scene, a sketch, a description of a character. Sometimes this means a short (one hundred words) story with double overtones and / or an unexpected ending.
« Vignette"- a very short story that includes a single thought (a description of feelings, an internal monologue, a small event).

Related genres

As the opportunities for art lovers grow, driven by general technological progress, quality fanfiction gradually ceases to be limited by the framework of one only literary creativity. Known, for example, the short film "Star Wars: Revelations", filmed Panic Struck Productions on a high technical level, based on the Star Wars storyline, this is a fan movie.

Another kind of fan creativity, reminiscent of fanfiction, is fan art - drawing images based on popular painting or animation, creating new artistic images of favorite characters.

Notes

E. N. Shagalova. The latest explanatory dictionary of the Russian language of the XXI century. M .: AST, 2011 ISBN 978-5-17-074756-6
English-Russian Dictionary of General Vocabulary ... Retrieved October 10, 2013.

Fanfiction (fan - fan, admirer; fiction - prose literature) - literary creation based on images from works, the copyright of which belongs to someone else.

From where

There is no consensus among fanfiction researchers about the origin of this phenomenon, so you can choose the version that seems the most plausible to you!

Perhaps, the genre originally originated among fans of the original Star Trek series (aka Star Trek), among whom there were many girls from the scientific and technical environment. They organized fan conventions and published thematic magazines on their own with stories about the characters of the series, and a small but noticeable part of these stories concerned possible sexual relations between the main characters - Captain Kirk and Spock.

Or maybe the origins of fanfiction should be looked for back in the 19th century, when loyal admirers of works about Sherlock Holmes created clubs of interest and wrote their versions of the detective's adventures?

Why not call one of the versions of the origin of the genre adventure stories based on books and films that every child, including you and me, invented in childhood?

The invention of the Internet has led to the emergence of convenient and accessible platforms for communication of fans all over the world, their number and cohesion have greatly increased. Fan sites have become a free platform that connects people who go to read new stories about their favorite characters with people who are ready to write such stories.

The scale of the phenomenon

Do you think that an anonymous person from the Internet will never be able to truly become famous and achieve success? Are you sure that the creativity of the fans is not needed by anyone except their narrow circle?

You are wrong!

The writing of fan literature in the last decade has gone from being a shameful “stigma” on the reputation of an aspiring author to rather a “quality mark”. This is partly because some of the authors who started out with fanfiction have become global stars.

Perhaps the most striking example is E.L. James, whose Fifty Shades of Gray grew out of the Twilight fan story. Of course, in order to maintain copyright, the writer had to remove the matching names, vampires and other details that clearly betrayed the original source, and she subsequently removed the story itself from the network.

Likewise, constantly published writers do not hesitate to use fan ideas for their subsequent works. For example, Rainbow Rowell's fanfiction based on her book Fan Girl inspired her to write a sequel to Carry On.

Scientific recognition

A couple of years ago, Anna Jamison, a professor at the University of Utah, published a terrific study entitled "Fanfiction: Why Fan Literature is Conquering the World," which was written by many fandoms (fan communities dedicated to a particular work).

Her research summed up books and articles previously written by academics fans that scientifically explained the behavior of fans of certain works. Among the scholars who have paid attention to this topic, you can find anthropologists, psychiatrists, and, more recently, literary critics and philologists (for example, Professor Jamison is also an expert in the work of Kafka).

They studied various aspects of fan art - the social, emotional, aesthetic uniqueness inherent in fan fiction.

Here are just a few of the topics covered in these writings:

slash and homosexual pairings,

(two characters in the original work related to a romantic / sexual relationship, in the description of fan fiction are usually indicated by a forward slash, for example: "Kirk / Spock")

peculiarities of the organization and hierarchy in the fan community,

individual fandoms and their unique features.

Fight against copyright holders

In these books, however, there were few fan fictions themselves: even a collection printed at a university publishing house not for sale was not possible even five years ago, because corporations that own the copyright to original works threatened to sue if they published fan literature.

Probably, they would have lost the lawsuits, because such a non-commercial publication, with the indication of the original source and its authors, is completely legal, but the matter was in the very fact of the threats. Now, some corporations see fanfiction as free advertising, while others have given up because the internet is too big to control.

If the situation hadn't changed, huge communities of ficwriters wouldn't have been possible. (fanfiction authors) with its internal solidarity, conflicts, memes, publishing norms, if only simply because copyright owners could sue authors for actions that defame their reputation, given how much erotic and homosexual content is among fanfiction.

One of the key moments of the paradigm shift occurred in 2007 with the opening of the Archive of Our Own, an online fanfiction archive, which became the main publication site for a variety of fan works (including songs, comics, videos).

This resource has become a "safety island" for people united by common goals, tastes, working for free, unofficially, often anonymously. For these reasons, such resources were able to offer much better resistance to copyright holders than their commercial rivals.

Why do people write fanfiction

Koppa, professor of literature and theater at Muhlenberg College, helped found the Archive. Her almanac "Fanfiction Reader" has combined stories that, in her opinion, can give an idea of \u200b\u200bthis phenomenon: relatively short works within the framework of well-known fandoms, with a share of eroticism, but without openly shocking perversions. Koppa also wrote an introductory essay covering the themes of fanfiction. The stories in the book are selected fascinating, they are interesting to read, even if you are not familiar with the characters, these are deep, high-quality works.

They could be easily transformed into stories that are not related to a particular fandom. But in this case, the inner jokes, understandable only to fans, would be lost, motivation, atmosphere, which half make the story so cool.

Here we come to an interesting question, which is not even whether fan fiction can be good according to generally accepted literary standards (of course it can!), But what and why fanfiction is especially good.

Writing fanfiction about your favorite book is like going back to a restaurant you really enjoyed or learning how to cook the food they serve.

This is the starting station, a kind of incubator. Writers who begin with fanfiction receive the right mix of acclaim and criticism that can inspire them to commercialize "real" books.
Hard stories serve as a kind of "safety valve": in creativity, a person expresses secret desires that are much less manifested in his real life.
Fan art can become a way of criticizing the original text, where, for example, by changing the race of a character, the fan shows how the story would change. In his book, Koppa draws an analogy with modern Shakespearean productions in this regard.
Fan fiction, attracting attention, allows its authors and readers to think about abstract life issues that require reflection.
The reader is much more interested in reading the reasoning of his favorite characters than some unknown characters that the author has just invented.
By drawing images of characters that people already know well and whose further adventures they already want to read, non-professional authors can find a responsive audience from unfamiliar and unbiased readers. In the history of our civilization, there has never been a more direct route for aspiring writers to potentially interested readers.

“All stories are true, even the ones you make up as a kid,” says the Doctor Who fanfic by KaydeeFalls.

But not all stories are interesting to other people. If you manage to process your memories, reflections or fantasies about moving, gender reassignment, retirement into the story of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, perhaps people who are not indifferent to Batman and Robin will also care about your thoughts and life experiences.

BTW. In Russia, you can read strangers and post your fanfiction on the sites: https://ficbook.net and http://fanfics.me. Harry Potter fans should check out the website http://hogwartsnet.ru. Fans of the "Twilight" saga will find like-minded people at https://twilightrussia.ru.

Ficwriting often hides the author's name and gives him an inspiring sense of equality for all writers in the community. The perception of the newcomer as a "daring upstart" remains far in the world of commercial publishing houses and prestigious novelists, the attitude can rather be described by the slogan of the avant-garde poets of the 70s: "Work hard to change the language and never become famous."

Fickwriters can be compared to American indie rock before Nirvana, with the notable difference that most of the fanfiction is written by women.

If you are used to reading old-fashioned prose books, and at the same time open to the idea that fanfiction is a new and important piece of literature with unique advantages, you will be fascinated by the Fanfiction Reader even before you read it. However, people who live and breathe ficwriting see it differently.

We hope that after this article many readers will visit sites with fandoms of interest to them, and, perhaps, try not only to read fanfiction, but also write themselves!

Therefore, we have a competition.

Write a Game of Thrones fanfic and send it to the mail [email protected]
The volume is 3000 characters.

Have you heard such an unusual word like "fanfic"? What is it, in what form is it presented and where can it be found? Why are teenagers more aware of the meaning of this word, while many adults have no idea what it is about?

Some parents who want to protect their child from negatively influencing information are very worried when they notice that the child has become addicted to fanfiction. How dangerous are they, and can they really do much harm?

As they say, you need to know the enemy by sight. That is, it is important to understand what an unfamiliar object, phenomenon or action is. And only then will it be decided whether there is really an enemy in front of us.

Thus, the purpose of this article is to study the incomprehensible word and answer the question "what is fan fiction".

The meaning of the word "fanfic"

It is more logical to start the study of this word by defining the circle of people who use it. If you listen a little more carefully to the speech of teenagers, you can find out that such wonderful words, which include such as "akuma, manga, fanfic" and others, are widely used by fans and fans of anime. A special kind or genre of films and books. The latter, by the way, are just called manga.

For further study of the problem, let us turn to the etymology of the word. That is, to the question of how the word came about. And then we will finally know what fanfic is.

So the unusual word is "American alien." Because it came to the Russian language from English. Formed from words such as fan, which translates into Russian, as a fan, fan and fiction - literature of a fictional nature.

What are fanfiction

Based on the above definition, it is clear that fan fiction is understood to be nothing more than an amateur work written by a fan of any film, book, cartoon, TV series, etc. and based on its plot and main characters.

For example, there are many Harry Potter fanfiction. Moreover, the events in them do not always unfold according to the plot presented by the author of the original work, J.K. Rowling.

The most famous fanfiction in this category belongs to Cassandra Clare, who wrote a trilogy about Draco Malfoy, the blond opponent of Harry Potter, who always bothers him and tries to ruin his life with all his might. In this case, the work of an amateur character turned out to be so interesting and popular that it even became independent books in three parts.

How to navigate the abundance of fanfiction

If you research the Internet, it becomes clear that there are a million fanfiction, or even more. And in order to choose the one that will appeal to a specific person and will correspond to his desires, expectations and moral principles, you should learn the definition of fan fiction.

These compositions, as well as original works, films, TV series, etc., on which they are written, have signs that allow you to navigate in the abundance of stories. After all, it is not enough to know what theme lies at the heart of the story. You also need to figure out if the plot fits.

Suppose the reader is interested in Harry Potter fanfiction, and he, for example, wants to learn more about the life of Professor Snape (or Snape according to some sources). Then he should study which characters will participate in the story.

That is, in this case, you should first look for fanfic about Snape. And then examine the "header" of the found work to determine whether the given story meets the wishes of the reader.

What is a fanfic hat

So, above we talked about the fact that to understand not only the topic, but also the content and plot of an amateur work will help the "hat" of fanfiction. What it is?

The "cap" of fan fiction is its description, advertising, a kind of announcement presented after the title - the title of the work, which allows readers to understand what exactly this fan fiction will be about. Therefore, the header must contain the following fields: name, type, fandom, rating, size, focus, genre, warnings, description.

There are also fields in the fanfic header that are recommended but not required. These are such items as: beta and co-authors (if any), characters, comment on the work, dedication, publication, gratitude.

Main fields in the fanfic header

In every amateur work written by a fan who is very impressed by a movie, TV series, etc., when adding your story to the selected site dedicated to this topic, you must fill in the following points:

Title - the verbal designation of the work.
Type - the person who added the work to the Web is its author or translator of a foreign text.
Fandom - what fanfic is based on: a movie, a book, a game, etc.
Rating is the age category of a work, in other words, a criterion for determining the suitability of fanfiction for a particular reader. Not to be confused with popularity. This item allows you to choose the best fanfic in the selected genre and fandom.
Size is the volume of the piece. Happens: maxi, midi, mini, drag.
Direction - the presence and nature of a relationship of a romantic or sexual nature.
Genre - what scenario for the development of the fan fiction plot is assumed.
Warnings are a list of features of the work that may be unpleasant and unacceptable for some citizens to read. For example, profanity or the death of one of the main characters.
Description - a short announcement of the content of the work, that is, what it will talk about.

Additional fields in the fanfic header

In addition, in fanfiction about TV series, programs, games, books, etc., many authors indicate additional information that maximally acquaints readers and potential fans of this story with the plot:

Betas - who made or participated in the editing of the text.
Co-authors - if more than one person took part in writing fanfiction, they should be indicated in this paragraph.
Characters are the main characters around whom the plot will twist.
Author's comment on the work - here they usually write the reasons for which the work was written, the idea that the author wants to convey, or any other information of a similar nature.
Dedication - some fanfic authors write their works for friends, acquaintances, thereby dedicating their work to them.
Publication - whether the author permits to publish his work on other resources.
Gratitude - on some sites, for example, such as the "Fanfiction Book" (or "Fikbook)", there is a function that allows you to mark, thank the work you like, and, accordingly, its author with a virtual gift.

What genres fanfiction is divided into

Since fan fiction is a piece written by a fan, it can be presented in a variety of genres and styles.

For example, action or action is fan fiction based on a work with a dynamic plot, there is an abundance of actions, but there are few descriptions of the relationship between the main and secondary characters, there are no logical riddles and research.

Fanfiction of such a genre as adventure is another matter. They depict brave heroes who are not afraid of change, decisively going on various journeys and wanderings. Or fanfiction detectives. In such stories, the main characters have to solve a whole bunch of riddles, look for answers to difficult questions, but the readers will have to turn on logic and think a lot, trying to predict the further development of the storyline.

The focus of fanfiction

What is focus? And how does it differ from the genre? It is very difficult to understand this at first glance, but in fact there is nothing complicated. After all, if the genre of fan fiction is a feature of the development of the plot, then how events develop in it, then under the category in the description of fan fiction it is customary to understand its content regarding the presence of romantic or closer relationships in the plot, as well as their nature.

Based on this, fanfiction is divided into the following types:

Get - an ordinary or traditional relationship in a couple, that is, romance occurs between a guy and a girl.
Slash - in the center of the plot are gay guys.
Femslash - gay girls.
Jen is a fanfiction with no description, not even mention of romantic or intimate relationships.

What is canon and non-canon

So, above we have carefully analyzed what it is - fanfiction. However, when choosing or discussing any fan fiction you like with friends, acquaintances, you can hear a phrase like "the content does not correspond to the canon" or, conversely, corresponds to it. What does it mean?

In order to answer the question formed in the heading of the current paragraph, one should recall the native language. In particular, the interpretation of such a word as "canon". After all, it can be heard not only when it comes to fanfiction, but also in conversations on other topics. If you can't remember the meaning of this noun, you should refer to the Russian-language explanatory dictionary.

And then we will find out that the word "canon" of Greek origin, it means something historically formed, indestructible, traditional and not subject to change.

When describing fanfiction, the term "canon" is used as an assessment of the correspondence of the plot of a given amateur work to the original from which it was written. That is, if in the Harry Potter book Ron and the boy who survived are friends, then the description of their dislike for each other will not be according to the canon, and vice versa.

Amateur piece opposite to fanfiction

In addition to fanfiction - amateur compositions on various topics and options for the development of plots - you can find other works on the net - originals. That is also written by amateur authors, but they are not about the heroes of famous and original books, films, games, etc. The characters presented in them are the fiction of the author himself.

Thus, when writing an original or an original, the author uses his life experience, borrowed from the stories of friends or invented, self-composed. Based on this, any fiction, the plot of which is not fanfic, but was imagined and described by the author, belongs to the category of originals.

What is the original? On the example of one such work

Genres of originals, like fanfic genres, are different. Although especially in demand and readable works on teenage topics, where still inexperienced boys and girls learn to learn about life, cope with an abundance of their own problems and get out of all kinds of difficult situations.

One of these fairly well-known and discussed on the network originals is a story written by a girl named Stace Kramer. The work is called "50 days before my suicide." This original - the debut of the young writer Nastya Kholova - was even published and managed to win the love of fans not only on the Internet, but also in reality.

The origins plot revolves around the sixteen-year-old girl Gloria, who suddenly realizes that she cannot cope with all her problems and gives herself fifty days to play an interesting game with her fate and assess whether she should continue her life.

Where to find fanfiction and originals

Almost all works of these categories cannot be found on the shelves in bookstores. They are the "children" of the Internet. And this is where you should look for them. However, in order not only to read the text found with difficulty, but to enjoy the process, you need to choose a decent site.

It is worth noting that the most popular resource among fans of fanfiction is the site called "The Book of Fanfiction" or "Fikbook" as fans call it.

Therefore, readers of this article, who want to understand the fanfiction in more detail, should refer to it.

How to choose the best fanfic

Earlier, we studied the issue in detail and found out how to navigate in the abundance of fanfiction. However, now they are faced with another problem - how to determine the best one. The answer is actually quite simple. The reader should pay attention to characteristics such as the rating of fanfic by other readers, the number of comments, reviews and thanks.

In addition, fan fictions that have been recognized as independent works, that is, have been published, can also be recommended for reading.

For example, the Draco Malfoy trilogy already mentioned at the beginning of the article. It reveals the character of Harry Potter's blond opponent, and also tells about his relationship with Hermione.