Featured: Criticism in Fan Fiction

Ever since the creation of fan fiction, fan fiction writers have dealt with a lot of criticism from the general public. From being called strange to weird to downright crazy, fan fiction writers have heard it all.

Fan fiction writers receive criticism from all directions. A big criticism of fan fiction is the legality of it. Many popular works have copyrights and many authors have even said they do not appreciate fan fiction being written about their works. Anne Rice is one notable person who disapproves of fan fiction being written about her Interview With a Vampire series.

When dealing with real person fan fiction, writers receive criticism from the people themselves, as well as their friends and family. Many fan fictions deal with romance, so the real life significant others of these celebrities don't like seeing these other romances play out. A common argument is that fan fiction is an invasion of their privacy.

People on the outside (those who are not tied directly to the fan fiction) often say that fan fiction is just plain weird. On any corner of the internet, it is not difficult to find someone who has a negative opinion about fan fiction and fan fiction writers.

There are even arguments within fandoms about fan fiction. Some people who love One Direction are opposed to fan fiction being written about the band members, and many of these criticisms are the same as people outside the fandom.

Even though fan fiction writers aren't often praised for what they do, they continue to write fan fiction and find other people in their fandoms to enjoy it. There is a whole world of fan fiction on the internet that doesn't look like it will be dying down anytime soon, no matter what criticism writers receive.

Of fan fiction, Lev Grossman once said, “Fan fiction 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, couch-bound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culture in its own language.”

Special thanks to silent hearts. and Goddess_Of_Muse for editing!

Latest articles