Lack of originality or a stepping stone?
I need to try and understand something. Every time I search for something to read on here, everything I find has to do with bands. Why is that? Is it a lack of creativity? Or is it just a stepping stone for authors to build on? I don’t like reading stories that have been taken from other people’s work—Harry Potter, Fall Out Boys, Twilight.
If the story is taken from a book, I have the expectation of the story being written in the same style. If it’s taken from a movie, I expect the same personalities to stay in play. And being taken from an actual band? I just can’t get into stories like that. Multiple users use the same person but with different personalities for that said person and it just becomes too confusing for me.
These are not rhetorical questions. I would very much like to know: Why do you not use your own entire assemblage of original characters? Why do you play off of other work? Is it to help you progress as a writer? Or is it just a wishful fan thing?
If the story is taken from a book, I have the expectation of the story being written in the same style. If it’s taken from a movie, I expect the same personalities to stay in play. And being taken from an actual band? I just can’t get into stories like that. Multiple users use the same person but with different personalities for that said person and it just becomes too confusing for me.
These are not rhetorical questions. I would very much like to know: Why do you not use your own entire assemblage of original characters? Why do you play off of other work? Is it to help you progress as a writer? Or is it just a wishful fan thing?
Posted on January 9th, 2008 at 08:35am
I actually do a little fan fiction to keep my writing juices flowing. I don't ever post it or anything, I just get ideas from movies/books and start writing about it. It helps me with writing skills, even though I never publish it. Though I suppose I could on FanFiction.net.
lils171901, July 12th, 2008 at 12:23:02am
different people may have different inspirations
mostofmy storiesthat i write (not posted) feature my own original characteres
maybe people writing fanfictions (which i enjoy because i wonder if in a relationship with said person would it be like so) are creating their "dream relationship" with a person who they find hot or really look up to...
nil5009, June 10th, 2008 at 07:32:12pm
CHEESE IN A CAN
tuna.on.a.stick, May 16th, 2008 at 04:06:51am
hmm...
well i'm a fan of yours from quizilla and im not much for fanfics but i read them when i get very very bored.
ive never written a fan fic before and i can usually get into fan fics if ive never heard the original.
i get most of my inspiration from dreams...
actually thats were ive gotten almost all of my stories.
people write fan fics because they arent satisfied with how the plot went in the story.
either that or they liked the characters and wanted to see those personalities in a different setting.
^o^ ~ Cimmeri
Cimmeri2205, May 15th, 2008 at 02:06:16am
In all honesty, way back when I was I think 10 or so, I was on these sites and realized I wasnt a fan of FanFictions. Just not. Most people actually say it's just because you know, they dont like the ending of a book/movie or they were inspired by it. So they create their own versions to satisfy their own personal discontent with the storyline of the origenal.
I dont particularly get the band thing though, I'm inspired by music but I'm inspired to write more... unique stories. Example, I have an origenal piece back on quizilla that is inspired entirely by Evanesence's music. I sometimes intertwine the way I see Amy Lee or the concept/message in one of her songs into my story but I never copy exactly. I'm all for daydreams but... I'm not interested in reading other people's.
Origenals dont get read nearly as much, but in all honesty it doesnt bother me much, these are merely first drafts to things I plan on getting published, you cant publish a fanfic.
Twilight Assassin, February 25th, 2008 at 02:42:58pm
Fan Fiction helps craft you into a better writer. You write more, you get [sometimes] honest feedback. Let's you spread your wings a little. Like the training wheels on a bike.
I still write fan fiction because it's on people or characters I care about. I usually take that and put my own spin on it. If it's a film I make it my interpretation or what I thought would occur after the final credits.
That's why I think Fan Fiction is so popular. Some films or television shows we love will never have a sequel or never get picked back up so we use fan fiction to fill the void. Fan Fiction sheds light on the areas that the original film or series or novel left dark.
As for band fiction, for me anyway, I write it using their personalities and sometimes background stories to mold and shape into an original idea I had. My newest band one is asking more of a philisophic question instead of what fellow bandmate they want to bang.
Billie Joe Armstrong, January 9th, 2008 at 10:18:07am
To be honest, the reason I put bands in my stories is so people actually read them. Some people here WILL NOT read a story unless MCR or FOB is in it. I guess it's just more appealing to them. I put out an original fiction, which I thought was WAAAYY better than my most popular one (which had over 300 readers), and I only got like 5 reads and no comments. I don't know, maybe it just sucked, but I've seen a lot of horrible fanfics with at least 20 comments saying they loved it
-____-
Heart! ;; Attack., January 9th, 2008 at 09:51:55am
Fanfiction was my stepping stone. If you look on INO, all my stuff is a fanfic. However, there is one story on there that is original. My first original.
By writing fanfictions, I got a taste of what type of author I am. When I watched SLC Punk for the first time, adding my style to the idea I got for that story created Chaos - where The Blackest Years branched out from.
I haven't written a fanfic in over a year. I think it's been nearly two now.
Spaztastic, January 9th, 2008 at 08:54:23am
And yes you can say it helps experiment with different writing techniques, dialog, etc.
xofireatwillox, January 9th, 2008 at 08:51:22am
I don't know it's just fun to be able to imagine a certain band member acting a certain way...like I write it mainly by the way that they act in interviews and such. And I agree with Mrs. Melting Crayons...I like bandfic because it's so versatile and different and you can change things without ruining the integrity of a book or movie. And band members don't have to act like they seem in real life...that's why it's called fiction...
xofireatwillox, January 9th, 2008 at 08:49:59am
if you like flexibility then why not original fiction?
I started writting a fanfic on anne rice vampiric chronicles and I tried to keep the style, but must people dont do it
Valium Freak, January 9th, 2008 at 08:41:16am
I dont do that all mine is orignal fiction
but I think its lack of creativite but highly denied
Valium Freak, January 9th, 2008 at 08:39:05am
I like bandfics for exactly the reason you hate them.
They're so stretchable. Anyone can be anything, and nothing's set in stone. They can be young or old.
But with books, it's straight-and-narrow. There's always a backstory, always facts to check, always moving towards a goal. I just don't like the inflexibility of it.
Mrs. Melting Crayons, January 9th, 2008 at 08:38:05am