by Kathryn Lively
Is Fan Fiction a Good Writing Practice?
I’ve been following an interesting thread of conversation on a writing message board: a debate as to whether or not the practice of writing fan fiction
By definition: “fan fiction” are stories involving characters from a television series or movie, written by fans and usually printed in underground magazines or on the Internet for other fans to enjoy. This concept is especially popular among fans of science fiction programs, and writers of all skill levels participate. For the serious fan fiction writer, there are even science-fiction conventions which present annual awards for the best-written prose. Stories may range from histories explaining gaps in a particular TV show’s canon (e.g. what has the cast of House been up to between seasons one and two?) to rather silly missives—I once found on the Internet a Star Trek story where all of the characters had been replaced by the cast of Desperate Housewives!
Is fan fiction a healthy exercise? For one, it technically is not a legal exercise, as all television and movie characters are protected by copyright. Since fan fiction is essentially a non-profit enterprise, however, most production companies tend to turn a blind eye to the activity. Rene Balcer, an executive producer of the show Law and Order, once told a fan e-zine that he did not mind the fan fiction based upon his show, and this appears to be the general consensus so long as a writer does not try to sell his/her work.
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1 comment:
I may come off as a b*tch saying this....
First off,I write fic that is drawn from comics,never tried CI fic and I feel I would need o know those epis forward and backward to do so!
Second,I think any writing exercise is good for a writer.
Lastly.there have been times when my life was not going well (such as the death of my Father this past fall) and writing my fic made me get away from the upset and the stress of that.
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