The Story of Fanfiction
Brought to you by Meike, the letter “T”, and the colour
azure.
Outline
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Terminology
What Makes Fic Important?
How to Legally Protect One’s Self
– Warnings
– Disclaimers
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What NOT to do in Fics
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Mary Sues / Gary Stus
Grammar
Blatant usage of plagiarism
Overuse of simple plot
constructions
Places to Obtain Fic
My Favourite
– Places
– Fandoms / Pairings
•
My Disclaimers
Terminology to Know
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Fanfiction – stories written by fans
about a particular show, book, or
movie; also fic or fanfic
Ratings – all ratings are similar to
movie ratings, from G to NC-17
Author’s Notes – a message written by
the author directed to the readers
about the story, sometimes providing
the reasons why the story was written
Pairings – relationships in the story;
how characters react towards one
another
Content – usually the story’s genre
Spoilers – if the fanfiction, or fanfic, is
written directly after a book comes out,
is based upon it, and not everyone
may have read it yet, then the author
will alert the readers to the spoilers
contained
Terminology (con’t)
• Fandom – the realm in which the
story takes place, i.e. the TV
show Alias, the movie Pirates of
the Caribbean, or the Star Wars
book saga
• Slash – a type of pairing denoting
homosexual activity; also referred
to in the Japanese as shonen ai /
yaoi or shojo ai / yuri; also in the
English simply slash and
femslash
• Het – a type of pairing denoting
heterosexual activity, hence the
title
What Makes Fic Important?
• Fanfiction is a new
species of writing, per
se. Instead of being
published on paper,
the stories are written
online. Thousands
daily log on to the
hundreds of sites
which contain fic and
read.
How to Legally Protect One’s Self
Since fanfiction is written by
fans and based upon the
ideas of other people—
usually copyrighted
ideas—authors generally
enjoy saving lawyer fees
(along with their houses)
by posting such things as
“Warnings” and
“Disclaimers.”
Warnings
Here is a sample warning from one
of the websites offering fic to the
masses. This is copied directly
from Schnoogle.com’s main
webpage:
~~WARNING~~
Some fics in this list take into account
information that is in JK Rowling's Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the
summaries of these fics may contain
spoilers. Peruse this list at your own risk if
you have not yet finished reading the fifth
book in the series.
Warnings
(con’t)
Here’s another one
designed to capture the
reader’s attention as he
or she scrolls through the
thousands of fanfic
offered:
Duo is having a hard time coping after
the war. This story contains very
mature themes, such as
depression, self-injury, alcohol
abuse, and suicide. There is also
shounen ai. Be warned! *Chapter
25 is up*
Disclaimers
Disclaimers are basically the authors trying to save their butts legally.
These just state that the authors do not own the original stories—
say, if you were writing a fic about Harry Potter. Then, you might put
up this sort of disclaimer:
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling,
various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books
and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no
copyright or trademark infringement is intended. (Nox, by MoonGirl:
http://www.schnoogle.com/authors/moongirl/nox01.html)
What NOT to do in fics
• Mary-Sues / Gary
Stus
• Grammar
• Blatant usage of
plagiarism
• Overuse of simple
plot constructions
And now for our commercial break!
It won’t save properly, so instead, please
click here.
This is why we shouldn’t give idiots their
licenses.
Ever.
What NOT to do:
Mary Sues
• What is a Mary Sue?
A Mary Sue is a
character created by the
author. The epitome of
perfection, this character
usually turns out to be
the star-crossed love of
the main character.
• What’s wrong with Mary
Sues?
Bottom line,
readers loathe seeing
Mary Sues or Gary Stus
– the male version of the
Mary Sue.
• Mary Sue-ism is also
referred to as “blatant
self-insertion.”
What NOT to do: Mary Sues
(con’t)
Here’s a direct quote from one of the authors of Mary Sues.
The premise of the story she reviews is based off of
Lord of the Rings ,or LotR. This is a glimpse into the
mentality of Mary Sue craziness and how it spawns.
Hollywood 2003-09-05 15 Anonymous
Hey! I just started reading your story and it's
awesome! I'm also glad that someone else pretends to
be one of the characters in a fic. I used to think i was
strange. I had a question though... what about arwen?
you mentioned the necklace so does aragon like not
love her anymore or something? so, yeah just curious.
please keep writing this fic!! don't stop!! i love it!!
-Hollywood
p.s.- did you ever do any Rouge/Wolverine fics? Will
you ever do any?Because those would be cool.
p.s.s- i love your pirates of the caribbean fic too!! that
is the best movie of all time!! i also quote jack sparrow
daily!
ok, i swear, i'll stop now!
This is why we worry for the new generation
of ficcers. >.o;
What NOT to do:
When writing a fic, please take the time to reGrammar
read your material, checking for simple
things, such as, oh, grammar and spelling
mistakes.
Could There Be Love? reviews
mika is having a hard time dealing with
vel's peverted ways. than one day she
can't take no more she takes erikos and
walks away leveing the pervet behind. than
mika runs into a snake will, it be to late for
vel to save them, will I ever shut up? R&R
Redwall - PG - English Romance/Action/Adventure - Chapters: 1 Words: 1377 - Reviews: 2 - Updated: 9-1703 - Published: 9-17-03
What NOT to do: Plagiarism
The bad fanfiction world has disappointed
me for the first time—I was unable to find
a fic with direct plagiarism. I know I have
a few saved to favourites back home, but
they’re not being found while here.
Needless to say, DON’T DO THIS. It’s
bad.
What NOT to do: Overuse of Plot
Once you’ve read enough fanfiction, it gets to the point where the plots start to
recycle themselves over and over and over again. Plots that are overused
in, say, Harry Potter for instance, is the “I’m so depressed over Cedric’s
and Sirius’s death that I’m going to be a tremendous prat to everyone and
anyone who gets in my way” mentality for Harry. It’s seen way too often,
and should be shot.
Basically, don’t overuse plot. It can become bad for your health.
Places to
Obtain Fic
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FanFiction.net
FictionPress.com
FictionAlley.org
GWAddiction.com
And at other databases
that aren’t as general
or as large as the
ones above
My Favourite: Places
• Schnoogle.com/blog/index.shtml
(Harry Potter fic; I enjoy skipping the
main page)
• gwaddiction.com (Go GundamW!)
• Fanfiction.net (for Tamora Pierce and
Dark Angel stuff, but there’s lots of
other fandoms here)
• 4dw.net/deathndragon (More
GundamW! Joy.)
• rhysenn.morethanart.org (Harry
Potter)
My Favourite: Fandoms / Pairings
Personally I’m into Harry Potter,
Gundam Wing, Tamora Pierce,
and a bit of Dark Angel fic. I used
to read a lot of CATS: The Musical
fic, but I kind of grew out of that
phase a few years ago.
My pairings are pretty, um, normal for
the fandoms in which I hang out.
As a warning, I’m a slasher at
heart. In Harry Potter, I’m a fan of
Harry/Draco; in Gundam Wing (or
GundamW) I enjoy 1x2x5, 1x2,
and 2x5; in Tamora Pierce it’s
Kel/Joren; and in Dark Angel I
prefer no pairings.
My Disclaimers
• http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/fanq/m/e/meloyellow/antimarysue.jpg.ht
ml
• http://s2.invisionfree.com/godawful/index.php?showtopic=463
• http://s2.invisionfree.com/godawful/index.php?showtopic=362
• http://rhysenn.morethanart.org/artwork/
• http://www.digitalmidnight.net/gallery/index.html
• http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=85692&hal=stories#bot
• http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1200018
• http://4dw.net/deathndragon/baby_pen.html
• http://www.schnoogle.com
• http://www.stupidvideos.com
Thank you for listening!
-Meike