A/N – The following essay includes a few examples of common mistakes found in fan fiction. I would like to make it abundantly clear right now that just because I have recognized them does not mean I am not (or will not be) guilty of them myself. In other words, please don’t leave a review saying, “Hypocrite! You did exactly what you said not to!” I’m sure I have, and I’m fully aware of the fact. That said, let’s go on, shall we?


Fan Fiction: Tougher Than You Thought


There is a very common misconception out there that writing original fiction from scratch is much harder a task than writing fan fiction. How many aspiring writers consider fan fiction easy practice before they try for the “real thing,” I wonder? It is perfectly understandable. After all, fan fiction comes with ready-made characters, settings, even plots in some cases (for instance, in Harry Potter fan fiction, giving Voldemort a good thrashing is always an acceptable plot.) All the author has to do now is add some new details to the story line, maybe flesh out minor characters (or add a new one if the need arises) and bam—a story is born. Right…? Wrong.

First and most importantly is that word sure to make any teenager cringe: expectations. There are certain truths about expectations that should be accepted right now because they will never change, and that’s a promise: the reader will always come into a story with set (and usually very strict) expectations, the reader plans on the author complying with these expectations, and lastly, if the author does not comply, there are hundreds of other stories out there that the reader will turn to.

The reader enters a story with expectations. That is a fact no matter what the subject matter, but it is never so true as in fan fiction. Generally, a person reads fan fiction either because he/she loved the original so much that he/she could not get enough, or because the individual would like to explore scenarios that could never actually occur in the original. (The beloved D/G ship is a shining example of the latter.) In either scenario, the reader expects the characters in the story to follow certain behavioral patterns, speak a certain way, and respond to obstacles accordingly. Draco will be rude and arrogant, Harry will be noble, Hermione will be a know-it-all, and Ron will probably turn red as a tomato at least once. Obviously, in the case of original fiction, such preconceived notions do not exist.

Character growth can be a big danger zone as well. All writers know, or at least should know, that for any story to be successful the characters must grow or change in some significant way. The hero/heroine cannot go through the proverbial fire and emerge completely unscathed. All well and good normally, but in fan fiction this can present some issues. Draco Malfoy is perhaps the best example here.

The readers expect (there’s that word again) Draco to be cold and to have some problems expressing himself, particularly with emotions like love. His bad attitude and devil-may-care tendencies make him who he is. Despite that common knowledge, it is truly mind boggling how often one stumbles across the following: Draco is a git, Draco falls in love, Draco becomes a fluffy, romantic bunny (figuratively speaking, of course.) It simply is not believable, and it destroys what may have started out as a wonderful fic. Obviously, his character will need to be altered some, but rarely in life does anyone undergo such a complete 180 turn-around.

Still following that line of thinking—in original fiction, if the author wants to make her character start out nasty and turn cuddly, it is much simpler (still quite the challenge, but easier.) Certain measures can be taken early on, like showing a softer side to the character (when dealing with a child, for instance) as a means of foreshadowing the possibility of a good guy underneath the bully. That way, when the slow but steady change begins to occur, the reader is, on some level, actually expecting the metamorphosis. Now the newly transformed sweetheart is not only believable, but satisfying. That sort of foreshadowing technique is impossible in fan fiction, as the reader is already fully acquainted with the character the author is borrowing. In other words, in fan fiction, it is too late.

There is also the ever constant temptation to really explore one’s own imagination. It was mentioned already that many writers view fan fiction as a means of easy practice before cracking into the novel-writing business. As such, those writers are simply dying to make their fanfic as close to an original piece as possible while staying within the comfortable bounds of fan fiction. (That does not apply to all fan fiction authors, of course, but a good deal.) How do they accomplish that? They add new settings, for one. For example, HP characters constantly stumble across previously undiscovered and usually quite impressive rooms in Hogwarts (a magical castle really is great for this sort of setting expansion.) Another often-seen way of personalizing fan fiction is the addition of original characters.

Even aside from the Mary Sue issue, tossing a non-canon character into the mix is risky. By doing so, one is essentially playing with fire. The fact of the matter is people read fan fiction to see more of the characters they know and love (or hate, as the case may be.) If they wanted to meet brand new characters, they would read professional work.

That isn’t to say it cannot be done. Plenty of successful fan fiction writers use original characters, and the result is amazing. It simply must be handled very carefully. The best advice is to keep the story focused on the canon characters, using the newbie more to move the plot along or to pose a new obstacle. Always make sure an original character has a specific purpose. Just keep in mind—even if a new character is utterly brilliant, it isn’t what the readers are looking for when they sit down to the computer.

Obviously, original fiction does not have these complications. When a character is introduced, that person is a complete stranger, and it is up to the author to familiarize the reader with the individual. Of course, once an audience gets to know a character, it will expect him or her to continue acting in a similar fashion as the one introduced, but at least the writer has a little more time to convince his or her audience that the story is worthwhile. As an added bonus, a new player can be introduced at almost any point in the game without risking annoying, frustrating, or boring the reader, as is quite possible in fan fiction.

As was already noted, the other usual means of personalization in fan fiction is to add on to the existing setting. Creating one’s own setting is in and of itself a huge contributor to flexibility, mostly because the rules of the place shape character behavior in a major way. For instance, the boarding school setting in Harry Potter eliminates the ability to retreat to a private room (exceptions being Head Boy/Girl dorm, teacher’s quarters, etc.), but opens up possibilities like more believable instances of out-of-class socializing. When an author writes his setting, he is basically laying the foundation for the entire course of the story. Fan fiction’s already in place surroundings place a serious restraint on what can happen there.

Even aside from the aforementioned, an almost daunting number of dangers not found in original fiction exist. The dreaded Mary Sue comes immediately to mind as far as that goes. Other all too common lurking traps fairly exclusive to fan fiction are: overkill in regards to plot (truth or dare…need I say more?), changing the rules to suit author purposes (ignoring things like curfew, uniforms, strict class schedules, etc.), and tampering with culture (American slang, inappropriate-to-the-character curses or exclamations, and so on.) All of these are incredibly easy (even tempting) to get caught in, but it can be guaranteed that all of them will do severe damage to any fanfic. Again, however, in original fiction such mistakes are far less likely to become an issue.

It should probably be said that the readers are not unreasonable—they understand that what they are about to read will not be identical to the real thing. Almost all readers will provide a writer a certain amount of leeway, but it is the author’s responsibility not to take advantage of that. Even though readers will accept stretches from fan fiction that they would never tolerate from, say, J.K. Rowling, they will only bend so far.

To tie it all up in one neat statement—generally, to write good fan fiction, a person has to play by the original author’s rules. To write good original fiction, the only rules the author need follow are the basic ones of human nature.

The freedoms afforded an author in original fiction are staggering in comparison to fan fiction. The writer setting out to record the next brilliant fanfic has quite the hefty precedent to live up to, while the one sitting down to create a from-scratch fiction novel or short story has the benefit of a clean slate.

So to all of those who read fan fiction—appreciate the work that goes into the words you so effortlessly read. And to all those who write fan fiction—congratulations; never let anyone (even yourself) convince you that this fan fiction business should be easy, because it really is tougher than you ever imagined it would be…but then, you already knew that.