Adaptations, illustrations, and reinterpretations of stories have existed as long as stories themselves. While fanfiction in its current form is a recent invention-it’s generally accepted to have been started by Star Trek fans in the 1970s-it has a much longer history. Photo courtesy of Merlin Alexander Cheng/ Flickr. But I strongly feel that those who ignore or deride fanfiction are missing something vitally important about the way in which we interact with our favorite media these days, and the power and creativity that these stories inspire.Ī reader’s lineup of fanfiction. Several noteworthy authors, Martin among them, believe that fanfiction is essentially derivative copycatting that doesn’t fill any need or perform any important work, and are uncomfortable with the idea of their characters being used outside the plots and situations they originally imagined. I’ve been writing fanfiction since 2003 (and original fiction for longer), and it has been integral to my enjoyment of popular media, development as a writer, formation of a circle of friends, and imaginative engagement with the world.Ĭritics of fanfiction dismiss it as a niche subset of badly written porn (think 50 Shades of Grey) bordering on plagiarism-in short, a bunch of weirdoes on the internet who rip off other people’s stories because they lack the talent to create their own. These places boast millions of users and entries in tens of thousands of categories-if you can think of it, fanfiction does it.
It is posted and circulated on dedicated fanfiction sites such as, Archive of our Own (AO3), or blogging platforms like Tumblr.
It can take the form of anything from brief imaginative snippets, to missing scenes of a TV episode, to standalone book-length works that are written as well as, or better than, many published novels-and all available for free. In its simplest definition, contemporary fanfiction is the act of creating stories using the settings, plot elements, subtexts, and characters of a previously established fictional universe-from television, video games, movies, musicals, books, comics, or other sources. From John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost (published in 1667) to Game of Thrones (and many more examples) in the present, fanfiction has formed a fundamental part of our creative experience, and will only do more so in the future.
What’s more, whether through this medium or another, and whether you’ve realized it, you’ve been enjoying fanfiction for a long time. The biggest franchise on television has become, instead, a work of fanfiction.
But as the show has passed the timeline covered in the published novels, it is writing its own narrative without the need to reference a pre-existing canon. Of course, it is still using the characters, world, and settings that Martin established (though its sometimes-drastic departures from the source material have been the cause of controversy before). I suggest reading the first, but if you want to read the prequel that's good too.As Game of Thrones looks to its eighth season, the show-strictly speaking-is no longer filming the books of George R.R. In 1981, Sirius Black ignored the dangers to himself and became the Potters' Secret Keeper.
He made the choice knowing full well what the consequences might be, but expecting death does not necessarily prepare you for hell. Little stands between Voldemort and victory, save the bonds between four friends. The government is in pieces, the Aurors are crippled, and the Order is struggling to hold the world together.
Peter is trying to learn how to live without lies. James is struggling to hold the world together. Ten years later, James and Lily live, Harry attends Hogwarts, and Voldemort remains…yet the world is different and nothing is as it seems.
Sirius Black remained the Secret Keeper and everything he feared came to pass. I can't believe I'm saying it.but I actually like it better than the original series! If you guys want a good Harry Potter fanfiction series, read the unbroken trilogy.It's AU, took the writer 12 years to write (dedication right there) and it's actually GOOD! The best I've read actually.