Fan fiction

Before the adoption of copyright in the modern sense, it was not unusual for authors to copy characters, if not entire plots. For example, Shakespeare's plays Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, As You Like It and The Winter's Tale were all based on relatively recent fiction by other authors.[5]

Among 19th century literature subject to notable depictions not initially authorised by the original author, is included Bram Stoker's Dracula's depiction in the translated adaptation Powers of Darkness.[6] The works of Jane Austen remain one of the most popular works to make unauthorised depictions of,[7] with one notable Jane Austen fan fiction being Old Friends and New Fancies. Many unauthorised stories of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle have been created, including The Adventure of the Two Collaborators by J. M. Barrie.[8] Also created has been The Space Machine based on The War of the Worlds and Morlock Night based on The Time Machine by H. G. Wells; A New Alice in the Old Wonderland based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll; and Wide Sargasso Sea based on Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.[9]

The Star Trek fanzine Spockanalia contained the first fan fiction in the modern sense of the term.

The modern phenomenon of fan fiction as an expression of fandom and fan interaction was popularized and defined via Star Trek fandom and their fanzines published in the 1960s. The first Star Trek fanzine, Spockanalia (1967), contained some fan fiction; many others followed its example.[10]^:1 These fanzines were produced via offset printing and mimeography, and mailed to other fans or sold at science fiction conventions for a small fee to help recoup costs. Unlike other aspects of fandom, women dominated fan fiction authoring; 83% of Star Trek fan fiction authors were female by 1970, and 90% by 1973.[11] One scholar states that fan fiction "fill[s] the need of a mostly female audience for fictional narratives that expand the boundary of the official source products offered on the television and movie screen."[12]

Fan fiction has become more popular and widespread since the advent of the World Wide Web. According to one estimate, fan fiction comprises one-third of all content about books on the web.[13] In addition to traditional fanzines and conventions, Usenet group electronic mailing lists were established for fan fiction as well as fan discussion. Online, searchable fan fiction archives were also established. The online archives were initially non-commercial hand-tended and fandom, or topic, specific. These archives were followed by non-commercial automated databases. In 1998, the not-for-profit site FanFiction.Net came online, which allowed anyone to upload content in any fandom.[14] The ability to self-publish fan fiction at an easily accessible common archive that did not require insider knowledge to join, and the ability to review the stories directly on the site, became popular quite quickly.[15] One popular example of modern fan fiction is E. L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey. This series was originally written as fan fiction for the Twilight series of books and movies and played off the characters of Bella and Edward. In order to not infringe on copyright issues, James changed the character names to Ana and Christian for the purposes of her novels,[16] which is a practice known as 'pulling-to-publish'.[17] Anna Todd's 2013 fan fiction After about the English boy band One Direction secured a book and movie deal with renamed characters in 2014.[18][19] The movie After was released on 12 April 2019.

On May 22, 2013, the online retailer Amazon.com established a new publishing service, Kindle Worlds. This service enabled fan fiction stories of certain licensed media properties to be sold in the Kindle Store with terms including 35% of net sales for works of 10,000 words or more and 20% for short fiction ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 words. However, this arrangement includes restrictions on content, copyright violations, poor document formatting, and use of misleading titles.[20] Amazon shut down Kindle Worlds in August of 2018.[21]

A similar trend in Japan also began appearing around the 1960s and 1970s, where independently published manga and novels, known as dōjinshi, are frequently published by dōjin circles; many of these dōjinshi are based on existing manga, anime, and video game franchises. Manga authors like Shotaro Ishinomori and Fujiko Fujio formed dōjin groups such as Fujio's New Manga Party (新漫画党, Shin Manga-tō). At this time, dōjin groups were used by artists to make a professional debut. This changed in the coming decades with dōjin groups forming as school clubs and the like. This culminated in 1975 with the Comiket in Tokyo.

In the same study of the demographics of FanFiction.Net, it was found that only 10% of users disclose their sex/gender in their profiles. Based on this sample set, FanFiction.Net users are made up primarily of women. 78% of those who disclosed their sex/gender self-identified as female with only 22% identifying as male.

It is difficult to determine the age of fan fiction readers as age is seldom disclosed in accounts or bios. However, most online readers who do disclose their age describe themselves as teenagers (between the ages of 13 and 17).[23]

In addition to the "regular" list of genres, which for fan fiction are usually determined by the work they're based on, there are a few genres that are closely associated with fan fiction. Often, they also overlap. The genres include:

A story with an angst-ridden mood centered on a character/characters who are brooding, sad, or in anguish.

"What if..." fanfiction featuring characters set in a universe other than their canonical one.[24] This can be an alternate setting such as a High School AU where the characters are in high school as opposed to their canon setting, or this can be an alternate universe of canon to reflect the author's thoughts on events in canon. For example, Everyone Lives AU might reflect an alternate universe where no characters have died and thus differs from the canonical universe.

Works featuring characters, items, and/or set pieces from multiple fandoms.

Stories that are considerably more grim or depressing than the original, often in deliberate contrast to the canonical work(s). Not all stories tagged as "dark" count as darkfic. This is sometimes done with fandoms that are meant to be light-hearted or for children.[25] Darkfic can also refer to content that is "intentionally disturbing" (i.e. physical/emotional violence or abuse).

A counterpart to darkfic, or perhaps its supergenre, fix-fic or more commonly known as "fix-it", refers to stories which rewrite canonical events that the fic author disliked, often because they were depressing or incomprehensible.

"Feel good" fan fiction designed to be happy, and nothing else. The plot is usually less relevant in these types of works, as the main focus is to be cheerful. WAFF is short for "Warm And Fuzzy Feelings," and the two terms are quite similar in usage.

Works blending two settings, and sometimes their casts, into a cohesive whole.

A story in which a character is put through a traumatizing experience in order to be comforted.[26] The ultimate goal of these stories is often to allow for close examination of two characters' bond with one another and is sometimes seen as an alternative to more sexual content.

A story in which one of the characters is sent back in time, getting a second chance with knowledge of the original plot. Named after the movie Peggy Sue Got Married, in which this happens to the titular character. Groundhog Day is an example of this happening repeatedly. This refers to both the story and the character in this situation. Not related to Mary Sue.

Rebuild fiction that heavily features critical thinking skills and deductive reasoning. Popularized by Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

A sub-type of fix-fic, wherein aspects of the setting or characters are rewritten to be more cohesive. Named for the Rebuild of Evangelion series, which originally qualified, and also popularized by Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

A genre of fan fiction in which a version of the author is transported to, or discovers they are inside, the world that the fan fiction is based on. Almost always written in the first person. Fan fictions of this type are often also fix-fics.

Instead of a single fictional universe, the inserted author is taken to many in a row, and must usually solve some problems or complete some challenges in each place before moving on. Gaining new powers and occasionally companions from each world is common.

Fan fiction that obtained enough popularity as to have inspired readers to write fan fiction based on those stories, despite the fact that the original story is fanfiction in and of itself. Recursive fan fiction are well-loved themselves that other writers treat them as a framework from which they base their own stories on. The original author may or may not acknowledge these as being part of their continuity, have a positive reaction, encourage derivative works, and even adopt some or all of it into the canon of their own shared "fan verse" continuity.

A variant of romance focused on exploring a relationship between two or more characters from the original fandom(s). It has several sub-genres, including slash (which focuses on homosexual pairings, usually of the male variety), femslash/femmeslash/yuri (same as slash, but exclusively female/female), crossover shipping (which focuses on a romance between characters from multiple fandoms), and "friendshipping" (focuses on platonic relationships). In another context, the term "shipping" within the community may mean that a fan is heavily invested in a relationship between two characters. Writers of fan fiction often use the genre to explore homosexual pairings for popular characters who are heterosexual in the canon work.[27]

A subcategory of shipping; describes romantic couples in mundane domestic situations such as picking out curtains.

Smut/Porn/Erotic is sexually explicit material or pornographic writing; this could refer to a small portion of a story, or in its entirety. Historically, the terms "lemon" (i.e. Porn) and "lime" (i.e. Erotica) were euphemisms used to allude to explicit material. They were in common use in the 2000s, but have since outdated terms that waned in usage. However, as of December 2018, the terms have seen a revival due to Tumblr's censorship on adult content. The use of the terms lemon and lime allow writers to circumnavigate the "explicit terminologies" Tumblr banned, while still tagging their work as explicit.

Songfic, also known as a song fic or a song-fic, is a genre of fan fiction that features a fictional work interspersed with the lyrics of a relevant song.[28][29] The term is a combination of "song" and "fiction"; as such, one might also see the genre referred to as "songfiction". As many lyrics are under copyright, whether songfics are a violation of that copyright law is a subject of debate. Some fan fiction websites, such as FanFiction.Net, have barred authors from posting songfics with lyrics outside the public domain.[30]

In an essay in Music, Sound, and Silence in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, University of Sydney professor Catherine Driscoll commented that the genre was "one of the least distinguished modes of fan production" and that "within fan fiction excessive attachment to or foregrounding of popular music is itself dismissed as immature and derivative".[31]

Vent refers to literature written by an author under duress or for therapeutic purposes, normally to calm themselves following a stressful or upsetting situation.

An abbreviation of "author's note". Author's notes can be written at any point during a fan fiction (in some cases interrupting the flow of the piece by appearing within the body of a fan fiction), but are typically found directly before the beginning of a fan fiction or after it has concluded, and also at the starts or ends of chapters if the story is updated periodically. A/Ns are used to convey direct messages from the author to the reader regarding the piece.[32]

Canon is the original story. This means anything related to the original source including the plot, settings, and character developments.[32]

Disclaimers are author's notes typically informing readers about who deserves credit for the original source material,[33] and often containing pseudo-legal language disavowing any intent of copyright infringement or alluding to fair use. Such "disclaimers" are legally ineffective and based on misunderstandings of copyright law, particularly confusion between illegal copyright infringement and unethical plagiarism.[34]

A form of flash fiction writing also popular outside of fan fiction, a drabble is typically a piece of writing that is only 100 words.[35]

A fandom is a group of fans of a particular work of fiction (e.g. novel, film, television show or video game). Members of a fandom are typically interested in even minor details of the plot/characters of their fandom and often spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, that is why most fan fictions are written by members of a particular fandom(s).

A female/male that is a part of one or more fandoms. Furthermore, the term fangirling/fanboying refers to a moment where a person gets excited about a fandom.

Fanon (portmanteau of fan and canon) is an "unofficial canon" idea that is widely believed to be true among fans, but is neither unconfirmed nor officially endorsed by the original author or source creator, preventing it from being labeled as canon. Fanon may refer to a whole interpretation of the original work, or specific details within it.

Headcanon is a fan's personal, idiosyncratic interpretation of canon, such as the backstory of a character, or the nature of relationships between characters. It may represent a teasing out of subtext present in the canon, but it cannot directly contradict canon. If many other fans share this interpretation, it may become fanon.

Also of note is the concept of the "Mary Sue", a term credited as originating in Star Trek fan fiction that has crossed over to the mainstream, at least among editors and writers. In early Trek fan fiction, a common plot was that of a minor member of the USS Enterprise's crew saving the life of Captain Kirk or Mister Spock, often being rewarded with a sexual relationship as a result. The term "Mary Sue", originating in a parody of stories in this wish fulfillment genre, thus tends to refer to an idealized or fictional character lacking flaws, often representing the author.[36]

An abbreviation of the term "one true pairing", where the author or reader ships (wishes for a romantic relationship between) certain characters from a fandom. Additionally, OTPs are also subsetted as OT3s, which reference the reader's one true bonding with three people; this number can be changed to refer to a larger bonding of people.

A short piece of writing, as opposed to a multichapter work, that can be of any length. May also have sequel works related to it, while still being a one shot.[37]

Fan fiction-style works that tell stories about real people, usually celebrities, instead of fictional characters.

An abbreviation of self-insert, usually referring to either a story in the eponymous genre or to the author's avatar within one.

An abbreviation of "trigger warning". Trigger warnings are meant to warn people of content in fan fictions that could be harmful or "triggering" to those who have dealt with situations such as abuse. Fan fiction is tagged using various TWs so that readers may prepare for or avoid certain content. Sometimes CW, an abbreviation of "content warning", is used instead of or in addition to a TW. Trigger warnings are usually inserted when the subject matter of a piece of work deals with things issues like drug abuse, mental illness, abuse, or extreme violence.

The term whumping (or whump) refers to a form of hurt/comfort that is heavy on the hurt and often focuses on gen stories; indicate a character who was in jeopardy, tortured, or hurt (either psychologically or physically), and then other characters comforted. Originates from Stargate SG-1 fanfiction and similar to Muldertorture in X-Files fandom.

In which the author writes an explicitly intimate relationship between two (or more) characters, typically ones which are not together in the original works. These relationships are based on "ships" within the fandom.