[gmw]

With the advent of the Internet it seems that fan-fiction has really taken off. I am someone that has always avoided it*. I don't have any really good reasons, I've never tried it (reading or writing), it's just never appealed. In general I read by author; with some exceptions, I find that if I really like a book by an author there is a very good chance I will like other books by that author. The idea of picking up the same world or story-line by a different author does not seem apposite, if I am going to experiment with a new author I prefer to start with something totally new.

Anyway, I've noticed on these forums there are a few people that write fan-fiction and a few threads looking to read it, so it seems an appropriate place to ask some questions:

Writers: Why do you write fan-fiction? If you are going to put the effort into writing why spend it something that is not entirely your own?

Readers: What makes you go looking for fan-fiction? Is it just the desperation we all feel when the main book/series is over and we want more ... or is there something else? Do you find much of it to be satisfying? Does it matter to you whether the fan-fiction author is able to emulate the style of the original author(s)?

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* The closest I have come to fan-fiction would probably be reading "The Willows in Winter" by William Horwood†, and soon will I read "And Another Thing..." by Eoin Colfer - but in each of these cases these are authors I already like (very much) from other books.

† While "The Willows in Winter" was well done, it was - in my opinion - still not up to what Kenneth Grahame created.