Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
I think this is one of the things that I've always feared about fan-fiction, that it would somehow degrade or distort the wonderful experience of the original. I can sort of see the logic of it being a starting place for new writers, but I remain unconvinced that it is all that useful (it could be interesting to know what popular authors started their time writing fan-fiction) ... the fan-fiction communities that have grown on the Internet may come to change that I guess.
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It probably depends on what fan communities you belong to. I've seen loads of atrocious fan fiction out there (usually written by kids.) But, if you find adult communities the quality level improves immensely.
I'm a Harry Potter fan. I loved the books, but JKR got lost in books 6 and 7. There are literally hundreds of stories out there that are better than the real ones. Sometimes better is a matter of having been written for adult readers. Sometimes better means more carefully plotted, internally consistent, and the characters didn't suddenly lose 50 IQ points to keep the story going. In several cases these are novel length stories that I have read more times, and with more enjoyment than the originals.
Fan fic is just like any other genre, some of it is excellent, and makes you glad to be a reader because you now have that story in your mind. Some of it makes you want to claw out your eyes and somehow unsee the blasphemy on the page.