Do you like or dislike fanfics?

[AryaX]

I don't think there is any real reason to think fanfics are inherently worse than, sequels, side stories, alternative universe stories, etc, cooked up by the original authors, or the content owners... and nowadays fanfics, fantranslations, fanxxx, tend to be far superior infact, as the driving force behind the "canon" works seems to be profit and the "proper" modern day sensibilities... well... mostly in the west... for now...

 

[BlackKnightX]

IDK, but personally I find too many fanfictions are just people putting an ideal version of themselves into that story, which are absolutely perfect, overpowered, and perfect. Not saying don't write fanfictions, but people who do write/plan to write, please add obstacles for characters to overcome, like an actual wall. It would also be nice, plotline-wise if they do lose sometimes. But I also see what the community feels about this.

I like it if it’s well-written. As for the perfect and overpowered protagonist, I have no problem with that as long as it’s well-written, also.

See what I did there?

So, what is well-written, anyway? I think the only thing that will contribute greatly to that quality is—“tension”.

Conflicts create tension. Struggles create tension. Obstacles creates tension. High stakes create tension. Even atmosphere can also create tension.

But if the character’s too perfect, then he doesn’t have to struggle, thus there‘d be no tension, wouldn’t it?

Well, wrong! Even if the story has a perfect character, there are still a lot of way to add tension in your story.

No matter how strong or overpowered they are, as long as that character’s not a god, your character will still have their limits. And that limits can create tension.

You could say that as long as your character is not a god—omnipotent, omniscient, know all, and can do anything—then I think there’s no problem adding tension.

As for how much tension is enough, well, that depends on each person. Everyone has different taste after all.

You can even think of it in term of game. Some like to play on an easy mode, some like to play on a hardcore mode. It really depends on what you‘re looking for.

So with that said, I don’t think the perfect character is a problem at all, as long as it makes sense and stay consistent throughout the story.

The problem is how the author add tension into the story with that kind of character in it, or how he present the story in an interesting way.

It’s the author’s job to guide readers through the journey, not the character.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Kapal

Something tore the old world apart. Nobody knows what, when, why, or how. All that's left are dried remnants of the past and the birth of a new, savage, cruel world. Subjek woke up right at the cusp of a turning age for this desolate landscape; two roaring factions vying...

www.scribblehub.com

I wrote my fanfic, but it's based not on characters but the setting and theme. Made the characters myself. Did it because I fucking love the setting that is Fallout. Bunch of mfs trying to survive in the remnant of a place they never been in.

Hell of a setting to write in.

 

[Carpio]

People doing so to fanfic and they could do so to a non-fanfic.
You just use an example of bad fanfic writer to say fanfics are all bad right there.

I never said all fanfics are bad. I do read a couple. But when I try to find something of the same quality as those. I just get all these stories with no conflict. And that disappoints me. And bad fanfics are so much more common than a good one like 1 in a million. While I agree that normal series are like that too with the good and bad, most people tend to add a degree of conflict as they wanna write about an epic fight or something.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

Dislike with a passion.though there is the exception of my immortal as it is so bad and cringey that it's funny.

 

[Anon_Y_Mousse]

Eh, the only type of fanfic that I don't really hate in one way or another is a fanfic that's more like a spin-off. Like the MC interacting with some side or even background characters. Can't really think of an example here, hope you get the idea.


As for those where the MC is heavily involved in the main plot, I feel like the author could just rip off the concept and call it an original, but eh. There's also the crackfics(think 7Hs) that make absolutely no sense whatsoever but are admittedly entertaining to read since they have popular characters doing stupid shit, looking at you Genshin fanbase.

 

[Maldon]

I don't like it, but a lot of people do.
it sometimes even gets published, like boruto.

 

[SailusGebel]

You basically make a thread title "Do you like or dislike fanfics?" then you start talking about how most fanfictions are bad. You basically clump all fanfictions as being bad.

Cause most fanfictions are bad.

 

[Daitengu]

Mixed bag for me.

Can't see the point of sticking to canon unless it's just a thing in the background while the mc is off doing their own thing.

Harem in fanfics always sucks.

OP protag gets boring cause they just gotta be more powerful than the Canon mc.

On the other hand some fanfics cover interesting ground that isn't talked about in Canon, or twists to canon character development.

 

[Reborn_Cat]

Don't really hate them, but 90% of them are bad and 8 of the 10% remaining are somewhat good but not really that great either and just barely exceed my very low expectations of fanfics. Then there are Wattpad fanfics which paint a really bad picture for fanfics in general

 

[HappyVainGlory]

Generally, I dislike fanfics because it's low-hanging fruit. Most people who write fanfics are super amateur writers who're basically playing with the setting like toddlers do with action figures and making nonsensical stories or just having cool things happen.

In short, a steaming hot mess.

There are a few good ones though. If the author is really passionate about the series and understands the setting, characters, and plot well enough then those fanfics work pretty good as supplemental works after going through the canon work. It's a toss-up though, since author's inevitably interpret things differently when they write their own work based off something else.

And to quote a certain faker...

"There is no rule that says an imitation cannot defeat the original."

 

[Kilolo]

You basically make a thread title "Do you like or dislike fanfics?" then you start talking about how most fanfictions are bad. You basically clump all fanfictions as being bad.

he said "most", means not all.

like that popular ace attorney quote that re-emerging lately "almost christmas means it wasn't christmas"

 

[Kilolo]

Then he better not making a title asking whether people should hate all fanfics just because most of them are bad.

I..... don't know how the heck you even reached that conclusion, but if you hate it that much, then just block the user so their post won't be visible at all on your screen.
like this :

 

[Zirrboy]

I love fanfics because seeing their crude understanding of the characters reinforces my superiority complex.

 

[Twin]

I Totally avoid them

 

[Armorien]

Don't really think I can put a definite like or dislike, again, it's a vast medium full of bad and good works. Though I would say the former is more common.

 

[Carpio]

I..... don't know how the heck you even reached that conclusion, but if you hate it that much, then just block the user so their post won't be visible at all on your screen.
like this :
View attachment 11092

Nice one

 

[peelsdeeni]

IMO, fanfics are just like other stories, except someone's already built the groundwork for you.
You could follow the original plan with a few changes here and there or you could just say screw it and completely change the design.

I read fanfics every now and then but mostly because I already know the characters, an emotional attachment has already been made, it's easier for me to like the characters since I'm a weeb.
Also because I like to feel emotions in the form of watching my comfort character get put through hell. I like reading angst okay, don't judge me.

There are good fanfics and okay fanfics and horrible, crappy, doesn't deserve to ever see the light of day again fanfics. Just like other stories. Of course, I won't ever say any specific fanfics or stories are crappy and horrible because I'm a coward that's too afraid to press the rude dialogue option in games when talking to a NPC.

 

[AM-ACE-ING]

They're stories
That's it
There are good stories and there are bad stories

Of course, I won't ever say any specific fanfics or stories are crappy and horrible because I'm a coward that's too afraid to press the rude dialogue option in games when talking to a NPC.

I am physically unable to press the rude dialogue option in games
Don't worry you ain't alone

 

[Ai-chan]

IDK, but personally I find too many fanfictions are just people putting an ideal version of themselves into that story, which are absolutely perfect, overpowered, and perfect. Not saying don't write fanfictions, but people who do write/plan to write, please add obstacles for characters to overcome, like an actual wall. It would also be nice, plotline-wise if they do lose sometimes. But I also see what the community feels about this.

Generally dislike.

Don't misunderstand, some of them are written well. The problem with fanfiction is that most of them were written as self-inserts, as in the author wants to be part of that universe and writes themselves into it. Now, this is not a problem by itself. It is a fantasy, only that now it is the author's fantasy, there's nothing wrong with that either.

The real problem is when they create themselves as a Mary Sue. They make their own self-insert character super pretty, super charming, super intelligent and super strong. This still isn't really a big problem, since Superman is also a Mary Sue, to the point that they had to invent a non-existent weakness, which is the Kryptonite because otherwise nothing would be able to give him any fight.

It becomes a big problem when the author makes everyone agree, worship, amazed, love and defends his self-insert character even when there is no way in hell anyone in real life would ever do that. For example, the Mary Sue solves the issue of the gear not moving well by applying a lubricant and suddenly the gear turns easily like magic. Like dudes, you're all engineers, none of you thought of applying lubricant to the gears? Did you all sleep throughout your PhD days?