fanfiction

I noticed most of the other definitions here completely trash fanfiction.

First, definition: Fanfiction is when someone takes either the story or characters (or both) of a certain piece of work, whether it be a novel, tv show, movie, etc, and create their own story based on it. Sometimes people will take characters from one movie and put them in another, which is called a cross-over.

Most people who bash fanfiction are not willing to look past the fact that it's based on something else to see that it could be worth reading IF you like the subject. If they don't like the subject, then obviously they are going to automatically dismiss the fanfiction.

It is true, however, that some fanfictions are rather poorly written and only a few hundred words, and it is also true that some people just write them so they can have their favorite characters have sex (lemon). But, if you take the time to find something decent, you can end up with a fanfiction story that is so close to the original piece of art, that you'd barely notice the difference.

1. Noun; nouns coming before it often act as adjective ("Warhammer 40,000 Fanfiction"). A story based within a pre-existing world, which may or may not include canonical (canon) characters as major or minor actors. Usually also includes non-canon characters, commonly referred to as OCs among the community. Though technically canon characters are also OCs, stories that focus majorly or entirely around OCs are considered 'OC fiction', or 'OC stories.' Many OC stories allow readers to submit their own characters to the story, though it's wise to do some research before hand to avoid having your character butchered.

There are many fanfiction writers out there who do genuinely amazing work with fanfiction, especially with stories which involve no canon characters. It's very difficult to butcher a canon character's personality if they're not present, and it's fairly easy to remain true to lore in most cases.

Unfortunately, there's also a lot of horny idiots who write fanfiction so that they can see their favourite characters having sex, even if there is no way this would ever happen in the source material ever. There's also a fair amount of fics that turn otherwise well-rounded characters into complete Mary Sues (see the fanfiction written for Homestuck's Vriska--actually, don't; I don't want to responsible for making anyone cry), or which completely ignore established canon in favour of headcanon.

n.

A piece of fiction within a fandom utilizing characters and situations from a pre-existing work including (but not limited to) books, television programs, films, and comic strips.

Typically separated into het, slash, and general genres. Often used to play out AU scenarios and/or various romantic pairings not found in the original work.

Distributed via mailing lists, blogs, and zines. Heavily archived online.

Fiction about characters or settings from an original work of fiction, created by fans of that work rather than by its creator. Usually it is written smut by children with the intelligence of a baby rhinoceros. However there can be some very good fanfics out there that can be sometimes better then the original work.

Something this English teacher heartily approves of as a way for writers to hone their art in a supportive community.
Some of the best stuff I've ever read can be found in the fandom!

When certain characters of different franchises, movies, or tv shows are used in an OPs story. Some of these are romances, some are au's, some is smut, some are alternate endings and some are grimdarks. Some is bad, some is good, some is okay.

Some popular franchises for fanfiction are Harry Potter, My Little Pony, Pokemon, Naruto.

Fictional stories written by fans of a book, tv show, celebrity, etc. They are NOT ALL bad and in fact can be very entertaining and fun to read. I myself read fanfics and although some are written by 10 year olds who have shitty writing skill, some, such as After, are very well written and get millions of readers. These fan fictions are usually in categories such as Het, Slash, AU, and such. Fanfics can be found on many websites like Wattpad which is my personal favorite. Fanfics aren't all about SEX SEX SEX and making everyone gay and all of the other things I've read. And it's also not all about the reader making an imaginary life where he/she is in a relationship with he main character. I suggest reading a very good fanfic, preferably one that has been suggested to you by an avid fanfic reader, so that you can decide for yourself if fanfics are your thing or not.