Do You Consider FF Writers "Real" Authors?

Absolutely. Even if many of us are still beginners, we still work with words. We're still trying to find the right words to describe the situations, struggling to create consistent, realistic characters, and devising plots that have no holes in them. The only difference between us and other writers is that we are currently borrowing characters and situations made up by someone else, that's all. Sometimes we only borrow the background universe and make up our own characters. In any case, we still go through the writing process in the same way as anybody else who's writing original characters in an original situation and who hasn't been published yet. For that matter, we still go through the writing process in the same way as Orson Scott Card, Michael Stackpole, Anne Perry, and anybody else who has been published. They might be more experienced, they might get paid for it, but we all write stories, and that makes us all 'real' authors.

 

^^^^
Ditto.

Besiders, I always thought that the EU writers of the Star Wars books were just fan fic writers who got paid and published when it came down right to it...

 

Absolutely. We try to work in a world established by someone else, true, but that doesn't mean that we're unoriginal. We use our imaginations and try to set feelings and moods to words, just as "real" writers do.

Besides, though this is a biased opinion, I happen to think that many writers here do a better job of characterization and sticking faithfully to the message and "spirit" of Star Wars than the proffesionals do.

 

It's practice writing, for the real, for me. I knew a lot of people focus on it, and more power to them, because a lot of the people here are just doing this for fun, not because they ever want to be published. The people who write fanfic are teenagers, college students, lawyers, nurses, mothers, cops, soldiers, clerks, etc, many of whom never intend to really focus on writing as a career. They just use this universe because it's comfortable, and they want an opportunity to express themselves. Fanfic is a great place to do that in.

I see as a kind of writing lite, but I don't mean that to demean any of the writers here: some of the writers here are able to convey an amazing sense of characterization and power in their writing. And I love doing it, whether it's real writing or not. That's why I keep doing it, despite the fact that I keep telling myself that I'm wasting time that should be focused on original works so that I can get published.

 

I seriously don't see how we can be considered "real" authors. We're taking someone elses work and calling it our own idea. Plus we don't get paid for writing fan fiction. You have to be paid money for your work before you're a real author. Until then you're just one of thousands of hopefuls that wish for some sort of recognition, or ego boost for their work.

 

I'm going to abstain from commenting on the fanfiction/real author correlation, but I just wanted to say that even if you aren't paid doesn't mean that you're not a real author. If you write, you're a writer, who is an author, whether or not you get paid. An author is just the person who makes up a story and puts it into words. You don't need to get paid.
~Eirtae

 

If you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to create a story, no matter what kind, then you are a "real" author. Whether it's fanfic or original fiction, whether you get paid or not, the fact that you write (and moreover, love to write) makes you a real author.

How the heck do you actually define "What makes a 'real' author?"

 

That's like asking if a parent is a mother or father. Duh.

 

writing fanfiction is an art. in the beginning, my writing wasn't the best but as time went on, it got better and more dramatic.

the way i see it, there's a division of fics. my later stuff, which is really deep, i call them part of the 'classic' fics. and my earlier stuff, well, 'rookie' fics.

laugh all you want, i think everybody can relate to what i'm saying.

so two years ago, i didn't consider myself a fanfic writer but after you've become accepted by respected authors in your genre (obidala, anakin/padme etc.), you're in.

 

I DEFINETLY think we're true authors. Anyone who reads these stories and isn't involved in the writing themselves doesn't understand how much time and work it takes (i.e. research of the Star Wars universe-believe me, it's complex), not to mention, unlike those who publish books, we don't get paid. Appreciate the entertainment these people give you! You know that when you buy a Star Wars book, it never has enough of the area your interested in. Here you can find all different types of stories. Ani/Ami, Luke/Mara, Action, OT, Prequels, etc. Personally, I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't post on this site and read the stories of others.

 

I consider them to be real unpublished writers. Being an author isn't having a contract, it's having a story to tell.

 

Actually, published just means that more than 3 people have read your work. It doesn't have anything to do with payment. Pretty much everyone on this board is published, because you can assume even without posters, you'll get more than 3 readers.

And yes, with the amount of time and effort that goes into the stories on the boards, I'd say fanfic writers are authors, just, unfortunately, not accorded the same respect given to famous authors with paid, published works.

 

I say fanfiction writers are authors in only some ways. And I say this as someone who has written an original (albeit unpublished) novel.

Writing a fanfic and writing some original are two VERY different things. There are so many more things to consider when doing something original. Doing something original requires a great deal more skill and effort than writing in something you already know about, such as SW fanfic.

Just my opinion - don't stone me.

 

I consider them to be real unpublished writers. Being an author isn't having a contract, it's having a story to tell.

Well said, Daughter of Yub Yub!

Are fanfiction writers real writers? Sure. If you have a story and you commit it to paper/word processor/whatever, then you're a writer. A writer, in my opinion, is merely a person who writes, reguardless of what they write. Whether they're playing in their own sandbox or someone elses, it's still a form of fiction.

 

I'm not sure I'd agree with that - I find writing fan fiction harder than original stuff. When I'm working in my own fantasy world, I get to make up all the rules. I only have to make sure that they all fit together and make sense.

But in fan fiction, I have to follow someone else's rules. Maybe it's because I'm a stickler for detail and accuracy, but I do an incredible amount of research for fan fiction. Sure, some people call me crazy, but the end product is so much better when the author has actually put the effort into it to show all the subtleties and nuances of the environment. After all, to quote the architect Mies von der Rohe, "God is in the details."

But I digress.

Are we authors? Absolutely. An author is merely someone who creates something, and if there is any element of originality in what you write, you have authored it. Paid or unpaid has nothing to do with it, in my opinion - for me, I'm just an author who hasn't managed to be published yet. And originality doesn't really have much to do with it either. Are the EU books not real books because the author didn't make up everything in them? Is David McCullough not a real author because everyone who appears in his books (all of them non-fiction) is a real person?

I think the question of fan fiction authors being real authors is the wrong question to ask. Some of us are, and some of us aren't. We've all read authors here who are better than professionals, and we've all read authors here who are worse that professionals. The better question to ask is what defines an author, be it fan fiction or otherwise.

Mel

 

Melyanna, you took the words right out of my mouth...

Sometimes I think fan fic is even harder because readers are VERY protective of how 'their' characters are portrayed...
(heck I'm guilty of it myself...) and some will let you know in NO uncertain terms...

(Case in Point... for me, Obidalllas are poison... rant rant rant...)

 

Sometimes I think fan fic is even harder because readers are VERY protective of how 'their' characters are portrayed...
(heck I'm guilty of it myself...) and some will let you know in NO uncertain terms...

Yeah, I can imagine. So far I haven't run into any readers like that myself, though I've looked back at some of my old stuff and cringed at characterizations.

I think a big way to help yourself out there is through collaborations. In a collab, you have to agree on characterization with your co-author, so you get a little more used to conforming to someone else's character. (Sharing original characters can be lots of fun too - but choose your co-author wisely. )

Mel

 

Fanfiction is much easier to write than original fic, for me, but only because I was obsessed with Star Wars in my youth. I know *everything* about this galaxy that I need to know to create characters, places and aliens in it. It just feels *comfortable* to write in, and I can knock off twenty or thirty pages like it was nothing.

Original fic, for me, is a lot more difficult because I have to research everything. But then again, that's because most of my original fic takes place in the real world. Maybe if I wrote fantasy it would be easier

 

Apsolutely... I worship the FF writes I like the same as I do the book writes I like. (just ask my 6 dieties)

 

I agree with Lothi...writing is writing is writing, no matter what the material. Now, if there is a stereotypical view out there that fanfiction writers aren't "real" authors because supposedly, if we had talent we'd be doing it for money- well, that's a different story.

I'm not one of those people who looks at ff as "practice" for writing my "real" stories...I couldn't do that. I can't write with out a great deal of intellectual and emotional investment in my work and if I simply saw it as a "side project" I wouldn't post it - because it wouldn't meet my standards.

-Tim

 

I'm not one of those people who looks at ff as "practice" for writing my "real" stories...I couldn't do that. I can't write with out a great deal of intellectual and emotional investment in my work and if I simply saw it as a "side project" I wouldn't post it - because it wouldn't meet my standards.

Agreed 100%. If I looked at this as a "minor" thing, I wouldn't write at all. I'm an artist in other areas also (photography, painting) and I put as much of myself in my stories as I can. I'm not a professional, but it doesn't mean that my work isn't art. Same with my stories.

 

I'm not a professional, but it doesn't mean that my work isn't art. Same with my stories.

ONLY differance between a 'professional' and an 'amature' is the 'professional' is getting paid!. I also take great pride in my writing... It's the most incredible feeling in the world to have someone say 'I enjoy your work' or 'this piece moved me'...

I mean... WOW. I remember the first time someone told me that a story I had written made them teary eyed... or I made them laugh... or that they NEEDED me to continue... what a thrill... Even when someone took time to privetly point out some formating flaws... that they cared enought to want to help....

Just V. Cool.....

 

Of course fan fic writers are real authors, if they consider themselves so. I know I write more than just Star Wars, and even though I'm not published I consider myself a real author because I spend more time writing or thinking about writing than I do most other things. Maybe I'd get published if I tried. *shrugs*

 

Well, time to put my 2 cents in...

As to real authors, we are but in some sense we're not. By writing fan fiction, we playing off of someone else's story, even if it is an original character story. But then again, how is a "real author" defined? If by a "real author" you mean a published author, then not many of us here are.

However (thanks to this stupid dictionary sitting before me), Websters defines "author" as a Writer; creator. In that sense, we are authors.

However, playing off what some of you have mentioned, being a published author does not necissarily mean that you are paid. (I speak from experience).

(and if that made no sense, go ahead and thwack me)