Fan-fiction tends to be looked down upon as the importunate ragged-trousered country cousin knocking on the back door of that vast and opulent mansion that is English literature. Fan-fiction is generally denigrated for several very specious reasons.

Firstly, if our stories were good enough, they'd be accepted by publishers and appear in bookshops. They aren't, ergo, they're no good.

Secondly, we can't even create our own characters; we have to use established characters devised by our betters.

Thirdly, it's basically just 'vanity publishing,' isn't it?

Let's take a look at the professional side of writing - those works written with the intention of being published for filthy lucre, or better yet, the kudos of some literary prize.

Having attended a number of excellent night school classes on creative writing over the years, I know that it can take a year from the submission of a manuscript to its appearance on the bookshop shelves.

We were told that J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone languished on the slush pile for several months before an employee, looking for something to read over the weekend, just happened to pick up that particular manuscript. She read it, enjoyed it and suggested that it should be published. So the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter books is down to good luck as much as literary talent.

Acceptance for publication means that your work fits into one of two criteria. These are, firstly, books that the agent (a necessary acquisition for any serious writer) and publisher think will sell, such as the ghost written autobiography of the latest teenaged singing/dancing/acting/sporting 'sensation,' a cookery book by a Big Name restaurateur, or a novel by someone whose name is already well-known in a different field.

The second criterion is what the agent or publisher personally happens to like.

Now, once upon a time, so I'm told, the pyramids of Egypt were a much more spectacular sight than they are now, being faced with white limestone and topped with a golden pyramid, something like the picture on the title plate above.

I envision the totality of submissions as such a pyramid. Some of them look good at first glance - the limestone facing. Some really are brilliant - the golden pyramid at the top. The rest of the pyramid is just cheap rock filling; whatever was handy at the time.

So the agents and publishers have to screen through a whole lot of dross in order to find the golden pyramid work that's worth publishing. But... Those are their choices. They may not be yours; may not be within light-years of what you find interesting.

Even if accepted for publication, the first print run may be very small - 250 copies in the case of a friend of ours who became 'a published author.' This small number of copies was distributed in ones and twos to bookshops across the country. With such a scattergun approach, the chances of the Beloved Reader, who might be interested in it, even spotting it on the shelf are small.

So unless you're either really desperate for money (and out of touch with reality about your chances of 'making it big') or supremely confident about your own genius, why bother taking that route?

The second, even more specious argument against fan-fiction is that we can't even create our own characters; we have to use established characters devised by others.

Well, I've written both fan fiction and original fiction. These are two entirely separate genres with totally different demands and skill sets, and guess what? Writing original fiction is a whole lot easier!

With original fiction, the characters and setting are your own; you are the sole arbiter. No one can say your characters 'wouldn't do that' because you know far more about them than your readers do - at least you should. You know their history, or these days, backstory, so only you know what their motivations are until you reach the right place to make your jaw-dropping revelations about why they did what they did.

No one can reasonably contradict you. Of course, if you haven't done adequate research for your story, the Beloved Reader can call you on that.

Here's a side note. Lindsey Davis, this is for you.

I love your Roman detective stories, and Falco is a great favourite of mine. I even buy your books! I really appreciate the amount of research you've done; I haven't spotted many gaffes. {g}

But here's the thing. I have heard you say on air, more than once, that if you don't want to bother with research, write science fiction. Wrong! Oh so very wrong.

You see, Lindsey, you only have to research Roman history around the time of Vespasian and Titus. Now, if I write a sci-fi novel set in the same time period, not only do I have to do the same research as you did, but I also have to research space-time physics in order to find some scientifically plausible way of sending my hero back in time or into a different universe which has reached that era.

So the science fiction writer has to do more research than you, not less.

Digression over. ;-)

Then why is fan-fiction harder? More of a challenge? Because the Beloved Reader already knows the characters just as well as you do and quite possibly a whole lot better; the setting and backstory too. Write a story where the characters act totally out-of-character and you'd better be ready for a hail of brickbats.

The fen really hate having much admired characters butchered, and are very unforgiving when they perceive a writer performing a hatchet job on them.

This goes double - triple, quadruple, googolplex! - if the writer is a professional scriptwriter who's been brought in to write for an established set of characters. And screws around with them.

I know many fan-fiction writers who are more creative and imaginative in their plotting, more consistent and faithful in their characterizations and do more research than a lot of the guys who are paid for their work. Maybe that's because the fan-fiction writers do it for love.

Why read fan fiction? If you enjoy a particular television programme, which necessarily has a finite number of episodes, then you want to read more tales about your heroes' adventures.

But surely, you're going to have to read through a lot of dreck? Yes, you are. Of course you are, like the agent thumbing through all those naff manuscripts in search of that little golden pyramid.

One writer, P.D.James or Ruth Rendell if memory serves, said her agent could tell from the first sentence whether a manuscript was worth publishing or not. At the time, I thought this was a bit of an exaggeration; now I'm not so sure.

I can pretty much decide on the basis of the first paragraph or two whether it's going to be worth my while reading on. Bad grammar and spelling are pretty off-putting. If the writer can't be bothered to use her spellchecker or to get a friend to read it through for her, then the rest of it is unlikely to get any better.

Similarly, if a writer begins with long rambling descriptive passages in hundred-word sentences, then it's likely to be tedious to read, however beautiful the metaphors.

But eventually, you strike gold - a good writer who's on your wavelength. Oh joy! She's probably written several stories; good writers rarely stop after their first story, especially if lots of readers have sent nice feedback and demanded a sequel.

Then there are internet sites which post recommendations, along with the URL, and archive sites, not to mention annual Fan-Fiction Awards where readers have nominated their favourite stories and other readers have voted for the best of the best.

Finally, isn't it really just 'vanity publishing' to post our pathetic scribbles on t'Internet?

In some cases, I dare say it is, but certainly not all. When you've enjoyed reading other writers' stories, you think maybe it would be fun to try it for yourself and maybe give pleasure to others thereby - payback in some small part for the pleasure other writers have given you.

Why post the finished product on your website? Why not go for publication? To me that sounds as if you're saying, 'my work is very special so you can only read it if you're prepared to pay for the privilege.' Actually, that smacks to me of vanity...

I'm not that precious about my work. If it makes just one person's day a little brighter, then it's payment enough and I'm happy with that.

There are also issues of copyright, and negotiating your way through those would no doubt lengthen the time from the submission of manuscript to its appearance in the bookshops. Posting your stories on your website is instant; no waiting.

Then again, there is the question of 'marketing.' With the scattergun effect, it is entirely random as to whether any one person browsing in the bookshop will happen to see your book, much less remove it from the shelf and see if the blurb on the cover appeals to her.

On the internet, you can target your readership. There are a large number of discussion sites frequented by fans who, while they may also enjoy cookery books, biographies of celebrities and such like, join the fan groups because they like the same types of story that you do.

There, you can tell members of those groups of your latest offering; you are notifying those people who, in all the world, are the ones most likely to be interested in your fan-fiction. Not a scattergun but a laser-guided missile!

Of course they aren't all going to dash off and read your latest fic., but at least you aren't bothering the wrong people - the ones whose interest in sci-fi is on a par with my interest in reality T.V. ::shudders::

So, if you've previously looked down on fan-fiction and its writers as something nasty you've just trodden in, then do a little Googling about your favourite television programme, find a good fan site and read a few stories.

You'll wonder why you hadn't tried it sooner and before long, you too will become a fan-fiction author because, above all, it's fun!

[ 1,708 words ]