Common Subgenres of Fan Fiction
Subgenres Based On Setting
Alternative universe
Main article: Alternative universe (fan fiction)
An AU (alternative universe or alternate universe) story is one which makes major changes to the canonical storyline or premise, such as killing off the main character, changing characters' motives or alliances or, commonly, changing the setting. Generally, to be considered an alternative universe story, the change must be something that would be extremely unlikely to happen in canon, or must be contradicted by new canon information that was not released when the story was first written. For example, in the Harry Potter universe, a story in which Draco Malfoy becomes a rock star would be considered AU, as would a story about Cedric Diggory's adult life written prior to the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in which Cedric dies before reaching adulthood.
"Über" Fanfiction
Main article: Überfic
Über-fic is a form of AU story where the characters are completely removed from their canon context. The character is given a completely new background to fit them into a different universe. An example would be stories featuring Sherlock Holmes living and working in New York City in 2006, or in the Star Trek or Harry Potter settings. Characters usually retain their names, appearance, personality and often their social standing, but are integrated into another fandom. No mention is made of their origins, except perhaps as a form of dramatic irony.
Such stories originated within and are still most common among the Xena fan fiction community, but can also be found in Star Trek, Harry Potter, Sailor Moon and InuYasha communities. Many Über stories deal with a romance between two of the characters, feature reincarnation as part of the theme, and contain a sense of repeated destiny.
Crossover
Main article: Fictional crossover
Another fan fiction subgenre is the crossover story, in which either characters from one story exist in (or are transported to) another pre-existing story's world, or more commonly, characters from two or more stories interact. An example would be the human refugee fleet led by the Battlestar Galactica finding and entering the territory of Star Trek's United Federation of Planets, or the characters from the television series CSI:Crime Scene Investigation solving crimes in the Harry Potter universe. While the crossover story is extremely popular amongst fan fiction writers, it does sometimes occur in "canon" (non-fan fiction) works - examples of this include the episode of the X-Files which featured Richard Belzer as his Homicide: Life on the Street character John Munch, and the fact that John Munch later began to appear as a main character in Law and Order: SVU.
Subgenres Based On Character Relationships
Alternate Pairing
Pairing means romantic or erotic involvement. An alternate pairing story centers on a relationship between characters who are not involved in canon. Many fandoms have 'defined' pairings based on hints in the original story. A canon containing many changing relationships is more apt to generate fan fictions with alternate pairings. Fans often refer to relationships as a "ship" and people who are in favor of two particular characters pairing up are called "shippers."
Slash
Slash is, depending on one's preferred definition, a subgenre of Alternate Pairing that addresses a relationship between characters of the same gender, or the same thing as an Alternate Pairing. The expression comes from the late 1970s, when the "/" symbol began to be used to designate a romantic relationship between Star Trek characters, especially between Kirk/Spock. In the Star Trek fandom, 'slash' still currently tends to refer to any non-canon 'ship' (including heterosexual ones), although in most other fandoms, the meaning has morphed into referring specifically to same-sex or even, frequently, to exclusively male same-sex pairings.
Stories with male homosexual pairings are the most common. Lesbian relationships are often referred to as 'femslash' or 'femmeslash' to distinguish them from the male/male pairing stories, though some fans prefer to use the term 'Saffic' (a portmanteau of 'Sapphic' and 'Fiction'). Fans of Japanese manga or anime use the Japanese terms relating to the subgenres, referring to male homosexual pairings as yaoi or shônen-ai and Lesbian pairings as yuri or shôjo-ai. The former term for each typically represents the more sexually explicit stories, while the latter generally represents more romance-centered stories, though they are occasionally used interchangeably, especially yuri and shoujo-ai.
See also: Shipping (fandom), Shounen-ai, Shoujo-ai, Yaoi, and Yuri (animation)
Het
"Het" classifies a romance and/or sexually explicit story which has as its main focus a heterosexual relationship.
Lemon and Lime
Explicit sex stories in general, especially in anime fan fiction, are known as lemon, which comes from a Japanese slang term meaning "sexy". The term lime denotes a story that has sexual themes but is not necessarily explicit. "Lemon" stories without much plot other than sex are also referred to as smutfics or as PWPs ("Porn Without Plot" or "Plot? What Plot?"). These terms are also sometimes used to describe original amateur fiction that is published online.
Until 2005, "lemon" stories on multi-genre online archives were labeled using the MPAA ratings system's NC-17 rating. However, the MPAA sent cease and desist letters to several fan fiction sites, threatening legal action over the usage of their copyrighted system to rate content that was not rated by they themselves or anyone affiliated with them. The archive sites thus resorted to using other methods of warning for certain content; some resorted to warning labels, while other archives began to rate sexually explicit stories as "X" (which is no longer part of the MPAA system), created their own rating systems, or switched to using the public domain Fiction Rating System (as FanFiction.net has).
Real person fiction
Main article: Real person fiction
Real person fiction, also called "RPF", is written about real people such as actors, politicians, athletes and musicians. There are some people who disagree on whether or not RPF is genuine 'fan fiction', though this largely depends on one's definition of the term 'fan fiction'.
Formats of Fan Fiction
Virtual seasons
Main article: Virtual season
The virtual season is usually a collaborative effort to produce a compilation of fan stories or scripts portraying episodes of an entire season for a television program -- usually one that has been cancelled or is no longer producing new episodes. Often, these writers will elect members of their group to be the imaginary producers, head writers, ors, and other traditional roles to aid in the coordination of the virtual season's material, direction, and continuity. Every effort is made to reproduce and carry on the details of the program as professionally as possible. The most dedicated of these teams sometimes produce fan films such as Star Trek, New Voyages.
Dôjinshi
Main article: Dojinshi
Dôjinshi (also sometimes romanized as doujinshi) is a Japanese term for self-published works, usually manga, novels, fan guides, art collections, and games, often sold in small runs for a minor profit. This includes fan fiction in both textual and, more famously, manga format. While most dôjinshi featuring fan fiction is not technically legal under Japanese copyright law, the general practice of most copyright owners is to allow it, on the grounds that it keeps fans interested in the original work and fosters the talent of amateur artists and writers who may choose to go professional, such as CLAMP.
Fanfic as pastiche
Fan fiction also exists in the form of independent, fan-produced pastiches and parodies of established works, including fan-produced film and video. The first such parody was 1978's Hardware Wars. One of the best known is Troops, a parody of the reality television show Cops, depicting Star Wars Imperial Stormtroopers on patrol.
Sherlock Holmes, the Cthulhu Mythos and several of Edgar Rice Burroughs' fantasy series have fan fiction pastiche communities. This tradition comes from the establishment of literary societies, dating back to the 1930s and 1940s. These societies attracted both professional and fan writers. They practice a semi-professional level of publication of fan fiction of a specifically sophisticated literary nature, both in print quality, community expectations and orientation. Star Trek fans quickly developed a pastiche community around the Kraith series, which began appearing in fanzines in 1967 and had about thirty contributors. Probably the best-known example of such a community as of 2006 would be the followers of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series.
MST
Main article: MSTing
MSTings (Sometimes called MiSTings) are not fan fiction in the true sense. They are commentaries on fan fiction stories, written in the style of the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. In MST3K, a man and some homemade robots trapped on a spaceship watch bad movies and make humorous comments about them. For written MSTings, bad fan fiction is used.
Generally speaking, MSTers follow a code of conduct, though some places such as Fandomination.net and Project A.F.T.E.R. have MSTings which clearly violate these "rules." One of the least respected rules is that MSTing authors should always obtain permission from the author(s) of the fanfics that they are MSTing.
Although MSTings originated as MST3K fanfics, some people have used the MSTing format with an original cast or the cast of the canon the original fan fiction is based on, instead of the MST3K characters.
It should be noted that FanFiction.net, among others, has banned the posting of MSTs, commonly citing that they include writing that is not the work of the author of the MST.
Drabble
Main article: Drabble
The term drabble originates from the 1971 book Monty Python’s Big Red Book: "Drabble. A word game for 2 to 4 players. The four players sit from left to right and the first person to write a novel wins." The term was picked up by the science fiction fan community, then spread to professional science fiction. Generally, a fan fiction drabble consists of a paragraph or two featuring a character monologue, description of a character or setting, etc. However, drabble can also mean a story of precisely 100 words. It may also refer to a plotless, pointless, often humorous story; these are also called "crack fic", likely after the slang term "on crack" for "crazy".
Additional Associated Terminology
Referring to Characters
Mary Sue
Main article: Mary Sue
Mary Sue (Sue for short) is a pejorative term that refers to characters perceived as being badly-characterized and unsympathetic, often written in a cliche manner, who usually dominate the story they appear in, whether through upstaging the established characters, romancing one or more established characters, or having her own story set in the same universe in which she is the star. Mary Sue most often refers to a heavily idealized character, and as such, most argue that characters they perceive as Mary Sues lack any significant or noteworthy flaws, and thus are unrealistic. Most characters labeled as Mary Sues happen to be OCs (see: original character), but some maintain that even established characters (referred to as canon characters or sometimes canons) can be made into a Sue, or that characters in original fiction can be one as well. Many, but not all, Mary Sues are also self-inserts (see: self-insert). The term "Mary Sue" usually refers specifically to a female character; the male equivalent has a number of designations, among them Marty Stu, Marty Sam, and Gary Stu. An author who writes Mary Sue characters ia called a "Mary Suer" or a "Suethor" (Sue-author).
Anti-Mary Sue
An anti-Mary Sue (usually shortened to 'anti-Sue' or 'anti Sue') is the product of an author doing everything that he/she can to prevent their characters from becoming a Mary-Sue. Normally, an anti Mary-Sue will be physically unattractive, not powerful in the least, hated by most canon characters or else just not interact with them at all, and will most likely be nothing short of an utter and complete failure. Many readers find these characters to be refreshing, being more believable than the dreaded Mary Sue, though not necessarily preferable in every case.
Self-Insert
Main article: Author character
Self-insertion consists of an author writing him- or herself into the story in one role or another. The resulting "character" is usually referred to as a self-insert. The term is often closely associated with Mary Sues, but does not actually exclusively apply to the kinds of characters typically labeled a Mary Sue.
It's a common mistake to confuse the terms 'Mary Sue' and 'self-insert', especially since generally, Mary Sues are seen as being the kind of person the author wishes they could be and often are a form of idealized self-insertion (especially in cases in which the character is revealed to have a secret relationship to one or more canon characters, such as being a long-lost relative), but the two terms do have two distinct meanings.
Original Character
An Original Character (OC) is a character originated by a fan author, as opposed to being a character who comes from the canon source; the term typically is used by fan fiction writers to refer to characters in their original fiction works as well. The label "OC" includes everything from bystanders, to minor characters, to major characters. Almost all characters in original fiction are OCs (save perhaps for historical figures), so the term Original Character has a completely different contextual meaning depending on whether one is speaking of original or fan fiction.
OOC
OOC is an acronym for Out of Character. The term may or may not come from online roleplaying, in which the same acronym is often used to denote comments made while not actually playing the role of a character. However, its usage in fan fiction is different, referring only to the behavior of (usually canon) characters in the story itself regarding whether or not they seem "in-character" (see: IC).
IC
IC is an acronym for In-Character, and refers to the behavior of (usually canon) characters which seems logical given what is known about them and their previous behavior in canon.
Misc.
Original Fiction
The opposite of fan fiction. Refers to wholly original works of fiction, e.g. not based on any prexisting stories (though some accept stories based loosely upon mythology or folklore to be original fiction as well). In 2006, many fans inaccurately refer to any amateur writing as "fanfiction" even if characters, settings and themes are entirely original. It is worth noting that there is no such thing as an "original fanfic". The term is a misnomer that is sometimes applied to completely original amateur works. Not all amateur fiction is fan fiction. Among anime/manga fans, 'original fanfic' (or "original fic" or "orig!fic") is used to refer to an original work that uses anime/manga style themes and plot devices, settings and names. "Original fanfiction" may also refer to a story which takes place in an established universe, such as Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, but uses none of the established characters; this practice is also known as "genfic". Some fanfiction authors use the term to refer to conceptually independent writings which have a (normally small) reference to some known fandom. For example, a normal dramatic romance story may begin with a character taking a train at King's Cross Station might be viewed as "original fanfiction" based on Harry Potter, even if nothing else related to the Potter universe happens in the story.
Fandom
In fan fiction communities, especially online, generally fandom refers to people who enjoy a story or game and actively interact with others who share the same love for the media, or rather, a group (however scattered) of such individuals; the term is a portmanteau of fan and kingdom. The term is often used with possessive pronouns, similar to how one would refer to one's country or religion, reflecting some fans' passionate devotion and personal attachment to certain fandoms; however, many fans who are said to belong to a given fandom might be only slightly more than casually interested.
Canon
Main article: Canon (fiction)
Canon (derived from the term's usage in the Christian religion and popularized in this context by the Baker Street Irregulars) refers to the "official" source material upon which fan fiction can be based. In recent years, some fandoms have engaged in lengthy debate, over what is or isn't "canon", due to multiple writers in various media creating contradictory source material; for example, in series such as Doctor Who, Additionally, many fans have varying levels of faith in the potentially "canonical" nature of of novels based on films or television series, or novelizations of films and television episodes, which are generally not written by the person who wrote the scripts on which they're based.
Something that is regarded as "canon" is regarded as verifiable fact in the given fandom. Examples of this are: Buffy the Vampire Slayer having superhuman strength, speed and healing abilities, or the fact that she once slept with Angel, who then lost his soul. Details as complex as the laws of physics in a given story universe or as minute as how a character's name is meant to be spelled can be referred to as "canon" details, so long as they are specifically shown or otherwise directly revealed in the source material; this includes character behavior as well, though debate over what can or cannot be considered "canon behavior" is often a bone of contention in any given fandom. At times, authors (such as Joss Whedon or JK Rowling) may also expand on what is shown in the original story in other media, especially personal websites or blogs. Generally comments on the nature of a story or character directly from the creator are considered statements of "canon".
Fanon
Fanon refers to invented (non-canon or not verified as being canon) facts or situations, usually those which are used frequently in fan fiction so as to become seen by many as an extended part of the canon. An example of fanon from early Star Trek fan fiction was the expression ni var, meaning "two forms". Conceived by linguist Dorothy Jones Heydt for her Vulcan conlang, ni var referred to an art form in which two contrasting aspects of a subject were compared. The term first appeared in 1967 and was picked up, along with other expressions from Heydt's Vulcan language, and used fairly consistently by fan writers. In 1976, Claire Gabriel's Star Trek story Ni Var was professionally published in an anthology. She forgot to cr Heydt, or perhaps the term had become so indigenous that she was unaware of its origin. Many of today's fans believe Gabriel coined the term. The story was so popular that the writers of the Star Trek-based series Enterprise called a Vulcan starship Ni Var.
Reviewing
Many fan fiction websites give readers the option of leaving reviews, where they can express their thoughts on the story. Usually, the review is directed at the author, letting him or her know what the reader thought of the story or giving hints on how to fix the story up. Reactions can range from constructive criticism to flaming, although flaming is frowned upon in most areas of fandom.
Alternative universe
Main article: Alternative universe (fan fiction)
An AU (alternative universe or alternate universe) story is one which makes major changes to the canonical storyline or premise, such as killing off the main character, changing characters' motives or alliances or, commonly, changing the setting. Generally, to be considered an alternative universe story, the change must be something that would be extremely unlikely to happen in canon, or must be contradicted by new canon information that was not released when the story was first written. For example, in the Harry Potter universe, a story in which Draco Malfoy becomes a rock star would be considered AU, as would a story about Cedric Diggory's adult life written prior to the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in which Cedric dies before reaching adulthood.
"Über" Fanfiction
Main article: Überfic
Über-fic is a form of AU story where the characters are completely removed from their canon context. The character is given a completely new background to fit them into a different universe. An example would be stories featuring Sherlock Holmes living and working in New York City in 2006, or in the Star Trek or Harry Potter settings. Characters usually retain their names, appearance, personality and often their social standing, but are integrated into another fandom. No mention is made of their origins, except perhaps as a form of dramatic irony.
Such stories originated within and are still most common among the Xena fan fiction community, but can also be found in Star Trek, Harry Potter, Sailor Moon and InuYasha communities. Many Über stories deal with a romance between two of the characters, feature reincarnation as part of the theme, and contain a sense of repeated destiny.
Crossover
Main article: Fictional crossover
Another fan fiction subgenre is the crossover story, in which either characters from one story exist in (or are transported to) another pre-existing story's world, or more commonly, characters from two or more stories interact. An example would be the human refugee fleet led by the Battlestar Galactica finding and entering the territory of Star Trek's United Federation of Planets, or the characters from the television series CSI:Crime Scene Investigation solving crimes in the Harry Potter universe. While the crossover story is extremely popular amongst fan fiction writers, it does sometimes occur in "canon" (non-fan fiction) works - examples of this include the episode of the X-Files which featured Richard Belzer as his Homicide: Life on the Street character John Munch, and the fact that John Munch later began to appear as a main character in Law and Order: SVU.
Subgenres Based On Character Relationships
Alternate Pairing
Pairing means romantic or erotic involvement. An alternate pairing story centers on a relationship between characters who are not involved in canon. Many fandoms have 'defined' pairings based on hints in the original story. A canon containing many changing relationships is more apt to generate fan fictions with alternate pairings. Fans often refer to relationships as a "ship" and people who are in favor of two particular characters pairing up are called "shippers."
Slash
Slash is, depending on one's preferred definition, a subgenre of Alternate Pairing that addresses a relationship between characters of the same gender, or the same thing as an Alternate Pairing. The expression comes from the late 1970s, when the "/" symbol began to be used to designate a romantic relationship between Star Trek characters, especially between Kirk/Spock. In the Star Trek fandom, 'slash' still currently tends to refer to any non-canon 'ship' (including heterosexual ones), although in most other fandoms, the meaning has morphed into referring specifically to same-sex or even, frequently, to exclusively male same-sex pairings.
Stories with male homosexual pairings are the most common. Lesbian relationships are often referred to as 'femslash' or 'femmeslash' to distinguish them from the male/male pairing stories, though some fans prefer to use the term 'Saffic' (a portmanteau of 'Sapphic' and 'Fiction'). Fans of Japanese manga or anime use the Japanese terms relating to the subgenres, referring to male homosexual pairings as yaoi or shônen-ai and Lesbian pairings as yuri or shôjo-ai. The former term for each typically represents the more sexually explicit stories, while the latter generally represents more romance-centered stories, though they are occasionally used interchangeably, especially yuri and shoujo-ai.
See also: Shipping (fandom), Shounen-ai, Shoujo-ai, Yaoi, and Yuri (animation)
Het
"Het" classifies a romance and/or sexually explicit story which has as its main focus a heterosexual relationship.
Lemon and Lime
Explicit sex stories in general, especially in anime fan fiction, are known as lemon, which comes from a Japanese slang term meaning "sexy". The term lime denotes a story that has sexual themes but is not necessarily explicit. "Lemon" stories without much plot other than sex are also referred to as smutfics or as PWPs ("Porn Without Plot" or "Plot? What Plot?"). These terms are also sometimes used to describe original amateur fiction that is published online.
Until 2005, "lemon" stories on multi-genre online archives were labeled using the MPAA ratings system's NC-17 rating. However, the MPAA sent cease and desist letters to several fan fiction sites, threatening legal action over the usage of their copyrighted system to rate content that was not rated by they themselves or anyone affiliated with them. The archive sites thus resorted to using other methods of warning for certain content; some resorted to warning labels, while other archives began to rate sexually explicit stories as "X" (which is no longer part of the MPAA system), created their own rating systems, or switched to using the public domain Fiction Rating System (as FanFiction.net has).
Real person fiction
Main article: Real person fiction
Real person fiction, also called "RPF", is written about real people such as actors, politicians, athletes and musicians. There are some people who disagree on whether or not RPF is genuine 'fan fiction', though this largely depends on one's definition of the term 'fan fiction'.
Formats of Fan Fiction
Virtual seasons
Main article: Virtual season
The virtual season is usually a collaborative effort to produce a compilation of fan stories or scripts portraying episodes of an entire season for a television program -- usually one that has been cancelled or is no longer producing new episodes. Often, these writers will elect members of their group to be the imaginary producers, head writers, ors, and other traditional roles to aid in the coordination of the virtual season's material, direction, and continuity. Every effort is made to reproduce and carry on the details of the program as professionally as possible. The most dedicated of these teams sometimes produce fan films such as Star Trek, New Voyages.
Dôjinshi
Main article: Dojinshi
Dôjinshi (also sometimes romanized as doujinshi) is a Japanese term for self-published works, usually manga, novels, fan guides, art collections, and games, often sold in small runs for a minor profit. This includes fan fiction in both textual and, more famously, manga format. While most dôjinshi featuring fan fiction is not technically legal under Japanese copyright law, the general practice of most copyright owners is to allow it, on the grounds that it keeps fans interested in the original work and fosters the talent of amateur artists and writers who may choose to go professional, such as CLAMP.
Fanfic as pastiche
Fan fiction also exists in the form of independent, fan-produced pastiches and parodies of established works, including fan-produced film and video. The first such parody was 1978's Hardware Wars. One of the best known is Troops, a parody of the reality television show Cops, depicting Star Wars Imperial Stormtroopers on patrol.
Sherlock Holmes, the Cthulhu Mythos and several of Edgar Rice Burroughs' fantasy series have fan fiction pastiche communities. This tradition comes from the establishment of literary societies, dating back to the 1930s and 1940s. These societies attracted both professional and fan writers. They practice a semi-professional level of publication of fan fiction of a specifically sophisticated literary nature, both in print quality, community expectations and orientation. Star Trek fans quickly developed a pastiche community around the Kraith series, which began appearing in fanzines in 1967 and had about thirty contributors. Probably the best-known example of such a community as of 2006 would be the followers of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series.
MST
Main article: MSTing
MSTings (Sometimes called MiSTings) are not fan fiction in the true sense. They are commentaries on fan fiction stories, written in the style of the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. In MST3K, a man and some homemade robots trapped on a spaceship watch bad movies and make humorous comments about them. For written MSTings, bad fan fiction is used.
Generally speaking, MSTers follow a code of conduct, though some places such as Fandomination.net and Project A.F.T.E.R. have MSTings which clearly violate these "rules." One of the least respected rules is that MSTing authors should always obtain permission from the author(s) of the fanfics that they are MSTing.
Although MSTings originated as MST3K fanfics, some people have used the MSTing format with an original cast or the cast of the canon the original fan fiction is based on, instead of the MST3K characters.
It should be noted that FanFiction.net, among others, has banned the posting of MSTs, commonly citing that they include writing that is not the work of the author of the MST.
Drabble
Main article: Drabble
The term drabble originates from the 1971 book Monty Python’s Big Red Book: "Drabble. A word game for 2 to 4 players. The four players sit from left to right and the first person to write a novel wins." The term was picked up by the science fiction fan community, then spread to professional science fiction. Generally, a fan fiction drabble consists of a paragraph or two featuring a character monologue, description of a character or setting, etc. However, drabble can also mean a story of precisely 100 words. It may also refer to a plotless, pointless, often humorous story; these are also called "crack fic", likely after the slang term "on crack" for "crazy".
Additional Associated Terminology
Referring to Characters
Mary Sue
Main article: Mary Sue
Mary Sue (Sue for short) is a pejorative term that refers to characters perceived as being badly-characterized and unsympathetic, often written in a cliche manner, who usually dominate the story they appear in, whether through upstaging the established characters, romancing one or more established characters, or having her own story set in the same universe in which she is the star. Mary Sue most often refers to a heavily idealized character, and as such, most argue that characters they perceive as Mary Sues lack any significant or noteworthy flaws, and thus are unrealistic. Most characters labeled as Mary Sues happen to be OCs (see: original character), but some maintain that even established characters (referred to as canon characters or sometimes canons) can be made into a Sue, or that characters in original fiction can be one as well. Many, but not all, Mary Sues are also self-inserts (see: self-insert). The term "Mary Sue" usually refers specifically to a female character; the male equivalent has a number of designations, among them Marty Stu, Marty Sam, and Gary Stu. An author who writes Mary Sue characters ia called a "Mary Suer" or a "Suethor" (Sue-author).
Anti-Mary Sue
An anti-Mary Sue (usually shortened to 'anti-Sue' or 'anti Sue') is the product of an author doing everything that he/she can to prevent their characters from becoming a Mary-Sue. Normally, an anti Mary-Sue will be physically unattractive, not powerful in the least, hated by most canon characters or else just not interact with them at all, and will most likely be nothing short of an utter and complete failure. Many readers find these characters to be refreshing, being more believable than the dreaded Mary Sue, though not necessarily preferable in every case.
Self-Insert
Main article: Author character
Self-insertion consists of an author writing him- or herself into the story in one role or another. The resulting "character" is usually referred to as a self-insert. The term is often closely associated with Mary Sues, but does not actually exclusively apply to the kinds of characters typically labeled a Mary Sue.
It's a common mistake to confuse the terms 'Mary Sue' and 'self-insert', especially since generally, Mary Sues are seen as being the kind of person the author wishes they could be and often are a form of idealized self-insertion (especially in cases in which the character is revealed to have a secret relationship to one or more canon characters, such as being a long-lost relative), but the two terms do have two distinct meanings.
Original Character
An Original Character (OC) is a character originated by a fan author, as opposed to being a character who comes from the canon source; the term typically is used by fan fiction writers to refer to characters in their original fiction works as well. The label "OC" includes everything from bystanders, to minor characters, to major characters. Almost all characters in original fiction are OCs (save perhaps for historical figures), so the term Original Character has a completely different contextual meaning depending on whether one is speaking of original or fan fiction.
OOC
OOC is an acronym for Out of Character. The term may or may not come from online roleplaying, in which the same acronym is often used to denote comments made while not actually playing the role of a character. However, its usage in fan fiction is different, referring only to the behavior of (usually canon) characters in the story itself regarding whether or not they seem "in-character" (see: IC).
IC
IC is an acronym for In-Character, and refers to the behavior of (usually canon) characters which seems logical given what is known about them and their previous behavior in canon.
Misc.
Original Fiction
The opposite of fan fiction. Refers to wholly original works of fiction, e.g. not based on any prexisting stories (though some accept stories based loosely upon mythology or folklore to be original fiction as well). In 2006, many fans inaccurately refer to any amateur writing as "fanfiction" even if characters, settings and themes are entirely original. It is worth noting that there is no such thing as an "original fanfic". The term is a misnomer that is sometimes applied to completely original amateur works. Not all amateur fiction is fan fiction. Among anime/manga fans, 'original fanfic' (or "original fic" or "orig!fic") is used to refer to an original work that uses anime/manga style themes and plot devices, settings and names. "Original fanfiction" may also refer to a story which takes place in an established universe, such as Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, but uses none of the established characters; this practice is also known as "genfic". Some fanfiction authors use the term to refer to conceptually independent writings which have a (normally small) reference to some known fandom. For example, a normal dramatic romance story may begin with a character taking a train at King's Cross Station might be viewed as "original fanfiction" based on Harry Potter, even if nothing else related to the Potter universe happens in the story.
Fandom
In fan fiction communities, especially online, generally fandom refers to people who enjoy a story or game and actively interact with others who share the same love for the media, or rather, a group (however scattered) of such individuals; the term is a portmanteau of fan and kingdom. The term is often used with possessive pronouns, similar to how one would refer to one's country or religion, reflecting some fans' passionate devotion and personal attachment to certain fandoms; however, many fans who are said to belong to a given fandom might be only slightly more than casually interested.
Canon
Main article: Canon (fiction)
Canon (derived from the term's usage in the Christian religion and popularized in this context by the Baker Street Irregulars) refers to the "official" source material upon which fan fiction can be based. In recent years, some fandoms have engaged in lengthy debate, over what is or isn't "canon", due to multiple writers in various media creating contradictory source material; for example, in series such as Doctor Who, Additionally, many fans have varying levels of faith in the potentially "canonical" nature of of novels based on films or television series, or novelizations of films and television episodes, which are generally not written by the person who wrote the scripts on which they're based.
Something that is regarded as "canon" is regarded as verifiable fact in the given fandom. Examples of this are: Buffy the Vampire Slayer having superhuman strength, speed and healing abilities, or the fact that she once slept with Angel, who then lost his soul. Details as complex as the laws of physics in a given story universe or as minute as how a character's name is meant to be spelled can be referred to as "canon" details, so long as they are specifically shown or otherwise directly revealed in the source material; this includes character behavior as well, though debate over what can or cannot be considered "canon behavior" is often a bone of contention in any given fandom. At times, authors (such as Joss Whedon or JK Rowling) may also expand on what is shown in the original story in other media, especially personal websites or blogs. Generally comments on the nature of a story or character directly from the creator are considered statements of "canon".
Fanon
Fanon refers to invented (non-canon or not verified as being canon) facts or situations, usually those which are used frequently in fan fiction so as to become seen by many as an extended part of the canon. An example of fanon from early Star Trek fan fiction was the expression ni var, meaning "two forms". Conceived by linguist Dorothy Jones Heydt for her Vulcan conlang, ni var referred to an art form in which two contrasting aspects of a subject were compared. The term first appeared in 1967 and was picked up, along with other expressions from Heydt's Vulcan language, and used fairly consistently by fan writers. In 1976, Claire Gabriel's Star Trek story Ni Var was professionally published in an anthology. She forgot to cr Heydt, or perhaps the term had become so indigenous that she was unaware of its origin. Many of today's fans believe Gabriel coined the term. The story was so popular that the writers of the Star Trek-based series Enterprise called a Vulcan starship Ni Var.
Reviewing
Many fan fiction websites give readers the option of leaving reviews, where they can express their thoughts on the story. Usually, the review is directed at the author, letting him or her know what the reader thought of the story or giving hints on how to fix the story up. Reactions can range from constructive criticism to flaming, although flaming is frowned upon in most areas of fandom.
posted by Marcelita at 8:33 PM
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