Most fanfic (that I'm aware of) is SFF. There's non-speculative stuff, of course, but I get the impression it's the ghettoized genre in the mainstream of fanfic. <g>
To let myself use value judgments for a moment, I agree with the above comment: to do it well, one has to put a lot of work into research and mimicry. But I've heard enough complaints by fanfic readers/writers to believe that a lot of the people out there either don't try, or don't do a very good job when they do. (Which I think might be more prevalent in slash, where the point is to get two characters into bed who aren't canonically involved. It seems that violations of characterization are common there.)
Now, to make up for saying that some fics suck at authenticity <g>, I'll grant that fanfic, when done well, requires a specialized set of skills. I just don't think they're as perfect an overlap with the skills needed for original writing as some people believe. The textual evidence for Kit's character is thinner than the evidence for, say, Hagrid's, and readers don't necessarily expect my Kit to sound like eBear's; therefore, while there are similarities between the two, I wouldn't say they're the same.
And the point isn't which one is less work; it's just that the one does not train you for all the work of the other.
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yati
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Date: 2006-08-25 12:29 am (UTC)To let myself use value judgments for a moment, I agree with the above comment: to do it well, one has to put a lot of work into research and mimicry. But I've heard enough complaints by fanfic readers/writers to believe that a lot of the people out there either don't try, or don't do a very good job when they do. (Which I think might be more prevalent in slash, where the point is to get two characters into bed who aren't canonically involved. It seems that violations of characterization are common there.)
Now, to make up for saying that some fics suck at authenticity <g>, I'll grant that fanfic, when done well, requires a specialized set of skills. I just don't think they're as perfect an overlap with the skills needed for original writing as some people believe. The textual evidence for Kit's character is thinner than the evidence for, say, Hagrid's, and readers don't necessarily expect my Kit to sound like eBear's; therefore, while there are similarities between the two, I wouldn't say they're the same.
And the point isn't which one is less work; it's just that the one does not train you for all the work of the other.