A friend asked me about my thoughts on fanfiction as part of literary heritage. I have my own seedy, embarassing background in Star Trek and Sailor Moon fan fiction, and woud like to share my observations for him, with you.
When someone is inspired to write after reading a piece of literary work, there are no guarantees the fledgling writer has any skillset to draw on to compose her own epic. Instead, our writer relies upon what delights, inspires and draws her to the page. Generally, she does this by ripping off her favorite stories wholesale while she learns the tricks of the trade. One does not know the clever means of storytelling, characterization and dialogue without hacking her way through a few attempts. It is a learning process, after all.
Thus, fanfiction. Horrid, yet imaginative. Bastardized, yet creative. Rampant misuse of copyrighted characters, but absolutely essential for the artistic process of learning writers.
Is fanfiction a vital part of our literary heritage? No more than the notebooks and sketchpads of other writers and artists. It is a part of the process, but not the finished product. And while many an audience devours the final piece and desires to see the DVD extras of the way it was wrought, such behind-the-scenes details are not the reason we create, but the means to hone our craft.
No, our literary heritage is what we labor to create and present, not the confused and convoluted path we take to get there.
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