Writing fan-fiction and criticism

Though I am a writer, I spend most of my time in the fan-fiction community, writing continuations, prequels, gapfillers, etceteras, to works that I enjoy. Though in a way this is taking an easy way out, using a prepackaged world and characters, it is also more difficult as you are directly following in the footsteps of a "great" author. Yes, all original writers are following some genius in whatever genre they choose, but the connection is more vague and the pressure to equal greatness less prevalent. However, when writing a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, though Jane Austen may have given you the characters, you have to work hard to keep them within her world and vision to some extent so that your readers do not feel cheated and protest. Keeping characters "in character", following "canon", and catching a certain "tone" are of grave importance to most fan-fiction writers. Because there is that burden, then, fan-fiction communities overflow in advice and tutorials for writers. There are essays ad infinitum ad nauseam on how to keep your characters from becoming too perfect, how to avoid deus ex machina, and other such helpful advice. Any mistake that any writer could ever make will be warned against there.

However, after spending a good deal of time almost solely in that community, reading, writing, and editing fan-fiction, I started reading published original fiction again. And then I noticed something ironic: some amateur fan-fiction writers seemed to care more about writing well in their non-profit stories than published authors did in theirs. One writing aspect that is very often commented upon in fan-fiction is the art of showing, not telling, and it is a mistake that will be very quickly caught by good reviewers and editors (yes, they even exist for fan-fiction). And yet, I read two different best-selling published works where almost all character information was told to you by the narrator. In fact, in the case of one book, some of the fan-fiction based upon it was better at showing than the original work.

Though this situation at first seems counter-intuitive, it is not impossible to make sense out of it. What it comes down to, I suppose, is who is reading. Someone who reads fan-fiction reads it because they want to know more. They finished the book (or movie) and their imagination saw possibilities and options beyond the end, and they wanted to explore them, whether through their own writing or some other author's. Often, they will have their own ideas of what happened before or after, and most who read fan-fiction will eventually write it as well. How is this different from most people who read original fiction? Though I hesitate to make generalities, I think fan-fiction draws writers almost exclusively, because writers must first and foremost have very active imaginations, and that is what makes fan-fiction what it is.

However, there are plenty of people, the majority I would say, who read original fiction only to be entertained or instructed, and either like what an author said or do not but take their involvement no further. They may or may not understand why they like a story, because much of understanding how fiction works comes through seeing how it is created. The author of original fiction has more control, then, knowing that much of the audience will not know where to look for the wires, and knowing that if the writing is good enough the wires will not be obvious. But when a writer reads something, he or she knows all about wires, because he or she has laid them, and knows more readily when they are poorly or masterfully hidden. With that in mind, it makes sense that an audience composed mostly of writers (like the fan-fiction community) would be more critical, because they are more aware of the process involved. Likewise, an author writing for that audience must be more careful if he or she wishes to please that audience, because the readers are not there simply for entertainment, to soak up what an author has to say, but instead want something very specific: writing that adds favorably (in their often exact specifications) to a work they enjoyed.

Though of course this observation is full of generalities—writers can be poor at judging writing, likewise non-writers can be excellent, and not all fan-fiction communities strive for excellence—it is not without intrigue, to me at least, especially when paired with the fact that writing fan-fiction is most often looked down upon as immature and easy. I won't discuss the former point, but the latter—well, those of us who have done it are disinclined to share that opinion.