What is This Thing Called... Fanfiction?

First, let me state what I hope should be obvious: this is an article on HubPages, and as such it will contain no nudity, no sexually explicit content, and no links to adult or pornographic sites. It will, however, discuss sexuality in an open and frank way, and if this might upset you, I suggest you reconsider reading on.

Still with me?

Okay.

So what is fanfiction? In a nutshell, it is writing by fans for fans. For instance, a fan of the original Star Trek series might imagine a whole new adventure for the crew of the Enterprise and, in doing so, create a short story to share with other fans of the show. Fanfiction can run the gamut from haikus to novel-length stories. The only hard and fast rule is that the author cannot make money off of their endeavor, and often fanfiction is accompanied by a lengthy disclaimer allowing that the characters and/or setting contained therein does not belong to the author, nor does the author stand to create any profit from the writing and (often web-only) publishing of the story.

You may have only heard fanfiction discussed in a dramatic whisper, like the mention of your second cousin's testicular cancer at Thanksgiving. And, looking at the definition above, you may be wondering why. I mean, the whole thing sounds perfectly harmless, right?

But, then again, if you've read this far, you also saw that shocking disclaimer paragraph right at the top of the page. In fact, maybe that's even what prompted you to read on. So get to the juicy part already, right?

The fact is that despite the disclaimers many fanfiction authors put on their stories, the original creators sometimes take offense to fanfiction in general. Some have gone so far as to "ban" fanfiction created from their works. Or sometimes the publishing company of the original work will send cease and desist emails complaining of copyright infringement. Personally, I enjoy fanficiton in many of its forms, but I wholeheartedly support any author or publishing company which seeks to protect the use of original characters and settings.

But surely, there must be more to this, right? I did mention sexuality right there at the top of the article. Well, in order to explain, I feel I should first explain why fans create fanfiction. Most often it is because, while they love the original work, they find some hole in a plot, some secondary character whom they feel deserves to be explored further and, sometimes, they see sexual tension between two characters that the author may have never intended to create or explore.

And here's the kicker: often that unexplored sexual tension is between two members of the same sex. Or, though I personally find it loathesome, sometimes those pairings involve characters who are minors. That's why fanfiction is discussed in a hush.

But, I'd be quick to add that the fanfiction community is very careful to label any story that might offend and you are unlikely to stumble across something which would offend you unless you have not carefully read the warnings posted for each story. What I'm saying is, if the idea of reading a short story in which two of your favorite finctional characters finally confess their undying love for one another appeals to you, don't let what a fraction of fanfiction writers are doing be a deterent for you.

In order to make sure you aren't "squicked", I'll give you a quick breakdown of some common terms used in fanfiction. This list is, by no means, comprehensive. Drop me a line if you come across a term you'd like me to add here.

(character name)/(character name) - This means the story involves pairing the two characters listed on either side of the slash.

Angst - Chances are the two characters are going to suffer a lot getting to that happy ending, or may not have a happy ending at all.

Chan - This fic involves one or more characters who, if real, would be minors.

Slash - Two or more male characters are going to hook up in this story.

Yaoi - Same as above.

Femmeslash - Two or more female characters are going to hook up.

H/C - Hurt/Comfort. One or more characters will be physically injured and the other will nurse them back to health.

Het - Heterosexual story.

Gen - General. This just means that the story doesn't contain anything that couldn't have appeared in the original fic. In other words, no Spock will not kiss Kirk.

Squick - Anything that grosses you out or turns your off.

RPF - Real person fic. Fanfiction that, instead of involving characters, focuses on the imagined behavior of famous people.

OTP - One true pairing. This is the writer's favorite pairing within that particular fandom. Usage: "Starbuck/Apollo is my OTP!"