do you like fan-fiction?

[smeagollives]

Actually i do. I do not like slash, but i like most hobbit fan-fiction and read lots of it. I tried to write some fan-fiction myself... but i am not a talented writer, so i gave it up long ago.

[Rumil]

Hi Smeagolives,

I must say I only like the very best fanfic which usually involves none of the fellowship,

Cheers,

Rumil

[MatthewM]

No. I hate that rubbish.

[davem]

I don't read it. That said, I once tried my hand at a story (its over on the Downs fanfic section). I was fairly happy with the result (for what it was), but I wouldn't do it again. I think it comes down to how you think about it - do you see it as an addition to Tolkien's creation or as a thing in its own right (ie, as a 'secondary world' to Tolkien's 'secondary world'.

Now, you can look at other 'secondary worlds' which aren't the creation of a single author - everything from the Icelandic Sagas at one extreme, which are tales by different hands, set in the same historical epoch, using the many of the same characters, & which taken as a whole make up a 'secondary world' of incredible depth & power to something like the Star Wars or Marvel/DC 'universes', which, in a similar way, are a set of ever growing 'secondary worlds' utilising the same characters & settings.

Now, it could be argued that at some point Tolkien himself had a desire to start off something like that. He seems, however, to have rejected that idea later on, & jealously guarded his creation & strongly objected to others taking it up. I don't know whether it would be possible for anyone to add to the 'mythology' Tolkien anything that would be generally accepted.

My own feeling is that such an endeavor would be based on a misunderstanding of what Tolkien actually did. Tolkien's Legendarium is, actually, finished. By that I mean that by its very nature it is an incomplete thing, It never could have been 'finished' in the sense that while Tolkien lived, it 'lived'. It was always in a state of flux, changing & growing as he changed & grew. It was him, & in a real sense he was it. Just as when his life ended he (still imperfect, as we all are) was 'finished' so was his creation. (If he has continued on is some other state/place then possibly so has his creation. The work we have, though, is as it is & there is no way to 'add to' it or 'complete' it - anymore than we could resurrect him & 'add to', or 'complete' him.

So, fanfic as 'fun' for those who want it, is fine with me. Fanfic may even be a way to explore your own thoughts & feelings about the things Tolkien was concerned with (immortality, death, morality, power & the like). I won't say its necessarily all bad (I haven't, as I said, read very much at all) but I will say, it cannot be 'Tolkien'. It cannot add anything to what Tolkien produced any more that it could add anything to Tolkien himself. The Legendarium is what it is.

[Thinlómien]

Well... I enjoy badly written Harry Potter fan fiction, but that, I guess, is mostly some form of malicious delight...
As to Tolkien fan fiction, I haven't read a lot of it, but it mostly seems horrible. Those Legolas and Aragorn's love affair things etc are too bad to be even amusing. I have nothing against stories that are set in Middle-Earth and the main characters of which are made by the author and which might have some Tolkien's character as a very minor character. Those are, sometimes, even quite excellent and I must say they resmble this forum's RPGs and some tabletop RPGs I've played. I see no problem with those. And if you ask me there is no moral problem even with the awful fan fiction as long as it's not published.

Last but not least - don't give up writing, smeagollives, just because you think you're not talented. You don't need to be born a genious writer and you can't learn if you don't write. So, if you like writing, keep doing it and someday you see you've learned a lot and are a far better writer than you were in the beginning. (And, if I may add, a good place to write ME-related stuff is the BD subforum the Shire in the RPG section, it's worth of having a look at...)

[Lalwendë]

Ummm, yes/no.

I won't actively go and read it, mostly as I never really have much trouble finding things to read as it is. But if it's put in front of me I'll read it, and sometimes even enjoy it. The only exception to that is a decent Barrow Downs RPG - sometimes I'll go and read one of those without being told to or recommended, as they can be great fun and often reveal more about the Downers writing in them than they do about the stories or charcaters, which is quite intriguing

However sometimes a friend will put a tale before me and I'll happily read something written by a friend, or if there is one in the TS magazine Amon Hen - which I'll read cover-to-cover more or less.

The stuff I've found the very best though is the non-serious, the parodies, which can be excellent fun and genuinely new. Or else the brief and reflective. However I cannot stand to read a long, derivative, turgid sword and sorcery Elf-fest or anything about hard-done-by Tippy Toed Princesses. Ugh.

[smeagollives]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

Last but not least - don't give up writing, smeagollives, just because you think you're not talented. You don't need to be born a genious writer and you can't learn if you don't write.

You know, my biggest problem is creating the "bad one". I have no problem making up a "good one" for my stories... but the bad ones... that is pretty complicated. I do not want bad ones who are just "plain evil"... i want them to have a reason why they turned that bad... but nevertheless i want them to be bad... i do not want the readers (well, i do not have many readers anyways) to identify with them... Tolkien has a talent for creating bad guys. Everbody understands why (for example) Saruman turned bad.. yet most readers would never identify with him.