Fan fiction: History and Key Facts

Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction and/or real people with a cultural presence. The author uses copyrighted characters, settings, or other intellectual properties from the original creator(s) as a basis for their writing and can retain the original characters and settings, change them, (for example, by adding or removing characters, themes, or plot points) or both. Fan fiction ranges in length from a few sentences to novel-length and can be based on fictional and non-fictional media, including novels, movies, comics, television shows, musical groups, theatrical productions, cartoons, web series, anime, manga, and video games.

Fan fiction is rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's creator or publisher or professionally published. It may infringe on the original author's copyright, depending on the jurisdiction and on legal questions, such as whether or not it qualifies as "fair use" (see Legal issues with fan fiction). The attitudes of authors and copyright owners of original works towards fan fiction have ranged from encouragement to indifference or disapproval, and they have occasionally responded with legal action.

The term came into use in the 20th century as copyright laws began to distinguish between stories using established characters that were authorized by the copyright holder and those that were not.

Fan fiction is defined by being related to its subject's canonical fictional universe, either staying within those boundaries but not being part of the canon, or being set in an alternative universe. Thus, what is considered "fanon" is separate from canon. Fan fiction is often written and published among fans, and as such does not usually cater to readers without knowledge of the original media.

Source and attribution

Text excerpted from Fan fiction by Wikipedia contributors, available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. The extract is abridged and formatting has been adjusted; the adapted text on this page is shared under the same licence. Revision history.