Fanfiction, Sites, and Reviews/Flames
Okay, so, as you may know, my personal takes on
fanfiction is that an author should never sacrifice the original
storyline/characters etc. for the sake of their own story or characters (the
exception being absolutely crazy fics that clearly have no relation to the
show’s plot – and even then I try and keep my characters in character and
give warnings). Even if you don’t
like a character, or something that happened, you should try and stay true to the
story (unless you have a moral or religious objection, like my Yaoi thing – in
which case, it’s your story- don’t compromise).
The reason is that other people worked hard to create this world, and
many people love it. So those are
the guidelines I try to use and that most of my favorite fan authors seem to
stick to.
However, I enjoy many fan fictions that totally disregard the original
series (in my opinion). If you have
a problem with someone’s work remember – it is simply an expression of their
opinion. And sometimes it isn’t even that, it’s just the product of their
imagination and they don’t think the characters in the show would actually do
that. Above all, remember –
it’s all made up. There are no real people to insult – except the author.
So you really have no right to flame.
Telling an author that they are stupid and crazy because they write a
story pairing Tea and Yami Bakura, for example, is just plain rude.
If you don’t like it, don’t
read it! They didn’t write it
for you, they wrote it to have fun – and there are plenty of other
stories/sites out there. Avoid what
you don’t like. It’s just
common courtesy.
The only time you should really write a complaint is if you absolutely love a story/author/site and you feel that one thing threatens to ruin everything. Generally though, I find it much easier just to be selective. Flames just hurt people’s feelings, they rarely ever change someone’s mind.