On the subject of restrictions, I'd like to note one thing. While I know original fiction is the more respected form of literature (and requires its own research and its own brand of creativity), it also comes with its own restriction: the element of disbelief. As in, your reader will follow you wherever you take them, but if you do something like violate the laws of physics, you'd better come up with a decent explanation that fits the world of your story. Otherwise, it just doesn't work. So, in a sense, original fiction is bound only by reality. Once you acknowledge that, you work with it to get over that and connect to the reader without sacrificing the tone of your story, if that makes sense.
Meanwhile, fanfiction has a pretty obvious restriction in that you can't violate canon (which
is the reality of that franchise) without a good explanation. It's really more or less a lot like working with the reality barrier in original fiction, though, except you tend to work closer with it in fanfiction. Don't think of it like "this is canon, and I have to work around it to get my fic to work." Think of it like "this is canon, and I have to
use it to get my fic to work." There's a subtle difference in that the first idea means you see canon as a barrier to which you add tweaks or which limits your creativity, whereas the second, you creatively use canon in order to suit your needs. For example:
- A bad author does not acknowledge canon, so his Professor Oak snaps at his grandson because the author doesn't understand that the canon character acts a certain way.
- A mediocre author acknowledges canon but sees it as a limitation or a crutch. Therefore, the only role Professor Oak serves in his story is as a Pokédex/starter Pokémon dispenser. Professor Oak is usually never seen again.
- A good author knows canon well enough to know how to play with it. Therefore, the fanfiction has Professor Oak as a main character, investigating ancient Pokémon in ruins recently found in Sinnoh that are not necessarily canonical. Professor Oak is accurately in character in this fanfic, and the location of the ruins (along with the species of the Pokémon in them) is believable enough to pass without making someone feel as if the writer is forcing something to be in a nonsensical location.
In other words, canon is there, and it may feel like a crutch, but really, it doesn't have to be. It's a lot like trying to write a story about your friends in a real city. You need to know both, yes, but creativity should really jump beyond that and build up from the foundation canon (and basic reality) provide, not fall back onto facts as a safety net, if that makes sense. You don't even necessarily need to create your own parts of the world or otherwise avoid canon characters or places in order to get creative. The principle works in fanfiction in franchises where there isn't as much flexibility as there is in Pokémon as well.
Point is, all too often, I see the "canon is a safety net" argument and the "canon restricts my creativity" one, but it's really not supposed to be like that unless you're not entirely confident in your use of canon. If you
are, then you really can produce something that can be as good as or better than published original fiction because canon is nothing more than the same kind of reality obstacle that original fiction experiences. Knowing how to use it requires a brand of creativity that's slightly different from working with original fiction (where pulling sparkly vampires straight from your ass will get you loved by millions of angsty teens), but it's not like fanfiction is inherently a less creative or less possibly revolutionary venture than original.
(However, it does mean that the impact fanfiction makes on a population tends to be restricted only to the fans of that franchise. This is the only way fanfiction will never be as "monumental" as original.)
Sorry for the rant. I really do respect original fiction equally to fanfiction. Writing is writing for me, and there's such a thing as good and bad writing in both. Likewise, yes, original fiction allows you to establish your own laws, but, as I've said before, that can only happen
if you take the time to clearly define those laws because otherwise, you really can't suspend the laws or facts that already exist in the real world.
That aside...
Have you ever written a fic that you were confident of that never got posted? If so, why? Do you think you will ever get back to it?
Oh yes. There's a number of them, some of which are actually recent. For example, there's supposed to be a sequel to Bloom about Bill's other sister (not Rose -- the one closer to Bill's age and the one who lives in Fuchsia) and how she felt growing up in his shadow, but the backstory felt like an angstbucket. I liked the main story, though, because it involved expanding Johto's mythology and because it had drama and character death and plot twists like whoa. But I never really finished it because of the blinking backstory. I might, however, after rewriting it for the umpteenth time, in part because I promised Astinus and half my LJ friends list I would.
For another, more recent example, there's a little fic that was basically a string of short scenes that portrayed five times Bill got angry (which, as far as I know, never happens in canon). I wrote up to the fifth time and then stopped because it was my 7Day7K, I failed, and I couldn't think of what else would get him pissed. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the other four times (especially the last one, which was so messed up it was all around fun to write), so I might push myself to figure something out and then post it later.
And for a third, I started writing an original trainer story (gasp, shock, horror!) in which a bubbly, happy-go-lucky kid gets involved with Missingno (not in the way that you think... and no, not in the gutter, either) and inadvertently is about to bring down destruction to the entire world (basically, the opposite of what every new trainer seems to do) because he's an idiot. Might go back to
this one because I thought the idea was hilarious. (I was also half-asleep when I thought of it.)
Yeah, that comment I made a couple of pages back in which I said Bill was featured in about 90% of my fanfiction? Wasn't kidding.
