Fan fiction
(alternately referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF or fic) is a broadly defined term for fiction about characters or settings written by admirers of the original work, rather than by the original creators. The term usually applies to works that are not commissioned and unauthorized by the owner/creators and publishers of the original and usually (but not always) works which are not professionally published. Fan fiction is defined outside of original fiction, which exists within its own discrete, professionally published universe, and therefore, as long as it's related to the subject, can be completely outside of canon works within that universe. Most fan fiction writers assume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based.

Style of Writing
Fanfiction is easily distinguishable within 5 different types. A "chaptered fic" is written in a similar manner to traditional serial stories, with each chapter released separately as it is finished. Chapters may take anything from a day to several months to be updated and often remind readers of their place in the story with each new installment. Most archives allow authors to upload individual chapters sequentially under a single title with a main link to the first chapter, and each chapter easily linked to via a drop down menu.

A drabble is traditionally a vignette exactly 100 words in length. However, when a story is referred to as a drabble, it often is a short scene or idea that does not tell an entire story, or a story at all. It is simply a reflections of a moment in time, somewhat similar to a character sketch. Other short forms of fanfiction include oneshot or twoshot, in which the story is only one or two chapters long, respectively. Oneshots can also be expanded into longshots, which are one-chaptered stories that are considerably longer than most chaptered stories.

The fourth style of fanfic writing is known as a songfic, where authors take the lyrics of a song and, with the song as inspiration, construct a piece of writing around the lyrics. Usually this is done by quoting lines of the lyrics, while writing original pieces relating to the nearby lyrics.

The last, and final major form of writing is known as alternative universe (often abbreviated as AU), in which the author deliberately alters the original setting of the story, thereby creating an entirely new world. This happens when a story transplants familiar characters into situations totally different from canon. The purpose of creating alternate universes are to answer potential "what-if" questions. These can be created by fabricating a crossover,an alternate timeline, or altering the nature of the setting or characters, among other methods.

Reviewing and interactivity in the online era
Unlike traditional print publication, the internet offers the option of giving and receiving instantaneous feedback. Reviews can be given by both anonymous and registered users of most sites, and sites are often programmed to notify the author of new feedback, making them a common way for readers and authors online to communicate directly. This system is intended for a type of bond between the reader and the writer, as well as helping the author improve his or her writing skills, enabling him or her to produce a better work next time.

Since many such sites do not automatically moderate these systems, on such sites the systems are often abused and used to send flames, spam or trolling messages. For this reason, many such unmoderated systems allow the author the option of receiving only "signed" (non-anonymous) reviews, and many sites that sport such systems feature the suggestion to reviewers that they take the opportunity to give the author some constructive criticism.

Recently fan fiction has seen greater use of the forum format. Built around message board systems, stories are posted on threads with feedback interlaced and immediate. This style of fan fiction is more interactive but also can be a distraction since the stories and comments are between each other. Additionally, blogs, which typically allow entries to be sorted by topic with the additional option of receiving commentary on each entry, are also a somewhat popular choice for fan fiction postings. These communication methods make fan fiction sites and blogs useful affinity spaces as writers are able to take readers' feedback and improve their skills and abilities as writers. This informal learning is a side benefit for many fan fiction authors, some of whom eventually attempt or go on to writing professionally.

It is often considered wise in fan fiction circles to acquire the aid of a "beta reader", sometimes shortened to "beta", whose responsibilities are roughly those of a professional editor to a commercial author—with the exception that the "beta" is most commonly a volunteer who works without pay and on a casual basis and communicates through E-mail or private message systems. Writers are discouraged in some circles from posting fan fiction that has not at least been checked for grammatical, spelling, consistency and plot errors by a beta reader. In late February 2008, FanFiction.net set up an area of their site that contains a list of authors willing to "beta" other authors' "fic".

Legality of Fanfiction
Due to the modern definition of fan fiction as derivative works, there are many legal issues involved with fan fiction, most prominently (but not exclusively) arising under United States copyright law.

Technically, Fanfiction is illegal because it is a derivative work, and therefore, a copyright violation. However, several prominent authors have given their blessings to fanfiction, notably J.K. Rowling. Rowling said she was "flattered" that people wanted to write their own stories based on her characters. However, Anne Rice has consistently and aggressively prevented fan fiction based on any of her characters (mostly those from her famous Interview with the Vampire and its sequels in The Vampire Chronicles) or other elements in her books, and she formally requested that FanFiction.Net remove stories featuring her characters.

Major sites such as fanfiction.net claim fair use, since Section 107 of the Copyright Act allows for fair use claims of copyrighted material. According to their interpretation of the law, fanfiction may legally fall under "fair use" because it is the "productive addition of creative labor" to copyrighted materials. Additionally, it does not act as a substitute to the original copyrighted work, because the author does not profit from fanfiction. This interpretation is not supported by traditional interpretations of the relevant statutes.

Subgenres
Fan fiction is now found in a variety of subgenres, with writers specializing in each. Fanzines have been published, and websites can be found, specializing: by star; by TV show, book(s), or film(s); by genre of the underlying material (such as mystery/crime, western, etc.); by sexual content ("gen", slash, etc.); or by type of story: crossover, "AU" (alternate history within the context of a particular fandom), or romance (for the "shippers"). In some cases, these will be combined, generating specialized zines or websites dedicated solely and specifically to, e.g., crossovers involving the Buffyverse; lesbian erotica about Xena; etc. It is expected that these specialized sites will continue to grow in popularity, just as the fiction fanzines did before them.

Find all of fan fiction series on Fan Fiction.Net