There were a couple of panels at Minicon 54 that I attended and wrote up in my retrospect post. Over the years, I have been referring back to that post and telling people which panel to look at. It has occurred to me that the panels that I’ve referred to the most need their own individual posts, and so I’m reproducing them here.

Fanfic Writing Is Writing.

Many People write Fanfic, including some pros. What’s fun about writing in an established universe? What does a writer get from the experience that’s different than other writing styles? When does an author decide to file off the serial numbers and send it off to the publisher?
Katie Clapham (m), Ruth Berman, Lyda Morehouse, Naomi Kritzer, Peg Kerr

This panel told me something that I wish, I truly wish, I was told when I was a small child - that writing fanfiction is okay and it can be used to learn how to write. When I was growing up, a lot of my art and writing was stunted because I was told that nothing I created was original. I wasn’t given the support that I needed so that I could learn how to improve on the stories that I was trying to put together. Most of my early attempts were retellings or combinations of other stories that I had heard or watched. I was still in the learning stage - learning how to construct stories. Those were my early attempts at fanfiction, and I was never shown what I was doing right; all I received was criticism. Young Justin, like most people, easily shut down, and it takes a long time to build back up. This panel made me want to cry, because Young Justin really needed to hear that it was a good start, and this panel said that.

A lot of King Arthur tales were fanfiction; for example, the story of Lancelot. Fanfiction is a writing device that has existed throughout history, and will continue to exist. It helps us learn to write, it helps give a framework to build new ideas off of, it leads people to fandom, and it helps people become interested in great art. If it wasn’t for fanfiction, we wouldn’t have the great Hamlet Quintology!

• Hamlet

• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

• Hamlet 2

• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead

Can a writer write fanfic of their own work? Yes - for example, writing fanfic of own characters, slashfic of own characters in an Alternate Universe.

John Milton wrote Bible fanfic, Paradise Lost, and it has become fanon (fan canon). It is but one example of how fanfic can become supplemental canon or become extracanonical, either by using its own or the original characters. And speaking of Biblical fanfic, the Christian Bible has councils of bishops deciding what is canonical and what is not, and then there is the King James Version. Biblical canon is complex.

Tolkien couldn’t make up his mind on details - could that be considered fanfiction of his own work? He had stated in his letters that he wanted to create a mythology for England - a “subcreation”. That created a revered world to play in, and many people have written their own fanfics that have become new literary works.

The Marvel What If…? series blurs the line between fanfiction and not.

Pride & Prejudice is now public domain, and has spawned new works:

• Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

• Pride & Prometheus

It helps understanding Copyright Law. If only the circle of rights were more forgiving.

There is an Old Man and the Sea and Harry Potter crossover fanfic out there.

Vonda McIntyre and Lois Bujold started out as fanfic writers, I’m told.

The character of Sherlock Holmes is said to be fanfiction of Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin, Émile Gaboriau's Monsieur Lecoq, and the real life Joseph Bell.

Ms. Marvel writes fanfic. But who does Loki ‘ship?

Some time ago, there was a post on Reddit about a D&D club at a school. This club had a member who didn’t know certain English phrases, and they found a way to help her learn more English by having Spanish be the Elven language. One of the things about fanfiction is that it can take these events and apply them to established fictional worlds.

Fanfic is not the place for harsh critique - that’s what beta readers are for. Especially when dealing with young people - young people can easily see what they did wrong. People in general easily close down when receiving criticism. People need to be shown what is done right so that they can learn and develop it. Don’t be brutal - be compassionate, clever, insightful. Uplift and empower!

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