Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and just didn’t like the way it ended? Or didn’t like the fact that it ended at all an you would like to pick up where the writer left off? (I was a bit heart broken at the end of the Harry Potter series). Well, there’s no rule that says you can’t rewrite the end of a story (or even reinvent parts of the story altogether). Fan fiction is pretty much what it defines, fiction written by fans of a book or movie. Even before the end of the Harry Potter series, fans had already started cranking out their own endings and alternate endings to the series (I read one particularly crazy HP fanfic that ended up revealing that Harry was a middle aged porn star that dreamt up the entire thing while being high on weed). Fan fiction gives fans the satisfaction of ending (or continuing) a story the way they please. This is probably it’s biggest attraction.

Is It Legal?
Considering most (if not all) fan fiction require lifting parts of characters, settings and sometimes plots from the original, there’s always the question of its legality. This question has never satisfactorily been answered and most times, it’s down to the author’s decision on whether or not to allow fan fiction on his/her work to be allowed to continue. However, most authors are either indifferent or sometimes actively encourage fan fiction as it ultimately promotes their original work. Some authors even end up borrowing from fan fiction to complete the original (I think I read somewhere that certain parts of the Game Of Thrones series were gotten from fan fiction and combined with the plot of the original – A Song Of Ice And Fire with permission from the author, George R.R. Martin). Seeing as most fan fiction are written for other fans of a particular work (and not as originals themselves), they are usually seen as mainly legal.

So What Can Fan Fiction Do To A Story?
As I stated above, fan fiction is about the fan writing based on characters or settings from an original work. This means that the person doesn’t have to stick to the plot or idea of the original and, a lot of times, fan fiction tells a way different story from the original (like the Harry Potter being a porn star example I wrote above). Fan fiction allows the fan’s imagination to run wild not limited by the plot of the author’s original to create new endings or even new stories based on characters or settings from the original work. In this sense, fan fiction can (and often does) change the story to suit the fan’s intents.

Can I Write Fan Fiction In A Genre Different From The Original?
Well, it’s completely possible, as far as you can logically explain any changes in genre (or at least satisfactorily explain). The Lord Of The Rings can change from fantasy to a romantic tale by focusing on two characters from the series or even creating new characters within the series’ setting. The problem with changing genres from the original is that it might make the fanfic too fantastic for other fans of the original work (like Luke Skywalker suddenly becoming a neurosurgeon or Frodo being a drug lord). It’s not impossible, as I said, but it would certainly take quite some explaining.

Can I Combine Two Different Original Works In My Fanfiction?
Certainly, as long as you can make sense out of the combination. Say combining characters from Stephen King’s and Dean Koontz’s books shouldn’t be too difficult since they covered pretty much the same type of subject matter. Even when the settings and characters are totally different, it’s still possible to combine them in the same fan fiction so long as you can explain why characters or settings from two different universes are merging in one.

Can I Use The Names From The Original In My Fan Fiction?
Of course, asides the titles of the work itself. Names of characters, places, objects or creatures from the original are normally used in the fan’s fictionalized version of the story. It’s these things that tie the fanfic back tot he original so it’s expected that they are used when writing. When naming your fan fiction, you would also want to modify a bit if there’s a bit from the original in the title. For instance, if you’re writing Harry Potter fan fiction, whatever title you use shouldn’t be exactly the same as any of the original Harry Potter books (i.e you can write Harry Potter And The Battle Of Gringotts – since no such book or movie exists in the original series but not Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban).

Can I Commercially Publish My FanFiction?
Commercial publication of fan fiction (selling for money) is generally not advised. While authors are indifferent or encourage people to make use of their original works in their fan fiction, most authors view commercial publication of fan fiction as an expression of infringement on their copyright. Free distribution and online publication (for free) on’t count as commercial publication and authors can overlook that. However, fan fiction should never be commercially published without the express consent of the author or creator of the original.

What Are The Advantages Of Writing Fan Fiction?

Asides the one stated above (writing your own ending or continuing the story), fan fiction is a bit easy to write because you already have characters or a setting or a plot or all three to work with so you don’t need to create from scratch. All you need do is take what exists from the original and make use of it in your writing. This doesn’t mean you can’t create your own characters or plots or settings as you go however. Fan fiction means you’re now part of the story telling, so also be creative and come up with new ideas and characters to make yours unique.

Also, sometimes, writers of the original end up collaborating with fan fiction writers or even outsourcing work to them if their fan fiction is good enough. Yes, really. There are fan fiction that are almost as good as (I’ve heard there are better but I’m yet to see any) the original.

Fan fiction doesn’t mean you’re a lazy writer. It just means you have your own ideas of how a story should go and you want to see it happen. So why not get creative on that story you feel was left unfinished? But please, I beg you, don’t turn Legolas into a porn star!

From UpBuzzed's The Open Library: http://theopenlibrary.upbuzzed.com/2016/01/31/why-not-try-fan-fiction/

Just imagining Frodo Baggins as a ruthless drug lord with Aragorn and Legolas in Italian tuxedos with bows slung across their shoulders; his henchmen