The Wonderful World of Fanfic Fan-authored fiction takes you where the shows don't, won't, or can't go. By Tara O'Shea Your favorite TV show has just ended. The music swells, the credits roll, and you are left wanting—even palpably needing—more. But it will be a week until the next episode, perhaps months if it's a season finale. And—horror of horrors—what if the show gets cancelled? Don't despair—you're not alone. Thousands of fans feel exactly the same way and are bridging the gap by writing their own fan fiction based on their favorite series. Fan fiction—or 'fanfic' for short— has been around since the pulp magazines of the 1930s, but its TV-based history really began with 'Star Trek.' After the series ended in 1969, it was the legions of fans churning out their own tales of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the Enterprise crew that helped keep the show alive in fans' hearts and minds and laid the groundwork for its eventual resurrection as a big-screen franchise that spawned several more 'Star Trek' TV series, including 'The Next Generation', 'Deep Space Nine' and 'Voyager'. Fanfic gives fans the opportunity to tell the stories the shows don't, won't, or can't tell—from the quiet moments in between the scenes that air to sweeping epics that change your favorite characters' lives forever. It's all about taking the people and relationships we see on the screen that one step further—fleshing out characters and putting them into situations that, while remaining true to the series, provide all-new adventures. Originally circulated through the mail in fanzines or 'zines'—self-published anthologies usually accompanied by fan artwork—fanfic was a natural for the net. Although many netizens had never seen a fanzine, they were introduced to the concept by 'zine readers and writers who'd begun posting their fiction to Usenet newsgroups and mailing lists. With the web came the ability to publish the way fanzines publish in the print world, with fan artwork, design and layout that rival any professional site. Online fanfic has since spread like wildfire, moving from traditional genre subjects like sci-fi and action/adventure to everything from soap operas to sitcoms. Web surfers can now find fan-authored adventures of 'Caroline in the City' and 'The Nanny' right along side Captain Sisko and Fox Mulder—and sometimes on the same page, in the burgeoning sub-genre of fanfic crossovers. Thanks to fanfic writers, Buffy is hanging out with Nick Knight, Han Solo is trading tall tales with Tom Paris, Bruce Wayne is sharing the night sky with Goliath and his clan, and Sydney Bloom is logging into Section One. Fanfic buffs are also major matchmakers, with entire archives devoted to every imaginable pairing, from Mulder & Scully to Kirk & Spock. Ready to dive into this weird and wonderful world? To find stories based on your own favorite series, resources for the fan writer, and essays analyzing fan fiction, check out some of the best fanfic sites on the web: Fanfic Resources This concordance not only provides indices to online fan fiction for your favorite series and films, but also has sections devoted to fanzines in and out of print, individual authors, and is home to a very useful dictionary of fanzine and fan fiction related terms. Fan Fiction on the Net Another frequently updated index that has proven invaluable to the online fan. Entries are organized by medium (TV, Books, Music, Comics, Animation, etc.), genre (crossover, horror, fantasy, etc.) and contain sections devoted to writer's resources and fanfic-related sites and publications. The Fanfic World Another index of fanfic related links, this site is a great one-stop-shopping experience, with links to all kinds of archives of fiction,a s well as writer's resources. While not as complete as the above two indices, it is well on its way, and is home to the ever-expanding Television Fanfic Webring. The English Department Home of DangerMom's Handy-Dandy Grammar Guide, a pocket guide to common grammatical errors perpetrated on the 'net, but also provides a special section on Star Trek terms and grammar. Written with great wit and wisdom, this is a must-read page for all fan authors and shouldn't be missed! Writer's Corner Another one-stop-shopping page designed with the fan writer in mind. If you're looking for scholarly examinations of fan fiction as a sub-culture, wisdom from experienced fan authors, tips, and forums to meet other writers and hone your skills, this is the place! Idylls of the Wizard If you want to learn, learn from the best. Not only is Merlin Missy Wilson an accomplished fan author, but she is also the deviously clever and wickedly intelligent author of "Dr. Merlin's Guide to Fan Fiction" and "The Mary Sue Litmus Test." If you're going to write fanfic, this is a woman to listen to. Macedon's Taberna Speaking of the best, Joe "Little Otter" Macedon was voted "Best Author on 1997" by the denizens of Alt.Startrek.Creative with good reason—the "Talking Stick/Circle" series he co-authored with Peg Robinson is an excellent example of the best online fan fiction has to offer. In addition to his fan fiction, Joe's page is home to "The Craft of Writing, or Yes, Virginia, It's a Learned Skill" and "How Do I Get My Star Trek Novel Published?" Mary Sue, And How To Avoid Her Although originally written in conjunction with her Lonesome Dove fan page, Allison Dowdall's essay is a great overview of that curious sub-genre of fan fiction known as the "Mary Sue" story. The Quick and Dirty Guide to Fanzine Publishing Online fan fiction is wonderful, but sometimes, you want to hold a beautifully crafted book in your hands, and this is the site that can teach the basics of how to put together your own, with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. The Television Fanfic Webring Okay, you've read all the essays and tips, skimmed the indices, and now you're on a hunt to find stories about your favorite characters. The fanfic webring has over 100 fanfic sites with everything from Friends to Dr. Who, with new sites added daily. The Gossamer Project If the X-Files is your passion, then look no further! The Gossamer Project is an enormous archive of fan fiction from the pens of X-Philes, ranging from romance to horror and everything in between. Alt.StarTrek.Creative Archive Likewise, if you're addicted to Trek, this is the place for you! stories are organized by series, author, and rating. With mirror sites all over the web, you'll always be able to find the further adventures of Captains Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway.

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Fan fiction, fanfic, X-Files, Star Trek