Fan Fiction and Reality collide?

This article raises some interesting questions and possibilities regarding our genre. It describes the emerging collision (or perhaps collaboration) between fan fiction and reality. Or rather, commericial entertainment sources.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, but it was thought-provoking.

Some of you may have greater insights.

www.nytimes.com/2017/06/21/arts/when-fan...WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Shadar

Bongo Comics tackled this to an extent back in 2003 for Heroes Annonymous #3 where the secret writer of slash fan fiction is given the power to transform into Earth's most powerful superheroine just by twisting her ring:

www.atomicempire.com/issue.aspx?cover=1124&sid=S0XSG1TSWS0YUMW

Woodclaw wrote:

shadar wrote: This article raises some interesting questions and possibilities regarding our genre. It describes the emerging collision (or perhaps collaboration) between fan fiction and reality. Or rather, commericial entertainment sources.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, but it was thought-provoking.

Some of you may have greater insights.

www.nytimes.com/2017/06/21/arts/when-fan...WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Shadar

Well, it's not new, but now it's certainly more widespread. In the early '90s the Star Trek The Next Generation writers team used many fans' ideas or even partial scripts starting around the end of season 4, I think. There was even a joke about how the writer classified those ideas ("Pinocchio" for anything regarding Data, "Separation Anxiety Disorder" for stories linked to the gimmick of the Enterprise-D being able to detach the saucer section and so on).

Sounds like Youtube has provided a new medium that has changed the relationship between for-profit owners of characters, and fan-fiction writing (which rarely returns a dollar) and videos on Youtube which can make people a bit of money.

I always thought of fan-fiction as something you give away (which ensured you didn't get sued by the studios). If someone used your ideas, that was a source of private joy, given we were outlaws from the start.

I was at the forefront of casual publishing on the Net, including a lot of fan-fiction, but as usual, it's impossible to keep up forever on technologies that have a high growth rate. When I read articles like this one, I realize how far things have moved beyond me.

Shadar