October 2008
I recently came across a blogsite that listed four rules to good fan fiction.
1. Good Star Trek
stories focus on the series regulars, not created characters.
2.
Well, I thought I'd challenge those four rules here:
1) Good fan fiction can be about anybody. One of my favorite fan fiction stories is Cathy German's "Dear Mom" which is really a tragic story about Ensign Leslie Thompson. Don't remember her? She's certainly not a major character by any stretch of the imagination. She's the young woman who was turned into the "cube" and crushed by Rojan in "By Any Other Name." I challenge anyone to read this story, and Cathy's follow-up "Comeuppance," and tell me that they aren't good fan fiction. Read Nomad' "The Human Equation" and tell me that his story about Xon isn't good fan fiction.
2) Good fan fiction can have graphic sex and/or violence. Perhaps one of the most heralded stories on our site is Chris Dickenson's novella, Keeper of the Katra. In a brief scene, we meet Spock bondmate, T'Liba, and there is a brief sex scene between them. There's also one in Nomad's "The Human Equation" wherein Xon telepathically picks up a young woman's sexual fantasy about him. Regarding the violence, if you've never read Nomad's chilling sequel to "A Private Little War," "The Last Survivor," then you'll never understand how there are horrors in war, even in the 23rd century. Nomad is often sited as the chief author of much of the violence, but his point is to reinforce the evil nature of the Klingons as seen in the Star Trek movies. Villains such as Kruge is representative of the sort of brute Nomad sees the Klingons to be, and Nomad created a masterful explanation for the change in their appearance, just as the transition from treachery to honor in Klingon society can be seen in Doug Roberts' Liberation from Hell which has its share of violence as well.
3) Good fan fiction can allow its writers to explore previously unknown relationships between characters, and, yes, good fan fiction can even feature life-altering changes can happen to characters, even major characters. Again, Chris Dickenson's novella, Keeper of the Katra, introduces us to Spock's bondmate, T'Liba. This was a unexpected revelation for the character, Spock, and when tied into the events of "Amok Time" and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Chris' novella is clearly one of the most important and best written stories in the history of fandom. Each of the Star Trek films has introduced life-altering changes to the original series characters, and fan fiction allows one to explore those changes. As long as it's done in a credible manner, in keeping with continuity, changes should be regarded as a positive. Without change, characters grow stagnant -- just like they do in the Star Trek pro-novels from Pocketbooks.
4) Good fan fiction can feature "hurt-comfort" stories wherein characters who are injured can be comforted by their friends. These people are family, folks, and one of the strengths of being a family is the support they give to its members. Again, Chris Dickenson's novella, Keeper of the Katra, is a massively long hurt-comfort piece wherein each character comforts Spock. Sharon Pillsbury's story, "Field of Illusion," is another good example of just how good "hurt-comfort" can be. As far as Mary Sues go, there are very few identifiable Mary Sues on this site, but perhaps one of the most popular would be Doctor Giacomo Eletto who was introduced in "The Plumber's Helper" and who appears regularly in the Hyperion series. Even Mary Sues can be well-written, and while we don't host many on this site, it doesn't mean they're bad for fan fiction.
I'm quite certain that our site offers something for everyone, just as our zines do. Will every single story be to your liking? I doubt it. I'm not sure that every story here is to MY liking, and I'm the editor-in-chief!
Randy
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