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Have you ever finished reading a book or watching a movie and been so captivated by it, you wish you could enter that world? Maybe you would extend the story with a detailed prequel or sequel, or you might change the story's ending completely. Maybe you would alter the characters' relationships or make yourself one of those characters. Welcome to the world of fan fiction.

Sites like fanfiction.net draw in whole communities of fan fiction writers, people who craft stories based on movies, video games, stories, or any medium created by another author. These writers explore the worlds created by others and then post them for other readers to share in the adventure. There can range from one-shot stories to entire series made up of novel-length pieces. There can be chapters and spin-offs and even accompanying fan art in the fan fiction community. Some stories are so popular among fan writers, such as the Harry Potter books, that there are whole websites dedicated to their fan fiction.

But as the collection of fan fiction about a particular fictional world grows, these stories are bound to include content that creates some controversy among the fans. As popular fictional works, from Star Wars to Dragonball Z, sprout their own fan fiction sites, the community of diehard fans will usually face the issue of determining what is considered "canon" in the source material's universe. Should an amateur writer who, for example, enjoys a certain character be able to write a love story about them, if that story blatantly (or even subtly) contradicts something from the original material? Should the author who created such a character be the only one to decide what is or isn't in store for that character?

The issue of determining what's considered canon is not the only controversy in the fan fiction community. Some content differs from the source material in a way that could be detrimental to an audience. For example, many fan-written stories based on children's books contain adult material. This becomes a concern when the young target audience of the book seeks out fan fiction based on it.

The fan fiction community must deal with this issue of how to monitor the audience that can view these stories, such as the racy and explicit ones known as "lemons." Some sites deal with this issue by requiring visitors to acknowledge that they are of age before they can click on a story to read it. Some fan fiction sites also employ a rating system so that potential readers can have some sense of the maturity level of the material contained in a story.

In any event, fan fiction enables writers and readers to immerse themselves more fully in the movies, games, anime / manga series etc., that they so love. These stories might not be renowned for their literary merit, but they serve their purpose well. They allow fans to explore the worlds that have captivated their imagination by flexing their own creative muscle.

Learn more about this author, M. Sparga.
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