Embrace, don't chase: Common fan fiction mistakes

In dealing with fan fiction over the years, I've seen some common themes in what people have created. These should only be considered mistakes if a person is trying to pass off their fan fiction as a fact. For example, inventing a sequel for a movie. If they don't identify it as fan fiction, then it usually gets treated as false information.

For everyone else that is honest about their fan fiction, use this list of mistakes to avoid with reasons why so you can figure out how to make it better.

Not saying up front that it's fan fiction

As covered in another blog, people who don't identify what they're adding is fan fiction risk having it viewed as deliberately lying. If you first say "I made this", then most people would be willing to let it stick around but maybe in a different manner or on a different wiki.

Not filling out the details

Some fan fiction stories are actually just one or two sentences and that's it. "Luke Skywalker meets Calvin and Hobbes and they go on an adventure." That's not really a story. It's a story idea. Keep working on it until it becomes a full-fledged story.

Immediately abandoning your fan fiction

A lot of the fan fiction I see falls into the "story idea and nothing more" category. Quite a lot of it comes from people who sandblast those story ideas. By that, I mean they show up, create a lot of story ideas and then they leave. You never hear from them ever again, so they abandoned their fan fiction immediately after creating it.

It's common to change your interests as you get older. You might try something out and then decide you're going to do something else. The reasons why can vary: you didn't like it, you found something else you liked better, it wasn't what you were expecting it to be, or you didn't like the reaction you got from other people.

If you can, try to stick with this for a bit and fill out the details so it becomes more than just story ideas. Put some effort into it and show it's not something you're going to give up on five seconds later.

Verbatim copies

This is taking a story and changing a few words or names and passing it off as a new story you wrote. For example, taking the plot of one of the Harry Potter movies and replacing all the names with Looney Toons characters. You might think that's the easy way to come up with your own story, but it's not. It's actually plagiarism. You can use stories and concepts other people have come up with for your own stories, but they need to be adaptations to have new ideas, not exact copies where you just change a few things.
        For example, centuries ago, it was a sign that you were a good artist if you could copy the style of other artists. But they didn't just keep making copies forever. They improved their skills and eventually developed their own style, just as artists do today. Keep working on your fan fiction so you get to the point where it's more than a copy and is truly your own.

Every movie or book will have a sequel

A movie comes out that you really liked, so you want to see another movie based on it and you write your own sequel to it. Same goes with a book. Want more Harry Potter or Jurassic Park? Write your own story.
        That works for fan fiction, but in reality, there's a lot of factors out of our control that would keep something we really like from continuing. Most of them come from money. Movie studios can say, "The movie made $150 million but cost $125 million to make, so that isn't enough to justify making a sequel." For as much as we might want one, sometimes it won't happen.

Very specific release dates

Picking a specific date when something will be released/published, such as "the movie will be released on July 4, 2029" when it's March 2018 at the time they say it.
        Though movie studios with large franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel and DC comic books are starting to "claim" release dates farther in the future, most of them keep it pretty generic: "Spring 2020" or just a year like 2022. They don't get more specific than 1-3 years out.
        The reason is that a movie can be cancelled or put back into development or otherwise delayed at any time. Hearing them say, "We're making a movie that will be released on a specific date eight years from now" doesn't happen. If they did, another movie studio might say, "Let's make one on the same subject and get it into theaters faster." The second movie studio makes the money while the first one looks like an "also-ran" and doesn't get as much. Once a studio commits to a specific date, there's more money involved in advertising that date. Any changes to the release date means more money spent to update the advertising.
        Another factor to consider is whether anyone would be interested in it if it's going to be released that far in the future. Would a movie studio spend years and millions of dollars on making a movie and risk people no longer caring if it ever came out?

Home video releases

Related to when a movie comes out, companies don't make announcements that they're going to release things on home video years beforehand. The industry changes too much on a monthly or even daily basis for them to commit to releasing something like a TV show on DVD or Blu-ray a decade from now.

Real world events

Real-world events could also affect when a movie is released. For example, DreamWorks Animation stated in June 2014 that the sequel to The Croods they announced a few months earlier would be released on November 3, 2017. Then it was changed to December 22nd shortly thereafter, then changed to "sometime in 2018". After the company was bought by Universal Pictures, the sequel was cancelled in December 2016. So even though they wanted to release a movie on a specific date just three years after announcing it, a real world event caused its cancellation. And then on September 19, 2017, it was announced the movie was back in production with a new release date of September 18, 2020. We'll see if it stays in production this time.

Release date keeps slipping

A fan fiction movie that's been around for a while may have a specific premiere date. That date comes and goes, and then it gets a new release date. Then that goes by so it gets another new release date. And another.... And another....

The movie is going to be released right now!

It takes time to make a movie. Two or three years is common for a live-action film and four to five years is common for an animated film, and that's just from the point they actually start production. This includes all the work on the script itself, concept artwork, scouting locations, signing up the cast, etc.
        So, if a brand new movie shows up that nobody's heard about before and it's going to be released almost immediately after the announcement, that's a fan fiction movie. There would be at least one press release or interview about it. Plus, it takes time to arrange which theaters are going to show it. No movie would be announced and get into theaters in just weeks.

Mixing future and past wording

Again, this is usually with sequels and it usually follows this pattern: A movie will be released at some point in the future, but all of the descriptions about it are worded like it's already been released. That's a signal that fan fiction is being passed off as a fact.
        Many times, the way this happens is someone will make a verbatim copy/plagiarize a story idea and they miss some of the details when they are changing it to become their "new" story.

"I have decided to release this movie on (date)"

This often comes from people who pretend they are involved in making a movie. Not only will they invent a release date for the movie, some of them have actually used phrases like this, as if it's their decision when a movie gets released. It never is, but too many of them are the ones that get stubborn about insisting their fan fiction is real.

Lengthy plot descriptions or transcripts

Such plot descriptions are almsot a scene-by-scene recap of what happens in the movie, or for transcripts, provides every line in the movie, and both are for a movie that hasn't been released yet.
        Movie studios and publishers are in the business to make money. They're not going to give away the entire plot ahead of time. If they did, people will know what will happen in the story so there's less reason to go buy a movie ticket or buy the book. At the very least, they probably won't enjoy it as much because it's a spoiler.
        So if you've got someone who is providing what is supposed to be the full plot or transcript for a movie that hasn't been released yet, that means the studio is setting themselves up to make less money than they could. That's not gonna happen, so it's a flag that it's fan fiction.

Here's a real-life example about enjoying a story less by knowing what will happen ahead of time.
        Back in 1983, the movie theater where I lived decided they wouldn't carry Return of the Jedi right away because the movie studio wanted too much of the ticket price for the first few weeks. I think it was about 90% for the first week, then dropped each week thereafter, so it took a while before the theater would even start to make any money by showing the film. I decided to go ahead and read the novelization. When I finally got to see the movie, I kept wondering how long it was going to be before we got to the point where Yoda died so we could get onto the rest of the movie. I don't think I liked it as much because I spoiled it for myself.

Lengthy descriptions equals fan fiction

Another reason why lengthy plot descriptions and transcripts equals fan fiction is all stories go through several revisions. What you start out with is never exactly what you finish with. The Writers Guild of America has nine colors picked out to designate what revision a script is at, with eight of them being repeated if needed. That's up to 17 different versions, from first draft to what you'd use for filming. This can also change during filming itself.
        If you're listing out exactly what is supposed to happen before the movie or book is released, you're saying what it used to be and not what it is.

Non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality agreeents

When you're involved in making a movie or other businesses, you may be required to sign a Non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or confidentiality agreement before you'll be allowed to see any information about the project. This is a legal contract that spells out what you can and can't do and say once you get that information, how long it must be kept confidential, how long the agreement stays in effect and other legal matters. People that violate the NDA are subject to lawsuits.
        So anyone that posts information that they're trying to pass off as fact about something that would normally be covered by an NDA is putting themselves in a position where they could be sued. Most people don't put themselves at risk like that. But if they say first, "This is my fan fiction story", then an NDA doesn't apply.

More lists than story

Some of the fan fiction I've seen has more effort put into telling us the actors or characters that will be in it than on the story itself. For example, they might have the story idea of "Luke Skywalker meets Calvin and Hobbes and they go on an adventure", then a long list of all the actors or characters that will be in in it, such as Mark Hamil for Luke, actors for Calvin and Hobbes, and thirty-seven other actors and characters.

Large number of well-known actors

Filling out the cast list with a large number of well-known actors works fine when you're writing a fan fiction story, but the moment you try to make this a real story, doing that becomes a problem for the same reason as above: money. If you've got twenty famous actors like George Clooney and Sigourney Weaver in your story, that's twenty high-profile actors with large salaries that would have to be paid. The more famous they are, the larger that amount will be, which means less money is available for the movie itself.
        Unless they make special arrangements to appear in a cameo or an uncredited role, they're going to receive a salary for being in the movie. In some cases, it may even be required by the Screen Actors Guild or another organization that they receive a screen credit and salary.

Characters from other stories and franchises.

Just like with actors, it comes down to money for a character from one story to appear in another. So again, fine for fan fiction, not so practical for a real story.
        Anything well-known has to be either licensed or some other kind of special consideration has to be made if it's going to be a significant part of your story. When Q*bert appeared in Wreck-It Ralph, Disney had to license the character from Sony before they could use it. Another example would be a can of Pepsi appearing on a table during a scene in a restaurant as product placement. Look at the credits of movies. You'll see things like "(singer) appears courtesy of (their record label)" and "(character) used with permission by (company)". That indicates a license is in effect.

Competitors working together

Big companies that are in the same field of storytelling do not work together very often. For example, the TV shows about Marvel characters are on ABC because Disney owns ABC and Marvel. DC's TV shows are on The CW, which is run by CBS and Warner Bros. Entertainment. So a Marvel character like Flatman is not likely to appear in a TV show broadcast on The CW or CBS because they're competitors with ABC.
        Note: There are instances where competitors have worked together. Marvel and DC have published a few comic books where characters from both companies appear in the same story. Disney XD airs more than just Disney-made movies and TV shows, and began broadcasting Hotel Transylvania: The Series in June 2017, which is based on the movies by Sony Pictures Animation and the series is produced by SPA and Nelvana.
        So, competitors working together isn't out of the question for your story. Just not likely if you try to make it a "real" story.

4D, 5D and 6D movies

3D movies are promoted as being better than a 2D movie, so a 4D movie, 5D, 6D or beyond would be better than those, right? Except for 4D, they don't exist, and 4D only exists by another name.
        Two-dimentional movies and TV shows give you the height and width that lets us see objects. There's also shading along the surfaces that help us see depth, so even if a movie is a straight 2D movie, it appears a lot like a 3D movie. Both 2D and 3D movies have motion. That's what makes them a movie and not just a static picture. So there's your 4D: motion and/or time.
        So if a movie is said to be a "5D", "6D" or anything else, what is that suppose to add to the movie that isn't already there? Many of the fan fiction movies don't say. Just "it's a 5D movie" or "released in 6D" or whatever.

Note: Some amusement park rides are sometimes labeled as "4D" when they are a motion simulator that is accompanied by a film played on a screen right in front of it. Most of the fan fiction stories labeled as "4D" do not mention that it includes a motion simulator, so the "4D" label is used in the "it's better than 3D" sense.

Mary Sue and the author as a character

Mary Sue is a character in a Star Trek parody story from 1973 called "A Trekkie's Tale". The story was written to satirize what appeared in so many fan fiction stories at the time: unrealistic characters who were the best at everything, were the relatives/protégées/love interests of Kirk, Spock or McCoy, save the day, and might die at the end of the story, with the entire crew grieving for her.
        These days, a Mary Sue and Marty Stu/Gary Stu/Larry Stu for men is more generalized, dealing with wish-fulfillment and the author puts themselves directly into the story.
        Having characters that are good at a particular skill and interact with main characters is okay. Unless your story takes place in some isolated part of that "universe", they'll come in contact with established characters from the story you're basing your fan fiction on.
        What you want to watch out for is going too far: going from being good at a skill to being the best, and going from they're an important character in your story to they're just as important as those established characters (maybe even more important). If your character is basically you, do more than just give them a different name or make them the idealized version of yourself.

Learning from those examples

With each of these, it can be okay if you use them in your fan fiction stories. But if you do, be ready to make them points you work on so that the next update of your story will be even better.

In terms of wish-fulfillment, every story is a type of wish-fulfillment: "I want to see ____ happen, so I'll write that happening." Doesn't matter if it's a fan fiction story or something that officially gets published or turned into a movie or TV show. Even famous authors engage in it every once in a while. You make what you wish would happen happen by writing the story.

Sharing your ideas

One important thing to remember is that once you share your idea for a story, that means someone else could use that idea and adapt it into their own story. Or, the less honest ones could try to use it directly. The more you develop a story before you share it, the easier it is to prove that you came up with it first. However, if you have any interest in having your story published professionally or sold to another company, your best bet is to not even share it in a public place like a wiki at all. Even sharing just the basic idea of the story could hinder you in the future.

The reason for this is also the reason why people who are involved in TV shows, movies and books can't even look at fan fiction or even hear anything about it. It isn't that they don't want to see what their fans are doing. It's because if a fan happens to have an idea that is similar to what the person is currently working on, they have to stop. That idea has to be scrapped to avoid lawsuits.

You might say, "I'd never sue them. I'd just be happy that they saw my idea." If so, then good for you. Other people haven't been so generous, especially once they see how much money is involved when a movie is successful and/or receives awards. Three people sued Steven Spielberg because they believed E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial was based on their idea. J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5, had to shelve the episode "Passing Through Gethsemane" for over a year because a fan on the GEnie service asked a question with an idea that was a direct match for the subject of that episode. The episode could only be brought back into production after that fan took the unusual step of getting an official release for the story idea notorized and gave it to JMS at a convention. In 2017, there was a lawsuit over Zootopia that claimed that many of the ideas were pitched to Disney in 2000 and 2009. It was dismissed since not enough evidence was presented to show that specific ideas were used, rather than just general ideas and concepts, so the lawsuit has been filed again in Los Angeles Superior Court with some additional details.

Writing fan fiction is one way to show you care about those stories. Another is to make sure you help out the people that make what you like by not interfering with what they do. If you happen to meet them, you might be able to tell them, "I wrote a story based on your movie/TV show/book", but do not go any further and tell them what it is. They'll have to stop you anyway before you can to protect themselves and you.