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What is considered fanfic?

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Unknown User
I am aware this site does not allow fanfic but is using a fantasy world considered a fanfic? Example - I write a story using the fantasy world of Oz but my characters are original. Yes, there may be some minor run-in with the existing characters created by Frank Baum such as the wicked witch or Dorothy or the munchkins but they are just minor mentions of them for interaction with my characters.

Thank you
Unknown User
Quote by BlkSugarbaby
I am aware this site does not allow fanfic but is using a fantasy world considered a fanfic? Example - I write a story using the fantasy world of Oz but my characters are original. Yes, there may be some minor run-in with the existing characters created by Frank Baum such as the wicked witch or Dorothy or the munchkins but they are just minor mentions of them for interaction with my characters.

Thank you


That is pretty much the definition of fanfic right there. An unofficial add-on to an existing world or universe, even if the original characters do not appear.

So if I write about the starship USS Orion in the Star Trek : The Next Generation timeline, that's fanfic even if Picard and company never appear.

The main difference between our examples would be that Oz (the books, at least) is now public domain in most, if not all, regions (Baum died in 1919) while Star Trek is property of CBS/Paramount. Not sure if that gets you more wiggle room. Forget how past discussions of that turned out.
Unknown User
Quote by seeker4


That is pretty much the definition of fanfic right there. An unofficial add-on to an existing world or universe, even if the original characters do not appear.

So if I write about the starship USS Orion in the Star Trek : The Next Generation timeline, that's fanfic even if Picard and company never appear.

The main difference between our examples would be that Oz (the books, at least) is now public domain in most, if not all, regions (Baum died in 1919) while Star Trek is property of CBS/Paramount. Not sure if that gets you more wiggle room. Forget how past discussions of that turned out.


Ok but i was reading the definition of what Lush considers a fantasy story and it reads - "The fantasy genre does not necessarily have any grounding in reality, and is more concerned with magic and myth. This can encompass everything from historical Arthurian tales of court intrigue, to epic battles for empires and crusades against the forces of darkness." So if I write a story based in Camelot is that not fanfic?

The story i want to write is a fantasy based in the Dungeons and Dragons world of The Forgotten Realms.
RejectReality
Testing The Waters.
Quote by BlkSugarbaby


Ok but i was reading the definition of what Lush considers a fantasy story and it reads - "The fantasy genre does not necessarily have any grounding in reality, and is more concerned with magic and myth. This can encompass everything from historical Arthurian tales of court intrigue, to epic battles for empires and crusades against the forces of darkness." So if I write a story based in Camelot is that not fanfic?

The story i want to write is a fantasy based in the Dungeons and Dragons world of The Forgotten Realms.


If you're using the locations, the gods, any of the characters, etc. then it's going to be out of bounds. D&D is generic enough that unless you're outright rewriting a module, you're just writing fantasy. When you step into Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Spelljammer, etc., then you're in the realm of fanfic.

If the kick for you is to have your characters walking in that specific world, Lush isn't the right fit for the story.
Unknown User
Quote by BlkSugarbaby


Ok but i was reading the definition of what Lush considers a fantasy story and it reads - "The fantasy genre does not necessarily have any grounding in reality, and is more concerned with magic and myth. This can encompass everything from historical Arthurian tales of court intrigue, to epic battles for empires and crusades against the forces of darkness." So if I write a story based in Camelot is that not fanfic?

The story i want to write is a fantasy based in the Dungeons and Dragons world of The Forgotten Realms.


The Arthurian legends date back centuries and are more in the realm of mythology so are fair game for pretty much anyone to write. As long as you don't obviously base your Arthur on a modern interpretation like Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon, you are just adding to that tradition. It is the same as writing a story about the Greek gods. These are "fanfic" in a way, but are part of a far older tradition of telling stories from myths and legends that do not belong to a culture rather than any specific person or corporation.

Forgotten Realms, OTOH, is a fictional property created by a modern publisher who makes money from licensing stories, games, etc. set in it so is in a whole different realm where copyright matters.

Now, if you wanted to "file off the serial numbers" and create your own D&D-esque fantasy world, things like elves, dwarves, orcs, etc. are part of older traditions and not subject to copyright as long as you don't them borrow the versions from D&D too obviously. So elves, sure, but no drow and definitely no Drizzt.
Unknown User
Quote by seeker4



Now, if you wanted to "file off the serial numbers" and create your own D&D-esque fantasy world, things like elves, dwarves, orcs, etc. are part of older traditions and not subject to copyright as long as you don't them borrow the versions from D&D too obviously. So elves, sure, but no drow and definitely no Drizzt.


Was definitely not going to use Drizzt or any of the Companions lol. I was more interested in using the world of Faerun and the cities etc. and the gods of forgotten realms. And yes sadly the drow would play a large part.
I thank you for all your responses and attention to my post sad
Jen
Charming as fuck
Using work that's in the public domain is fine. Other than that, no go I'm afraid.

We've had plenty of fairy tale adaptations in the past.

Anything that's under licence anywhere is a legal wrangle we're just not equipped to deal with, so it's a blanket no.
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
Quote by BlkSugarbaby
I am aware this site does not allow fanfic but is using a fantasy world considered a fanfic? Example - I write a story using the fantasy world of Oz but my characters are original. Yes, there may be some minor run-in with the existing characters created by Frank Baum such as the wicked witch or Dorothy or the munchkins but they are just minor mentions of them for interaction with my characters.

Thank you


Oz would be considered general domain (120 years after date of creation which was, for the Wizard of Oz 1900), so if that's your intent, go for it.

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Unknown User
Quote by BlkSugarbaby


Was definitely not going to use Drizzt or any of the Companions lol. I was more interested in using the world of Faerun and the cities etc. and the gods of forgotten realms. And yes sadly the drow would play a large part.
I thank you for all your responses and attention to my post sad


You're welcome. I do hope you write some stories that you can post here. D&D-inspired erotica could be fun, you just have to use your own world, that's all.

I am actually not that familiar with Forgotten Realms save what I've read various places but Drizzt seems inescapable in fantasy circles. My D&D days predated it, though some elements that later became prominent in it (like the drow) came out while I was playing (late seventies through to early nineties, though my group had mostly switched to other RPGs by the late eighties).
ScreamQueen
living dead girl
Quote by BlkSugarbaby


Was definitely not going to use Drizzt or any of the Companions lol. I was more interested in using the world of Faerun and the cities etc. and the gods of forgotten realms. And yes sadly the drow would play a large part.
I thank you for all your responses and attention to my post sad



Without using those properties you could still write a really great D&D inspired story
You should do it ?
Unknown User
Quote by vanessa26



Without using those properties you could still write a really great D&D inspired story
You should do it ?


I may try but i am a huge fan of the drow elves and their goddess Lolth and really wanted to use them in my story lol.
Unknown User
Quote by seeker4


You're welcome. I do hope you write some stories that you can post here. D&D-inspired erotica could be fun, you just have to use your own world, that's all.

I am actually not that familiar with Forgotten Realms save what I've read various places but Drizzt seems inescapable in fantasy circles. My D&D days predated it, though some elements that later became prominent in it (like the drow) came out while I was playing (late seventies through to early nineties, though my group had mostly switched to other RPGs by the late eighties).




The Forgotten Realms genre really expanded on the drow elves and since they are my favorite race and their goddess Lolth is my favorite god of the realms i really wanted to use them. I may try something. Thanks again
DMBFFF
Active Ink Slinger
wp:Trow (folklore)

wpbiggrinark elves in fiction

wp:2020 in public domain
Margaret Mitchell

wp:2021 in public domain
Edgar Rice Burroughs
George Bernard Shaw

wp:2022 in public domain
Muhammad Ali (probably not the one you're thinking)
Sinclair Lewis

wikisources:Category:Sword & Sorcery

wikisources:The Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age (1936)
wikisources:Author:Robert Ervin Howard

wikisources:Category:Erotica




(source and for larger images in this Wikicommons page)





Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Unknown User
Quote by DMBFFF
wp:Trow (folklore)

wpbiggrinark elves in fiction

wp:2020 in public domain
Margaret Mitchell

wp:2021 in public domain
Edgar Rice Burroughs
George Bernard Shaw

wp:2022 in public domain
Muhammad Ali (probably not the one you're thinking)
Sinclair Lewis

wikisources:Category:Sword & Sorcery

wikisources:The Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age (1936)
wikisources:Author:Robert Ervin Howard

wikisources:Category:Erotica




Oh, for sure, the drow have mythological and literary antecedents but drow as portrayed in Forgotten Realms are off-limits. No Lolth. No Underdark. No Faerun. And so on. So write about drow, but make sure you research those antecedents so you can be sure to be basing them on that lore and not on Forgotten Realms lore.
DMBFFF
Active Ink Slinger
and an additional caution to being too derivative:
Mushroom0311
Advanced Wordsmith
Quote by BlkSugarbaby


Ok but i was reading the definition of what Lush considers a fantasy story and it reads - "The fantasy genre does not necessarily have any grounding in reality, and is more concerned with magic and myth. This can encompass everything from historical Arthurian tales of court intrigue, to epic battles for empires and crusades against the forces of darkness." So if I write a story based in Camelot is that not fanfic?

The story i want to write is a fantasy based in the Dungeons and Dragons world of The Forgotten Realms.


You have to remember that D&D itself was sued almost out of business early on for the exact same problem.

The original game had very different mechanics than it does today. Barbarians based almost entirely with Conan as the mold. Elves and Hobbits based on the Tolkien model (elves were tall and thin), the alignments were Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic.

Hence, the Howard and Tolkien estates sued them, as did Michael Moorcock. They struck all the references to Barbarians in what became known as "1st Edition AD&D", changed Hobbits to Halflings, and added in Good and Evil in addition to Law and Chaos. But still blew it when they added in a great many works into their first Deities and Demigods book. Including such mythos as Michael Moorcock, H. P. Lovecraft, and Fritz Leiber's Nehwon series. Once again quickly sued, and a second printing was rushed out that removed them.

I always encourage people in both writing stories as well as creating games to make their own universe. Yes, D&D gave us the Forgotten Relms universe. But do not forget, it also gave us the worlds of Belgarion by David Eddings, and the Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist. Both of which were based on campaigns that the authors had created for D&D. And in an interesting turn for those that know the industry, Feist created Midkemia Press, a company that created universal game supplements. In the 1980's the best known of these was "Cities", which was then licensed by another company and used to a game supplement for the "Thieves World" game supplement, based on a book series of that name.

I would encourage you to just use the "basics", and keep it universal and entirely your own. In over 25 years of writing, I have only written a single "fan fic". And that was over 2 decades ago, a crossover between DC and Marvel characters. And in the last few years, I actually started writing a superhero series based on an old Champions campaign I ran in the 1980's (two books finished along with several shorts, a third still being written). And the world has some similarities with DC, and the grittiness of Marvel. But it is unquestionably my own creation.

You can even see this as some cities are like Marvel and are real life cities (Los Angeles, Sacramento, etc). While others are entirely fictional (Compass City, River City, Gemstone) as are the cities in the DC universe.

But I would encourage you to follow a similar model. I started as many writers do by writing a "Bible". A document which outlines my newly created universe, and the rules it would follow. And basic descriptions of the city. And I then went from there, sometimes making changes to the Bible as I went. And that is a common thing done, especially in a shared universe where multiple authors will write of the same universe. I actually opened up and published the Bible, and have since had three other authors write stories in this created universe.
Mushroom0311
Advanced Wordsmith
Quote by DMBFFF
and an additional caution to being too derivative:


I have to admit, that had me laughing entirely too much.

Three years ago, I started writing what turned into a massive story, ultimately ending at over 7 megs over 4 books and hundreds of chapters. And it started in 1981 in Los Angeles, where the main character was a massive D&D fanatic who ultimately got into publishing his own adventures. And as I was the same back then (minus the publishing), they were based on a world of his own creation. And as I wrote these fictional "games within a story", I loved tweaking the noses of a great many of the tropes that populate fantasy games, especially of that era.

Like the "Great Beard Debate". Yes, a real thing among D&D players back then. Because somebody realized that the rules of the game literally said "All dwarves have a beard". Which by definition even includes female dwarves. Go to a game convention back then, and you had actual camps where some said all females had beards to help disguise them from enemies because the rules said "all dwarves", and others saying that was silly and was not to be taken literally. I even included things like having an evil Cleric of Surtr giving a mission to a fallen Paladin as a way to redeem themselves. I had a lot of fun in creating those "fictional games", purposefully turning most of the D&D tropes on their head on purpose.

And yes, I had a lot of fun doing that. Over the decades I have played so many pen and paper RPGs that now I laugh at most of the games I am invited to join. All largely clones of each other, almost no originality and as bad as any of the pulp stories that clog bookshelves like Mack Bolan, Longarm, and Doc Savage. Formulaic, little originality, and ultimately boring. Hell, the last one I joined had most of the players shocked because I said I was playing a "Vanilla Ranger". No ultra-special selective sub-class with a page of feats and special abilities, just a generic Ranger. They thought I was an idiot.

Meanwhile, I laugh at the need for such things. "I am not a Thief, I am an acrobat-juggler-footpad subclass"! Yea, a prize to everybody, everybody is special and everybody wins.
DonnaCupcake
Active Ink Slinger

FanFic is when you write using characters invented by and  owned by somoene else.   Many authors embrace it, and there are sites for it.  And you can make a lot of money, Fifty Shades of Gray started out as Twilight Porn.   But i prefer to do my own characters.