What is fandom: the meaning of the word. Delicious fandom

At a certain moment, which sooner or later visits authors, everyone, or almost everyone, thinks about what is better to write: fan fiction or originals? “Better” includes many concepts that are a priority for a particular author - this could be readability, the number of reviews, likes, the chance to be in the popular (or in the top 50 authors), ease of writing, unpretentiousness of readers.

Please note that a similar question arises in the minds of authors who have a couple of works behind them and have spent all their “active” ideas, so to speak.

So let's look at the main positive and negative aspects of both fan fiction and originals, as well as the opinions of the authors themselves in this article.

fanfiction- a genre of mass literature created based on work of art by his fans, is based on some original work and uses his ideas for plot and/or characters. But this is in case someone has forgotten, which is unlikely.

38% of the authors I surveyed prefer to write fan fiction.

What is the advantage?

Let's think logically.

1. In fan fiction there are already all the heroes with their own names, appearance, characters, so you don’t have to fool around with the behavior of the heroes, but feel free to write your own story.

2. Readers in most fandoms are quite unpretentious; out of great interest, they began to read fan fiction, not getting enough of the original story, demanding a continuation/favorite couple/new characters/continuation, and therefore a sufficient number of views, “likes” and reviews.

3. Knowledge of history and the ability to remake it in any way.

4. Attracting readers.

5. Interest in the fandom provides more readers.

Fan fiction also has its disadvantages.

1. Any fandom has a certain circle of readers who know the canon

2. If the fandom is not popular, then there won’t be those big views.

Originals- a work that does not belong to any fandom.

U originals has its advantages:

1. The opportunity to create your own world, characters, plot.

2. Unlimited imagination.

3. There is no specific circle of readers - the originals are available to all categories of readers.

4. A chance to find “your” reader who likes the genres in which the author writes.

5. If the story touches the majority of readers, then there is a chance to end up in the “popular” category. These are usually topical topics and topics in demand, for example, “slash” or “omegaverse” (which in Lately took over the site).

Cons of original stories:

1. Unpopularity with readers, caused by the plot itself, large volume (lately works of small size and the “banter” genre are getting more and more likes)

2. The complexity of thinking through the entire plot to the smallest detail, heroes, stories, characters

I prefer to write works on fandoms, since I know the history of a certain book and can write a reworked old one based on it.

Both originals and fandom works can be interesting. After all, there are different people, some people like to read this, while others like something completely different.

It's easier to write about fandom - the characters have already been created, but there is a possibility of sameness.

Firstly, if a fandom has a lot of fans, then there are high chances of popularity. Secondly, if the author has already reached a nth number of subscribers, then any of his work will get a lot of “likes”. Thirdly, if you write according to requests (popular or not), then even a narrow circle of interested readers can improve the work)

It’s easiest to get into the “popular” category if you write something that most visitors like, that is, slash fanfiction.

I think on this site there are equally those who like to read new stories and those who read fandom stories. Because everyone chooses something different for themselves. I only consider fandom works, because if you are going to read original stories, then only from those writers that many people know and who have stood the test of time.

Readers love to read about new adventures of familiar heroes, which is why TV series are popular. People like to replace their everyday life with someone else's everyday life; it always seems that someone else's piece is sweeter. In the same way, people become attached to characters in films, anime, etc. and are ready, when the canon is over, to write a sequel themselves, well, or read everything that can be found online from fan fiction.

I prefer to write about the fandom. It’s easier this way: you already know what to write about, which characters to put on the main screen, so to speak. The plot and the author's style are known.

Becoming popular just by writing something of your own is very difficult. And if you work for fandom, at least some likes are guaranteed.

At first I wrote only fan fiction. Firstly, because it is easier - the world and characters already exist. Secondly, I have a reverent attitude towards writing. It seems to me that I have not yet grown into my own.

Both are readable, but fandom works have a limited circle of admirers, which is why the “likes” are limited total amount less than the originals.

IN more Sometimes I write originals. Many people start by writing fandom-related works and later move on to writing entirely their own works.

It’s easier to find yourself in a popular place with fandom work, in my opinion. But what is much more important is how and what you write about. Traditionally, yaoi is revered over geta.

Personally, I prefer to write originals, because I don’t like trying to extract something of my own from someone else’s work. As you can see, the originals are now more popular, which I’m glad about.

There is more work on origes than on fanfiction. Personally, I won’t post my origes until there are five chapters in stock, because laziness is my main enemy, and I don’t want to make readers wait.

The original may have the most readers, but, on the other hand, it is among them that there are the most works that are completely uninteresting to anyone.

I mostly write originals. It’s just that other people’s characters are other people’s thoughts, I somehow don’t feel comfortable getting involved in them.
It's not so much about fandom as it is about luck getting on the right wave. Previously, everyone was dragging along Reborn, now it’s the Omegaverse. It's like with music. Pop music is not liked by many people, but many people know it. Same with fanfiction. Mass works often have nothing particularly outstanding. Although, yes, there are masterpieces. It still depends on the author, there is a certain charisma and the opportunity to express oneself with the help of “Entries”. Usually it is from the application that many are eager to read that the author ends up in the favorites.

Originals or fandom? It all depends on inspiration, idea, mood or order. Sometimes I don’t see the point in taking on the original when existing characters fit the idea perfectly. But it’s impossible not to write original works at all, and I can’t, there are no limits here except your personal imagination.

I write both equally, given that fandom works are based on either minor characters, from whom I can come up with the whole story, or I enter my own. As for characters, I also love writing them, but it’s like exercise for the brain - you not only need to come up with characters, but also the world around them. And considering that I mostly prefer fantasy or science fiction, it can sometimes be very difficult to work out the hardware.

I write exclusively fandom works, but I believe that the chances of being popular among ories are much greater - the audience is wider, the possible scope is more impressive, there are no canons.
I mostly write stories because it’s more interesting to think through the setting and characters myself. But I read mainly through fandoms - there are enough origes in the form of books, but I still need to look for good fics.

Good luck in your endeavors!

Fandom. Everyone who leads active life on the Internet and communicate on forums, as a rule, they are part of some community of interests and thereby support this interesting phenomenon, which has been developing especially actively lately. Let's talk once again about fandoms and what really unites people within them.

Definition of fandom

What fandom is can be understood if we remember the fans surrounding any celebrity. They, as a rule, create their own community dedicated to the idol, which is now commonly called fandom. Such groups gather not only around famous actors, singers or athletes, people can be united by a common hobby or some kind of interest.

But most often, fandoms arise around movies, television series and video games. due to the fact that the possibility of the emergence of something new, arousing interest and delight in this area is very high, and, in addition, the commercial emergence of new successful projects here has direct relation to the number and frequency of appearance of fans.

How to become a fandom member

To become a member of a fandom, it is not enough to simply be passionate about a topic. It is imperative to participate in information exchange - this, one might say, is the quintessence of the existence of a fan community. Nowadays, such exchange occurs mainly through the Internet, but there are also many classical forms - interest clubs, thematic periodicals, congresses of various ranks (from regional to international), etc.

Special fandom names help identify fandom affiliation. For example, fans of anime and manga are called otaku, fans of the series " Star Trek" are Trekkers, Doctor Who fans are Hoovians, and Tolkienists, as is probably clear from the name, are fans of the work of J. R. R. Tolkien. Fandom of the TV series “Supernatural” has a somewhat ironic name - super-shamed, singer Justin Bieber's fandom is Beliebers, and Miley Cyrus's is Smilers.

Like every subcultural movement, any fandom is unique in its own way; over time, it develops its own customs, has its own structure, and slang appears, often understandable only to members of a given community.

Fandom ribbons

In order to mark their belonging to a particular community, members of fandoms wear colored ribbons on their arms, because they have long been a way to express the wearer’s attitude towards some social movement or problem.

For example, blue is a popular color among tweeters, Blue is worn by Hoovians (Doctor Who series), Orange color at bangers ("Theory big bang"), yellow - for fans of the series "Supernatural", silver was chosen by fans of Teen Wolf, and emerald green - slashers. Rockers prefer red.

Of course, it is impossible to list all types of ribbons here, but everyone who joins the fan community will immediately learn about the chosen color and will wear a ribbon as a sign of their belonging to the “chosen ones.”

Guardian communities

The phenomenon of fandom is difficult to overestimate. What is fandom? This, as mentioned above, is primarily an exchange of information. But it is precisely this that will become priceless over time, and descendants will receive unique details about the making of the film, about something forgotten or about technical features retro car. Thanks to fans, all this is constantly kept afloat and carefully preserved.

In addition, we must not forget that fans are the one that producers diligently study before presenting another of their mega-projects to the public. By the way, this applies to anyone commercial project, because only the presence of enthusiastic fans can create a brand that is truly profitable.

Origin of the term "fandom"

By the way, the meaning of the word “fandom” in the narrow sense was the name of a community of fans fantasy genre and arose in the thirties of the last century.

In the USA at that time, so-called amateur postal associations were created, which included adherents of various topics, about which they exchanged letters. In 1934, the League arose on this basis, which became the first official fandom. By the way, this League raised talented science fiction writers: Ray Bradbury, Judith Merrill, Frederic Pohl and many others whose names went down in history. This also included famous explorers fantasy genre: Forrest J. Ackerman, Sam Moskowitz and others.

The movement became very popular, and since 1939, world conventions began to be held among science fiction lovers.

How fandoms developed in Russia

During and in the USSR, the first groups uniting science fiction lovers appeared. At that time this genre is becoming very popular. Although adherents of the genre hardly understood what fandom was at that time. They simply created science fiction clubs (CLF) at libraries or cultural centers, where they discussed new books and met with authors.

In the early eighties, this movement gained particular momentum, and within its framework, fantasy festivals called “Aelita” began to be held annually. And now fandoms unite not only fans of the same genre.

What is the difference between a subculture and a fandom?

Fandom and various hobbies that become the meaning and way of life for a group of people, by the way, over time can develop into subcultures. Such a metamorphosis occurred at one time with punk rock, gothic music and furry art.

Although most often fandoms never grow into a subculture. They are hampered by focusing on one object of adoration or interest. And a subculture is a movement that does not depend on individuals, since in it one ideologist (object of worship) is always replaced by another.

The best fandom in RuNet

It is very difficult to determine the best fandom. After all, for every person who is passionate about any topic, his fandom is the best, regardless of how many members it has. The main thing for fans is the opportunity to talk about their favorite topic, exchange information, and simply meet like-minded people virtually or in reality. After all, it is very important to know that you are not alone!

Users on the RuNet, when determining which fandom is better, proceed, of course, from attendance. They refer to the “Lord of the Rings” community as such, “ Star Wars", "Sherlock", "Harry Potter" and "Doctor Who". But one can argue with these conclusions, because no one really monitors the number of adherents of the topic.

29Sep

What is Fandom

Fandom (fandom) is a term that is used to define a group of fans of a TV series, film, book or comic series, musical groups, sports or hobbies.

What is FANDOM - meaning, definition in simple words.

In simple words, fandom is community of fans of something. Generally, members of a fandom feel connected by their common interests, and fandom can often be a separate subculture. Only the most dedicated fans are included in fandoms. This term is very closely associated with both fantasy and science fiction.

Etymology of the term FANDOM.

There is a misconception that the term "fandom" arose during the general development of the Internet, but in fact, this word is older. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word was first recorded in the dictionary in 1903, and was used to describe amateurs or fans of sports. Throughout the twentieth century, fandoms expanded to include people obsessed with specific musical groups, movies, movie stars, books and hobbies such as model building. Some people may well belong to more than one fandom.

What do fandom members do?

Fandom members tend to be very interested in all the details of their object of interest. For example, fans of the Star Trek universe study all the episodes of the show in detail and analyze all the moments of the films in detail. They can accurately list by name all the characters in the crew of the starship and discuss the actions of these heroes. Besides the original story, they study everything Additional materials related to a given universe, these could be various cut footage, unused scripts, and so on.

With the development of the Internet, thanks to quick access to materials and the exchange of information, the number of fandoms in the world has increased significantly. On this moment There are thousands of different fandoms, including such popular ones as:

  • Lord of the Rings Fandom;
  • Harry Potter Fandom;
  • Star Wars Fandom;
  • Naruto Fandom;
  • Supernatural fandom.

Why do people build fandoms? How long does a fandom last? Which fan communities are the most populous? Read on about this and more.

Fandom, or fandom, is what “union of fans” sounds like in English. This community is informal, subcultural. People within it are connected by love for a particular film, cartoon, anime, TV series, musician, etc. Much less often, this word refers to all fan art, one way or another dedicated to the object of their adoration.

Initially, this word meant not an informal community of fans, but amateurs science fiction. In the eighties and nineties, such groups were popular both abroad and in our country. Then the meaning of the word “fandom” became broader. More on this later.

What is "fandom"? This is also an original way to name yourself. Fans approach this matter with humor:

  • Tolkienists are admirers of “The Lord of the Rings” and others like him.
  • Potter lovers - Harry Potter.
  • Whoovians - Doctor Who.
  • Trekkers - Star Trek.
  • Broni - My Little Pony.
  • Otaku - anime and manga, etc.

A large fandom sometimes branches into smaller ones - admirers of individual heroes, series, periods in the life of an idol. Fandom residents are usually creative people - it’s not enough for them to contemplate, they want to create something about their idol. In this world they also have enemies - haters. These characters usually hate the object of fan veneration and try in every possible way to humiliate and insult him in front of the fandom. Therefore, you can often see fierce verbal battles between them on social networks.

How much is allotted to the fandom?

There is an unofficial periodization of fandom life:

  • Heyday: when the film was just released or started new season series, the performer presented new album. Activity within the community is in full swing - discussions, creativity, delight.
  • The beginning of the end: there has been no news from the person responsible for creating the fandom for a long time. All the verbal battles have already been won, a lot of fan art has been created, the fervor has subsided. Participants carefully begin to make their way into active fandoms.
  • The end: type in the search the name of a once fashionable group, a high-profile film premiere. You will definitely come across a community of fans, full of past ardent debates, drawings, emotions. But already “overgrown with moss.”

Fanfiction and fandom

What is fandom, we figured it out. But next to it you can very often find the concept of “fan fiction”. This is the name of an amateur fan essay based on your favorite film, TV series, or anime. If, for example, you dislike the way War and Peace ended so much that you decide to write your own version of the ending, you have written fan fiction. For the most part, by the way, ficwriters (fan fiction creators) do not seek to make money from their creativity. They write for the pleasure of themselves and other adherents of the fandom.

Fan fiction differs in the way they are created:


According to the original:

  • contradictory to the original source;
  • accordingly, closely related to it;
  • having contradictions with the characters of the characters;
  • involving fictional characters who usually become assistants to the main characters;
  • including a character similar to the author, or his ideas about the ideal “I”;
  • having an invented character who is “designed” to make the hero or heroine fall in love with him, etc.

Top fandoms

What is fandom on a large scale? These are the groups dedicated to these heroes:

  1. One Direction is an English "boy" pop-rock band.
  2. Everyone knows Harry Potter.
  3. My Little Pony is a children's animated series about fairy-tale horses.
  4. Homestuck is a web comic.
  5. BTS is a hip-hop group from Korea.
  6. The series "Sherlock".
  7. Rock band My Chemical Romance.
  8. The series "Doctor Who".
  9. The series "Game of Thrones".
  10. The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Fandom, fandom(English - fandom) - in a broad sense: a community of people united by one interest.

Fandom in fanfiction- fanfiction that is written by certain work. For example: fan fiction for the Harry Potter fandom.

The fandom is indicated in the fanfic header so that the reader can understand what work the fanfic is based on.

There is also a fandom term "original". This means that fan fiction does not belong to any work, but is the original work of the author.

Now let's talk a little about goodies ;-)

Fandoms in fanfiction


The number of fandoms is steadily growing, which cannot but please fans of fan fiction.
Fanfiction from different fandoms can be found almost everywhere: on websites, blogs, in social networks, on forums and so on.

Thus, any reader can find a medium to their liking for reading their favorite works by ficwriters.

And entire portals are dedicated to the most popular fandoms. At the moment, several fandoms have taken leading positions in Russia; you can read about this in the article “The Most Popular Runet Fandoms. Top 5".

Let's go back a little and mention the Original fandom again.
As I already said: “Original is fan fiction that does not belong to any work, but is the original work of the author.”

The original has grown quite a lot as a fandom and is now very popular. And the original authors are taking a step forward towards their own independent stories :)


Many sites are dedicated to one fandom, or several.
But there are also sites where you can find fanfiction for any fandom! Such fanfiction archives are called multi-fandom or multi-fandom. And our website too :)

There are more fandoms, and fanfiction is getting better,
and this certainly makes me happy!
I wish you all the best. See you again :-)

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