The Most Influential Works of Fanfiction
By definition, fanfiction is an inferior art form. Otherwise, it would just be called “fiction.” Still, some of the most literally derivative works have managed to make their mark on society, and not just through record view counts on AO3. Derivative works such as…
My Immortal
Even if you’re too cool to know about any other fanfic, you know about My Immortal. The ode to Draco Malfoy is frequently lauded as one of the worst works of writing of all time, which is why it’s so weird that so many people claim to have written it. One of the most prominent came from Rose Christo, who had a deal with Macmillan Publishers in the late 2010s to write Under the Same Stars: The Search for My Brother and the True Story of My Immortal, detailing her claims that the intentionally terrible fanfic was part of an elaborate scheme to find her brother, who’d been lost to the foster system. When it was revealed that Christo had forged documentation to prove her claims, it caused way more headaches for a big boy publisher than any fanfic ever should.
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
It veers from the original timeline when Lily Potter magically turns her sister into a hottie so she can snag an Oxford professor (a profession notorious for bringing the beefcake to the table) with whom to raise Harry instead of the pigheaded Vernon Dursley, so you’d be forgiven for thinking Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality was just another terrible Harry Potter fic, but it was actually well reviewed in several real newspapers. It’s proven especially popular with the tech crowd, with Mastodon creator Eugen Rochko publicly praising it, although that might be just as much of a point against it.
A Trekkie’s Tale
In the early ‘70s, part of Paula Smith’s job as editor of the Star Trek fanzine Menagerie was combing through submissions of stories set in the Trekverse, and she couldn’t help but notice that many such stories seemed to feature impossibly attractive and talented teenage girls as protagonists. In response, she wrote a parody story called A Trekkie’s Tale in 1973 starring a character named Lieutenant Mary Sue, which is why “Mary Sue” is what we now call characters that are thinly veiled, idealized stand-ins for a story’s author. We got a brand-new addition to the lexicon because an editor was annoyed by teenage girls.
50 Shades of Grey
Of course, 50 Shades of Grey is the most successful fanfiction, having begun as a Twilight rip-off, but it’s done more for the world than just popularize mainstream erotica or promote domestic violence. Its publication was also followed by a more than 50 percent increase in ER visits due to injuries caused by sex toys. Read responsibly, people.
Don Quixote de la Mancha (Part II)
Miguel Cervantes was kind of a 17th-century George R.R. Martin. Having basically invented the modern novel to wild success with Don Quixote, he dragged his feet on the promised sequel for a decade — until it landed on his doorstep. Someone else— someone who seemed to know him, based on the deeply personal pot shots taken at him within the text, but their identity was never proven — had taken the liberty of continuing the story for him and even had the nerve to send it to him. It was pretty good, too, but it was just different enough from Cervantes’ own vision to annoy him into finally writing his own sequel.
Martin has made his position on fanfiction known, but it might be worth a shot?
