I agree with elfwreck. According to my experiences, what you write isn't universally true.
I know that there are lots and lots of fanfics that aren't great works and which aren't meant to be. However, I know also that there are writers who, in the literary sense of the idiom, try to achieve something praise worthy and are always trying to reach higher. Still, they're writing fanfiction, and they're proud of their work.
Sharing personal thoughts with a community as the primary value of fanfiction? I can't agree. If that were the primary value, why would so many writers and readers get frustrated when their personal thoughts are not tolerated by the people in the community? The phenomenon of OTP is the most prominent example. I would rather say that the primary value of fanfiction is to reach the majority conclusion about issues related to the fandom of the community.
One isn't writing fanfics for oneself? Once again I don't agree with you. There are writers who are great contributors for their community, that's true. But, according to my experiences, also those writers are writing for themselves. I don't know one writer who writes fanfiction for any other reason but that first and foremost they feel the need to write. Only then comes the social aspect of the fanfiction. If it comes.
I guess that by fanfiction most people mean what by that title can be found in the internet. Thereby, I can accept your thought that "the purpose of fanfiction is merely to be read". However, that definition isn't the one I think is valid. It doesn't apply to those fannish works that people write but with which they never go public. Just because the stories aren't public, are they not fanfiction?
Since we, the writers and the readers of fanfiction, aren't capable of reaching an agreement of with exactly what we are involved, I don't think it's too difficult to understand why the people outside of the fannish activities have no clue.
Re: On the purpose of fanfiction
I know that there are lots and lots of fanfics that aren't great works and which aren't meant to be. However, I know also that there are writers who, in the literary sense of the idiom, try to achieve something praise worthy and are always trying to reach higher. Still, they're writing fanfiction, and they're proud of their work.
Sharing personal thoughts with a community as the primary value of fanfiction? I can't agree. If that were the primary value, why would so many writers and readers get frustrated when their personal thoughts are not tolerated by the people in the community? The phenomenon of OTP is the most prominent example. I would rather say that the primary value of fanfiction is to reach the majority conclusion about issues related to the fandom of the community.
One isn't writing fanfics for oneself? Once again I don't agree with you. There are writers who are great contributors for their community, that's true. But, according to my experiences, also those writers are writing for themselves. I don't know one writer who writes fanfiction for any other reason but that first and foremost they feel the need to write. Only then comes the social aspect of the fanfiction. If it comes.
I guess that by fanfiction most people mean what by that title can be found in the internet. Thereby, I can accept your thought that "the purpose of fanfiction is merely to be read". However, that definition isn't the one I think is valid. It doesn't apply to those fannish works that people write but with which they never go public. Just because the stories aren't public, are they not fanfiction?
Since we, the writers and the readers of fanfiction, aren't capable of reaching an agreement of with exactly what we are involved, I don't think it's too difficult to understand why the people outside of the fannish activities have no clue.
Ela