Fan Fic

Have any of you read fanfic or filk? I don't really know what filk is, but fan fiction make me squint my eyes and shake my head in confusion. Now, I'm not talking about something I know nothing about. I admit that I have read my share of fanfic. I know certain people (you know who you are) that absolutely love the stuff and they are always sending me links to the newest story that they just loved because it "captured the characters so well". I wonder what some people are thinking when they decide that it would be a good idea to have a "Honeymooners/Battlestar Galactica" crossover (No, I haven't actually read such a cross-over, but you get my point).

From the considerable research that I have conducted. I have found that most fanfic writers are teenagers with a lot of time on their hands. They write for their friends. They write for themselves. They think they are talented. They want to put various pairs together i.e. Simon and Jayne from Firefly. Some writers like to insert themselves into the story, become the hero or love interest.

There are fanfiction contests out there. There are entire databases. You can find comedy, drama, angst (there's a lot of angst), parody. Some are a few paragraphs long. Others would rival War and Peace for length. There are ratings, just like the movies. G through the adult content that's mostly well...smutty. Most of it is ridiculous.
I'm sure that there are some great writers in the webverse that like to write about their favorite characters, and I recently, reluctantly read one that was recommended to my by a friend that wasn't half-bad. For the most part though...meh.

Now this isn't is quite a rant against fan fiction, because..hey...whatever floats your boat, but put your creativity to some good use. If you want to be a writer make up your own characters, your own universe, etc. If you insist on writing fanfic, take a writing class, stay true to characters...heck you can get a list of fanfic rules out there on the web. Be sure that you have someone (good) edit your story and be sure to remain consistent and coherent. But most importantly please, please, please, don't ask me to edit. Please?

Also, who thought up fan vids?