Fanfics vs. Novels

[Shroom Man 777]

Alright, I haven't really read the SW novelizations or the ST Novelizations, the only one I read was SW X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble where they took Coruscant. And also that Galaxy of Fear the one where there are two wandering kids and their uncle who is a shape shifter. My sci-fi novel experience is very weak but from what I've heard, SW EU mostly blows and the same can be said for the Trek novels.

Now I want to ask you guys, how do the fics in this forum. Fics ranging from normal fanfics to crossovers (like Reign of Terror, Starcrossed, Conquest) and even original fics compare to the SW's EU and Trek's EH?

How does SD.net's best compare with those stuff being sold out there?

[Robert Walper]

Alright, I haven't really read the SW novelizations or the ST Novelizations, the only one I read was SW X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble where they took Coruscant. And also that Galaxy of Fear the one where there are two wandering kids and their uncle who is a shape shifter. My sci-fi novel experience is very weak but from what I've heard, SW EU mostly blows and the same can be said for the Trek novels.

Now I want to ask you guys, how do the fics in this forum. Fics ranging from normal fanfics to crossovers (like Reign of Terror, Starcrossed, Conquest) and even original fics compare to the SW's EU and Trek's EH?

How does SD.net's best compare with those stuff being sold out there?

Absolutely shitty. And that's because we can't use them as evidence in debates. Imagine what I could do with the Borg! MAWHAHAHA

Seriously though, the best fanfic I've read has been "Worlds without End" saga. Most others have been a little too one sided(mostly favoring SW, but a couple favoring ST too). Realistic? Perhaps...but I don't really read science fiction for realism...

[Shroom Man 777]

But how good are they when compared to real novels? How good is their writing quality and so-on? How good is Starcrossed when compared to that story about the Hutts making their own mini-Death Star and whatnot?

[Jaded Masses]

I can't say how our fan-fiction compares with the official literature, but compared to many books out there, un-associated with ether star trek or star wars, SD-Net's work is superior, as is various other on-line authors. How ever I am comparing the best of one to the "blah" of another, but still....

[phongn]

Sometimes fanfiction can be novel-quality, sometimes it can be atrocious. There is no easy answer. Often the plot in fanfiction is excellent but the execution is poor (poor grammar, spelling, editing, etc.) Other times the reverse is true (though that is much less common).

[RedImperator]

I've found in general that quality fanfic tends to be a little rougher than published fiction (we'll ignore the gigabytes of absolute trash out there). The ideas are usually just as good or better, but the writing will be clunky in spots in ways that would never get by any commercial editor.

[Shroom Man 777]

I've noticed that too, even in Stravo's Starcrossed. But, his story and idea is much, much better than conventiona stuff. He just needs to fix it. Imagine the fic as a rough draft which the author sends to his publishers and editors and shit.