My fanfic friends and I always find ourselves discussing the lack of fantasy or science fiction fanfictions on aff.  I can't speak for other fanfiction websites but it is certainly the case for aff for EunHae fics, since all I write and read is basically EunHae.  So, there might  be another pairing which has more fics in these genres, but, in a way I doubt it.  The fact of the matter is, that writing a epic fantasy or sci-fi fan fiction takes a lot of effort.   PS. this blog post is originally posted here => https://theprincesstwins.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/himes-corner-why-are-there-not-many-fantasy-and-sci-fi-fanfics-on-aff/ with pretty pics included so if you want a version which is easier to read check it out #shamelesadvertising

I must put a caveat on this blog that I know that sci-fi is vastly different from the fantasy genre. Sci-fi is in fact a whole different kettle of fish and it irks me that is is often just lumped with fantasy in book stores.  While elements are the same, one only has H.G. Wells to see that, for the most part, sci-fi basically concerns itself with how things work and uses future events to make a commentary on contemporary.  However, in constructing a sci-fi fic, one faces many of the same issues as fantasy writers, albeit for different reasons, so for this blog I will be talking about both.  Another warning, I am by no means an expert on this topic, this is merely my opinion and I'm not pro at writing in either of these genres, my fics are hardly what is deemed popular on aff these days.  But, it is a topic that highly interests me so I'm going to write what I want.

The purest form epic fantasy, offers a writer an exponential amount freedom.  You build the world.  Think about Harry Potter, yes JK Rowling has set it within our world, but the wizarding world and all the rules of society around it she has built herself.  It is this “building” that most writers on aff seem to be terrified of as it requires a lot of thought and methodical thinking.  You can’t simply write straight away, you notice many fantasy authors, Tolkien in particular, make sure to draw maps of their words that appear before the first chapter.  From the map naturally you begin deciding different races of people, their religion, political ideologies and so and so forth.  Oh, and eventually you have to get around to working out a quest that moves the plot, interesting characters that fit within the world and their backstories. Feeling overwhelmed yet? That isn’t even half of it. Trust me you can plan for years before putting pen to paper and still feel like you’ve gotten absolutely nowhere.

Sci-fi is no different in that respect.  If it is set in the future you have to ask yourself, how has the world changed? Why is it that way? Then you have to start with a kind of map as to work out how the globe has been effected in various ways.  If it is set in space- well, refer to the aforementioned paragraph but on a larger scale.  Have you noticed in Star Wars that the planets seem to be like how we would imagine countries to be? Like on Tatooine there is dessert but surely at the pools it is cooler?  It seems strange to me but the explanation may just be that imagine having to world build for each separate planet, it’d be a nightmare.

Admittedly, the genre of fanfiction, allows us in some respect to cut corners in that world building process, in some respects. For starters we have our characters and a general idea as to how they interact already.  Also, readers are more interested in the characters and relationships themselves then actual plot and the world you build around it.  But, it doesn't distract from the fact that even then building a fantasy fic requires ten fold effort to the usual slice of life fic.

It isn't just the effort in building the worlds and plot but also solving the plot holes.  I'm sure everyone at one point has watched a fantasy movie and gone, well that's all very well, but if they had a gun wouldn't it solve the situation instantly? Why are they bothering with all these spells and mumbo jumbo?  They are walking around all week in the mud, shouldn't they smell by now?  The list could go on and on.  When building worlds from scratch obviously there are going to be teething problems from the simple fact it doesn't exist in the first place so you have to use reasoning to work out things like how magic works etc.  So often, as you are writing you realise that often you find yourself writing yourself into a hole.  Trust me when I say that most of the time writers know they have glaringly obvious plot holes but they just can't figure out how to get around it.  The worst part of it all is the magic within fantasy, explaining how it works and ensuring your cast of magical heroes don’t suffer superman syndrome.

Now, I’m sure some people reading this at this point will go, “but hey you don’t have to world build to write a fantasy fic!” and “I’ve read plenty without this map nonsense!” But, I am going to differentiate between what I call fantasy and which fanfics have have fantasy or sci-fi elements.  Often, fanfics will have a "gimmick", where there is an element of fantasy like magic or supernatural powers. However, it does none of the world building aspects.  Maybe this is a product of Korean dramas, for example "Your Love From Another Star" or "Secret Garden", where the main characters face a problem surrounding some power that is out of the ordinary.  This, is infinitely easier, as there is no world building required.  Often a character will be facing one case out element which is out of the ordinary that doesn't necessarily need to be explained it just is.  I find there are a lot more fanfics on AFF of this type, it still has a magical element but it isn’t really fantasy or sci-fi.   Simply, as you move down the scale of gimmick fics to full fledged Lord of the Rings fics, the number of fics differs exponentially on aff.

Whilst I believe the amount of effort as aforementioned is one of the reasons the other is that, the reader base doesn't necessarily demand it.  In this day and age world building style fantasy fics are not as popular, minus Game of Thrones really.  Often they are set in our world and build upon the structures already in place.  In my opinion anyway is because this formula for writing an epic fantasy has been overused it has become a relatively predictable genre. This might be because the genre of epic fantasy finds its routes both within the Middle Ages (for example) King Arthur and epic poetry such as “The Odyssey”. So, one has to look to differentiate themselves from the tropes whilst making sure their stories still make sense.  In a sense, George R.R. Martin is a good example of a modern fantasy writer that has managed to do so, by combining elements of drama and thriller into his novels.  

The trap of predictability because of the trope is a battle most writers have though.  One of my favorite writers, David Eddings, is undeniably predictable in his writing.  From start to finish I knew what was going to happen next (word of advice only read the Belgariad the sequel and the prequels otherwise you too will realise this flaw in his writing).  But, the draw for me is the characters and the immense amount of detail within the story.  I think, that this is a product of the amount of thought that is put into them, the characters seem to come alive and you feel you are exploring a world within the writer's imagination.  It is in a sense truly escapism from your own world to be nestled in one completely different from your own.  Writing it also gives that feeling, there is nothing better than stepping into your own world you’ve worked so hard to create and set your characters loose within it.  So complain as I must about the effort, in the end it is worth it.

Now reading back through this I’ve realised I sound incredibly elitist for someone who is no expert in writing judging from the sheer amount of rhetorical questions within this.  But, it is a topic I feel strongly about and I feel that the fanfiction community misunderstands greatly.  In saying that I’m not sure what my point exactly is apart from the fact that fantasy and sci-fi although they are a difficult genre to write, I feel it is well worth the effort.  It would be amazing to see more writers have an attempt at it, even if it isn’t an epic fantasy but plays around with gimmicks.  So for those that are seeking tips in writing a fantasy, I would suggest reading David Eddings’ formula ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rivan_Codex ) he publishes as part of  the material he wrote before starting writing his most famous series of books, The Belgariad.  In fact you’ll find that his “teachings” have had such a great impact on me I have referenced them without even knowing in this blog.  

So there it is, I hope you enjoyed this opinion piece (idk what to describe it as)?   Let’s just say I tend to over analyse everything and I love EunHae fics so why wouldn't I over analyse them?