“It would be great if you could share what’s the difference between fanfiction and re-telling.”
“If you don’t write that blog on approaching re-tellings like fanfiction, I will.”
Anuraag Chatterjee
When I talk about re-tellings, one question that always comes up is how does it differ from fanfiction.
The obvious answer is of course, legalities.
If a work or characters are in the public domain then writing a new piece using them would be classified as a re-telling. Think, Prince Arthur. Obviously, there’s some nuance to this. Mythological figures, for example, while usually in the public domain can ruffle feathers if done incorrectly, which is one of the reasons why re-tellings need to be respectful to the source material.
Another thing about legalities before we dive into what the blog is really about. Sometimes a particular version or aspect of a work is copyrighted. For example, while anyone can write about Thor, Marvel probably will sue you if you use the character, they have come up with for Thor under the name Thor, using the same storyline. For that particular version of Thor is their IP.
Hence, toeing the line between re-telling and fanfiction is a tightrope balance. But is it done by many and honestly, you can use the principles which lead to great fanfiction to write awesome re-tellings. So why don’t we take a look at that from the POV of a person who has written over fifty fanfics, read over ten thousand most likely, and published a re-telling. Moiself.
And just for icing on the cake, I will add one thing that I wouldn’t do in a re-telling but which is the way to go in most fanfictions.
Allonsy?
Lessons from Fanfiction for Writing Re-Tellings
Know Your Why
As mentioned in my blog on writing re-tellings, knowing your why is important. It is the central question to every story. And while, in my opinion, fanfictions can have a softer why than retellings such as “I just wanted to have fun” or “I wanted to spend more time with these characters or setting” or “I thought these characters in such a situation would be funny”, Anuraag Chatterjee, author of Fame, Fate, and Fury, disagrees. He says not all re-tellings need to have a hard why such as sanitization of the story for children. Sometimes they can be fluff pieces written to explore public domain characters in certain situations or settings.
The lesson fanfiction writing here shares is that when you are developing on something that has a pre-existing “canon”, knowing why you are making the changes you are, how it impacts later events and character interactions, and what it changes in the original themes or crux of the story is important.
You are working with characters, settings, events, and a tale people already have notions about. And that is the central idea to writing a fanfiction or even a re-telling. Whether you are writing to add a trope or adding popular tropes because they are fun, know that this is a story with characters people have opinions about and those will inform how they react to your version of it.
Know The Audience
In a normal story you just have to know your target audience. But in a fanfiction? You have to know who you are writing for, their relationship the ships and tropes popular in the fandom, what they hate, and which of these are important to you and the story you wish to tell.
Whether you will cater to audience expectations or not, is important in any genre, yes, but in a fanfiction? Well, it is the heart of the story.
What about re-tellings though?
While you do not need to cater to audience expectations as much as you do in a fanfiction, you still need to be aware of them and the relationship the audience have with the story and its elements.
Know Your Canon
And finally, you must know what the original story was. In my ten-year stint at writing fanfiction, I would sometimes skip this and build a repertoire on other fan works. And while I did take that approach to my first shot at writing retellings, and sometimes even crafted completely unique stories with just the characters from mythology, I have now changed my tune. Is writing unique stories using public domain characters bad? No.
But in a retelling, especially in a mythological one, it is essential to know your canon, and theories on them, to be respectful. In fanfiction too, the knowledge of canon and headcanons can enhance your work and allow you to throw in easter eggs that have a sense of familiarity and make the audience smile because “I get that reference!”
Is there more to writing either fanfiction or retelling? Yes. But this blog ends here. Take to the comments and tell me what else should I write on fanfictions or retelling or writing.
Author’s Note: Thanks for reading. Do consider sharing, commenting, or paying what you will.
