'Twilight,' '50 Shades Of Grey' And The Fanfic Phenomenon

News Media Commentary
Title:	'Twilight,' '50 Shades Of Grey' And The Fanfic Phenomenon
Commentator:	Kara Warner
Date(s):	03 April 2012
Venue:	MTV.com
Fandom:	Fifty Shades of Grey, Twilight
External Links:	'Twilight,' '50 Shades Of Grey' And The Fanfic Phenomenon', Archived version
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'Twilight,' '50 Shades Of Grey' And The Fanfic Phenomenon is an article about the novel Fifty Shades of Grey and its fanfiction origins.

The article mentions the "ever-expanding fanbase of mostly female readers" and that the novel "has been dubbed mommy porn", looks at the elements that mark it as Twilight fanfic and then asks: "What does this mean for the publishing industry and the fan-fiction community at large?" To answer that question the article sets out to explore "the increasing popularity of fan fiction."

The answer seems to be a simple one:

First off, for the uninitiated, a lot of fanfic is racy. Like NC-17 and XXX-rated racy, so as much as I want to I can't post excerpts here. Slash fic, stories that feature same-sex relationships between two characters, can be particularly explicit. And though those tales probably won't make it to store shelves, the idea of an Edward and Jacob or Edward and Jasper romance is pretty entertaining.

Twilight author Stephenie Meyer is said to have "mixed feelings on the subject, but she has admitted to enjoying a few authors and entertained an alternate universe of sorts herself."

Naturally, Meyer didn't publish that alternate "Twi"-verse, but there are other cases of famous authors who began their careers writing fanfic; take Cassandra Clare, who wrote a popular spin on "Harry Potter" called "The Draco Trilogy" long before she came up with "The Mortal Instruments."

Other examples like Pride and Prejudice inspired novels and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter are mentioned and the article points out that it's difficult to draw a line, "and more importantly, should it be drawn?"