To go with your post about fanfic and fandoms being inspired by them I just want to point out that rooster teeth did in fact involve and we're inspired by their fans (at least when it came to Rwby) they had a whole bit for ship names in vol.2. They had a contest to design a character's battle outfit. They look at as much fanart as possible and post it on their walls. And I think that's great (but this isn't to degrade your opinion at all!!) I just think this is really cool imo :)
I don’t know much about Rooster Teeth, but from what you’ve said, they’ve more so utilized fandom than been inspired by fic specifically. Designing a battle outfit based on fan opinions is not the same thing as looking to fanfic for continued inspiration. For one, that opens up plagiarism issues that don’t yet exist as far as the law is concerned, but that I’m sure could become a big deal. Secondly, looking at fanart and posting it to social media accounts and then reading a story written by a fan and utilizing ideas you didn’t come up with are very, very different things.
Fanart and fanfiction are not the same thing. There’s a reason most creators are happy to look at fanart, but refuse to read fanfiction. While art is a very valuable part of any show, the bones of such things come from the story. If your story is bad, it doesn’t matter what the art looks like. And while art style is easily established visually, it’s easy to steal someone else’s story idea and “rewrite” it as your own, which, again, I don’t think fic writers would appreciate. I know that I’d be fucking pissed if the creators of a show I watched blatantly stole ideas I’d come up with, even if I was using those ideas in a fic using their characters.
Story dictates the art, not the other way around, so creators have to stay away from fic on principle of not accidentally stealing ideas that weren’t originally intended for the story. Not only that, but if you’re in the middle of writing a story of your own, the last thing you want to do is then have that thought process saturated with ideas outside your own team. It’s overwhelming and could quickly become confusing.
Fandom has become very entitled in recent years, thinking that their work and thoughts should somehow be dictating the media they’re consuming. And yes, it’s good to demand diversity and representation–in aspects like that, the audience should be listened to. But in no way should the writers of anything be expected to bend to the ships or ideas of their fans unless they were creating a project where that was the intention in the first place.
I don’t agree with a lot of what the writers did in Voltron, and while I have different ideas, I would never expect them to take “inspiration” from those ideas when they clearly have a story already planned out. I can be critical and point out why that story is bad, but if they started taking inspiration from fic and fans, their story would be an even bigger mess than it already is.
Fact: The fandom thinks any and all of their ideas are a lot better than they actually are.
Yes, creating something can be an experience between both creator and audience, but it should not be an expectation in the future, because that will only breed more entitled assholes in the fandom. Honestly, I think most creators should put a little more distance between themselves and the fandom. Voice actors get attacked, the creators get threats, their influence divides the fandom, and sometimes–like in the case of JK Rowling–that closeness destroys much of what people loved about the canon.
Fanfiction has its place. Fandom has its place. And cool if creators can work with their audience on a project, that’s great, but it shouldn’t be an expectation and creators who don’t choose to indulge in this should not be made enemies by their fandoms.
But I don’t think any of this is what the original sender of that ask was talking about. I think they were referring to a generation growing up reading fic then taking that experience and utilizing it in a professional manner. Which, sure, fanfic can be a great stepping stone for becoming a better writer, but fanfiction itself possesses inherent flaws that would not work as well in original works. Lack of world building, misplaced focus, etc… If you’re trying to write your own original stuff, sticking to the fanfiction model is not necessarily a good idea.
