word suggestion: fanfic

[TRex]

Here is the entry from Wiktionary

Even the OED has an entry for fanfic

It is, of course, made from fan + fiction.

[matt]

It's a word I've used since at least the '80s. I've always thought of it as a niche usage so I'd have said it should be classed as rare, however I've been coming across it increasingly often more recently (presumably driven, in part, by the rise of social media encouraging/empowering everyone to be a content creator?) so perhaps if enough others know it then it might be considered form common?

[ridethetalk]

That would leave the door open to scifi (science fiction) as well...

[Alan W]

Fanfic is in a number of dictionaries, and is used in a variety of publications, though probably not as frequently as the full phrase fan fiction.

An example, from the Globe and Mail (Canada) in April this year:

In the end, Schmicago is primarily musical-theatre fanfic linked by Paul’s amusing song parodies (which skirt close to full-on Weird Al territory at times this season).

This genre of writing seems to have had its origin in the science fiction field. The online Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction has the earliest citation of fanfic from 1968, and the earliest usage example of fan fiction from 1938.

In earliest usage, fanfic was simply amateur fiction - written by SF fans and published in fanzines. Over time, a more specific meaning developed: amateur fiction using characters and/or settings from commercially published works.

I'll add fanfic as a rare word.

(RTT: this isn't the first time I've accepted a word formed by this type of clipping. Satnav comes to mind. I feel that sci-fi is the usual form, but feel free to submit a suggestion.)

[TRex]

Thanks, Alan.

I don't see any reason there cannot be fanfic outside the sci-fi genre, but it is the only place I've seen it. But as a sci-fi fan, there is a definite bias on my part.

I do think sci-fi is more common than scifi (it would look better as SciFi, imo). The label SyFy (used by a certain network) has always seemed rather stupid, imo.

[birdy]

As another science fiction reader, I'm familiar with the term sci-fi (to which autocorrect just changed my scifi), though I think I usually use a shorter abbreviation in writing: just sf, maybe a habit after referring to the magazine as F&SF.

[Alan W]

The entry for sci-fi in the online Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction says:

Despite its origins as a neutral abbreviation for ‘science fiction’, sci-fi has long been seen as a shibboleth in the science-fiction community, many of whom perceive its use as an indication that the user is not a true fan, which would be indicated by the use of sf n.. It is, however, the dominant abbreviation used outside of the genre. It is also used within the genre to refer to science fiction movies and television shows (as opposed to written works), especially those considered to be poor examples of science fiction.

It also surmises that sci-fi was coined by analogy with hi-fi. The same dictionary has an entry for skiffy, described as a spelling pronunciation of sci-fi. One of the supporting quotations, from editor David Hartwell, explains :

The science fiction reader sneers at fake SF, artificially produced film tie-in novels and stories, most SF films, most TV SF. This he calls sci-fi (or ‘skiffy’)—junk no right-thinking omnivore or chronic should read, watch, or support.