just how kosher is fanfic?

[veronica_rich]

Continuing the "literary" discussion series from earlier this week. *SNORT*

OK, SRS BZNS TIEMS. Seriously. If you are a writer ... how would you feel about fanfic** if you were an original author/creator of something being ficced? If you're in that position or have been, how DO you feel about it? Would your opinion be affected by if you knew the fans doing the writing ("knew" them online, that is) and if you liked them personally or not? Would you be flattered or offended by particular storylines or pairings involving your characters? Or would you have a blanket feeling - good or bad - about the phenomenon as a whole? Would you interact with your fans as "one of" them (as it's rumored Rowling does - I have no clue if it's true), or would you holler and protest like Anne Rice? Would you see it as plagiarism or something else?

A few weeks ago, I was on a panel with three published authors of erotica at a small convention - the title was something like "romance, erotica, and porn." At least one of the 2 female authors started out in fanfic. The male author was the only one to say he thought fanfic has helped drive the market for original erotica and porn written for and purchased by women in recent years. Both women were courteous and not dismissive of me as the token fanficcer, but I got the feeling that if I hadn't been on the panel (not me personally, but me as a fanfic writer), there are things either or both might have said that they wouldn't outright say in front of me. One did say she regarded fanfic as basically something you do until you mature enough to write original fiction (which I did counter with polite disagreement, since I know authors who also dabble in fanfic on the side).

**By "fanfic" I'm referring only to FPF, not RPF. RPF doesn't really apply in this case, anyway.

Comments

[wicked-swann.livejournal.com]

I would be thrilled if people wrote fanfic about my characters, as long as they didn't make any money off of it. ;) I wouldn't mind in the least if I was selling millions of copies, though right now it would be weird.

I had people write to me who wanted to write sequels to my Tolkien fanfic. That I found slightly annoying, but I don't own the characters so they can certainly have at if they like.

[johnnypenn.livejournal.com]

That's awesome! Sometimes I want to finish someones fic up just because I got a light bulb moment and stuff like that. But I don't. Its their fic.
Fan fic now is pretty general, lots of people know about it. I find that I don't have to explain it to friends who are online all the time, but I have to explain it to adults. So, I don't bring it up all the time.

I adore thos epeople who's fan fic become a classic in any genre.

[johnnypenn.livejournal.com]

I support fan fic writing. Forst of all, we have to learn some place. Its like anything else you do, like base ball, you start in the little leagues and get int he practice to get into the big leagues. Football, you start in highschool, then go to college and then national, basket ball....no matter what you do you have to start osmewhere. Learn the basic rules and grow.

I don't think that I will ever grow out of fan fic. I am all ready 24 yrs old. It may seem childish to some, but not to myself. I can always learn. Fan fic is basically my testing grounds. If I have an original plot, I'll do an AU fan fic and see if anyone will read it. If they do than I can go and write the original story. Sometimes I don't do that though. Sometimes I get the muse to write original stuff from a fan fic.

Fan Fic is a tool to use. I think that Anne Rice would have a huge, bigger than she does now, fan audience if she had allowed for fan fic to be written. Thats why 'Twishite' is so popular, because of the fan fic and the tweenies wanting to live out their Vampyre dreams.

I'd let my stuff be ficced. Just htink about how small the HP world would be if Rowling didn't let her books be ficced. I think that its a great marketing tool. If someone, unknown to HP comes across a fan fic and start reading it (thats how I slightly got into Gundam Wing) than they'll get curious about the original works and pick them up.

[metalkatt.livejournal.com]

If/When I finally get Gavin's series out and published, I wholly expect there to be fanfic simply because of Rule 34. I don't plan to put sex into my novels, so if someone else wants it, they're going to have to do it themselves.

Now, if I can't make money off the fanfic I write, I don't want anyone else to be making it off the non-fic work I put out. It's pure vengeance, and I admit it.

I would, however, go a-sporking on occasion. As the author, I'll be the best able to know when someone's out of character or not, and if these people (some yahoos, some not) are going to mongle my brainchildren, at least they should be able to mongle them with panache.

[philosophercat.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I think the only problem I have with someone ficcing my original work (aside from them making money from it) would be a feeling of irritation if they really go off-base with my characters since I tend to be protective of them- even characters I just *like* but who belong to someone else. I had this happen once. Friends of mine took a character I made and then wrote a stupid story about her and completely went OOC with her so I complained. I couldn't do that with fan fic writers I don't know. It would be funny, but still...

P-Cat: Mary's completely OOC in this.
Writer: OMG You don't know what you're talking about!
P-Cat: No? I'm the writer who came up with her.

[xzombiexkittenx.livejournal.com]

A friend and I have co-written a novel and if/when we get it published there had better be fanfic goddamnit. Seriously, I would love to know that people read my story and liked my characters enough that they wanted to play with them too. We've agreed that we want it all. The really good IC stuff, the PWPs, terrible Mary-Sues, crackfic, badfic, great writing, bad writing, bizzare pairings, canon pairings, AUs, dark!fic, curtains!fic, h/c, schmoop, kink, all of it. Seriously. All of it.

Writing fanfic taught me how to write with someone else's voice and how to add my own touch to that voice. Guess what, it came in really freaking useful when I started writing spec scripts for current tv shows. Fanfic put me way ahead of the game because it was a skill I had already developed.

But more on point, I would bask in the fact that people like my sandbox. And yeah, so long as it's all in fun and no one's making any money...I love writing fanfic, I'd love for people to love writing my characters as much as I love writing other people's. Share the love!

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

I'd be very flattered, because it would prove to me that people loved my characters enough to be fantasising about them. I don't think I'd read it, though, because of the whole 'omg, you stole my story idea!' danger.

[solitaryraven.livejournal.com]

I think it would depend. I tend to take JKR's point of view in that if something I wrote inspires someone else to write--even fanfic, I'm incredibly honoured.

However, there are always those few (or not so few) fanfic writers who do it just to destroy the author's original intent...so that sort of thing would probably annoy me.

[pir8fancier.livejournal.com]

Flattered beyond belief. But then I'm in the culture, yes? All the authors that I've mentioned fanfiction to turn their noses up. It's seen as plagiarism, plain and simple.

[yoiebear.livejournal.com]

I use fanfic writing as a way to unwind from my job that involves writing about real people and real things. I have NO desire to write a novel with original or unoriginal characters. It's just not me.

As for the other panelist saying that fanfic is something that writers do until they "grow up": what a fucking uppity thing to say. Good gracious! Maybe some people aren't that serious about creative writing? Bitch.

[gloromeien.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'd be hugely flattered, and actually hope that it will happen if I ever finish my novel and actually get it published. Though I've spoken about this with a friend who also writes and knows that I write fanfic, and she herself was adamantly against it. I guess that's a valid perspective - they are her characters after all - but I just think that forbidding fanfic is telling your audience how they are allowed to imagine and play with your characters in their heads, and that's kind of the height of arrogance. You can't tell people how to respond to your work, and honestly authors should take pride in having written something people respond to so viscerally that they want to inhabit your world beyond the scope of your book in your spare time.

I don't think I could ever read any of the fanfic about my original characters, however. I just wouldn't be able to handle it if someone did something I didn't like, incest-fic or the like. I've very picky about my pairings, so I probably would have strong ideas about fanfic pairings in my own work, LOL!

I'm really enjoying this series of yours, BTW.

Cheers,
-G. ;D

[elibad.livejournal.com]

If I wrote or was in any way creative, I would think fandom was awesome. If something I had done created that kind of following someone would have to beat my ego with a giant stick on a regular basis.

But I would avoid fandom like the plague. We fans, well, we're batshit. The first time I was accused of any of the crazy crap creators/writers are accused of on a regular basis by us fans, I would turn into one of those vengeful mess-with-them *evilcackle* types.

[placeofinsanity.livejournal.com]

Well...one of my best friends in the entire world, a cool uncle kind of guy, he's a published author and he started out in fanfic too. (If you've heard of him, his name is John Peel). He's written several Dr. Who, Star Trek, Avengers, that sort of thing.

While he also has many other of his own stories, he thinks that fanfic is totally brilliant. So because of that, I don't really think about published authors and how they feel about it. I'm not making money and its just a practice, right? :D

[sarmatianknight.livejournal.com]

I am no writer so I do not know how they feel or should feel. I am not even sure if I would be thrilled or excited or feeling honoured because people use my stuff for fanfics. I think it would depend on the quality. But then, is the quality not alwaysw what really matters??

I have read a lot during the last ten years and I say that I have read a lot of really bad stuff. I do not want to read anything original from these people either. So I doubt that the fanfiction point counts there. And on the other side I have read stuff that was far better than the original stories from the original authors. Maybe this is the reason why people like Anne Rice react not good on fanfiction and outlaw it. (no, I do NOT think Anne Rice is a skilled writer *g*)

And I do not think that the decision if you write fanfiction or original stuff has anything to do with being mature enough or not.
Sure, I can rename my elf from Legolas to Gollase. Or Lancelot was the King, not Arthur - does it count as original then? *g*

Your Knight.