On fanfiction...

[sparkfrost]

So, another author has come out against fanfiction. I have no problem with Diana Gabaldon declaring that she doesn't want fanfiction written about her Outlander or Lord John series. But I do have a problem with how she said it. Comparing fic writers to burglars, husband-stealers, and perverts trying to mack on her underaged daughter just pisses me off. Fandom Wank has a great round-up of all of this mess, and I'd definitely recommend following the link to bookshop's post on the matter.

One of the reactions to Ms. Gabaldon's post was the writer stating that they would never read her books. Which, fair enough. If you've been offended by an author, why would you want to give them money? What confused me though, was one specific person's reaction- they said that Ms. Gabaldon had been added to their do-not-read list, which also includes Anne Rice and Laurell K. Hamilton, both of which are also anti-fanfiction. But, if I recall correctly, both were quite professional about their desire to not have fanfiction written in their worlds. No insults, no calling fanfiction immoral, just a statement that they did not want fic written about their characters. So that means that this commenter just dismissed authors solely on that basis. Why? There are plenty of authors who don't allow fanfic who I still like, read, and have respect for. Granted, I was disappointed that Robin Hobb was one of them, mostly because I had wanted to try to find and maybe even write fic in her Farseer verse... but I'm not going to burn my books now that I know she doesn't allow fic- I just won't write or look for fic. Same with George R. R. Martin. Still eagerly awaiting the next book in the series (and the HBO show!), even though he doesn't allow fanfic.

I don't know. What do you all think? Does an author disallowing fanfiction make you not want to read him/her?

Comments

[moku-youbi.livejournal.com]

I was actually thinking about this myself in regards to a different post (can't read bookshop's because I know her personally irl and sort of hate her) in which the writer was discussing why fanfic is a good thing, and how it allows us to develop our feelings for and critique the works we're writing about. (convoluted sentences ftw) *That* got me thinking about how I used to be really into the VC--I forced my bffs to read them so I could have someone to discuss them with (before I ever thought of trying to find/write fanfic). Then when I realised "hey, maybe there's fanfic for this!" I was so excited--until I saw that not only did Anne Rice disapprove of it, but that she had filed lawsuits and been sort of crazy about the whole thing. And after that I just...lost interest in the entire universe. I had loved it passionately--but to know that the person who had created it not only discouraged but punished others' creative endeavours made me feel like that universe had stopped expanding and was stagnating. I think there's only a small difference between writing an essay on a book, and writing fanfic--in both the writer is taking clues from the text and trying to interpret them to figure out characterisation/motivation/etc. And for an author to disapprove of fanfic feels, to me, like a.) they're discouraging any interpretations of their text or b.) they've only read a few badfics and made ignorant generalisations based on them. Either way, that's not the sort of person whose stuff I want to be reading. And the thing is, I didn't go through that thought process with Anne Rice. I didn't *decide* I wasn't going to read her stuff any more--I just lost interest. *shrug*

Rambling comment is rambly. But essentially, while I think such a broad statement is sort of silly, I get the reasoning behind it. There are lots of stories out there; why waste time reading one by someone who places stipluations on how you enjoy your experience of their work?

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

Don't worry about rambling, it was interesting!

I guess because I'm not much of a writer that side of the issue doesn't affect me as much. While I won't read someone who has offended me (Orson Scott Card, for example- used to love his books but his homophobia has made me really not want to read them again), an author who simply doesn't want fanfic written in their verse doesn't really bother me.

But then, it does come across as someone not wanting others to play in their sandbox. I guess I'm lucky that there's only a few authors I like who are against fanfic.

[moku-youbi.livejournal.com]

yeah, re: the OSC thing. My girl read/loved a lot of the earlier books, telling me how I should read them, until she learned of that bs, and lost interest too. I guess I'm glad I never read them so I don't have to be disappointed.

I don't really write a lot of fanfic myself, outside of a few fandoms--no matter how much I love the universe. Like I never really planned to write any VC fic, just read it. It doesn't bother me so much as a writer as it does as a creative, intelligent person (not to sound big-headed, lol). I know most people would react the same way as me (or the person you referenced in your post), but I'm just very opinionated, and intolerant towards stupidity and (lol, hypocrite) intolerance.

Whether it affects me directly or not, when I see people acting in a rude or childish or arrogant manner, it just turns me off completely.

And yeah, luckily most of the writers/creators in my fandoms not only allow fanfic, but encourage it :D