Diana Gabaldon thinks fanfiction is immoral and makes her want to barf.
I'm just thinking of all those retellings of Homer and Ovid, Roman historians, Greek poets, Egyptian gods, taking the names and situations of someone else's story and creating new versions of it...
What does that remind me of? It couldn't possibly be...fanfiction, could it?
I understand that some authors don't like fanfiction about their characters - either because they see these characters one way and dislike it that other people see them any other way. Some couch it in positive terms ("I'd like to see your stories with your characters, not your stories about my characters"), and some couch it in negative. ("Fanfiction is immoral and wrong and the reason society is falling apart at the seams!")
Whatever a pro author's personal preference regarding fanfiction for their writing, it's probably going to happen anyway. They can forbid it, but forbidding only makes the fruit seem sweeter. They can rage against it, but fans won't care. They like an author's stories and an author's characters, and they want to see them in new and exciting ways, because, let's face it, professional publishing is restricted by format, rating, societal permissiveness, and what the publishing companies think people will pay for (which isn't necessarily the same as what people will pay for).
And no author can singlehandedly write all the stories their fans will want to read. Hell, I bet an author can't singlehandedly write all the stories they want to write! So fans will fill the gap themselves. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, etc., etc.
Admittedly, telling these authors "it's a compliment" isn't going to make them change their minds. Actually, Gabaldon's outburst is probably just going to spawn fanficcers who'll do exactly what she hates to her characters. It's definitely going to lose her fans.
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Of course, you've seen![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
synedochic's post: Modesty is a dirty word. Fuck imposter syndrome. Own your awesome.
I'm just thinking of all those retellings of Homer and Ovid, Roman historians, Greek poets, Egyptian gods, taking the names and situations of someone else's story and creating new versions of it...
What does that remind me of? It couldn't possibly be...fanfiction, could it?
I understand that some authors don't like fanfiction about their characters - either because they see these characters one way and dislike it that other people see them any other way. Some couch it in positive terms ("I'd like to see your stories with your characters, not your stories about my characters"), and some couch it in negative. ("Fanfiction is immoral and wrong and the reason society is falling apart at the seams!")
Whatever a pro author's personal preference regarding fanfiction for their writing, it's probably going to happen anyway. They can forbid it, but forbidding only makes the fruit seem sweeter. They can rage against it, but fans won't care. They like an author's stories and an author's characters, and they want to see them in new and exciting ways, because, let's face it, professional publishing is restricted by format, rating, societal permissiveness, and what the publishing companies think people will pay for (which isn't necessarily the same as what people will pay for).
And no author can singlehandedly write all the stories their fans will want to read. Hell, I bet an author can't singlehandedly write all the stories they want to write! So fans will fill the gap themselves. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, etc., etc.
Admittedly, telling these authors "it's a compliment" isn't going to make them change their minds. Actually, Gabaldon's outburst is probably just going to spawn fanficcers who'll do exactly what she hates to her characters. It's definitely going to lose her fans.
--
Of course, you've seen
synedochic's post: Modesty is a dirty word. Fuck imposter syndrome. Own your awesome.
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I have a rule to not read books by authors who say really really obnoxious things about fic. ::shrug::
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Admittedly, I couldn't quite convince myself that Claire wasn't a self-insert on the part of the author: "Modern woman gets time-slipped and meets her true love, who happens to be a handsome virgin Scottish chieftain."
And...well, around the time Jamie and Claire got involved in the American Revolution, I stopped reading the series. I've read a few too many stories where the main characters have a finger in every major political pie of their period, no matter how far-flung.
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I like the Lord John books a lot better, but not so much that I can't give them up. If I find a used copy, I'll read the books then.
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Lately, I've started to go back to the library for my reading matter. Mostly because I couldn't find enough good fanfiction of the type and kind I wanted to read to keep me afloat...
Except that some of the published fiction out there is pretty bad, too...
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Oh yes, some published stuff is pretty bad. Ugh. I would do more library but with the kids and work, I find it easier to just pick stuff up on the Kindle. No deadline to return it and no need to stand in line.
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I do have a tendency to only go once every few weeks - I once forgot I had books out and ended up with about $20 in fines. :/
Do you find the Kindle any good? Electronic books aren't something I've ever really seen myself getting into. There's something to be said for not reading off a screen for at least part of my day, and I like the comfort of holding a book up and turning pages...
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I have a friend who loves the Nook too.
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I think the Nook *might* have fewer annoying rights/formats issues, so if you feel strongly about that, you might check on that.
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It might be. In which case, she'd see fanfiction as essentially RPF.
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I never wanted to read the "Twilight" books either...
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