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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