Debate about fanfic

[mentalguru]

One of the people on my livejournal f!list posted this and I have to agree with her. The posts made by the authors also makes my blood boil in addition to my bafflement.

It's not the fact that they don't want fanfic which is the problem (though I find the whole thing a little petty to be so against it) but to call ALL fanfic immoral is utterly pathetic.

I had one of GRRM's books and I'm not going to read it now, and considering how rediculous the other author seems to be, I can't say I'm keen on reading any of her work. I don't think I'd somehow be big on whatever moral themes shes got in her books, given she seems to put a fanfic writer on the same level as an extreme criminal. I mean how overdramatic can you get?

It's their own business if they say they don't want fanfic on their OWN work, and people should respect that, but don't ruin it for everybody else.

silverthunder.livejournal.com/533291.html

Guys, I started fanfic as a way of improving my english. And while I don't have much of a confidence in my writing ability it did teach me things, it helped open the door to further discussion and the analysis of fiction in a far more interesting and organic way then the way we learned in school when it came to analysing text, and also sparked a desire to someday produce an original story of my own.

You know how thrilled I'd be if I somehow got popular enough to have fanfiction based on my original work? VERY.

[pitbulllady]

Immoral to write fanfiction? What a joke! Is it immoral to create art based on the famous paintings of the Renaissance? By that same arguement, it would be. As long as the creator of the original material is acknowledged, and the fanfic writer is not getting paid, I do not see how it can be even pushing the fringes of legality, let alone to be considered immoral, in the same class with something like murder or selling drugs to children. If anything, it should be considered flattery, since the better your original work, the more people will be inspired by it.
Now, if I created and copywrited a character and someone took that character and grossly misued him/her in a work of fanfiction, yeah, I would not be happy, so I guess the context of how a character is portrayed and whether or not the original creator is happy with that portrayal must be taken into consideration. For instance, I know that Craig McCracken has often been asked how he feels about the huge amount of Frankie Foster porn all over DA, in which this wholesome female character is portrayed as a s***, and even worse, a pedophile, to satisfy the dark cravings of adolescent boys. He has simply refrained from commenting on that. Disney, on the other hand, HAS taken action against creators of Disney "hentai", even though it still exists, while leaving other fan art alone. Those types of images are just so far removed from how they meant for their characters to be seen that it is damaging to their company.

pitbulllady

[mentalguru]

True. I mean, for many people fanfiction is a hobby, and I started only because I wanted to improve my english. I knew I desperately needed instruction after my first essay at university was more or less 'good ideas but need work on english'. And I got HELP that way. Valuable help. People who liked my story at what it was at its core also gave me handful hints on improving. They pointed out I mixed my past/present/future tenses, that sometimes I needed more description about atmosphere (and sometimes I can slip on that latter one still). I learned FAR more from such reviews then I even did even in school about how to write. It eventually became a hobby and something I -really- enjoy when I feel inspired to do so. I'll admit I am suffering a dry spell at the moment, but generally it's really enjoyable. Plus I make no money on it. The authors/creators gain more publicity regardless of my skill level and I actually can get better at writing. Everybody wins. Well except my free time gets ate up sometimes. Heh.

Plus, some authors ADMIT to fanfic having been their starting point in writing. So they're calling some of their fellow author's as immoral? What about the authors who admit to it being flattered by fanfic? So what, are they 'deluded' and oh woe being 'taken advantage of' like stockholm syndrome? I'd feel the EXACT same way somehow if the world and characters I created myself could inspire something like that or that kind of a following. I'd probably not read it if I was writing a full length series until I was finished. But I would definitly be interested in seeing what happened later on and what others thought. Would there be 'ships' even though I don't intend to write romance? Would there be AUs? Who do people find easier/more fun to write? Heck, is one character rather like Randall is to this fandom (most of the fics/discussion being about him?) There's no denying I'd like to have fans who were so captured by something in my original work it inspired them to write. Or draw. I mean, that would be amazing.

If I ever manage to produce something original, in anyway worthwhile and it gains any amount of popularity, I actually would not be sure I'd have truely made it until I started to see fanfic/fanart being produced online somewhere.

Plus, LOL. You know that a lot of Doctor Who's writers were FANFIC writers of the show once? For real.

In a way, (as another person who is for fanfic also said), fanfics were sometimes EXERCISES IN LITERATURE (in a way). Learning the rules of maintaining a solid characterisation sometimes meant taking a part already created characters... BEFORE creating your own.

If I ever, ever got to that level where I could give interviews about it, (heh, it would never happen, but I can dream), I'd simply state that I wasn't reading it during the series (what with the copyright issues and all which would go from that) and didn't want it sent to me in email, but the fact that it existed was amazing and made me happy to hear about.

I mean, art can also be inspiring in the same way- people study particular styles all the time right?

When I was in Venice I went to Penny Guggenheim collection (before the volcano trapped us recently, in more certain times)- there was one picture (the name escapes me) where a Surrealist piece where, apparently, the artist claimed there was no story behind.

I kind of wanted to write that story (.... as Doctor who fic). It had four tree nymphs looking at themseleves as if they were just seeing themselves for the first time, a woman in the back ground running from something in pure terror that we could not see in evening dress (despite it being the morning in the painting) and a man in late 19thCentury/early20thCentury gear- which was out of place with the woman's period of dress as well as the area being rather green and fertile while a desert was in the distance.

Oh and a mirror of a naked woman's breast, as if the mirror, was reflecting whoever was viewing the painting.

Somehow with time travel (Doctor who), a literature story would be possible at any rate using most if not all these little bits and pieces. Problem is, I can't remember the name at ALL- either of the painting or the artist.

But apparently me doing that is like being an axe murder. I mean a fanfic of a show AND a painting crossover? That's probably almost enough to bring my charges up to homicide.

True there is some bad stuff out there. But overall I'd more or less let people do what they like (as long as it wasn't for personal profit). I'd (possibly) voice some displeasure at some things, but once I had made a piece public people are allowed to tear into it and do their own thing, so I wouldn't ban activities even when I didn't aprove or the (inevitable) OOC fanfic which would crop up if it got that popular. What is canon is what's on the show/books/movie. Interviews are not canon in any case though

Again, I'd be thrilled and incredibly flattered at that kind of following.

I don't get the idea of banning it all. D:

Of course it's their choice if they don't care for it and ask for ff/net etc to pull it down, but the fact they called it ALL 'immoral' is what REALLY riled me.

[mentalguru]

Came across this very funny quote on this subject elsewhere:

"...announces that fan fiction is evil, because doing it for love is wrong, but doing it for money is right. This makes me make a frowny face, because that isn't what they said in Sex Ed."

Perhaps it was a little immature, but I found it to be absolutely hilarious. That's possibly the right way of going about it with such people- either be clear and to the point and not stoop to their level or use humour against them. XD.


Also found something more serious.

Honestly I never new LJ was so BIG. This person takes the house anology and makes it about what regular fanfic really is:

pandarus.livejournal.com/336009.html?view=5771657

The fanfic bit is 'Thing three' on the original LJ post.

I think I love these people, they are saying so many things I can relate to. .

This one also has some very good points:

bookshop.livejournal.com/1044495.html

[ivyandbro]

Immoral's such a heavy word to use.

As long as copyright laws are applied, then everythings good, right? I mean, not all of us are as talented as these people.

[mentalguru]

True, if they're not making money or affecting their income, it's kind of silly to get worked up over.

If I ever became good enough to have a fandom like that, while I couldn't read the fanfic for reasons related to the idea of people wondering if you 'stole' ideas, I'd be pretty proud that I could inspire any type of fanfic. Plus however even I would be unaware, if large enough there would be likely a fan who writes better than I do. JK Rowling and her fandom is an example. There are several there who really are better than she is.

But I don't think lack of quality in fanfic would be taken as an insult. While if I actively read it I may critique it if I didn't like it the fact it existed at all would be amazing. And as on person wrote:

"Fanfic would mean I'd known I made it. Bad fic would mean I'd REALLY made it."