Fan Fiction: An author's friend or foe?

I feel that when it comes to Fan Fiction, there are 3 distinct schools of thought.

1. OMG BEST THING EVER I WILL MAKE ALL THESE CHARACTERS LIVE FOREVER!
2. It is a lesser form of literature, and I am above it.
3. What the shit is FF?

If you are part of category 3, allow me to explain.

Fan Fiction, as the name suggests, is any story written by a fan that takes place in an existing universe (ex. Harry Potter). Fans see Fanfiction as a way to express their love of a series, character, fandom (I think fandom = fan kingdom, but I’m just guessing here. Essentially it’s the world that revolves around that particular series/movie/music/etc.). It also allows people who love the fandom to change the fate of characters who they felt were mistreated by the author. Other times, fans just love to take the characters and put them in new situations (Alternate Universes) just to see what happens. It is also a wonderful writing exercise for aspiring writers, because they have to make sure the characters stay “in character”/true to canon. Easier said than done.

A lot of authors recognize how powerful fan fiction can be as a way to keep your world alive in between sequels and/or long after your series has ended. Harry Potter for instance is one of the most popular fandoms out there, and a quick search on Fanfiction.net brings up almost 750 thousand stories, some even longer than the original series itself! One could argue that part of the story’s immortality is in how devoted fans in the fandom are. J.K. Rowling has spoken on the topic of fanfiction saying that she’s okay with it, though she does not want to see explicit content, worrying that young readers of her series will stumble across a raunchy sex scene between two of her characters. (This is where mature tags, and restrictions come into play on websites such as fanfiction.net or Archive of our Own.). Others authors however, are fervently against it. Anne Rice has infamously said on the topic:

“I do not allow fan fiction. The characters are copyrighted. It upsets me terribly to even think about fan fiction with my characters. I advise my readers to write your own original stories with your own characters. It is absolutely essential that you respect my wishes.”

Source

I personally believe that Diana Gabaldon topped Rice in 2010 when she said:

“OK, my position on fan-fic is pretty clear: I think it’s immoral, I know it’s illegal, and it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters”

Source

A little harsh, wouldn’t you say?

Though neither of these statements have actually stopped Fan Fiction writers from writing in either of these series, it did force the big Fan Fiction sites to be more careful about what people posted for fear of being liable. This brings into question one of the biggest debates in the world of Fan Fiction. Is it legal?

From Fan Fiction to Movie Deal

Whether or not your Fan Fiction is legal or not depends on a slew of factors such as:

1. What country the author lives in
2. Whether or not the author is alive and if not, if they’ve been dead more than 70 years
3. What country you live in
4. Whether the author is in support of Fan Fiction
5. Whether you are making money off of it
6. And many more!

Now, I don’t want to get too far into the legal technicalities (though if any of you are interested, it is definitely something I could post about. My uncle is a lawyer who is very interested in the ins and outs of Copyright law, and I’ve written a loooot of Fanfiction, so it’s something I’ve asked him about in length)

Where I do want to talk about though is the onslaught of FF stories that have been edited to remove any obviously copyrighted material and then published as an original story. And we’re not talking just small self-published stories either. Fifty Shades of Grey, you know, the top selling book of all time is well known to have originally been Twilight Fan Fiction (on that note, the list of Twilight Fan Fiction to original published fiction is SO. LONG. I was originally going to make a list for this post but I gave up because it was too long.) The first story in The Moral Instruments series by Cassandra Clare is also rumoured to have come from her Harry Potter Fan Fiction days.

And about 2 years ago, Paramount pictures purchased the movie rights to a book called “After”, a Fan Fiction gone original fiction print that belongs to the, wait for it, One Direction fandom. I didn’t even know that fandom existed until I was researching for this post. (I’m not kidding. Read about that here.) Her book deal alone earned her roughly 500k, with more potentially on the way should the movie go to production.

Fan Fiction, it seems, isn’t just for fun anymore.

So where do we go from here?

My personal opinion on Fan Fiction is that so long as it does not hurt the original creator’s ability to make a living, where is the harm? No Fan Fiction writer is claiming to be the creator (and if they are, that’s a whole other issue), so individuals reading it understand that it does not belong to official canon and does not necessarily reflect the views of said author. Plus, it can be a great way for authors to hone their craft, and continue the stories of characters who they love.

I do think though that when we get to the point where published works are very lightly disguised fan fiction, we begin to run into different issues… Then again, without it we wouldn’t have The Mortal Instruments, a series that millions of people around the world love (and that I have yet to read!). Without it, we wouldn’t have 50 Shades of Grey helping millions of people spice up their marriage (I mean, putting aside the blatantly abusive relationship depicted in that story, one positive effect it has had is in opening the minds of many on what is considered “normal”. Hint. There is no normal. So long as all individuals are consenting and in a state of mine where they are able to give that consent, have at it).

At the end of the day, many people will say that Fan Fiction is ridiculous and a lesser form of fiction. Others, like me, will continue to read it when you need a dose of your favourite fandom and the original source just won’t cut it. So long as no one is getting hurt, what’s the harm?

What are your thoughts on fan fiction? Are you for it, against it? Do you write it? Share in the comments below!

Bonus Round: fan fiction Recs!

Because this list wouldn’t be complete without a list of some of my personal favourite fan fiction authors! This list is always growing/changing, but I decided I would share my top 3 that have stood the test of time.

Author	Profile	Fandom	Why you should read them
Hufflepuffs-anonymous	@Fanfic.net	Harry Potter, Draco/Hermione	Her writing is great, she writes in English and French (she’s Canadian. Huzzah bilingualism!), and she actually finishes stories. What more can you ask of an author? She also has a large collection of stories, some long, some short, so there is a length for everyone! My personal favourite story by her is called “The Abridged Big Book of Wizard Sex “ because it is hilarious.
Caramine	@Fanfic.net	Bleach (manga)	Her writing is so. goddamned. beautiful. Particularly Affliction and Possession (heads up that those are M/M stories, and while that shouldn’t bother anyone, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Just like stories about straight couples aren’t everybody’s cup of tea). I cried the first time I read Affliction because the prose is just beautiful. This is coming from someone who usually doesn’t care about how a story is written so long as it’s good. Hers is a good story with beautiful writing.
morningsofgold777	@Fanfic.net	Labyrinth (David Bowie T_T)	These stories always have me giggling like the youth I was when Labyrinth gave me my sexual awakening (seriously. Ask any Labyrinth fangirl and she will agree. Sexual awakening). Labyrinth actually came out before I was born, so how I don’t actually remember how I ended up watching it. My parents maybe? Either way, I do remember being obsessed with it as a child, finding it again in my pre-teen years and never letting go again. This author creates fun stories that are long enough to satisfy any nostalgic craving, while being short enough to read in a sitting.