random post re:fanfiction and pro-writers

[permetaform]

So, I wonder.

Sometimes I don't get pro-writers, and their virulent hatred towards fic. I think, perhaps is that they feel all defensive and threatened.

I wonder, because for me, fanfic is like singing; I don't sing all that well, and I don't sing professionally. But I sing because it gives me joy, I sing because I can't *help* singing. And granted, most of my singing is in the bathroom or in the car, but I'm not going around going "OMG COPYRIGHTS" to people who sing for fun, 'cause while I sometimes sing tuneless songs most of the time I sing songs made by professional songwriters/artists. And sometimes I do riff and trills and grace-notes to decorate the song because it's fun to. Because I can't help it, because it bring me joy. I make no profit from singing, and I would say that most people who sing don't do it for profit.

Will the anti-fic people wish to rail against karaoke bars now, too? For violating the copywrite laws of singers/songwriters?

This post brought to you by metafandom and silly people.

[edit] "pro-writer" in the context of this post is referring to those who are using it as their label instead of "anti-fic", in particular the group that thinks that writing isn't valid unless you're getting paid for it (or eventually getting paid for it), and that anyone doing it for free is at best absurd and at worst a thief.

Comments

[strangemuses.livejournal.com]

The attitude of the pros towards fanfic is all over the map. Some don't mind fics set in their universe. Others love it. Others loathe the very idea. Lots fall somewhere in between. A lot are glad that fans like their work well enough to want to play in their world (though they don't necessarily want to read the fics). And at the other end of the spectrum, I know published writers who also write fanfic on the side under pseudonyms.

The reasons I've heard in the anti-fic camps run the gamut from pure self-protection (fear that a fan may claim that the pro 'stole' their story when the pro publishes a sequel, new tv episode, etc.), from authors who are merely trying to protect their copyrights for financial reasons to keep their world and/or characters from slipping into the public domain, to authors who don't just like people 'freeloading' off of the hard work they did in building the universe that the fan is now playing around in. Some authors do not like fans radically changing the personalities and/or destinies of their characters.

For myself, as a mod a huge fic writing community, I figure that if a given pro writer doesn't want fanfic set in their world, I respect the writer's preference and I don't allow stuff based on their work in the community. It's not as if there is any shortage of fictional universes for fans to play in.

[permetaform]

::nods:: point.

But...thing is, sometimes you can't help but play in the universe, because it's like breathing, because it eats your mind. What then?

[strangemuses.livejournal.com]

Well speaking only for myself, I think that fanfic is a harmless, fun hobby. I don't think it harms the pro writer in any way. I say, if you want to write it that much, write it! Or else, figure out exactly what it is about that particular world, setting, plot and characters that pushes your buttons so much, and then come up with your own original work.

To me the hardest, but also the most interesting aspects of writing are world-building and plotting. Fanfic, at least IMO, is intensely character focussed. Characters thinking, talking, feeling, emoting, fucking... with very little focus on world building or plotting. A character catches your fancy and you want to write about him or her. The original author has already done the hard part, which is creating setting, plot, and characters. That's why I just don't see how fanfic really harms the original writer. OTOH, if a writer has made their feelings about fics known, I personally think it would be disrespectful for me not to abide by their request.

[lurkerlynne.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, I have very little problems with building worlds. My problem comes in putting characters in them. Most of my worlds have an original character or two to go with, but I seem to have a bit of trouble with established chracters.

And dialogue. Dialogue kicks my butt.

[strangemuses.livejournal.com]

Sometimes characters just arrive full blown in my mind, (or in the case of fanfic someone else has already created them) but more often the characters shake out of the story that I am going to tell. My experience is that once I the story, I find the characters that I need to tell it. Likewise, dialogue derives from the story, since dialogue is supposed to reveal and move the storyline along as much as it is supposed to reveal who the characters are. It is hard, though! But fun. Everything about writing is hard but fun.

[lurkerlynne.livejournal.com]

Write for yourself. That's how I started writing- it was the only way to get that stuff out of my head. I didn't really intend to post at first.