Booking Through Thursday – Fanfiction

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From BTT this week:

What do you think of fanfiction? In general—do you think it’s a fun thing or a trespass on an author/producer’s world? And of course, obviously specific authors have very firm and very differing opinions about this, yet it’s getting more popular and more mainstream all the time. Do you ever read or write it yourself?

Yes, I’ve read a lot of fanfiction. In fact, a couple years ago, one of the habits I’ve had to cut down on is reading less fanfiction. Much like tv show marathons or Youtube videos, I can easily find hours flying away if I find a good fanfics.

In general, I think it’s fun and I’ve read some brilliant and fantastic fanfiction over the years. In the early 2000s, I was apart of the Harry Potter fandom to the point where I beta read/edited for at least 2-3 fanfic authors. I even tried writing it myself briefly. For me, the easiest way to enjoy a fandom whether it is from a movie, tv show or book is to read the fanfiction.

There are an increasing number of published authors who started out writing fanfiction. EL James of Fifty Shades is just one example. Cassandra Claire of the City of the Bones series wrote Harry Potter fanfiction. I see a lot parallels from her published series from her original works. Whether they deserve it or not, I am glad when authors can get published after having “fun” in fanfic. I believe it can be a good writing exercise.

Then again, I am not an author so I have no real opinion on what it is like to know my stories and characters are being played with. I rather not know about it, but I think a lot of art becomes more than the creator. I think fanfic is largely harmless and actually enhances a fan’s experience of the work. It’s only plagiarism if the fanfic author rips entire plotlines, dialogues or shows a flagrant disregard for intellectual property. Fandoms are also very good at spotting authors who plagiarise other fanfic authors.

What is your view on fanfiction?

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