Fanfic

[jaebility]

Everyone and their pet donkey has heard of the wank involving Diana Gabaldon and the evil that is fanfic by now so I'm late jumping onto the bandwagon, but I just gotta say that damn, that woman is tripping balls crazy.

If I ever get published, I'd consider fanfic about my book an honor greater than any award. Because it means that not only do people like your stuff, they're inspired by it.

Fanfic is awesome! It gives me new ways to explore the characters, situations, worlds. It keeps that universe open and alive. And where else am I going to read about mpreg? Come on!

Also, if I get published, I will read the hell out of any fanfic for my stuff. In fact, I'm going to write my own. One of the amazing things about fanfic is that it allows you to write characters in ways that you couldn't get away with in profic. That is, there are tropes that are acceptable for fanfic that aren't for profic.

...I might have already planned out some fanfic. I can neither confirm nor deny that I've worked out a gender!switch story.

Comments

[verdictlesslife.livejournal.com]

I agree that there's been histrionics from both sides, but I maintain that Diana Gabaldon's the guilty party here; her first reaction to fanfic was completely overblown and ridiculous. Fanfic's something near and dear to my heart, but even if it wasn't something that I enjoyed, I'd never go on a _poorly written_ rampage about how fanfic's like burglary or stealing someone's husband.

She's not only insulting fanfic, but the people who write it. It's her prerogative as an author to disallow fanfic because she fears/hates it, but once she start insulting fanficcers, she looses all my sympathy.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Using an emotional argument's always a mistake; I certainly learned that once myself, the hard way. "This thing you're doing is hurting me--let me tell you what it feels like, using metaphors!" "Your metaphors are hurting me! Let me hurt YOU worse!"

But now people are just essentially dropping in on her to yell insults (followed, in one case, by the insulter gleefully adding: "Zing! I'm here all week!") and berate her for not following "the first rule of Customer Service"...Jesus, so this is a Service Industry job? Let me go shoot myself right now. Oh, and telling her how Fandom at large Knows Her Name Now, and she's essentially poisoned her own brand, so yah boo sucks. We Know Where You Live, Author Whose Books We Mainly Don't Even Read Anyways! And Whose Name WE Can't Spell Correctly Before Posting!

As a professional writer, I have sympathy for her--but you know, I'd have sympathy for her "just" as a fanfic writer, too. This dogpiling crap needs to stop.

[baggyeyes]

The dogpiling seems like group-think bullying.

Yes, she used hurtful words, but she's stated her policy. Pounding on her blog, emailing her and sending nasty letters aren't conducive to making the case for fan fiction.