Fan Fiction

I heard Marcie Sillman interviewing Tom Keogh on KUOW recently about why Sherlock Holmes is such an enduring character and he called the modern day BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch glorified fan fiction. Cool! Fan fiction is totally getting its day in the limelight!

You know what it is, right? It's pretty self-explanatory -- fans of published stories (books, games, movies) take the characters and settings, and play with them. It's been around for ages, but the Internet made it possible for amateur writers to easily share their vision with others. Some of those stories have been picked up and published in their own right. The fan fiction world I'm most familiar with is Jane Austen -- there are numerous web sites and I daren't actually go there! But I do know that a number of the Austen spin-offs (Pamela Aidan's trilogy and Sharon Lathan's series, for example) started as writings online that gained enough of a following that book deals resulted. Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments) got her start writing Harry Potter fan fiction and E.L. James' 50 Shades of Grey started out on a Twilight fan fic site.

I love that people can hone their writing skills and get immediate feedback from readers. I am intrigued that the phenomenon can lead to publication. As a reader who loves living in my book worlds, it is appealing to have more access to my favorite characters. I may not agree with how another author imagines Miss Anne Elliot, for example, but I'm happy to visit her version.

What do you think -- is it cheating? Is it plagiarism? These characters were developed by writers who make a living by publishing books; why is it okay for others to use them? That's the question Cath in Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl has to answer for herself. In her mind, her stories are kind of like taking Star Wars action figures and making up new adventures, but that logic doesn't fly with her college writing professor. Does the fact that virtually all fan fic is written by fans for other fans and that money is not part of the equation matter?

Something to think about...