This is a bit of a more serious post, and for that I apologize; however, we cannot talk about the fun and silly parts of writing, without discussing the more legal side.
Despite how many fanfiction stories end, it’s not always sunshine and daisies. There are plenty of authors who believe fanfiction should be illegal, and they believe it is plagiarism. First and foremost, do not publish any fanfiction to make money. That alone will likely get you into a heap of trouble. However, under Fair Use Laws, so long as the work is transformed in some capacity, it is not necessarily copyright infringement.
Some famously published authors believe fanfiction is copyright infringement. George R. R. Martin of Game of Thrones fame thinks writing fanfiction is not a good way to “exercise their literary muscles”. Interestingly enough, Mr. Martin has said in the past that he wrote fanfiction in high school, a bit hypocritical if you ask me.
Diana Gabaldon, who wrote the novels based on the series Outlander, sees it as a violation of the characters. She believes if you write fanfiction based on characters whose creator is still alive, it is unacceptable. Gabaldon did find herself in a very touchy situation where a fan was auctioning off a story he had written with one of her characters and the proceeds would go to benefit his friend with cancer.
The Vampire Chronicles author Anne Rice is vehemently against fanfiction. She is so against it, in 2001, her lawyers issued a cease and desist order to fanfiction.net to remove all works revolving around Rice’s characters and to never allow them back up. Failure to do so would result in further legal action against the website.
Some authors like and even encourage the writing of fanfiction.
J.K. Rowling thinks its okay, with some conditions. She wants her characters to stay clear of any adult content on websites, to ensure the author of the fanfiction does not publish the work for commercial gain, and that she is not credited with the new works so as not to confuse her work with the fanfiction work.
Leigh Bardugo wrote Grisha Trilogy and she is flattered by the idea of fanfiction! She thinks its awesome that fans become so invested in the world and the characters that they want to see something new happen.
Famous author C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, encouraged fans to write fanfiction. When Lewis was asked about how the stories continue he simply said the stories were done, but he encouraged the young boy to try writing their own Narnian tales.
Coming up next: Fanfiction as literature
Sources:
Jacobs, Monique. “Approve or Disapprove: What 8 Famous Authors Think of Fanfiction.” Winter Is Coming, Winter is Coming, 4 July 2021, winteriscoming.net/2021/07/04/8-famous-authors-think-fanfiction-george-rr-martin-anne-rice-jrr-tolkien/2/.
Theorangutanlibrarian. “Fanfiction vs Plagiarism – the Epic Battle (/Discussion).” The Orang-Utan Librarian, 16 July 2017, theorangutanlibrarian.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/fanfiction-vs-plagiarism-the-epic-battle-discussion/.
“Is Fanfiction Legal? A Lawyer’s Guide to Copyrights & Avoiding Lawsuits.” NovelPad, novelpad.co/blog/is-fanfiction-legal. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.
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