An Introduction to Fan Fiction

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about fan fiction. People all over the world delight in writing and reading stories about characters and worlds they know and love. They spend so much of their time with these stories, and all they get out of it is a sense of satisfaction that their most beloved characters and worlds are expanding. While some authors don’t approve of fan fiction based on their works, others are completely fine with it and on occasion even read and praise it. It becomes bigger and bigger every day, with more and more fans interacting with each other through it. Just don’t forget that some fan fiction creators can get in trouble for it.

First off, let’s look at what fan fiction really is. Most people understand it as fiction that is written by fans of a particular book, movie, or television series that utilizes characters and settings from that book, movie, or television series. In his article “What is Fan Fiction – and why is it making people nervous?” Stephen Downes very succinctly defines fan fiction as “any work which embellishes, alters, or rewrites the work of another (usually a published author) with new storylines, characters, alternative endings, beginnings, and substitute sets of morals, ideals, or sexual politics.”

Sounds like a bit of harmless fun for fans, right? Well, many authors don’t think so, and aren’t afraid to sue fan fiction writers based on the fair use clause of the copyright law. The law contains a list of purposes for which the reproduction of a work may be considered fair. These include criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. There are four factors that a court will use to decide whether something falls under the protection of fair use:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is for commercial or nonprofit educational purposes;
2. The nature of the copyrighted work;
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

Authors seem to be divided on the issue of fan fiction. Should they be honored that fans love the characters and worlds so much that they write their own stories about them, or should they be appalled that other writers, usually amateurs, are writing about their characters? Many famous authors, such as George R.R. Martin and Diana Gabaldon, are strongly against fan fiction while others like J.K. Rowling and Charlie Stross are fine with it. I asked three other authors where they stand on the issue, and got a somewhat less mixed response. One had never read fan fiction, and therefore did not have an opinion on it. The other two, KateDevlin and Kendare Blake, were both for it. Devlin said,

“Fan fiction is a wonderful outlet. There is no bad outlet for writing. And people read it! Look as 50 Shades of Grey and what a little fan fiction can become. I’m not against any form of written or musical expression (as long as no one got killed in the process.)”

Blake’s opinion was very similar to Devlin’s:

“I think it's cool. It's great that someone is so inspired by someone else's world and characters. I haven't read any of the Anna fanfics, but it's nice to know they're out there. However, I do think if an author is not cool with fan fiction, well, that's just how they feel and no one should yell at them about it.”

From my experience with fan fiction, it sounds like many people who enjoy fan fiction do it to express their love for the world the author created. What’s so bad about that? I understand that authors think it is a violation of their rights and characters when someone writes fan fiction based on their works. However, the authors don’t have to read the fan fiction. In fact, they don’t even have to acknowledge it. Fans write these stories knowing that most authors would not approve of it and will most likely never see it, but they write the stories anyway. Authors should just leave fan fiction alone and let the fans express themselves. That way, authors and fans alike will be happy doing what they love.