...I'm not sure how I fit into the metaphor as a reader of fanfic.

[drakyndra]

As I know some of you have already seen: Diana Gabaldon on why fanfiction is a terrible horrible evil thing and like selling your children into slavery!

I find this particularly entertaining, since the only thing I know about Diana Gabaldon is that she based one of her characters on Jamie from Doctor Who.

Of all the links floating round on Fandom Wank this here is one of the better rebuttals.

And now I shall leave the intelligent arguments to people who are I am sure far more eloquent than me. I'll just stick with pointing and laughing at the stupid and reading fanfic.

Comments

[saikogrrl.livejournal.com]

I agree with the sentiment of that post but I wonder if the OP even read Gabaldon's first post all the way through. They claim she "automatically condemns" this long list of works, most of which are out of copyright. Gabaldon actually explicitly stated that she was okay with derivative works based on out of copyright works, and even referenced the many Austen sequels out there.

(Although why an arbitrary date should make some published drivel more legitimate than the most wonderful fanfic is another discussion entirely...)

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Well, as far as I've seen the big issues with Gabaldon are 1. The whole comparison of fanfic writers = white slavery, and 2. The fact that the series that made her famous is very nearly Doctor Who fanfic.

I think it comes back to a fundamental disagreement on what fanfiction is. People who don't like fanfic and who aren't involved in fandom seem to attribute all sorts of malevolent intentions to fanfic writers.

[saikogrrl.livejournal.com]

I don't remember her comparing it to slavery in her first post, just theft and porn.

I understand the issues with Gabaldon.

My point was that the rebuttal was not as effective as it could be, since most of the post was spent listing famous derivative works, and claiming she had condemned them, which she did not. She had said she was okay with works based on out of copyright work.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

You may have a point there; I just don't have the motivation to reread everything just to check who specifically said what.

Though really, what it comes down to is that I don't think any writer has the right to criticise fanfiction that isn't of their own work. It's entirely valid for Gabaldon to dislike fanfic of her books; it's when she starts generalizing with "All who people who write fanfic are..." that it's iffy.

And guess who is supposed to finish this question about the generalizability of data for an assignment. Sigh.

[saikogrrl.livejournal.com]

Yeah I think she has every right to dislike and even ask politely for no fanfic of her own works (though honestly from what I've heard they're just racy historical bodice-rippers so who would want to read them let alone write fanfiction). But given that many other authors explicitly approve of fanfic, yeah she can't really condemn it across the board.