I think what Gabaldon forgets, or maybe doesn't realize, as I pointed out in another post regarding this kerfluffle, is that fan fiction has been around for centuries, both written and oral. When you get down to it, all fiction written using vampires is fan fiction, only with different names. Shakespeare himself wrote fan fiction, as someone pointed out to me, borrowing heavily from Greek plays and stories.
As you say, fan fiction is mostly written out of a love of characters/shows/books. It's is an exercise to expand on what has already been written, filling in that "missing paragraph" that wasn't fleshed out more by the author. Or, for the romantic, to expand on the love/devotion of two characters.
People have tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to stop fan fiction, especially with the advent of internet. Paramount tried more than once to stop written fanzines (pre-internet) from being published, and it didn't work.
A healthier approach would have been for her to treat her audience with respect, not talk down to them like they are wayward children. While I can see some "ego annoyance" in her not wanting her "characters" taken out from her "control", she has to grasp that it's her fans love for her work that is driving them to write, not disrespect. Harlen Ellison, in his railing against fan fiction, never grasped this either.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 12:24 am (UTC)As you say, fan fiction is mostly written out of a love of characters/shows/books. It's is an exercise to expand on what has already been written, filling in that "missing paragraph" that wasn't fleshed out more by the author. Or, for the romantic, to expand on the love/devotion of two characters.
People have tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to stop fan fiction, especially with the advent of internet. Paramount tried more than once to stop written fanzines (pre-internet) from being published, and it didn't work.
A healthier approach would have been for her to treat her audience with respect, not talk down to them like they are wayward children. While I can see some "ego annoyance" in her not wanting her "characters" taken out from her "control", she has to grasp that it's her fans love for her work that is driving them to write, not disrespect. Harlen Ellison, in his railing against fan fiction, never grasped this either.