As keen readers of this column will no doubt recall, I wrote not so long ago on the place of Mary Sue characters within the realms of fanfiction. While I did discuss briefly what constitutes fanfic, I didn’t enter into the debate surrounding whether it should be written at all, or, if so, under what circumstances. Because there is a debate – and a frequently vociferous one – about just these questions. This week, it was fanned to fury on certain parts of the internet when fantasy author Katherine Kerr (of who I am a fan) blogged about her distaste for the concept. Alas, I am unable to link to the debate itself or even the remarks that sparked it, as, owing to the ferocity of the responses, Kerr eventually deleted the whole kit and caboodle from her journal. Her initial comments were, by her own admittance, both glib and sarcastic, and to some extent deserved such an angry species of response. But the 
issue itself is an interesting one, not least because it pertains almost exclusively to sci-fi/fantasy settings.
As a writer myself, I can understand perfectly why other authors don’t want outsiders mucking about in their continuity, even for fun and especially when doing so involves taking their characters and making them do things that, quite clearly, they were never meant to do. There’s something very personal about creating a world, setting its inhabitants on a particular course and then writing down what happens next. If you consider how important an individual storytelling style can be, then watching a fanfic mangle not only the history and characters, but the way in which the author has presented them, can venture into sacrilegious territory. Many writers make a deliberate decision to exclude sex, or detailed descriptions of sex, from the narrative; seeing their characters written into a slashfic scenario is therefore understandably distressing, almost a violation. And then there’s the matter of imagination, originality and skill, viz: the argument that, if fanfiction writers actually had any, then they’d be writing their own stories rather than poaching the works of their betters.
Certainly, I’ve seen my fair share of appalling fanfic, stories where everything from the writing style to the character interactions has been warped into a maelstrom of awful. Some of that badness comes from the fact that the writers are inexperienced, clumsily trying to show their affection for a story by seeking to imitate or expand upon it. Then there are the downright perverted ones, slashfics that fail, not just because of the sexual content, but because of what the insertion of sexuality into an otherwise PG narrative does to the characters. There’s an undeniable voyeurism to such stories, and as with most things sexual, it’s my belief that the extent to which this can be judged abhorrent depends entirely on what the author thinks of it, because in a sense, it is them – their minds, their characters, their ideas – being tarted up and stared at. Most troubling of all, and the real reason why so many writers have firm policies against allowing fanfic, are the people who seek to profit illegally from someone else’s work, by trying to pass their fanwritings off as original. In this instance, it’s important to make a distinction between fanfiction and fan art, the latter being quite a different kettle of fish. To quote author Robin Hobb’s thoughts on the matter:
“Fan art can never be confused with my writing. Art is pictures (or sculptures, etc.) It isn’t words on a page. No one will look at a picture of a wolf and say, “That is Robin Hobb’s work.” Even if you Google for Robin Hobb and Nighteyes, and that image comes up, no one will think it is a page of text from my book. It’s that simple.”
If that were all there was to the issue, then I’d come down squarely in the Against camp. But it isn’t.
Like it or not, there are some invented settings which resonate with us – not because of our own lack of imagination, but because we recognise how much skill went into the act of creation, and are drawn by the power of it. One of the signs of a truly spectacular work of fiction is that it provokes a desire in the audience to experience the setting independent of its characters – to return in some way as a tourist, taking in the sights and probing for extra details. A good book does more than simply appear as words on a page: it transports us to a different place and time, and, as with all such visited places, there is a sense that, by having gone there and enjoyed ourselves, we thereinafter have a claim on it. But such realms are also finite; hence the desire to supplement them with fanfiction. The fact that such a place might be the invention of a particular person – and more, that they might dispute our claim on those grounds – runs contrariwise to personal intuition. This is further complicated by the knowledge that writers actively seek to evoke such an affection for the settings of their stories; it is, after all, how we earn our bread. Surely, we should find happiness knowing that a thing we have loved ourselves and nurtured is now loved in turn by others – that it has moved them? 
Here is how I look at the matter. Each story we write – each world – is a house that we have built. By putting those stories where other people can read them, we are effectively throwing open the doors, waving at passers-by and asking them to come and see; to sit on our lounges, stroll through our gardens, and tell us what they think. This is, understandably, a nerve-wracking experience. Critics will scoff at the masonry just as often as fans might praise it, and in the process of so much tromping, the carpet is quite likely to be scuffed, the petals of our roses bruised. Inevitably, as our guests inhabit the house, they will leave their marks on it, if only the marks of passage; but the house will change them, too. Indeed, it is in such hope that we opened the doors to begin with. The guests may take photos of what they see, and derive their own inspiration from it; they may visit as often as they like, and perhaps we, the architects, might one day sit with them in the kitchen over a glass of wine and talk. But no matter how often the visitors come, the house is not theirs. Loving a thing is not enough to confer ownership, but it is enough to insist on respect for what is loved. If you are moved to build a model of the house, then do so privately, for your own joy, especially if you plan to make fundamental alterations to the structure. Should you put that model where the original architect can see it, acknowledge whose blueprints you’ve borrowed from and be prepared for their criticism: they, after all, were brave enough in the first place to risk hearing yours. Above all, neither vandalise nor seek to profit from what you did not make. The house was not built that you might tear it down, but so that others might dream to build themselves. Have respect for that.
Ultimately, there is sometimes a fine line between homage and plagiarism. Gregory McGuire did not create the world of Oz, but his knowledge of and affection for it were evident throughout Wicked, even as the story he told was utterly different to the works of Frank L. Baum in both style and content. The current fad for such stories as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Mr Darcy: Vampyre, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Android Karenina and Little Vampire Women, however, quite arguably crosses the line into the realms of outright plundering, any such comedic coin being minted with stolen gold. The fact that the original authors are dead does not imply their consent; only that they are beyond objecting. But even though Tolkien would doubtless have had an apoplexy at the very thought, I still can’t find it in myself to do anything but laugh at the Very Secret Diaries, wherein a familiar setting and its characters are utilised to create humour that is both satirical and sexy, and which proves than fanfiction authors can have their own talents, too – though unpublished at the time, the creator of the Diaries, Cassandra Clare, is now the New York Times best-selling author of the Mortal Instruments series.
In short, there is no simple answer to the question of fanfiction, for all the strength of opinion on both sides. I’ve spoken my piece, and taken my time about it, too. So what do you think?
