- Fanfic Bingo!

[mirabile-dictu.livejournal.com]

Inspired by the discussion of OTW at John Scalzi's blog, Ithiliana, Half Elf Lost, Kitsune13, and Cofax7 created the Anti-Fanfic Bingo card.

They have kindly permitted the OTW to use the card, and we'd like to ask all of you to come up with responses for the objections to fan fiction. Serious responses, funny responses, rude responses, heart-felt responses. Prose, poetry, icons, banners, art, vids -- any response at all! We ask that you stay on topic, but our hope is to create something fun and, well, educational.

You can see the entire Anti-Fanfic Bingo card here, but right now, let's focus on the top row:



How would you respond? Tell ComRel!

Graphic by the wonderful Ciderpress.

-- femmequixotic, bethbethbeth, ciderpress, bethbethbeth, mirabile_dictu, shrift, svmadelyn
Community Relations Committee

Comments

[timwb.livejournal.com]

For the sake of arguement,

Think all you want, but if you make money off of someone else's characters that is a problem.

[helens78]

Rebutting,

Making money is a non sequitur/red herring. That's a completely different argument from the act of writing or even talking about characters.

[timwb.livejournal.com]

Then you distribute the stories without paying?

I ask only because I do not know much about slash writing.

[helens78]

Fanfiction in general is written for no pay, and distributed for free. The only times this is not the case are (to my knowledge):

* zines, which charge just enough money to recoup the cost of printing them (paper costs money), and
* "authorized" fanworks (the Star Trek novels, etc.), which are published by the owners of the copyright, but take place in a different medium from the original work

Things that are generally classified as "fanfiction" are emphatically not done to make money or for profit.

All that aside, my original point stands. No one was talking about making money from fanfiction; therefore, the argument that Think all you want, but if you make money off of someone else's characters that is a problem. really has nothing to do with the question of whether anyone can or should be allowed to "say anything" (ie, discuss, review, recommend, summarize, quote, or... write fanfiction) about a work, outside the original author. Totally different arguments.

[timwb.livejournal.com]

Okay, yeah, your point is taken. No "buts" about it.

It all seems to come down to philosophical arguements. As in not "can you do writer fanfic" but "is it best for all to write fanfic."

I've seen very imaginative fanfic. I imagine some writers also write their own characters as well, is that the case?

[twistedchick]

Not necessarily.

Fair comment works are not affected. Criticism is not affected. Shared-universe works are not affected -- some authors welcome other authors to write about their characters. There are no universal truths here, only habits, practices and certain legal issues.

[timwb.livejournal.com]

Which leads to the purpose of the "Bingo" card: to illustrate that the objections are subjective?

I'm just asking because this subject is new to me.