That is the question

by Megsly

To write or not to write….
SusanAshlea and I tend to have some pretty awesome conversations, we have no problem finding something to chat about, and usually…it’s rather random, especially our conversations that focus on fan fiction. This latest one that stuck out in my memory revolved around authors who don’t allow fan fiction based on their works.  Sue and I had made this random observation–just based from what we’ve seen in the vampire/paranormal fandoms–that it seems like authors of Young Adult novels and series are much more accepting over their fans posting stories based on their novels.

Now originally I was going to expand on that idea some with this blog and look into why was it that the authors of more mature fics (Laurell K. Hamilton and J.R. Ward for instance) would prefer that their readers not write fan fiction compared to their fellow authors who are more geared to teenagers and young adults. But then I realized that would be all speculation and just not nearly as entertaining as I originally anticipated, plus…after doing some research I stumbled across something that bothered me and seemed much more important than any random speculations or observations I could possibly make. 
While googling various books and researching some authors that do and do not allow fan fiction, I came across numerous websites that promote the writing of fan fiction for authors like Laurell K. Hamilton and Anne Rice and J.R. Ward, which…to be honest, had me quite upset.  ”But why?” you may ask?  Because those authors have specifically requested that their readers not post fan fiction based on their stories.
Now, there aren’t actually that many authors who make that request but those who do are pretty pivotal in the writing community.  These are not just authors who’ve produced a single book that’s done well, these are authors who have produced best seller after best seller and have extensive series and unbelievably popular novels and series that are sold in bookstores everywhere. Laurell K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, and J.R. Ward (as mentioned above) are three of the authors who have requested that there not be fan fiction posted online based on their works and I found several fan fiction websites for each. So not only does it seem like there are people out there who blatantly disregard this but there’s also full websites supporting these people. Large websites with a surprising number of members, I might add.

As authors and the owners of their works of fiction they have the right to request no fan fiction.  It could be for a variety of reasons, some as simple as personal preference.  Perhaps they don’t feel comfortable seeing their ideas expanded upon, perhaps they’re still writing on the story (if it’s a series like Black Dagger Brotherhood) and don’t want any fan fictions to predict where they’re going with their story (cause lets face it, I’d be super pissed if I was writing a published work of fiction and someone predicted my plot in a fan fic.)  Heck, for all we know their publishing company has made that request and its just something they don’t want to deal with.  No matter their reasoning behind their decision, it is something that we, as fan fiction authors and fellow writers, should respect.   Also, it needs to be remembered that these authors have the right to legally challenge any websites or individuals who blatantly disregard their choice.
So though this may be short and not quite so sweet, we need to all remember that even if we do or do not have aspirations of one day becoming published authors ourselves, we should always respect the authors we know and love.  If they don’t want us writing fan fiction, we shouldn’t. If they do embrace the fan fiction community then let’s have at it! Write away and lets see how creative you can be!

Note: P.N. Elrod, Raymond Feist, Terry Goodkind, Laurell K. Hamilton, Anne McCaffrey, Robin McKinley, Irene Radford, Anne Rice, J.R. Ward are among the authors who request that no fan fiction be written and posted based on their works.