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Disturbing... maybe...
I just found a story - not familiar with the author or characters, but I believe it's fanfiction - which inserted part of one of my stories into it, only changing the POV so it was like Hannibal telling these other characters about it. Now, the author did credit both me and the story at the beginning of the chapter, but I found it disturbing that she took my work without at least asking me first.
Obviously, I can't lay claim to the guys, but just as obviously, I put a copyright on all my stories simply so people won't take those stories and claim to have written them. As far as someone "using" my stories (such as in this case), I don't have a problem with that per se, as long as they acknowledge my authorship, which this person did. It's more the idea that she didn't ask first. Had she emailed me, there's a 99% chance I would have said no problem. (The 1 percent chance being if it were a totally atrocious story that took *my* story totally out of its context.)
But it also raised some questions for me as a writer of fanfic. Because, after all, we're borrowing from someone else. And we don't exactly ask. So on the one hand, is this any different? On the other hand, fanfic writers are all a few steps down in the food chain from the people who actually own the shows/characters and make money from it, and being together in that spot kinda behooves a certain "code of conduct", ie, you don't poach from other authors without at least asking first. I mean, it's not like the author couldn't find a way to contact me. And her own website states,
However, [original character], her family, anything connected with her, and various other characters/things that dos not belong to someone else (but may be derived from someone else's ideas, which I'll credit) does belong to me. They will be so noted! Please ASK if you wish to use them!!
So I guess my main beef is that she should have asked me.
Obviously, I can't lay claim to the guys, but just as obviously, I put a copyright on all my stories simply so people won't take those stories and claim to have written them. As far as someone "using" my stories (such as in this case), I don't have a problem with that per se, as long as they acknowledge my authorship, which this person did. It's more the idea that she didn't ask first. Had she emailed me, there's a 99% chance I would have said no problem. (The 1 percent chance being if it were a totally atrocious story that took *my* story totally out of its context.)
But it also raised some questions for me as a writer of fanfic. Because, after all, we're borrowing from someone else. And we don't exactly ask. So on the one hand, is this any different? On the other hand, fanfic writers are all a few steps down in the food chain from the people who actually own the shows/characters and make money from it, and being together in that spot kinda behooves a certain "code of conduct", ie, you don't poach from other authors without at least asking first. I mean, it's not like the author couldn't find a way to contact me. And her own website states,
However, [original character], her family, anything connected with her, and various other characters/things that dos not belong to someone else (but may be derived from someone else's ideas, which I'll credit) does belong to me. They will be so noted! Please ASK if you wish to use them!!
So I guess my main beef is that she should have asked me.
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I think that's the paradox for fanfic writers - we don't make any money from it, so our "ownership" of the story itself is even more important. We did it for something other than (better than?) money, so other writers should respect that and not just use stuff without asking.
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I think this shows where 'writers' don't know the rules. Yes, okay, we have taken the characters from a TV show, and we should get permission to do that. But I'm sure the TV companies really wouldn't want that bombardment... AND we're not making any money from it, so that's why they probably aren't really jumping up and down about it.
However, if Star chose to go with that story and turn it into an original fiction, creating her own characters - they are her words. It is HER story. All her ideas. This writer really should have asked. Especially when she has the cheek to put in her own terms. lol!
I think whether we write fanfiction or not, you still shouldn't 'steal' someone's work and pass it off as your own, and even if you use something and credit the original author, you should still ask permission to use it.
If her story was a piece of drivel, would Star want to be associated with it? Luckily, it sounds like it wasn't - phew!
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There is a section in "Friendship's Choice" - where Face jumps the train - that I got from another writer. And I changed very little in it, because it was so well-written. But I contacted the author, and explained exactly what I wanted to do, and waited until he gave me his complete approval to use it. And I included not only credit to him, but included the URL for the original article.
Like I said, I don't mind her using my story - but if I hadn't done a search for "Shadowwalker213" (which I do on occasion to see where I'm showing up ;-)) I never would have known she used it. And that's just not right.
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Seriously though, I do it now and then just to see if my search engine keywords are doing any good. This result was more a by-product of that.
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I agree--it wasn't polite for said writer to use a certifiable amount of another's work without asking first--it's simply rude. I do give her kudos, though, for crediting you when she did.
My caveat, such as it is. . .
In fandom, I believe, people tend to read works in bulk, PARTICULARLY when they're new/focused/enthusiastic about a subject. Example: when I'm in a TAT mood, I'll trawl the archives, reading bits and pieces of stories. If I find an author I really enjoy, I'll generally end up reading *all* of their work. The danger comes when an attitude or take on a character is very good; it can sometimes color my way of interpreting the character myself. I'm old enough and savvy enough to watch for that tendency, but there are a lot of inexperienced writers that aren't. I've actually had that problem with with you three--your drabbles usually combine quirky, quippy interactions that line up perfectly with my favorite things about the universe, and easily color in the spaces between the shows. (Star, with your holidays, JFM with the quieter moments between team members, and Billy with the honest take on Amy and Face.)
In some of my other fandoms, where factions are VERY strong and there are very dominant authors, it's also possible to tell who has been influenced by which stories. Is it right? No. . . but it's certainly there.
I am curious to know what she borrowed, though. . .
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Oh, and the story was "Forest Primeval" - she had Hannibal telling her characters about the plane crash ;-)