Disturbing... maybe...

[ostarella]

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.

Comments

[kisurathegreat.livejournal.com]

Hmm. . . couldn't resist weighing in on this--

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. . .

[ostarella.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's definitely the "temptation" to take on for one's own the interpretations of others. One of the major problems with fanon, IMHO. But that's one reason why I won't read stories that are in the same vein as the one I'm working on - when I was in the earlier chapters of Covenant, for example, I wouldn't read any Vietnam era fics. I wanted to put my own interpretation into it, not have someone else's sneak in ;-)

Oh, and the story was "Forest Primeval" - she had Hannibal telling her characters about the plane crash ;-)