Oh, GRRM. Why must you cantanker on so?

[herongale]

Okay, so George R.R. Martin has written a post defending his decision to forbid fanfiction of his works. You can read it here.

Here is my reply. I posted it in the comments section of his post but will also reproduce it here, because it's two damn pages long and because I can.

Comments

[herongale]

There is a part of his argument I sympathize with, and I suspect you do too: the idea that it can be very painful to see characters one loves being put into scenarios you feel are inappropriate for them, especially if those loved characters are being needlessly and casually tortured or, maybe even worse, turned into sadistic monsters, when the reality is far different.

But my sympathy is limited. GRRM is a grown-up, and should know better than to actually read any of the fanfic his stories might generate. He has lawyers to look after his interests, so the whole "these are my children" argument falls flat on its face, since the very fact of his being a professional writer pretty much dictates the fact that he absolutely should NOT read fan stories of his work.

In fan stories, it's a bit different... I don't want to be surprised or tricked into reading a story I think will be one thing, but which turns out to be something quite different. I try to avoid stories which contain ideas that I think will bother me, but if fan writers don't properly advertise their fics, I might very well end up reading crap that bothers me a lot. And I won't pretend that I'm so cool and detached to be above such inappropriate levels of connection to imaginary characters... damn, I don't even know that I'd characterize it as "inappropriate."

But even so. People should be able to write what they want. I hope more professional writers will come to understand that the existence of fanfiction is almost always beneficial to them and their profit margins. Transformers the Franchise would not be anywhere near the awesome thing it is today if it weren't for the dedication and love of its fans, and that love has always been re-enforced by our feeling like we can freely engage with the canon, to enjoy it and play with it. It helps that the basis of Transformers fandom is toys... Hasbro and Takara understand that they are making stuff for us to USE, not just to place on a shelf and admire.