On Fanfiction, HP, and Websites with Compulsory Registration
With the film premiering today, feeding the fandom, Harry Potter news is everwhere. So here’s my contribution, something both HP fans and fanfiction writers in general will find interesting.Harry loves Draco? Only in fan fiction
Fri, Jun. 04, 2004
A fan-fiction website run by a Miami Beach attorney lets would-be 'Harry Potter' authors cast their own spells.
Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are in love. Evil Lord Voldemort cavorts with TV's Gilligan. And snide and surly Professor of Potions Severus Snape -- yes, that Snape, the one who strikes fear in many Hogwarts students -- is carrying on with teenage Hermione.
You won't find these scenarios in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, the third film about the boy wizard, opening today. (Good thing, since such antics would land Snape in the prison of Azkaban faster than you could say “riddikulus''.) But such bizarre events do occur in a more informal realm: FictionAlley.org, the Web's largest Harry Potter fan-fiction site, home of more than 50,000 stories and chapters about the characters created by J.K. Rowling.
Heidi Tandy of Miami Beach, one of FictionAlley's creators and a member of its operations board, said the site expects more traffic once fans see the latest film.
''The movie is going to knock people off their broomsticks,'' said the real-estate lawyer and mother of two.
WAITING FOR BOOK FIVE
Tandy, 33, a self-described bibliophile (''Our wedding cake was shaped like a stack of books'') and computer geek, says she was first attracted to Harry Potter discussion groups and later migrated to the fiction.
Writing about another author's characters is more than just a lazy way to make the story come out the way you want, she explains. 'I wanted to be able to enjoy reading the books surrounded by other people, even virtually. But Goblet of Fire [the series' fourth book, published in 2000] extended the universe and gave us so many puzzles to think about. And as we waited and waited and waited for book five, fan fiction became an interesting way to explore the story.''
FictionAlley opened its virtual doors in 2001, and Tandy, who had worked on one of the first online legal message boards and the initial phase of The New York Times website, says it was up and running in seven weeks. These days she spends about 20 to 25 hours a week on the site, which features discussion groups as well as stories archived into four houses, a predictably Hogwartsian touch. TheDarkArts offers mystery and drama; Astronomy Tower hosts romance of all sorts, although anything that would earn an NC-17 rating is forbidden; Riddikulus features humor; Schnoogle is the place to find novel-length works. Only stories in English are posted, though writers can link to work in other languages.
The stories aren't edited for content, but don't expect to get away with carelessness here any more than you would in Professor Snape's class. Volunteer editors might correct a mistake or two, but if you brandish language as clumsily as Ron Weasley wields his wand, your story will be returned.
Three-quarters of new submissions by first-time authors are rejected. ''But when the stories are resubmitted,'' Tandy says, ``there's an acceptance rate of about 75 percent. And that's the real purpose of the site: not just to host stories; not just to share creative expression. Right now about 25 percent of the writers are 13-17; another 25 percent are college age. We're teaching them some of the basics of grammar and story construction.''
Last summer, the site hosted Nimbus -- 2003: A Harry Potter Symposium in Orlando. (Another symposium, The Witching Hour, is planned for 2005 in Salem, Mass.) Madeline Klink, 17, of Sacramento, Calif. -- another FictionAlley founder -- is convinced she ''got her foot in the door with academic work'' and gained confidence by appearing on one Nimbus panel and moderating another. ''I talked with students getting doctorates, other grad students. It was wonderful,'' says Klink, who has written fan fiction since she was 11. ``When I was younger, I was overwhelmed by introducing characters. Fan fiction let me get over that and work on my style.''
Fan fiction proved more tangibly rewarding to Hannah Jones, a 17-year-old from New York who will study creative writing at Barnard. She won a $10,000 Scholastics Gold National Portfolio Award for her poetry, prose and essay writing.
''I don't think I would have been able to write prose pieces without doing fan fiction,'' she says. ``It gave me the chance to experiment and to practice style and content without feeling pressured. It gives you the courage to submit work to contests.''
THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR
But how does Rowling feel about writers who purloin her characters? A recent story by BBC News indicates she supports such efforts and is ''flattered'' by fans' desire to connect with her imaginary world.
''We have wonderful relationships with Rowling's people,'' says Tandy, who traveled to New York to see Prisoner of Azkaban at its Radio City Music Hall premiere. ``There's been a sea change over the past four or five years in regard to fan fiction. It's a mutual conversation now. There's an understanding that brutalizing fans is not good PR.''
As for the premiere? It was -- of course -- magical.
''The three child leads were there, and Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltrane,'' she says. As for Rickman, who plays Professor Snape, ''His hair was very orange.'' Let's hope Hermione likes redheads. __________
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Hey Neil.
[…] Anyway, I've read that you allow fan fiction of your works, and I was curious as to why? Most authors don't allow fanfic because of concern for losing their rights.
I am a fairly new author (just had my first paid publication and am working on a novel) and am wrestling with this particular issue. I'm looking for any input that can help me decide where to do with it.
Thanks.
Why? Because fan fiction is fan fiction. I don't believe I'll lose my rights to my characters and books if I allow/fail to prevent/turn a blind eye to people writing say Neverwhere fiction, as long as those people aren't, say, trying to sell books with my characters in. I don't read it (and that way no-one has to wonder whether I stole the plot of something from their fanfic).
I don't think my attitude on this is particularly uncommon among authors -- I noticed the other day that JK Rowling doesn't mind Harry Potter fan fiction. Except for the x-rated kind. (I'm sure there are people out there writing Harry Potter fan fiction that isn't x-rated). On the other hand I consider it an author's right to not want fan fiction and do everything the author can to stamp it out, if that's what he or she wants. It's one of those "your mileage may vary" things.
As a fledgling writer, I really wouldn't spend too much time worrying that people will write fan fiction with your characters in. If they ever do, take it as a sign that you probably did something right and made some characters that people liked and believed in and wanted to write about. Or wanted to imagine in the nude. Or something.__________
And in case you’re wondering how you can access the original article via the link, try BugMeNot.com. It’s also good if you want to get to stuff on The New York Times or Washington Post websites.What's this all about then?
BugMeNot.com was created as a mechanism to quickly bypass the login of web sites that require compulsory registration and/or the collection of personal/demographic information (such as the New York Times).
Why not just register?
- It's a breach of privacy.
- Sites don't have a great track record with the whole spam thing.
- It's contrary to the fundamental spirit of the net. Just ask Google.
- It's pointless due to the significant percentage of users who enter fake demographic details anyway.
- It's a waste of time.
- It's annoying as hell.
- Imagine if every site required registration to access content.
Is it ethically justifiable to do this?
-You'll have to find your own way there my friend.
Fri, Jun. 04, 2004
A fan-fiction website run by a Miami Beach attorney lets would-be 'Harry Potter' authors cast their own spells.
Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are in love. Evil Lord Voldemort cavorts with TV's Gilligan. And snide and surly Professor of Potions Severus Snape -- yes, that Snape, the one who strikes fear in many Hogwarts students -- is carrying on with teenage Hermione.
You won't find these scenarios in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, the third film about the boy wizard, opening today. (Good thing, since such antics would land Snape in the prison of Azkaban faster than you could say “riddikulus''.) But such bizarre events do occur in a more informal realm: FictionAlley.org, the Web's largest Harry Potter fan-fiction site, home of more than 50,000 stories and chapters about the characters created by J.K. Rowling.
Heidi Tandy of Miami Beach, one of FictionAlley's creators and a member of its operations board, said the site expects more traffic once fans see the latest film.
''The movie is going to knock people off their broomsticks,'' said the real-estate lawyer and mother of two.
WAITING FOR BOOK FIVE
Tandy, 33, a self-described bibliophile (''Our wedding cake was shaped like a stack of books'') and computer geek, says she was first attracted to Harry Potter discussion groups and later migrated to the fiction.
Writing about another author's characters is more than just a lazy way to make the story come out the way you want, she explains. 'I wanted to be able to enjoy reading the books surrounded by other people, even virtually. But Goblet of Fire [the series' fourth book, published in 2000] extended the universe and gave us so many puzzles to think about. And as we waited and waited and waited for book five, fan fiction became an interesting way to explore the story.''
FictionAlley opened its virtual doors in 2001, and Tandy, who had worked on one of the first online legal message boards and the initial phase of The New York Times website, says it was up and running in seven weeks. These days she spends about 20 to 25 hours a week on the site, which features discussion groups as well as stories archived into four houses, a predictably Hogwartsian touch. TheDarkArts offers mystery and drama; Astronomy Tower hosts romance of all sorts, although anything that would earn an NC-17 rating is forbidden; Riddikulus features humor; Schnoogle is the place to find novel-length works. Only stories in English are posted, though writers can link to work in other languages.
The stories aren't edited for content, but don't expect to get away with carelessness here any more than you would in Professor Snape's class. Volunteer editors might correct a mistake or two, but if you brandish language as clumsily as Ron Weasley wields his wand, your story will be returned.
Three-quarters of new submissions by first-time authors are rejected. ''But when the stories are resubmitted,'' Tandy says, ``there's an acceptance rate of about 75 percent. And that's the real purpose of the site: not just to host stories; not just to share creative expression. Right now about 25 percent of the writers are 13-17; another 25 percent are college age. We're teaching them some of the basics of grammar and story construction.''
Last summer, the site hosted Nimbus -- 2003: A Harry Potter Symposium in Orlando. (Another symposium, The Witching Hour, is planned for 2005 in Salem, Mass.) Madeline Klink, 17, of Sacramento, Calif. -- another FictionAlley founder -- is convinced she ''got her foot in the door with academic work'' and gained confidence by appearing on one Nimbus panel and moderating another. ''I talked with students getting doctorates, other grad students. It was wonderful,'' says Klink, who has written fan fiction since she was 11. ``When I was younger, I was overwhelmed by introducing characters. Fan fiction let me get over that and work on my style.''
Fan fiction proved more tangibly rewarding to Hannah Jones, a 17-year-old from New York who will study creative writing at Barnard. She won a $10,000 Scholastics Gold National Portfolio Award for her poetry, prose and essay writing.
''I don't think I would have been able to write prose pieces without doing fan fiction,'' she says. ``It gave me the chance to experiment and to practice style and content without feeling pressured. It gives you the courage to submit work to contests.''
THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR
But how does Rowling feel about writers who purloin her characters? A recent story by BBC News indicates she supports such efforts and is ''flattered'' by fans' desire to connect with her imaginary world.
''We have wonderful relationships with Rowling's people,'' says Tandy, who traveled to New York to see Prisoner of Azkaban at its Radio City Music Hall premiere. ``There's been a sea change over the past four or five years in regard to fan fiction. It's a mutual conversation now. There's an understanding that brutalizing fans is not good PR.''
As for the premiere? It was -- of course -- magical.
''The three child leads were there, and Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltrane,'' she says. As for Rickman, who plays Professor Snape, ''His hair was very orange.'' Let's hope Hermione likes redheads. __________
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Hey Neil.
[…] Anyway, I've read that you allow fan fiction of your works, and I was curious as to why? Most authors don't allow fanfic because of concern for losing their rights.
I am a fairly new author (just had my first paid publication and am working on a novel) and am wrestling with this particular issue. I'm looking for any input that can help me decide where to do with it.
Thanks.
Why? Because fan fiction is fan fiction. I don't believe I'll lose my rights to my characters and books if I allow/fail to prevent/turn a blind eye to people writing say Neverwhere fiction, as long as those people aren't, say, trying to sell books with my characters in. I don't read it (and that way no-one has to wonder whether I stole the plot of something from their fanfic).
I don't think my attitude on this is particularly uncommon among authors -- I noticed the other day that JK Rowling doesn't mind Harry Potter fan fiction. Except for the x-rated kind. (I'm sure there are people out there writing Harry Potter fan fiction that isn't x-rated). On the other hand I consider it an author's right to not want fan fiction and do everything the author can to stamp it out, if that's what he or she wants. It's one of those "your mileage may vary" things.
As a fledgling writer, I really wouldn't spend too much time worrying that people will write fan fiction with your characters in. If they ever do, take it as a sign that you probably did something right and made some characters that people liked and believed in and wanted to write about. Or wanted to imagine in the nude. Or something.__________
And in case you’re wondering how you can access the original article via the link, try BugMeNot.com. It’s also good if you want to get to stuff on The New York Times or Washington Post websites.What's this all about then?
BugMeNot.com was created as a mechanism to quickly bypass the login of web sites that require compulsory registration and/or the collection of personal/demographic information (such as the New York Times).
Why not just register?
- It's a breach of privacy.
- Sites don't have a great track record with the whole spam thing.
- It's contrary to the fundamental spirit of the net. Just ask Google.
- It's pointless due to the significant percentage of users who enter fake demographic details anyway.
- It's a waste of time.
- It's annoying as hell.
- Imagine if every site required registration to access content.
Is it ethically justifiable to do this?
-You'll have to find your own way there my friend.