Three arguments (about fanfic) that I'm sick of seeing
I was reading a blog last night written and maintained by Lee Goldberg (I initially didn't know who he is, but in reading I discovered that I've seen a lot of the shows he's worked on and heard of two of his novels before). I was cruising the fanfiction tag of his blog (spoiler: he's not a fan of it). While there were certainly posts that I agreed with, there were the same old tired arguments about why fan fiction is inherently immoral and illegal and so on that I just need to address so I can get it out of my system.
1. "Fanfic is worthless because it's all badly written"
No, it isn't. There is good fanfic and bad fanfic, it's just that no one who hates fanfic does enough homework to find the good stuff. And, while this may come as a surprise to you, there is badly written everything out there. Writing an original story will not somehow improve the quality of the writing. If the writer is shit, it doesn't matter what they turn their talent to. It will all still be shit. There is badly written original fiction, badly written non-fiction, badly written poetry, badly written academic articles.
Fanfic is not unanimously badly written, and bad writing is not unique to fanfic.
2. "Fanfic steals money from the original creators"
I have never, ever had this one properly explained to me, but as an idea it tends to lurk out there. You may often instead see it presented as "fanfic infringes on copyright, and is therefore bad". Keep in mind that copyright is in place to protect the original creators from other people a) making money off their work, and b) taking credit for their work. Neither of which are things that fanficcers are known for doing. Every now and then someone will try to flog their fanfic on Amazon, but I really can't see any fan buying fanfic and, as a direct result of that purchase, not supporting the core text financially. If I pay four bucks to own a soft cover of "Auto-erotica volume 7: the revved up bedroom adventures of Dean Winchester and Ianpala", that does not mean that I have four dollars less to spend on actual Supernatural products.
(I would, however, have four dollars less to lose in my couch, which could be a serious blow to the couch economy.)
3. "You need to stop wasting your time with fanfic if you ever want to be a REAL writer"
I'm not a real writer. I'm a real technician. I write for fun and, in my eyes, nothing would suck the fun out of writing more than having it become my job. Why is there this obsession that you should ONLY write if you want to be published and have being an author become your job and one calling in life? Do people who draw constantly get told that they should give up this doodling bs because clearly what they really want is to be a professional artist?
Writing can be a hobby. Stop trying to force your career goals on the smut I write when I should be working.
1. "Fanfic is worthless because it's all badly written"
No, it isn't. There is good fanfic and bad fanfic, it's just that no one who hates fanfic does enough homework to find the good stuff. And, while this may come as a surprise to you, there is badly written everything out there. Writing an original story will not somehow improve the quality of the writing. If the writer is shit, it doesn't matter what they turn their talent to. It will all still be shit. There is badly written original fiction, badly written non-fiction, badly written poetry, badly written academic articles.
Fanfic is not unanimously badly written, and bad writing is not unique to fanfic.
2. "Fanfic steals money from the original creators"
I have never, ever had this one properly explained to me, but as an idea it tends to lurk out there. You may often instead see it presented as "fanfic infringes on copyright, and is therefore bad". Keep in mind that copyright is in place to protect the original creators from other people a) making money off their work, and b) taking credit for their work. Neither of which are things that fanficcers are known for doing. Every now and then someone will try to flog their fanfic on Amazon, but I really can't see any fan buying fanfic and, as a direct result of that purchase, not supporting the core text financially. If I pay four bucks to own a soft cover of "Auto-erotica volume 7: the revved up bedroom adventures of Dean Winchester and Ianpala", that does not mean that I have four dollars less to spend on actual Supernatural products.
(I would, however, have four dollars less to lose in my couch, which could be a serious blow to the couch economy.)
3. "You need to stop wasting your time with fanfic if you ever want to be a REAL writer"
I'm not a real writer. I'm a real technician. I write for fun and, in my eyes, nothing would suck the fun out of writing more than having it become my job. Why is there this obsession that you should ONLY write if you want to be published and have being an author become your job and one calling in life? Do people who draw constantly get told that they should give up this doodling bs because clearly what they really want is to be a professional artist?
Writing can be a hobby. Stop trying to force your career goals on the smut I write when I should be working.