Organization for Transformative Works Defends Fan Fiction

My blog took a hiatus last week due my needing to catch up on work, and even before then I hadn't had much to post on my catch all Saturdays. Today I'd like to address a topic near and dear to my heart: fan works, specifically fan fiction.

I first discovered fandom back in college when I became a fan of the short-lived PAX TV series Young Blades and the great community that developed around it online. This group taught me what fan works were, how they worked, and heightened the enjoyment of the show as a whole. After the series ended I even assisted with a short-lived project to write a second virtual season.

From there I moved quickly on to fan fiction in a host of worlds, including the Mary Russell series, Jane Austen, Numb3rs, Star Trek, and Star Wars. Actually, I'd been mentally composing an entire future alternate universe Star Wars opus in my head from middle school onwards, objecting to some specific Expanded Universe ideas (in my headcanon, Luke never marries, and is perfectly fine being single). I just didn't know it was fan fiction, or even that other people were doing it. I eventually learned that people wrote Star Trek fan fiction even before the Internet, passing stories around in the mail, and that fandom is older than modern media: a write-in campaign by dedicated Sherlock Holmes fans eventually convinced Doyle to bring the detective back to life.

There's just one problem with all of this fan activity: technically, it's illegal. Fair use only goes so far in terms of criticism and parody, and there is no current legal framework to allow for this kind of creative activity. Much as I continue to enjoy fan fiction, I've been wary of posting anything but fiction based on public domain works.

I found out this week there's a group dedicated to helping fan creators gain recognition: the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW). Rather than summarize the group, I'll let one of its founders speak for herself:

What's great is that some authors are now actively encouraging fans to create fan fiction. I was very happy to see that Naomi Novik, author of the excellent Temeraire series, is a proud member of OTW and encourages fans to delve into her 'verse. I'd started a Temeraire fic last year but realized quickly I didn't want to spend a lot of time in a story I could never share. I'm feeling the impulse to revisit that outline.

Previously I've published fan fiction on one of the biggest online repositories, Fanfiction.net. That's the website where I discovered some of my favorite fan authors. However, I'd noticed in the last year that one of my favorite authors now publishes on a place called An Archive of Our Own. OTW also backs a fandom wiki called Fanlore, complete with a list of authors who are open to fan works.

It's important to remember that technically, all of this work is still illegal. Without authorization from the author, publisher, or studio, a fan work is still in violation of copyright. Exceptions have been made in some instances, such as Amazon's Kindle Worlds project, but otherwise it's still very much a creator beware world for fandom.

But to my mind there's another, equally daunting hurtle for fan authors. There's a general perception that derivative works are subpar, and that creators should just "create their own stuff." As a person who has read, written, and edited fan fiction, I can certainly attest that there is a lot of bad stuff in fandom. Of course, as a consumer of media in general, that truth still stands. I have read real rubbish that nevertheless climbed the New York Times bestseller list. I've read fan fiction that left me breathless and inspired. Writing works based on existing characters takes just as much imagination and creativity as writing original stories. There are different parameters to consider, but good writing shows regardless of the type of story written.

I hope OTW is successful in persuading more people to enjoy fan fiction, and I hope you'll give fan works a chance. It's a great way to enjoy your favorite fictional worlds even more.