The biggest critique of our movement is copyright usage.

Since we are using existing characters, some might argue that it does not fall under fair use. Thus, it is rare to publish fan fiction professionally. Thankfully, this is a case-to-case situation. Different authors and publishers have had contrasting reactions to fan fiction.

Anne Rice, the author of Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Chronicles, is strongly against the use of fan fiction. She personally asked any fanfictions related these series be removed from FanFiction.net. Another advocate against fan fiction is George R.R. Martin, he believes it “to be copyright infringement and a bad exercise for aspiring writers.”

Contrary to these authors, J.K. Rowling loves to see people’s stories about her fictional characters from the Harry Potter series. Similarly, Stephanie Meyer encouraged the use of her characters from the Twilight series, going as far as putting fan fiction sites on her own websites.

Did you know that the famous (infamous) Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy originates from a fan fiction posted on Fanfiction.net? Yes, Stephanie Meyer happened to come across and it “flipped” her mind. Apparently, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in “Fifty Shades” are supposed to be the erotic versions of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan in the original version “Twilight.”

So, if you are worried about legal issues, just publish your stories on non-profit sites FanFiction.net or Archives of Our Own for legal protection. There is nothing much we can do about it and there are not a lot of alternatives. But love and imagination do not need money, right? The whole point of fan fiction is to show the author how much you love their work and it would be a good-enough excuse to keep on writing. Katrinitsa via Compfight