May 4, 2010: Diana Gabaldon Fundamentally Misunderstands Fanfiction
Outlander, no! This week, Emily has another Big Topic as she and V try to understand the fundamentally twisted mind of Outlander author Diana Gabaldon and her spurious-yet-vicious hatred of fanfiction (and her own fans). Despite what Gabaldon -- and a weird number of writers -- believe, fictional characters do not actually have their own lives and writing fic, even badfic, about them cannot harm them. Discussion turns to the nature of fanfiction as art -- even bad fanfiction as art -- and the line where a creator's control over their art ends. Do you feel like characters "act without your permission" when you write? Do you think only "good" art has the right to exist?
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