Fanfic: is it right to write?

Commentary
Title:	Fanfic: is it right to write?
Commentator:	Helen Razer
Date(s):	05 January 2004
Medium:	theage.com.au
Fandom:
External Links:	Fanfic: is it right to write?
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Fanfic: is it right to write? is an article about fanfiction. The article's topic line says: "Fans of successful stories fancy writing, too, but their adaptations are causing angst." The article introduces the genre to a lay audience and claims that "all of it risks inspiring the fury of Warner Brothers and Harry's other trademark holders."

With the mid-'90s advent of no-cost publishing for internet users, fanfic accelerated. Homages appeared in such volume that some authors and owners of intellectual assets took exception. Anne Rice, creator of The Vampire Chronicles, famously wrote on her website in 2000 that the practice of fanfic "upsets me terribly". Her howl, reportedly backed by a volley of "cease and desist" emails from lawyers to fanfic authors, did not endear her to fans.

For some reason the author of the article concludes that "Slash fiction now arguably forms the bulk of all published fanfic," and that the curious thing about slash is that "ten of thousands of heterosexual" women write most of it. A British academic and slash author is asked to explain the feminine command of the genre:

"Slash writing is probably predominantly female for the same reasons that most low-status, amateur creative activities are," Willis says. "There is a tradition of women's creative work, like quilting, being circulated in informal communities rather than entering the art market."

Other fans offer their own ideas on the Why Slash topic.