The second answer

[rolanni]

Andrea asks:

I tend to discover new fandoms via fan fiction that has been written for them, so I wish there was more Liaden fan fiction so more people like me could discover this wonderful universe, but I know that that is only one simple reader’s perspective and am honestly/really curious about how you feel about fan fiction in general and for your own universes in particular. Is it strange/uncomfortable to have other people interpret one’s own characters, or …? Thanks!!!

I'm obliged to you for the information that there is so little Liaden fanfic out there, though, frankly, I wish there were none.  I don't want "other people interpreting" our characters. Interpreting our characters is what Steve and I do; it's our job.  Nobody else is going to get it right.

This may sound rude and elitist, but honestly, it's not easy for us to get it right sometimes, and we've been living with these characters. . .for a very long time.  I created the prototypes for Val Con and Miri when I was 12 -- so that's almost 50 years together at this point, and there are still misunderstandings.

So, my position with regard to fanfic of our work?  We built our universes, and our characters; they are our intellectual property; and they are not toys lying about some virtual sandbox for other kids to pick up and modify at their whim.  Steve and I do not sanction fanfic written in our universes; any such work that exists, exists without our permission, and certainly without our support.

I know that some of my colleagues think that having their stuff fanficed is swell, and actively encourage derivative work.  So my advice, for people with a yen to write fanfic, is to work in the universes of those authors who permit and encourage it -- and to respect the wishes of those of us who do not.

Thank you for your question.

Comments

[thewol.livejournal.com]

I totally get why you do not encourage fan fiction. (if I were in your (or any other author's) shoes, I wouldn't either.) It's obvious from your writing that your characters are very real to you. I was not surprised that Val Con and Miri had been in your mind for quite some time. They, like the rest of your "core" characters, have the same "onion-like" layers and layers to them that "corporeal" people acquire over time from life, and the living of it. I say "corporeal" thinking of Daav and Aelliana -- she is no less real for being incorporeal. I also think of a section of a story that doesn't work, and when the fixing happens, how often it's the story that gets fixed rather than the characters. I can almost hear them complain, "But, I wouldn't do that, or say that, or act that way in that situation -- or get myself in a situation like that to begin with!" You'd think "made-up" characters would be more protean and malleable, and that you could work them like puppets, but if your characters are any good, they'll have a mind of their own, and won't stand for it. To me, half the adventure and joy of writing is getting to know your characters, exploring their world and how they relate to it. There is, to me, a kind of nightmareish aspect to fan fiction that would be akin to suddenly finding that your friends and family members are behaving strangely and "out of character" and you're the only one who notices it. They are suddenly acting oddly and doing things they wouldn't "normally" do. It's the sort of thing that makes you suspect they're at the mercy of hidden gunmen. Needless to say, I don't care for "reboots" and "remakes" either.