I think Jeremy’s point, above, about the “special status” of writers is an important one. It’s certainly a shiny gold star I’ve been more than happy to pin to my lapel when I’ve felt the need or urge to impress. And work like fanfic really does blur the boundaries.

One issue that no one’s raised yet is that some people might dislike fanfic because, in short, a lot of it is so offensively awful. Appalling prose and horrifying storytelling. That will put people off, especially if their early encounters with fanfic are constituted by such experiences. But it should also be noted that I’ve read good fiction under the label fanfic – good enough that I returned to it many times.

Judging by A. R. Yngve’s questions to you, I think he has a certain conception of fanfic that may not align with others, most significantly the opinions of fanfic writers. Of particular concern to him seems to be an issue of writers not being allowed time to continue writing in the milieu of their own creation. This implies an assumption that even a sizeable majority of fanfic is written as a continuation of an unfinished story arc, which is clearly not the case after even a cursory browse of a fanfic community website. People are as interested in introducing new characters to a “neutral” version of said milieu – i.e. at a point in time when the author’s own story arc will not move forwards but the fanficcer has a basis from which to tell their own story. Then there are alternative histories, character spinoffs, fic mash-ups, and so on. Fanfic isn’t necessarily about playing with your /plot/ so much as your characters, worldbuilding, and – in the best cases – your unspoken political and social assumptions. There have been examples of fanfic putting a new spin on old stories in the same was as Jean Rhys approached ‘Jane Eyre’ with ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’.

Taking a different line of argument: some people may try and /continue/ the author’s story, sure, but even this is probably an act of impatience because they want to know what happens next. And how can this be imagined to be a negative thing? It’s an act of obsession, of sorts, and that sort of fannish obsession is something a writer should be pleased to see – not desperate to stamp out.

It sounds like a control/power issue to me. Not being able to let go of who reads your text and what they do with it for their own pleasure.