This is mainly for the people who have had their work published in any fiction genre, but anyone can answer but, do you think fan fiction is good or bad?
I myself think it's good since it's a nice safe place for new wanna be writers to start off, since any child can come up with a character, but what they might lack is a strong plot (Or sometimes visa versa), so is there really any harm in borrowing characters and placing them in different plot point? I understand if some people wish for their characters not to be used in such away (E.g. I know Anne Rice doesn't want her character from Interview with the Vampire to be use in fan fiction), but as long as credit is given where it is due, do you agree writing fan fiction is a good idea, or do you disagree? If so please explain why.
Well the short answer to your title is that fan fiction can be good or bad - but it's almost always fun, and I strongly support any writing that the author enjoys!
I don't get fan fiction (says he who deliberately inserted another's character in a single scene - I excuse myself by describing it as 'homage') unless written purely for oneself.
Seems to me all the Holmes, Bond and interminable Jane Austin clones are written for one simple reason; to make a publisher money. They surely can't be penned for their own sakes. There's nothing really wrong with that in business terms but as such they belong in the remainder bin with other celebrity literary tat.
Characters are personal. You unknowingly put a bit of yourself in each one and though another writer might peel back the skin getting inside skull and ribcage is a different matter. I reckon.
I don't really get fan fiction (says he who included someone else's fictional character in one scene of a novel - but I did it as an homage more than anything else).
The Holmes, Bond and interminable Jane Austen 'clones' seem to me to be amongst the worst of popularist literary tat, written, as they are, simply to make a publisher money. Licenced plagiarism is what it is, but if you want to write for yourself that's fine.
There again, such stuff is popular. So with my usual keyboard-in-mouth clumsiness I'm probably in a minority of one. Just ignore me.