The Bush League Critic

So apparently, Diana Gabaldon - author of the popular Outlander series - despises Fanfic. So much so that she posted a rather lengthy tirade about it on her blog Voyages of the Artemis:

OK, my position on fan-fic is pretty clear: I think it’s immoral, I _know_ it’s illegal, and it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters.

The article in question seems to have stirred up the proverbial hornet's nest. Fanfic writers/readers have come out in droves to defend their passion (through her own comments section and on blogs across the net) with witty remarks such as:

Follow up:

Still, before you make judgments about peoples' motivations, I really, really, REALLY suggest you take a moment to ask around about them first, because you've made yourself look like a royal twit to a huge chunk of people by making assumptions about their motivations.

And my favorite "Duh" comment:

So if fanfic is both immoral and illegal, what do you think media tie-ins such as licensed Star Wars or Star Trek novels? Are those illegal and immoral too, or does the fact that the original creator is making some $$$ off them make them morally okay?

And finally:

I would like to thank you, Ms. Gabaldon, for the many hours of pleasure your books have brought me in the past, and to express my sadness that your ignorant and inflammatory statements have discouraged me from reading more in the future.

I'm not sure if Diana intended this sort of feeding frenzy, but I enjoy a good blog war every now and then. If you've got some time to kill, read the comments to her original post (and of course follow the links to other bloggers posts) . You might chuckle like I did... or maybe you write Fanfiction?

UPDATE: Charles Stross chimes in with his personal take on Fanfiction over at Charlie's Diary:

In summary: I am not a precious sparkly unicorn who is obsessed with the purity of his characters — rather, I am a glittery and avaricious dragon who is jealous of his steaming pile of gold. If you do not steal the dragon's gold, the dragon will leave you alone. Offer to bring the dragon more gold and the dragon will be your friend.