Fanfiction is when a writer takes the story and/or characters from a movie, TV show, book, comic, or other work and repurposes them in their own story. There are numerous websites that host huge archives of fanfiction that are organized based on the type of the original work (book, TV show, movie, comic, video game). Some example are: FanFiction, Archive of Our Own, Kindle Worlds, and WattPad. Then there are other fanfiction sites that are dedicated to a specific work; for instance there are many smaller fanfiction sites that are only for Harry Potter fanfiction.

Is Fanfiction Legal?

The first question that everyone always wants to know when they think about fanfiction is if it is legal and if they could get in trouble for writing it. The legality of fanfiction only really applies to fanfiction works that are published or posted online; you are not going to find yourself in trouble for writing a story in your notebook as a writing exercise. However, when you go to post your work of fanfiction online, you need to do some research first to ensure that there are no legal issues.

Fanfiction is legal to write and post or publish online either if the author has given you permission as an individual or if the author has given permission to all writers. Multiple authors find fanfiction to be one of the highest forms of flattery and thus have granted their fans permission to create their fan works without conditions. Other authors have granted their permission with a few conditions. One such author is J.K. Rowling who allows her fans to write fanfiction as longs as they are not pornographic; another is Terry Pratchett who just asks that fans keep their fanfiction away from him, that they do not make money from it, and they do not try to pass it off as official.

I Want to Write Fanfiction. What do I do?

If you have decided to write a fanfiction work of your own, the first step is to always include a disclaimer right at the top of your story stating that the characters, settings, etc. do not belong to you and that you are not profiting from it in any way. A simple disclaimer will often solve most of your possible legal issues before they can begin. The next step is to search out the author of the original work that you want to write your fanfiction on online, and to find out if he or she has a policy towards fanfiction. If the author is against fanfiction, then it is better not to post or publish your story on the internet. If the author does not have a policy towards fanfiction, then you can send them an email or a message on social media to ask them. Make sure to remain respectful during all contact with the original author, and to respect their wishes towards fanfiction. If the original author gives you the go-ahead, make sure to save the messages between you and the author just in case, and to follow any and all conditions that the original author includes with reference to your fanfiction.