R. Martin, the former of which considered the works as immoral and illegal and encouraged people not to write them for “both legal and personal reasons” (Gabaldon, 2010). Martin agreed with Gabaldon’s policy in a blog post and defined fan fiction as “stories about characters taken from the work of other writers without their consent” (Martin, 2010). Transformative fiction also has the potential to change the agenda the author may have been trying to convey through the literature, such as using characters for minority representation. One example is that of the novel Liar by Justine Larbelestier, wherein one publisher whitewashed the biracial protagonist for the cover and Larbelestier campaigned for a new cover, arguing that it was “important to have someone who looked like [the protagonist] on the front” (Larbelestier, 2009). This is still something not only supported by the author, but in the references throughout the text, however Larbelestier fully supports derivative works of her novels (Larbestier, 2008). Disallowing transformative work damages the relationship with the readership (Schwabach, 2013 p1), the majority of which write these works as a tribute and homage rather than for profit and the violation of trademark …show more content…
Not only is there free publicity spread across Internet forums, but also allows further discussion and enjoyment of the canon text such as through queer and feminist interpretations (Montano, 2013 p16). Furthermore, as a literary activity based on a multitude of multimedia mediums, transformative fiction encourages creative thought and new ideas and values, allowing new artists to practice writing in a fleshed out fictional environment. Just as an author cannot expect their readers to refrain from finding new values and meanings during the reading of their literature, such can it be that readers should be kept from continuing creative pathways, particularly if the transformative fiction is not used for financial gain. Cory Doctorow’s In Praise of Fanfic furthers this in saying that one “can’t enjoy a novel that you haven’t interpreted…it’s only natural that readers will take pleasure in imagining what that character might do offstage…this isn’t disrespect: it’s active reading” (Doctorow,