Fanfiction - Respectful hommage or abuse of other people's brainchild?

Fan fiction began to gain popularity during 1960ies when Star Trek fans began developing their own stories around the characters from the TV series. It also has coined its language with terms as "Mary Sue" for an overly perfect new character and "slash fiction" for homosexual pairings regardless of the characters actual sexuality on the source material.

I started out writing fan fiction  and still do write it on ocasion. I  have always tried to be respectful of the source material. Mainly I leave the original stories intact and create alternative outcomes by using additional characters or simply expanding the original stories. Since I am about to publish my own novel, with characters I created and care dearly about I am starting to see fan fiction in a new light. I can't help but wonder how I will feel if someone ever wrote a fan fiction using my characters and my stories. Is fan fiction a respectful hommage or does it abuse other people's brainchild?

Generally fan fiction always meddles with someone else's brainchild, as it always alters what the author intented, regardless of the respect with which the alteration is done. If one admires the work of a writer wouldn't it then be more respectful to leave it the way the writer intented it? Any writer goes through various options in his head before settling for the final story and dismisses all but one for several reasons. Do fans have the right to change that? Apart from the obvious legal reasons of copyright issues to most authors their characters are like children, because they come from them. Imagine someone deciding that your child should have a different hair do or instead of being an avid rider, be allergic to horses. Of course these are fairly mundane expamples but nobody would like that sort of interference.

Another issue is that many fan fictions cross the line of good taste or morality. A fairly popular pairing for instance within the "Harry Potter" universe are "Severus Snape" and "Hermione Granger", which not only are teacher and student, but Hermione is also a minor. Another example is the TV show "Supernatural", where many fan fiction "pair" the two lead characters, which not only are straight men but also brothers. The responsibles of the show however choose to handle this in the most hillarious manner ever: They included that fan fiction matter in the show and made fun of it by having the characters discuss the fan fiction.

On the other hand fans writing fan fiction means that they love the source material and not only want to get involved in the story but extend it. Some of the best fan fictions are parallel worlds variations were one event has a different outcome. This can be quite interesting, especially if the characters are written true to the source material. Some of those stories are excellent and there is a persistent rumor, that the Star Trek producers had fans sent in screenplays for episodes and that a few of those made it actually into the show. To inspire other people is a great compliment and cetrtainly something writers aspire to.

Some fan fiction might even become something of its own altogether like in the case of "50 Shades of Grey". One might argue about its literary quality but what started out as a "Twillight" fan fiction has become one of the most successful books of the decade.

In the end fan fiction is written because the source material is admired. As long as the source material is treated with respect, meaning the characters are left as they are when it comes to their sexuality, their attitute and general personality. Personally I think the line of good taste shouldn't be crossed futher than the source material crosses it.