Hi folks,
I profusely apologize to be that person who keeps randomly popping up to update their fanfiction that they finished years ago. I just wanted to leave a quick update: In honor of reaching one million views and after many years of resisting, I am now slowly uploading all my work onto Archive of Our Own. You can find the first chapter of Heart by Heart there under Luna_Incendia14 (same profile pic). Additionally, I will be providing "Looking Back Almost a Decade Later" commentary as a bit of fun. So, what does present day Luna think about that scene at the Empire State Building? (She has thoughts folks.) So if you want behind the scenes info about the creation of this story and "bonus content," make sure to follow along on Archive of Our Own. It would be great if you transitioned to reading my stuff over on Ao3 as I feel that it has better viability for longevity than here.
On a more serious note, it has come to my attention that a few years ago, with the exception of character names and descriptions, Heart by Heart was word-for-word copied onto Wattpad and made into a k-Pop fanfiction. Because I am not consistent in my checking my account on here and will sporadically appear and due to the seemingly endless number of stories on wattpad which makes it easy for this sort of thing to go unnoticed, I did not catch it while the story was originally being posted and am only seeing it years later. But it still seems that people are reading it today. While similar things have happened in the past, this time the plagiarized story has attracted more attention than normal with over 100K views and hundreds of comments. I haven't really spoken about my thoughts toward plagiarism but for some reason, this time feels particularly exhausting and particularly sickening for me that I can't keep silent. Perhaps it's because they changed the fandom which makes it even harder to find my original story while in the past people would just copy the whole story and post it as Percy Jackson fanfiction just on a different site. Perhaps it's because changing the fandom also changes so much about the story and why I wrote it. So anyway, here are my thoughts on fanfiction and plagiarism. Read them if you wish:
Plagiarism is not just a demonstration of one's lack of original creativity but it actively hurts the writer who has been plagiarized. I have reached out to whomever uploaded the story but unfortunately, the story is still up today. On the small chance that whoever uploaded it also follows this story and gets updates, I'm updating Heart by Heart in an attempt to ask you again to take it down. You have stolen the words of a younger me who poured her heart and soul into this story and you have now claimed it as your own. To steal my words is to take advantage of my pain. Claiming that it's an "adaptation" makes it even worse, especially because you do not even reference my name or link to Heart by Heart. You are not adapting anything. You are not writing a fanfiction on my fanfiction. You are claiming my story as your own. It makes me sick to my stomach and to read the comments in which unknowing readers are praising your "genius" makes me incredibly distressed because that is not yourgenius. That is my pain. Those are my words. You ripped my voice away from me. And the fact that you do not even mention me or Heart by Heart demonstrates that you know did something wrong. Had this story simply been an attempt to "share Heart by Heart" with more readers, proper citation would have been made and even then it would not have been okay because no permission was asked.
The process for claiming copyright infringement through Wattpad requires someone to disclose all of their personal information (including address). This means that those of us who have fled to fanfiction because we cannot be ourselves in the real world and are empowered by our pennames would have to use our real names in order to get something removed which could have potentially disastrous consequences. There is always a risk for plagiarism when you publish something but just because it's common for plagiarism to happen, doesn't make it right. And it doesn't mean that we should stop calling it out when we see it. And even if it seems like the fanfiction has not been touched in years and the writer might no longer even be on the internet, that does not make it okay to plagiarize.
As an online community of fanfiction writers, I know that we struggle with plagiarism issues because people think "Oh well, didn't you just plagiarize someone else's existing work? Why can't I then do to your work what you did?" Fanfiction, at its core, is a transformative work that allows people the chance to find community and write a world that they wish to see-for better or for worse. It is a way for people to find community and acceptance. The stealing of people's fanfic works makes this wonderful space less safe because who knows who will filch your writing and stick their name on it at any moment. Why would we be vulnerable or revolutionary when someone can steal it and claim it as their own. And when people don't feel safe to share their art, they won't. How many stories have been taken down or removed because of plagiarism? Too many. Because fanfiction writers do not get compensated for their words, removing your fanfiction because of plagiarism is even more significant because it means that the one who plagiarized has hurt something within the writer far more important than just financial security. For many fanfiction writers, their stories are linked to deep trauma but also to their hope of survival in the face of that trauma. When you take that writer's story and strip their name—even if only a username—you are stripping them of a part of their own lived experience.
We must do better as a community. I know that the vast majority of the fanfiction community do not plagiarize but I wanted to share my thoughts because I really do feel like something quite personal to me has been ripped away. As people continue to create more and more digital spaces for us to share our stories, we must make sure those digital spaces respect writer's creativity (even if it "only" fanfiction).
Well, that is all I have to say about the matter. Honestly, I'm really tired of the fact that I have to write this. But I owe it to my younger self to protect her story and her voice. Consider checking out Ao3 (though there will be nothing new outside of my "director's commentary" and I've just started posting).
Luna
Words for the Wise: Like fairy tales and folklore, fanfiction has become a form of storytelling which allows those who do not have access to "traditional" means of publishing (such as print) to share their stories and to depict the world as they wish it could be. Fanfiction presents a hope for the future, of who we could be. Fanfiction allows us to realize that anyone can be a storyteller. For these reasons, protecting the creative fanfiction space is especially important.