By request: Fan Fiction

Recently I was asked, "What are your thoughts on fan fiction? If someone wrote fan fiction [based:] on your works, would you be pleased or horrified?"

Before I wade into this, let me define my terms. "Fan fiction" is fiction that makes unauthorized use of characters and concepts that belong to someone else. The actual quality of the writing, in this context, is immaterial. Fan fiction is stealing.

Some fan fiction is written strictly for the authors, or physically shown to their friends (i.e....