Fan fiction in...

[charlesp]

The wallstreet journal!?!!

[pengwenn]

Very interesting. I think Anne Rice is one author vehemently opposed to fan fic of her stories. I know Lucas Arts (Star Wars) doesn't like it but they tend to leave it alone until you try to publish something (can't find the link about that story).

[charlesp]

Lucas has gotten pretty good about it actually, leaving even the fanfic short films alone (I want to say they even promoted some of them on starwars.com but I'm not sure on that point)... I think the main one they got pissy about was the Phantom Edit that removed all traces of Jar Jar.

[xcheck24]

if they didn't leave them alone, we wouldnt have the glorious thing known as chad vader. chad vader rules.

[Mlou]

I'm sort of torn about fan fiction. On the one hand you're writing an original story, yet you're plundering someone else's work and perhaps taking that person's characters in ways that she/he didn't mean or WANT them to go. It doesn't seem quite fair, looked at that way. It's like...if you can dream up a whole new story for a character or characters, then why not make them your OWN characters to begin with?

[bfsooner]

I think fan fic is fine. You know the old saying "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

[pengwenn]

Is it imitation or laziness?

aside: Lucas actually encourages fan films. He thinks they're fun and entertaining and a good way to bring creative minds into the film-making world. Why that wouldn't apply to writing I don't know.

[xcheck24]

I don't know if it's laziness. Some people don't feel comfortable writing something "from scratch" that's not a fan fic. Fan fic gives them a way to write inside a comfort zone.

[Dreamcatcher]

I don't know if it's laziness. Some people don't feel comfortable writing something "from scratch" that's not a fan fic. Fan fic gives them a way to write inside a comfort zone.

*nods her agreement*

I know that I definitely prefer writing my stories as fanfic first. Hell, most of my best writing (from the perspective of others) is fanfic. And at this point in my writing life, it's what I'm known best for. So why not? It's good practice, anyway, considering that I tend to stick to creating my own original characters to begin with.

[TheMudge]

Well, I personally am too LAZY for fanfic . . .I want to at least PRETEND that I can sell what I'm writing.

Having said that, one my pastimes to kill time on the road is to think of some of the DUMB crap that I watched on TV as a kid--everything from "Knight Rider" to "Gilligan's Island"--and try to make any of them a GOOD story. Gary and I killed an entire 10-hour drive from Florida turning GI into a workable premise.

So, one night I'm having trouble sleeping (big surprise), and I started wondering about "The Herculoids" (before most of you youngins' time) and came up with a story idea SO good, I may actually write it some day.

But here's the kicker: it's only really cool with THOSE characters . . . elsewise, it's just a story with a bunch of weird elements. It only really works if you KNOW those characters.

[xcheck24]

So, one night I'm having trouble sleeping (big surprise), and I started wondering about "The Herculoids" (before most of you youngins' time) and came up with a story idea SO good, I may actually write it some day.

But here's the kicker: it's only really cool with THOSE characters . . . elsewise, it's just a story with a bunch of weird elements. It only really works if you KNOW those characters.

This youngin knows exactly what you're talking about, mudge, and I'd love to see what you could come up with. . .does that mean I'm a geek?

[charlesp]

So, one night I'm having trouble sleeping (big surprise), and I started wondering about "The Herculoids" (before most of you youngins' time) and came up with a story idea SO good, I may actually write it some day.

But here's the kicker: it's only really cool with THOSE characters . . . elsewise, it's just a story with a bunch of weird elements. It only really works if you KNOW those characters.

This youngin knows exactly what you're talking about, mudge, and I'd love to see what you could come up with. . .does that mean I'm a geek?

well... I'm pretty sure that's not the FIRST nail in your geek coffin...

[xcheck24]

this coming from the king of the geeks

[charlesp]

My Geek was never in question (or denial for that matter).

[TheMudge]

I think the fact that he claims you as one of his subjects speaks volumes, X . . .

[pengwenn]

I get ideas all the time for fan fic, with my own characters, but I've never written anything. I'm just too lazy to do all the research so it's done right. I read fan fic but I hate reading the ones where the author does whatever they want regardless of the rules of the existing world already in place. If you're going to do it I say KEEP IT REAL DUDE!

[xcheck24]

I think the fact that he claims you as one of his subjects speaks volumes, X . . .

who claims me as a subject for what exactly?

[charlesp]

It's more like being the king of rock and roll or all media vs the king of outer namibia or england mudge... I don't have subjects.

[xcheck24]

OK, now I get what mudge was saying
charles isn't my king. . .he's an annoying snot

[hyperfine]

I kind of got turned off the whole fanfic thing when I read some that had painfully bad spelling and grammar. And was way more pornographic than I can handle.

But I have nothing against fan fiction in principle.

[ficlite]

I started in fan fiction and i still dream them up i am just so busy now i dont have time

[pengwenn]

I was reading a bunch of fan fic last night (star wars) and I found that all the authors did was put themselves in the story. They were the main character and what they made the characters say and do, I think, was more based on what actors played them in the movies. It was sad. I stopped reading.