Forum - View topic

Hey, Answerman! [2007-09-07]

Quote:

You've got to map out a plot to your story, you've got to figure out the best way to decribe the charcters so people can see them as you envisioned- it goes on and on. In my creative writers workshop we were given a list of chracters (from a book we had perviously read) and told we had to write a 30 page story based off these charcters (like we were writing the sequal to a book) conveying their personalities. In short- we had to write fanfiction based off another persons story.

But you don't have to do any of that in a fanfic story. The characters already exist, someone else created them, you don't have to make them 'live' for the audience, they already know what they're getting. The same for the world, you're writing in someone else's playground, everyone knows what to expect. Anyone writing fanfic has 80% of the work done for them going into it.
.

They just really liked Sherlock Holmes and wanted to tell more stories about him and his surroundings, sometimes in extremely AU moments. I remember a really Cthulu-style one, sort of a Doyle / Lovecraft crossover.

The Xenos wrote:

As much as you may love writing, don't quit your day job. This would be why I decided to bank more on my interest in science as a trade.

In fact, that's even worse as a trade. Do you know why Chinese and Indian foreign students fill up basic science graduate schools that offer scholarships / assistantships?

nishime wrote:

They just really liked Sherlock Holmes and wanted to tell more stories about him and his surroundings, sometimes in extremely AU moments. I remember a really Cthulu-style one, sort of a Doyle / Lovecraft crossover.

That would be the award winning short story A Study in Emerald, by my favourite author (and creative genius) Neil Gaiman

I almost bust out laughing as I never thought the slash communities went that far back. Then again in the art room there was an older woman drawing Kirk / Spock art.

The same can be said for fanart then- the chracter, the clothes, the hair stytles have all been laid out for you. So why is it ok for those to be sold at cons and not fanfiction?

And yet, even so, many authors (probably famous for their original work) find it worthwhile to write, for instance, Sherlock Holmes "fanfic". I read a book of short stories written by people such as Isaac Asimov that were all, in one way or another, fanfic specifically set in the world created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I'm sure they must have gotten paid. I'm equally sure they weren't writing to scenarios by the author. They just really liked Sherlock Holmes and wanted to tell more stories about him and his surroundings, sometimes in extremely AU moments. I remember a really Cthulu-style one, sort of a Doyle / Lovecraft crossover.

Heck, even Pride and Prejudice has got recent books with the two of them acting as detectives (apparently, since it was in the mystery section, but I can't actually remember the author or title, so believe it or not as you like. My friend didn't believe it, and she was there). And straightforward "sequel" novels too, such as "Darcy and Elizabeth" (except I think there are a multitude of others. The attractions of sources you don't have to pay royalties to...). And retellings of P&P from different viewpoints, if the blurb for the Pamela Aidan books are correct (haven't read them).

For those of you who have dreams that fanfic writing could possibly lead to a career as a published author, I give you an example: Laura Ann Gilman.

Speaking only of me, I like fanfiction, but let me tell you why. I just enjoy reading it from time to time. I’m a fan of some series, and fanfic is a way to read alternative stories of those series. It seems to me one way for fans to express that they really like a series. I don’t care to read yaoi/yuri/slash though, but hey if it floats your boat, I’m not against your freedom to write it.

I'm not against it either, I'm just against people acting like it's the best thing since sliced bread. It's one thing to write an actual novel and get it published and put in book stores, it's another to two-finger type out a cheesy fan story about someone else's characters and post it on fanfiction.net. There is a definite difference between the two and it's just overactive ego on the part of the fanfiction writer who claims otherwise.