[split] Fanfiction, and the Craft of Writing

[Bluebell]

but it's a fun read written by someone who knows how to craft a legit story.

all stories r legit!!!!

14 posts were split from this thread.

[Jade]

You're very right.

[Bluebell]

You're very right.

but some r more legit than others, is that wut ur saying?

[Bluebell]

i just wonder wut u mean by legit? a solid story? well written?

[Jade]

I just mean that he has a natural talent. Writing a novel is more than just telling a story that you want to be told - it's telling it in a way that a reader can be engaged and follow along. A lot of self-published books in the zombie genre are of a fairly low quality. Also, a lot of modern stories are just repackaging of tropes, where as Kile has a unique place where he gets his ideas from that isn't from modern media - for example, a lot of stories in the zombie theme are light fanfiction for The Walking Dead - he's only seen ~ one season of that show, after he started writing his book, so it's not going to use familiar characters and settings. Really if TV influenced him at all it was through the western angle - the book is more of a western than a zombie book.

I guess I feel I have to protect it from the stigma of the "zombie genre", even though he doesn't even use the word zombie once in the novel. He's just a really good writer and everyone in his whole life has tried to facilitate that. During his second grade year of school, he didn't even attend classes, they kept him in a separate room where he wrote short stories. Two were professional printed/bound by the school and were kept in their library until a couple years ago when the school closed. He has "it". He's legit. 2 legit 2 quit.

[Bluebell]

there's nothing illegitimate about fanfiction. or zombies. a well written work is engaging regardless of topic or how well loved by everyone the ideas r. u can take a universe & expand it w ur unique way. the original creator is just one take on that story.

i get that zombie stuff gets undermined because it's all the rage but "legit" just sounds horribly dismissive of certain creative paths. i'm involved in fanfic & it's incredibly filled w great stories. there's nothing wrong w that. lots of people diss fanfic but there's incredible talent skill & love there & it's all free. it just sounds insulting to say that is less worthy.

[Bluebell]

art doesn't belong to anyone except to all. the muse fetches stuff from the multiverse for the writer. noone invents anything, it all already exists somewhere & whether it's "unique" or "original" or not doesn't increase or decrease its value. people love zombie stuff now so there's lots, but all that zombie stuff out there has an audience that enjoys it all which is y there's lots. all creation is legitimate & has "it". it's like when someone else channels Ra, it's still Ra. art doesn't come from the artist but through the artist.

[isis]

[AnthroHeart]

art doesn't belong to anyone except to all. the muse fetches stuff from the multiverse for the writer. noone invents anything, it all already exists somewhere & whether it's "unique" or "original" or not doesn't increase or decrease its value. people love zombie stuff now so there's lots, but all that zombie stuff out there has an audience that enjoys it all which is y there's lots. all creation is legitimate & has "it". it's like when someone else channels Ra, it's still Ra. art doesn't come from the artist but through the artist.

I'd hate to be caught in a zombie universe.

[Jade]

I understand bluebell and apologize for being offensive. I wasn't trying to be dismissive of a genre in general, just more saying that the quality is that of someone who has honed their craft for most of their life (30+ years). I misspoke because I genuinely don't think any attempt at art is illegitimate, but it is undeniable that there are variances in skill levels across the board for all attempts at art. I was just trying to create an obviously biased picture of the product, and wasn't trying to diminish the validity of anyone else's attempts at telling a story.

[Bluebell]

attempts???????????? seriously? wow.

[Bluebell]

u have any idea wut u just said? condescending doesn't even cover it.

[Jade]

?? I think of Red Junction as nothing more than my husband's attempt at telling a story. It's purely the readers decision whether that story, anyone's story, gets told. I'm not trying to be offensive, I'm attempting to be genuine. It's the best I can do.

[Jade]

For what it's worth, my first true love I met on a Pokemon message board. He was a writer, and he had written the most beautiful fanfiction Pokemon story, and I still believe that to this day. You can find it plagiarized all over the internet from here and back, never with his name attached. I don't think fanfiction is illegitimate or means that someone isn't a real writer, by any means.

[Bluebell]

?? I think of Red Junction as nothing more than my husband's attempt at telling a story. It's purely the readers decision whether that story, anyone's story, gets told. I'm not trying to be offensive, I'm attempting to be genuine. It's the best I can do.

fair enough.

[AnthroHeart]

When I wrote my novel, it was like the characters came to life, but I was able to finish the novel.
It ended with the end of the Universe waking up as if a dream.

[Bluebell]

lmao sometimes i envy u... that sounds like a great novel! i've wanted to write something similar. i can't write long stuff though, i lose focus.

(uh, thanks for splitting the thread mods, i should have started a separate one.) *contrite face*

[Diana]

Creating fan fiction is like writing with training wheels. Here are a couple of quotes by authors:

"Don't ever write a novel until it hurts like a hot turd coming out." -Charles Budowski

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down and open a vein." -Red Smith

To write fan fiction is like play I imagine. Nothing wrong with it (I guess, other than the publishing world keeps getting more and more watered down with unprofessional writing). But to create something unique, and do all the work of making it come alive while weaving the story from thin air, go through throes of joy and frustration, months and months—usually years—of dedication, and complete it no matter what—that's real writing. Fan fiction is for people who ride on the ideas of others, or people who just do it for fun, which is fine. But there is a distinction between creatively writing from the world around you as all authors do, and writing from someone else's writing.

[Diana]

<edited out>

I am speaking as a professional. It's only my opinion, and I am not putting down fan fiction, just saying it's not the same as creating something yourself. Have you completed a novel?

[Diana]

<edited out>

i'm not a writer. my friends in fanfic have written original novels. published works. they love fanfic more. it's not riding on ideas. u see creation as individual separate efforts. EGO. fanfic is about creating together out of love.

<edited out>

Sorry, I don't do what others tell me to do. 

[Diana]

u like to pretend to be nice but when u see something important to another & u go attack it? is that STO? u have to point out ur a *professional*. u have to flaunt that to crush the creative spirit of those that create because they love to create instead of building their ego? ur ego just can't NOT mention ur precious credentials. that gives u a sense of authority. superiority. just like judging meat eaters makes u feel above others. <edited out>

First, I am not trying to be STO. Neither do I pretend to be nice. Although sometimes I try to word things in a manner more compassionate than what's spontaneously forming in my head. An example of what's in my head without tempering it with compassion is what I'm thinking now: You must be very psychic to know who I am and why I do things. <edited out>

Second, you are wrong about me in every respect. Perhaps I don't understand fan fiction which I thought was a basic hobby—aside from the weird success of 50 Shades of Bad Writing.  

Third, I have no desire to build or crush the egos of others. 

Fourth, you are the one accusing and judging me. 

[Plenum]

4 of Bluebell's posts were taken offline due to Guideline Infringement.

Diana quoted from 3 of the posts, and the portions that were Guideline Infringing were edited out.

The 4th post consisted of this:

wut u just said is beyond hurtful. <edited out>

One line of Diana's was also edited out.

Please note - personal insults go against the first guideline of these forums.  That's why these portions have been edited out.

[Bluebell]

every vile thing Diana said should be edited out too.