From: seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com   
      
   On 1/5/15 11:05 PM, William Vetter wrote:   
   > It happens that J.Pascal formulated :   
   >> I was wondering who'd committed fan fiction (and was willing to   
   >> confess) and what effect you think it had on your writing ability and   
   >> career?   
   >>   
   >> Also... what property engaged you enough to make you crazy enough to   
   >> write in that world?  Did you just love the setting that much to want   
   >> to play in it with a new cast, or was it the characters you wanted to   
   >> see more of? Something else?   
   >>   
   >> I'll start.  I've never actually done it.  I've only been tempted.   
   >> Once to have Taura bear Roic's baby before she died and have the   
   >> little girl (girl, obviously) delivered to Vorkosigan house.  Not a   
   >> plot, obviously, just a situation.   
   >> My other temptation was Highlander - New characters and my idea of how   
   >> a new TV series ought to work.  I've actually written some of that   
   >> one.  Plotted out episodes and done a bit of character development and   
   >> sketches.  In that case it's sort of heartbreaking to work on even   
   >> though it fascinates me because it's simply impossible.  And don't say   
   >> "file the serial numbers off" because that completely kills it for   
   >> me.  As soon as I think of trying to separate it from what I think is   
   >> SO COOL... it dies.   
   >>   
   > You've reached a skill level where you're not going to have trouble   
   > finding a TV show or TV show script or TV show character that sucks. Ask   
   > yourself what quality *this one* has that makes you want to fix it. Then   
   > try to write something with that quality that isn't somebody else's   
   > commercial property.   
   >   
      
   	But that often defeats the purpose of WRITING the fic in the first   
   place. I'm not trying to figure out how to create a knockoff of show X   
   or book Y, I'm playing with THOSE CHARACTERS (and maybe some of my own)   
   in THAT setting to explore EXACTLY THIS particular scenario, not "a   
   scenario sort of like it in a setting kinda similar with characters that   
   are analogues". That's just stupid if my purpose is to write something   
   involving the given origin material.   
      
   	Case in point, my to-be-published Oz-based novel _Polychrome_. It   
   wouldn't WORK if it wasn't Oz.   
      
      
      
   --   
                         Sea Wasp   
                           /^\   
                           ;;;	   
   Website: http://www.grandcentralarena.com  Blog:   
   http://seawasp.livejournal.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)