From: djheydt@kithrup.com   
      
   In article , Bill Swears   wrote:   
   >On 2/16/2015 4:58 PM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:   
   >> In article <7bba8f14-c25e-492a-9564-0c499d7e99d9@googlegroups.com>,   
   >> C. E. Gee  wrote:   
   >>> On Saturday, January 3, 2015 at 6:40:51 PM UTC-8, J.Pascal wrote:   
   >>>> 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?   
   >>>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>> -Julie   
   >>>   
   >>> Seriously, if you want to write SF, but cannot conjure up your own cast   
   >>> of unique characters, settings, etc., you probably should give up the   
   >>> idea of being an SF writer.   
   >>>   
   >>> And someone who is able to do the above will besmirch their reputation   
   >>> as a writer by writing Fan Fiction.   
   >>   
   >> On the other hand, it has been often said that every writer has   
   >> to put out a million words of crud before s/he can start writing   
   >> saleable fiction.   
   >>   
   >> Fanfic is one way of getting rid of that million words.   
   >>   
   >I think that it has another function.  Sometimes a set of characters   
   >becomes alive for the reader/writer.  When that happens, telling stories   
   >in that universe might seem very natural.  And there is a huge trove of   
   >story set in particular universes.  Not just Star Wars and Star Trek   
   >(which have really large, licensed, canon of stories that are in essence   
   >legal fanfic) but also the classic Greek islands, the fairy tales, and etc.   
   >   
   >How many times was Romeo and Juliet told before Shakespeare got it right?   
      
   Several, I dare say, to say nothing of how many times it's been   
   done *SINCE*.   
      
   Somewhere in C. S. Lewis's work -- either _The Forgotten Image_   
   or _An Allegory of Love_, I forget which and am not going to scan   
   both of them just now -- he's discussing how often medieval and   
   Renaissance authors would take a well-used story and tell it over   
   again.  And if you were to say to them, "Why tell this story yet   
   again?  Why not make up something new?" they would say, "Surely   
   we are not yet reduced to that?  A good story can still inspire   
   many excellent re-tellings, and we want to see how well we can   
   re-tell it."  Or words to that effect.   
      
   The Matter of Britain is *still* getting re-told.  The Matter of   
   Troy and the Matter of France, not so much.  (Although parts of   
   the Matter of France, adaptations of Orlando Furioso, are still   
   being done as puppet shows in Italy.  The only English-language   
   work in the Matter of France I know of is Anderson's _Three   
   Hearts and Three Lions._)   
      
   --   
   Dorothy J. Heydt   
   Vallejo, California   
   djheydt at gmail dot com   
   Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.   
   Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)