From: willreich_77@yahoo.com   
      
   On Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 12:00:02 PM UTC-5, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:   
   > 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._)   
   >   
   But why would one _need_ another? Still my favorite fantasy.   
      
   --   
   Will in New Haven   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)