This that and fanfiction redux
Off to watch more of The Wire shortly...my new favorite show/cultural obsession. If you are keeping track, I have very few of these...Buffy, Farscape, and now The Wire. Game of Thrones and The Good Wife sort of fall under the BSG, Veronica Mars, Firefly, and Angel category.
Difficult work day.
Did have a nice lunch at a portugese restaurant, the only good restaurant where I work. I work in the same neighborhood that Damages and The Good Wife are filmed. So you can see it on tv. Cool, eh?
Off and on, I've seen discussions on narrative tropes. Your favorite and/or least favorite narrative tropes in fiction. Been meaning to write up something on it - but I'm not sure how much people care? Is this something you'd read or skip over?
In other news? Momster read the article in Time about fanfiction.
Momster: Interesting thing - JK Rowlings has no problems with fanfiction and loves it, even encourages it. But George RR Martin despises it and has major problems with people doing it in regards to his books. He feels they are his characters and his story to tell and he doesn't like other people to play with them.
Me: Which actually that makes sense. Martin is incredibly detailed in his writing and tells you everything you ever wanted to know, including quite a few things you didn't about each of his characters. He wouldn't want fans to write about them. Plus it is a book - so unlike Buffy and other tv series, fans are writing fic in the same medium. Rowlings - while her's are also books, is also done with her story and/or characters and has left a lot of gaps in the story. She's not as detailed and obsessive about her characters. Although she did win a copyright case recently against some guy who wanted to publish a website encyclopedia on Harry Potter for money. And I can see why he'd feel protective of his characters and want to be the only one continuing their story.
On the other hand - Martin is an abysmally slow writer. He's as bad as Tolkien. Takes him 6 years to write a book. (Although I shouldn't talk - I'm hardly quick myself). By the time he finishes, people have forgotten the last one and have to re-read it. In fact I slowed down because I figured by the time I got through Storm of Swords, Dance of Dragons would come out. I was right. Figure by the time I finish Feast of Crows and Dance of Dragons, To Run With Wolves will get out. And I won't have forgotten as much. Although I have clearly forgotten all of Clash of Kings and most of Game of Thrones...not that big a problem, since I have a tv series to remind me of the major plot points.
Plus? It's not like he can do anything about it. Buck up and deal, dude. Lousia May Alcott, Dickens,
Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, and countless others have had to. It's part of the job. Fanfic has existed before he was born. It's timeless. Whining about it just makes you look like a doofus and pisses off fans. There's worse things...like having no one buy or want to read your book for starters.
Felt the need to say the same thing to Ursula Le Guine who got snooty about it, too. Seriously, if there can be published fanfic on Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick and a sequel to Gone with the Wind, who are you to bemoan a few frustrated writers their fun? It's not like you are losing money over it or anything. Actually, you may get more readers - it tends to bring in more fans than discourage them.
Always annoys me when published writers and publishers whine about fanfic. Do they realize they sound like spoiled brats? I'd love to have people writing fanfiction about characters I created. I'd consider it compliment. JK Rowlings has the right idea.
Difficult work day.
Did have a nice lunch at a portugese restaurant, the only good restaurant where I work. I work in the same neighborhood that Damages and The Good Wife are filmed. So you can see it on tv. Cool, eh?
Off and on, I've seen discussions on narrative tropes. Your favorite and/or least favorite narrative tropes in fiction. Been meaning to write up something on it - but I'm not sure how much people care? Is this something you'd read or skip over?
In other news? Momster read the article in Time about fanfiction.
Momster: Interesting thing - JK Rowlings has no problems with fanfiction and loves it, even encourages it. But George RR Martin despises it and has major problems with people doing it in regards to his books. He feels they are his characters and his story to tell and he doesn't like other people to play with them.
Me: Which actually that makes sense. Martin is incredibly detailed in his writing and tells you everything you ever wanted to know, including quite a few things you didn't about each of his characters. He wouldn't want fans to write about them. Plus it is a book - so unlike Buffy and other tv series, fans are writing fic in the same medium. Rowlings - while her's are also books, is also done with her story and/or characters and has left a lot of gaps in the story. She's not as detailed and obsessive about her characters. Although she did win a copyright case recently against some guy who wanted to publish a website encyclopedia on Harry Potter for money. And I can see why he'd feel protective of his characters and want to be the only one continuing their story.
On the other hand - Martin is an abysmally slow writer. He's as bad as Tolkien. Takes him 6 years to write a book. (Although I shouldn't talk - I'm hardly quick myself). By the time he finishes, people have forgotten the last one and have to re-read it. In fact I slowed down because I figured by the time I got through Storm of Swords, Dance of Dragons would come out. I was right. Figure by the time I finish Feast of Crows and Dance of Dragons, To Run With Wolves will get out. And I won't have forgotten as much. Although I have clearly forgotten all of Clash of Kings and most of Game of Thrones...not that big a problem, since I have a tv series to remind me of the major plot points.
Plus? It's not like he can do anything about it. Buck up and deal, dude. Lousia May Alcott, Dickens,
Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, and countless others have had to. It's part of the job. Fanfic has existed before he was born. It's timeless. Whining about it just makes you look like a doofus and pisses off fans. There's worse things...like having no one buy or want to read your book for starters.
Felt the need to say the same thing to Ursula Le Guine who got snooty about it, too. Seriously, if there can be published fanfic on Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick and a sequel to Gone with the Wind, who are you to bemoan a few frustrated writers their fun? It's not like you are losing money over it or anything. Actually, you may get more readers - it tends to bring in more fans than discourage them.
Always annoys me when published writers and publishers whine about fanfic. Do they realize they sound like spoiled brats? I'd love to have people writing fanfiction about characters I created. I'd consider it compliment. JK Rowlings has the right idea.