[ SECRET POST #2737 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2737 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 041 secrets from Secret Submission Post #391.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Oh My God, This Is Long...

[(Anonymous)]

Fiction is a tricky thing. A lot people are inspired by actual stories to create their own works. It could be a simple moment, a character dynamic, or a story arch, but either way, authors have to have some inspiration to get an idea for a story. Sometimes it's from a real life situation, though, which I supposed wouldn't really apply here.

Star Wars was directly inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress. If you see the notes on the first draft, it follows the movie plot pretty closely with few changes. With every sequential draft it veers further and further away from the Hidden Fortress and becomes more it's own movie. Now, I know George Lucas isn't the best example, but it's the only concrete one I can think of right now that goes with the point I'm going to make.

For me, the difference between fan fiction and original fiction is taking an idea and making it your own. In one of my creative writing classes, my professor told us that bad authors borrow, good writers steal. This mentality has come up in several fiction writing books I've read as well, and the reasoning is something like this:

If you borrow something from a friend, you generally try to keep it in the same condition as when you got it. If you steal something, you can do whatever you want with it, it's "yours" now. It sounds bad, but it's true. When someone is inspired by something, they'll take the idea and work with it and over time the story will change to reflect that personal author. Thus when you take an idea and make it your own, it becomes it's own story. If the author does it right, you shouldn't even be able to tell where the initial idea came from.

Again, fan fiction is tricky. If you do a good job, you don't have the freedom to really put your own stamp on the story to keep the characters in character and the world rules in tact. Thus there is never really the opportunity to fully make the story your own. I have nothing against fan fiction, I think it's a great medium for people to be able to read about their favorite characters and series outside of the source material. But I do not think it should be paid for. I understand why some might want to be paid for all the hard work they put into the stories they write, because writing is hard. Writing well is very, very hard. And people need money, but nevertheless, I still think that fan fiction should always be free.

Before everyone is all like "But Sherlock Holmes sequels!" "Jane Austen sequels" "Movie Adaptations" blah blah blah. Sherlock Holmes and Jane Austen's works are in the public domain. And every Jane Austen sequel I've read has been crap. Movie Adaptations and tie in novels, while also crap, are authorized by the people who own the rights to the characters and most likely solicited by them to get more money. Wouldn't it be cool, though, if like a movie or something encouraged people to write fan fiction and then put it on the official site or something? Or even said, screw it, everyone can write for these characters and publish what they like and make money off of it? Like Snakes on a Plane did with T-Shirts? That would actually be pretty cool... But I digress.

It's probably obvious that I would at some time like to write professionally from both my mentality and my mention above of taking classes on creative writing. It is what I'm getting my Masters in, and I do want to write my own works eventually. Coming from that standpoint, I think if anyone ever loved any of my characters or stories to write fan fiction I would be the most flattered person in the world and supremely happy. If they wanted money for it, though, I would be upset. I wish I wouldn't be, but I would. It would be like borrowing my characters, characters I breathed life into, that I know inside and out, and claiming them as their own, and that makes me sad and angry (sangry).

So that's kind of where I'm at. I know, no one cares, but after seeing so many of these secrets, I had to say something. Or rather... a lot. Sorry for the length.

I know not everyone agrees with me, and that's okay. I know this whole tirade probably upset some people, or that someone else might have actually said all this, or that no one cares, but I had to get this off my chest. If at least to add my perspective to the mix of opinions.

Lastly, for people who think that editing is simply grammar and spelling mistakes, it is not. DEAR LORD, it is not. I constantly story edit for my friends and if a story editor does a good job, (which I try to do and probably don't succeed as much as I'd like) it is tiring and difficult. It is checking that character motivation is clear, making sure the plot is logical, making sure the flow of the story is right, that everything happens for a reason and not just because the author feels like it, that every awesome moment is earned and not just because the author thinks it would be cool, that the dialogue is natural, and so much more all while keeping true to the author's vision and not trying to put your own viewpoint into the world. To do that, I always force the author to come up with their own solutions and never tell them what I would do because I am a different person and write differently. I know some people think that might be too much, but every person I have ever helped, while they might have HATED me during the process, when we were finished, they were more pleased with their story than ever before. Because for most people, writing is hard, but editing is harder, and to truly get the best story, you need outside input.

Okay, lastly, for real, I will say that there is a painfully large amount of fiction that could stand with a good editing. There are very few books I read nowadays that doesn't constantly set off my editing sense. It's like this annoying "ping, ping, ping" every few paragraphs... But I will admit I am very hard on literature. I will also admit I can still enjoy a book if the story is good enough.

Done for real.