Writing?

I have strongly believe that the Fandom Menace should be creating novels or graphic novels and maybe even comics, and then crowdfunding them and promoting them via YouTube, Twitter & this site to this fanbase, so we can be an answer to what we find wrong about Disney Star Wars specifically and other failed movie franchises in general.

Much like comic book fans have been able to use the Comicsgate community to create and fund comic books, I believe the Fandom Menace can do and should do the same. TUG, Cecil, RGE and others have ZERO experience in the comic book industry, but due to the CG community they all have been able to crowdfund 6 figure campaigns.

I will be posting something in this forum later on, to give a visual and a detailed explanatory example of how I think all writers, illustrators, animators, videomakers/YouTubers within the Fandom Menace can contribute to an individual and combine effort to turn the tides on the mainstream by encouraging them to change via providing a better alternative for fans.

Call me old school or a subscriber to the GRRM school of thought but, I would never promote using Fan Fic as a good means of practicing your creative spirit or a way of practicing your writing. I know this doesn’t stop people from doing it nor thinking it’s okay to write it. Yet, you can easily practice creating a small world at first and telling a short story in that world, than to use another’s world. This get’s your own creative juices flowing, strengthening your ability in world building, and in the process of creating short stories, you may find a world you want to explore more. The Witcher is a fine of example of this since the first book is all short stories.

It reminds me of a writing assignment I had at college that the teacher wanted us to write a passage from one author using the “voice/style” of one writer and then doing the same for to the passage of the other author. I refused to do this, a writer style and voice is their own, it’s part of their soul basically, and in my mind is stealing. Furthermore, it hampers the ability of you finding confidence in your own voice since all of sudden you don’t sound like X, Y, or Z author.

This is how I feel when it comes to Fan Fic, it’s a lazy way of writing and in my mind a minor form of stealing, which you even mention when stating about having an idea stolen. What is Fan Fic, if not stealing and using another author’s world and idea, for your own purposes? I brought up in another post about the concept of originality and how this can be difficult at times to find and how also matters can still published even if you can identify were the creator or author basically drew inspiration from or even copied to a certain extent another work. I didn’t say in that post that I necessarily agreed with blatant of copying of Narnia that the author and “creator” of Magicians did.

Originality to a certain extent should still be priority in the creative process, but one not to get so hung up on that it prevents you from writing, creating, or worrying about if you are stealing another idea since works still get published despite it seemingly happening. That was my epiphany, as well as the fact that, at times people are going to accuse you of doing this regardless, my example of Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan, so worrying about it only prevents the creative and writing process.

For me at least, doing fan fic is a conscious decision to use another’s idea against their permission for your own purposes. It is not a subconscious matter of being inspired by another’s work as sometimes can happen or using historical figures or mythologies for your work.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by RichardRoark423.

I’ve been writing since 5th grade. I am now 46. I do it mostly because the stories in my head pester me to be written. Although being published would be fantastic that’s not why I write. I am a slave to my muse. I have written two young adult novels, lots of short stories and novellas. Most of my writing ends up being novellas that beg to be turned into novels. I used to write straight up horror because my first and biggest influence is Stephen King. However, after reading “The Eyes of the Dragon” King inspired me to start writing fantasy as well. I am working on a gothic novella at the moment. I don’t spend the time working on my writing like I should. Being an adult really stinks. I used to write so much up until I graduated college. I won First Place in college for a poem and just recently was awarded First Place Fiction for a short story I wrote. I guess I can label myself “an award winning author.” :)

I self-published a comedy entitled “The King’s Pajamas.” You can read/purchase it here. I have no reviews :( https://amzn.to/30XvM83

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by ceeece.

Well, I respectfully disagree with your sentiment.

When I wrote my first full novel length fanfic at 16, it was because I was inspired and loved the Lunar videogame franchise. But outside from the setting and a couple legacy characters from the games, my story was entirely original in terms of characters, events, and places. I wasn’t lazy. I was 16 and looking to build upon ideas popping into my head, combining things I pulled from my D&D gaming experiences with what I saw in front of me. Did I base one of the heroines on a girl I had the hots for? Yeah, because I was into her and she inspired me to use her as a character model. And it was that fanfic that won me a scholarship to college. So obviously those in a higher learning setting did not feel it was something to be looked down upon. I didn’t finish the sequel til I was done with that degree, but I did finish it because I had another original story to tell in that world. Right after that I wrote my own first original IP novel, but after a round of agent rejections, I knew it wasn’t ready for prime time so I shelved it.

Next I moved into the Tenchi fanfic world, which started with a dream I had. I woke up that morning inspired to tell my version of what a 3rd OAV would look like (this being years and years before they actually did it for real…god it was garbage) and within a week I was banging away at my keyboard. After that first story, I spawned an entire new cast of original characters that lived alongside the originals for as long as I was playing in that world, 5 short stories and a sequel novel.

Never once was my voice hampered or stunted because I used pre-designed worlds as practice settings. All this time, since I was 12, I’d been reading sci-fi fantasy novels. I used Goodkind, Jordan, and Eddings as my templates for how I wanted to express myself through writing, because to me they were the best. Goodkind’s passion for his characters, his style of action. Jordan’s detail to the world. Eddings lovable and memorable characters. All of that influenced me both in good and bad ways. I both succeeded and stumbled trying to apply what I learned from their styles until I finally pieced together my voice. A lot of that took place bringing to life elements from old D&D campaigns and fusing them with borrowed elements from what I saw as a grander universe of IPs, that and I was forced to in some cases because I had to work with characters and story point of the people I was working with through out that series.

3 months ago I restarted a full rewrite of one of my IPs, book 1 of 5 of a fantasy series I started back in 2002-2003. I am now 3 chapters away from finishing it, and it was not simply changing a few things here and there. I have rewritten it from page one using my current voice, which is the culmination of hard work and effort I have put in both in terms of working on original IPs, full on fanfics, and the works that had borrowed elements but were in a sense quite original. I never stole anyone else’s voice or their ideas to pass off as my own. I used it all my years of work as fuel to hone my art to the level I believe I am at now. I would not be where I am without following the path I did.

You can say one should be old school like GRRM (who I personally think is a witless hack) and just make your own worlds, but many of us who started down this path to writing grew up in the age of the internet where we had  the ability to be exposed to all forms of stories and express our love for them. Fanficing can be an ugly thing. Hell, Fanfiction.net was a god damned sewer back in the day. But it can also be fun and educational and in some cases quite beautiful when the writer takes the material seriously and does it justice.

Is it lazy for any author writing in the Forgotten Realms to create new characters in that setting, because titans like Ed Greenwood already laid so much of it all out for them before hand? I don’t think so. When it is boiled down, anyone who is granted an opportunity to write in a D&D setting, or Star Wars for that matter, are being paid to be a professional fanfic writer. It’s no different for anyone choosing to express themselves through unsanctioned online fanficing. They just get an official seal of approval from whomever currently owns the IP (fuck you Disney).

I believe anyone and everyone should use all tools available to hone their craft. Fanfics are a tool that can also be fun.

Rationalization is a helluva thing.

Then I am glad I bought my new webcam last night.

Here’s to us all coming together to fight against the woke agenda.

i support this 100% and look forward to not only contributing but SUPPORTING this effort. btw, email is [email protected] if you want to talk more.-A