(no subject)

[rockinlibrarian]

Random Thought: How come I don't write fanfiction or draw fan art? Just occurred to me reading all my communities' junk. I mean that certainly sounds like the sort of dorky thing I would do, doesn't it? Yet I never have the DESIRE to even. Okay I did when I was a kid, I remember at the moment. I remember doing illustrations for Lois Lowry's "Number the Stars"-- which I told her when I met her at the old Fall Festival of Books (which by the way is Friday and it's at the Museum AND Lois has asked me to HELP WITH IT, so it's cool. Oh, that's Lois Winslow, not Lois Lowry. The authors are Denise Fleming and some guy I've never heard of and so don't remember his name, so nobody I'm going to go fangirl ga-ga over, but in years past it was always the authors I hadn't heard of that I ended up LOVING, like Theresa Nelson. Everyone go out and read a book by Theresa Nelson, because she rocks in person. Her books are pretty decent too)-- anyway, so I told Lois Lowry that in my stuttery fangirl haze and she said, "yeah a lot of people have sent me illustrations for that book." It struck me as sort of tossed off, like, "yeah, you and everyone else, what's your point?" Which probably wasn't what she was thinking, but you know. Idols in person. That was the year Theresa Nelson was there anyway, and I LOVED her... we had quite an interesting chat, and she recommended Anne Lamott's "Bird By Bird" which I STILL pick up and read occasionally, it's a GREAT book for writers, and I think of the advice in it on a regular basis. Sometimes I even use it. Okay, as I was saying. I mean I'm trying to think if I've ever done much MORE than that. Trying to remember any fan-artofanytype I've ever done and CAN'T. I know I've IMAGINED fan-fiction, like bits of the characters' lives extended and so forth, but never to the point of writing it. Mostly because it wasn't very plot-like anyway, more like imagining people's weddings and general sex lives and whatnot after the book or whatever. What's weird is I just suddenly remembered OTHER people doing fan-art of MY stories just now. I remember Megan Nagy drawing a quest for a Sunshine plant on the back of an Eat-n-Park placemat in high school, and Emily Duncan making a "Concentration-Meditation-Levitation-Aviation" banner in college. Hah, and my stories aren't even COMPLETED yet. But me doing for other people, I mean, dang, what's wrong with me? Not a single Hogwarts drawing in my entire life? Weirdness. My brother does fan-stuff obsessively, and he and I are frighteningly alike in ways, but apparently not in that way. I am seriously puzzled by this. I suppose the explanation is WHY should I frickin' spend time on OTHER people's imaginary universes when I can't even hunker down and finish my OWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Random PS Edit: Does creating a fictional nephew for George Harrison count as Beatles fan-fiction? I also suddenly remember drawing a scratch art portrait of Ringo in the style of Picasso for a class once, which I gave to Jen for Christmas one year. But that's still about it.

Comments

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I guess I've been writing fan-fiction since before I knew it was called "fan-fiction." I guess I find it easier to come up with a story when the background has already been established, but there are also limitations to writing in somebody else's world. Besides, unless you're working with public domain material (which many of the Oz books are), writing fanfic pretty much destroys your chances of having the story published, which probably makes it a waste of time for many.

While I've considered writing fan stories based on video games and such, I usually end up dismissing the idea as too dorky. It's only Oz writing that I've really ever seen through to completion. I think the fact that there were several authors involved in writing the more-or-less official books, as well as that some recent fan-written Oz stories have actually been published, makes it somehow more valid than other kinds of fanfic. Maybe that's just my own conception, though. If I tried to write, say, Harry Potter or Discworld fiction, I'd feel like I was encroaching on Rowling or Pratchett's territory. When I write Oz stories, I don't feel like I'm encroaching on Baum's territory, nor do I make a conscious effort to imitate his style.

As for fan art, I can't draw, or I'd probably try it. I did copy a few illustrations from the Oz books (by hand, I mean, not with a copy machine {g}), but copying a drawing is hardly the same as actually drawing it yourself.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

I guess I find it easier to come up with a story when the background has already been established, but there are also limitations to writing in somebody else's world.

This could be telling. Because I'm really good at coming up with characters and worlds and whatnot, but not so great with coming up with plots. So maybe that's my answer right there. The stuff I'm good at has already been done.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I also like to create new characters and locations, but I feel that there's a certain comfort zone if I can have them interact with already established characters and locations.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

I guess this would be something similar to writing about George Harrison's imaginary nephew, so I agree.

[http://users.livejournal.com/magnolia---/]

hi, i miss you.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Awwww... well I thought I'd see you this weekend for a second, but then I realized that we're actually NOT both going to THIS wedding, it was just all the other weddings.