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.
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chiming
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Date: 2005-10-18 02:26 am (UTC)From: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.