That little piece I wrote yesterday for Chuck’s latest challenge is fan fiction. I’m comfortable with that. I don’t think there’s really anything wrong with fan fiction, per se, and I’ve discussed it in the past. I think there’s something wrong with it, though, when it’s done badly. I know that fan fiction can carry… Continue reading Fan Fiction Is Not Evil
Tag: Mary Sue
Keep Yourself Out
Phillip Pullman has published an article expressing his dislike of stories in the present tense. He makes some good points about some of the limitations of present tense, which I feel extend to some of the limitations of first person perspective. But that’s a subject for another post. What came to mind even as I… Continue reading Keep Yourself Out
Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a film that’s difficult to put into a genre. Its central story is, at first glance, a romance. A great deal of the dialog is comedic. But how many romantic comedies do you know where the conflicts are resolved through kung-fu matches? And how many kung-fu battles have you… Continue reading Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Professionals Have Standards
I’m getting old. There used to be a time when I let things slide. Mediocrity would slip right by me and I wouldn’t even notice. Or maybe I’d wave at it. My point is, I didn’t have standards. What I did was good, regardless of how good it actually was. Looking back, I shouldn’t have… Continue reading Professionals Have Standards
Warcraft RPers: You're Doing It Wrong.
I’ve touched on this briefly in this post and must once again point you fine folks in the direction of Warcraft Sues to give you an idea of what the hell I’m talking about. I’m going to rant a bit, and that means there’ll be some naughty words. Consider the cut below the metaphorical covering… Continue reading Warcraft RPers: You're Doing It Wrong.
The Other Way To Use Lore
Yesterday I talked about the constraints of an established universe and what to do if you want to avoid raising the ire of the fan community. However, keep in mind that this is merely advice for most fan works. Sometimes you want to break the established constructs for one reason or another. That’s fine. Nothing… Continue reading The Other Way To Use Lore
PT: The Fine Art of Subtlety
All right, nuggets, on your feet! We’re going to talk about something near and dear to my black little heart today, and I expect it’s a subject some of you have touched on before. I know I’ve been guilty of this, very recently in fact, so let me begin with an example. In my current… Continue reading PT: The Fine Art of Subtlety
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Fan Fiction
You don’t improve your skills in anything unless you practice. Baseball players go to batting cages, tennis players use automated ball machines, shooters go to gun ranges. Where do writers go? In recent years, a lot of fans of popular media have been writing short pieces of fiction based in the fictional worlds they enjoy.… Continue reading The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Fan Fiction
