One for Sorrow

I've been reading a lot (or at least a few) fantasy books lately for girls and now I have feelings about Girls Who Are Special. I’m not dismissing them all with a "Mary Sue" label because they're not always written badly or as overly perfect. But there is a related wish fulfillment idea there. But I just never really related to that particular wish-fulfillment fantasy. I think, in fact, that I'm probably sometimes more forgiving about this with male characters, perhaps because I relate to them a little differently. There's a slight remove that isn't there with a female character. But regardless of the gender, ( I've always preferred non-Chosen Ones. )

teratologist offered a heads-up to this link showing that, as she puts it, Orson Scott Card is acting a damn fool again. This link reminded me of something I've been thinking about lately, mostly due to a random discussion about Revenge of the Sith. It has, I guess, to do with that impulse to ( think in absolutes. Spoilers for RotS within. )

So you know that writer guy, what's his name? The one who wrote for Diagnosis Murder and other shows and hates fanfiction with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns? I think his blog is called something like "A Writer's Life" but every time I see it linked it seems like bitterwriter.com. Anyway, he's got another thread up where he went to some meeting for mystery writers and they all talked about the many non-writers they were superior too and he asked the other professionals what they thought about fanfic and they were all creeped out by it.

Now, I don't think I'll even go into all the issues that seem to be on display with this guy and the other self-proclaimed professional or wanna-be professional writers who agree with him. They seem mainly obsessed with a) finding a group they’re superior to (which isn't easy) and b) being really angry at how little respect readers have for the individual author. I admit I find this kind of funny, the focus paid on the author as a person whose personal wishes should be respected to the point of keeping readers from talking about their stories and characters in a way they don't like (they completely reject that idea that fanfiction is commentary on the source material). It seems like the idea that somebody reading a story should give a second’s thought to the writer when talking or thinking about the characters themselves is new and strange. Maybe it makes you uncomfortable, but people can do whatever they want with your characters. You published them publicly for an audience. The audience can say whatever they want about them. You’ve got the ability to have copyright now. That’s it.

I mean, very little about writing has anything to do with respect for the writer as a person. People care about your characters, not you (if you’re lucky—a lot of them just don’t care, period). You’re still not as bad off as Jerry Mathers getting called Beaver at 60 or Gary Coleman having random people ask him "Whatchoo talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?" Think of all the times your actual work gets hacked up on somebody else’s orders. Fanfic writers are worshipful in comparison--they probably know your words by heart and they don't put your name on their stuff. Your name isn’t going on their stuff. Fanfic isn’t the same thing as series work. I see the point they’re trying to make about hurting the author, but I don’t think that kind of hurt is going to be protected. The audience just isn’t going to give you that one, nor feel they owe it to you. They like reading stuff, they're not making money off it, you're not losing money. This falls under the category of "the less-than-positive side of success" rather than "crimes against the successful."

Um, that was a tangent. What I was really thinking about is related to that thread, and a comment on it where someone said (wades through bitter, anger to find correct post): ( Fanfic in general seems to spring from... )