Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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Writing Questions for Josh
And my knowledge of fan fiction and it's consequences could very well be 20 years old. However, I don't think JK Rowling plays well with others, either. Charlaine Harris's blog post about not wanting to see fan fiction was titled "It's MY Sandbox!" or something like that.
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Oh dear.
Susinok wrote: "And my knowledge of fan fiction and it's consequences could very well be 20 years old. However, I don't think JK Rowling plays well with others, either. Charlaine Harris's blog post about not wanti..."I know for sure JK Rowling encourages fanfic but she might have said she'll never read a HP fanfic. Which is a good thing.
Just saw this comic, thought it was relevant to fan fic... and always seems to be mostly what is written.http://www.dorktower.com/2004/10/18/c...
Joe wrote: "Just saw this comic, thought it was relevant to fan fic... and always seems to be mostly what is written.http://www.dorktower.com/2004/10/18/c..."
ROFL!
Joe wrote: "Just saw this comic, thought it was relevant to fan fic... and always seems to be mostly what is written.http://www.dorktower.com/2004/10/18/c..."
Hah! No doubt. A friend of mine was going to let her daughter read Percy Jackson fic. I advised her to pre-read everything. ;-)
So, my bf just got home from a trip where he'd read Laura Antinou's No Safewords: A Marketplace Fan Anthology. He read me the introduction where Laura admits to at first hating the idea of people writing in her universe, then seeing how great the storytelling was from fans, and admitting to writing her own fan fiction. First from a scholastic book when she was in high school. She also admitted that she based her series on some books by John Preston.http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...
It's so great to read authors admitting to writing fan fiction too.
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http://www.dorktower.com/2004/10/18/c..."
Oh hah hah! *still giggles*
I do have my Punisher/Iron Man novel on my website, but it's tucked away and part of me expects Marvel to stomp on me. However, by now that's a tiny part of my overall oeuvre, so it doesn't really influence things one way or another.
Joe wrote: "Just saw this comic, thought it was relevant to fan fic... and always seems to be mostly what is written.http://www.dorktower.com/2004/10/18/c..."
OMG, you read Dork Tower?? It's my FAVOURITE comic ever. (The paper-printed collections at least - some of the online stuff tends to be so and so, I think.) It cracks me up so much that I literally fall off chairs. Too bad, almost NO ONE knows it. This is awesome!!! :D
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In fact, I gave more background to the chara..."
If I recall, she's one of the authors listed on fanfiction.net as someone who doesn't want people to write fanfic about their books. I know, it's kinda not very nice, because it is the best/sincerest form of flattery out there pretty much. But oh well.
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Oh, no. If you're going to publish fanfic as original art, it's gotta be so original it's not recognizable at all. You're right, not just name changes.
Last year I was contemplating doing that for some of my own pieces, then I lost interest. Now I'm wondering why I ever thought that was a good idea. lol. I think now I'm far enough ahead of my fanfic days and have enough new ideas to keep me going that I don't feel the need to go back and recycle old plots, even if I still like them.
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http://www.dorktower.com/2004/10/18/c..."
OMG, is it horrible to admit, I still like that show? lol, don't want to think about Kim and ball gags, though.
Jordan wrote: "have enough new ideas to keep me going that I don't feel the need to go back and recycle old plots, even if I still like them. "I have folders of old stuff I use to write, intense scenes I'd written as Santino and Mael. Sad thing is I don't remember who wrote Mael, and I would hate to publish something and then be sued for stealing their words.
As much as I love the old stuff I created in her worlds, I realize creating my own world is 100 times better. Now to get away from posting here and actually doing it... well.
Christie wrote: "It still boggles my mind that publishers (and the original authors in some cases) are okay with that. "For another view:
http://www.culturalinfidelities.com/M...
--- William Shakespeare, John Dryden, John Gardner, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Philip Jose Farmer, Jean Rhys, Joan Aiken, Laurie King, and many, many more. What do these writers have in common? They've all written fanfiction. Rather than coming up with entirely new characters and situations, they based stories, poems, plays, and novels on material written by other people. ---
I love movies and stories based on Jane Austen novels, so I am able to come to terms with fan fiction published for money quite easily, as long as it is original enough to not actually infringe the copyright of the original work, and most AUs don't.
Aleksandr wrote: "I do have my Punisher/Iron Man novel on my website, but it's tucked away and part of me expects Marvel to stomp on me. However, by now that's a tiny part of my overall oeuvre, so it doesn't really ..."Marvel stories are one of the biggest categories on Archive Of Our Own. It will take a while for them to get to you. :-)
Good fic, by the way.
More defense of fanfic:http://bookshop.livejournal.com/10444...
--- Kurosawa's film Yojimbo is a retelling of Dashiell Hammett's novel Red Harvest, with one scene additionally lifted directly from Hammett's novel The Glass Key. Taking a hard-boiled crime novel plot set in America and turning it into a Japanese Samurai AU? Fanfic.
Yojimbo was in turn adapted into the classic spaghetti western Fistful of Dollars (AU fanfic), which was later re-spun into Robert Rodriguez's Desperado (Remix fanfic). ---
Also:
---Of course, we can't forget the extremely famous first published self-insert RPF fanfic, Dante's Divine Comedy ("And then I met Virgil and we became BEST FRIENDS...") :D
---
Lou wrote: "Imo the Last Star Trek movie was an AU fanfic. :)"Definitely! and with time travel - one of the best flavors.
Advice - when writing of first sexual experiences, what is the youngest age you feel comfortable writing about?
Charming - Thanks! I'm kinda counting on the Punisher being a not-so-hot property right now. (Whereas Iron Man clearly is. Ooops.)
Joe - Depends. Most m/m publishers are US-based, and most of the readership is US-based, so 18 is the age of consent when you're save. In Europe, the AoC is more like 16, so that's where *I*'m comfortable. However, if you only allude to it ("I experimented with my cousin at 12/14...") you can get away with younger. However, if it's graphic or, say, "non-literary" (which is a different kettle of fish), you'd want to stick to AoC, or the whole "child pornography" hydra rears its head. That said, literary writers get away with murder AND child porn, respectively, while genre authors tend to get crucified.
There's definitely sex in young adult books. The key is to make sure the language used is appropriate to the audience. Generally focused more on emotion than the body parts and much shorter scenes (not so explicit) than you'd find in an erotic novel.Also check with the publisher(s) you're interested in. Especially in m/m, some publisher refuse any sex with characters under 18 and others have separate imprints for young adult.
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http://www.dorktower.com/2004/10/18/c..."
Hah! No doubt. A fri..."
Good thinking!
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You can probably stretch a point with historical fiction, but 18 is the cut-off for most romance publishers.
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And there's new adult, right? Stories that fall between YA and adult? I think it's called New Adult...?
With historicals, BTW, I don't specify age. I had some issues with Lion of Kent, because in my mind William isn't 18 (as would be historically correct), so I just avoided giving any numbers.
Yes. New Adult is generally 18-25 from what I understand. That time in your life when you're going to college and/or getting your first full time job, living on your own for the first time, etc.My understanding is that the genre name was created (as opposed to just being "adult") because of the recent surge in YA and publishers wanting to capture that audience as they "outgrew" YA.
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.."
I think it was created by authors writing YA who wanted to write the smexy! ;-P
Well, yes, YA authors are flocking to it to write the smexy, for sure. It's just that before the "New Adult" label was created, the books would have simply be shelved as "Adult"...it's not a new genre, just a new label.
I don't care for YA anymore, and even protags in their 20s annoy me many times. Man I'm getting old and crotchety.
My characters are getting older as I age. :) I don't find people in their twenties very interesting anymore.
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This is where -- having teenage kinfolk -- I like labels. They aren't always helpful, but sometimes they are.
Aleksandr wrote: "With historicals, BTW, I don't specify age. I had some issues with Lion of Kent, because in my mind William isn't 18 (as would be historically correct), so I just avoided giving any numbers."Good idea he he. I also find it hard with historical fiction, because people's attitudes were different. A sixteen year old wasn't a child.
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Exactly.
Josh wrote: "This is where -- having teenage kinfolk -- I like labels. They aren't always helpful, but sometimes they are..."Right. So when they read porn (or nowadays, write porn) at least you didn't give it to them.
Juthi wrote: "Susinok wrote: "I don't care for YA anymore, and even protags in their 20s annoy me many times. Man I'm getting old and crotchety."Hmm..interesting. What bothers you guys about protags in their 2..."
I'm looking at 50 in a few years and I no longer relate very well with 'em. Plus I just want the possibilities of someone closer to my age getting their HEA.
You know, I can't imagine having purchased something called "New Adult" when I was 20 - I would have been incredibly insulted and felt I was being talked down to. Is the appeal simply books with young protags? But then, I'm old too. And I don't remember my twenties fondly - so much drama. My characters are often a bit older.
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Hmm..interesting. What bothers you guys about protags in their 2..."
I don't know. I'm think I'm pretty different from when I was twenty. Although it is interesting to consider the ways I've stayed the same.
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Right. So when they read porn (or nowadays, write porn) at least you ..."
Zactly! And I don't have to hear their mothers on the topic of giving their children porn to read! :-D
Dev wrote: "You know, I can't imagine having purchased something called "New Adult" when I was 20 - I would have been incredibly insulted and felt I was being talked down to. Is the appeal simply books with yo..."I don't think I'd have liked that, either!! New Adult... I don't know. What's so bad about the old-fashioned one?
I don't care much about the protagonists' age, although younger than 21/22 and older than, say, 55 is hard for me to relate to, usually. Although I've read enough books with 40 year old characters with communication skills and maturity resembling a primary school kid, so maybe it's not so much about age...
And... I'm 27 now and I cannot believe how much I've changed since I was 20. Maybe not so much in basic personality traits, but in all the other things that influence behaviour: principles, philosophy, self-image, (not-)understanding of the world, reactions to events, general MO. And all that makes me favour protagonists who have been through the same kind of learning and experience curve.
Katharina wrote: "And... I'm 27 now and I cannot believe how much I've changed since I was 20. Maybe not so much in basic personality traits, but in all the other things that influence behaviour: principles, philosophy, self-image, (not-)understanding of the world, reactions to events, general MO. And all that makes me favour protagonists who have been through the same kind of learning and experience curve. ..."I think the core personality will not change overmuch, but you see life from a different angle, through the filter of many experiences. Those experiences add to your personality, plus influence the way you experience life.
So as a kid I was a bookworm (simplified example). As a teen, a young adult, and at middle-aged 48, I'm still a bookworm. What I read and how I react to the books I read have very much to do with the experiences I've had in those 48 years.
Hi, sweethearts! I popped out of my self-imposed bubble long enough to catch this thread. Although I'm an old biddy, I find all age groups fascinating. (Hell, I find all people fascinating!) Teens and tweens can be as psycho-emotionally complex as midlifers or seniors.
Each writer and reader, if s/he wants fully to enjoy the experience of being a writer or reader, needs the ability to conjure his/her past or imagine his/her future, whether actual or altered. I believe that's the secret to connecting with a variety of characters (as long as they're well drawn, of course). Why should relating to young or old characters be any different from feeling empathy for vampires or abuse victims or Vulcans? It's all a matter of bringing someone's interior life . . . to life. Within yourself.
JMHO. :)
Na wrote: "What do you mean by basic personality traits ?"Sorry, sleeping break :D
I didn't mean specific personality traits, mainly because there are gazillion different ones talked about in psychology. Yes the big five theory is one rather prominent construct as Juthi has pointed out (including Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism). Another widely used questionnaire asks for Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence, Persistence, Self-Directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-Transcendence. Again another one for Extraversion, Psychoticism, and Neuroticism.
And then don't forget all those specifically shaped questionnaires asking for all kinds of anxiety, general optimism, and so on.
... however, whatever theory you follow (or names/categories you use), there always those rather stable traits and then those traits that are more... uh... flexible.
I've studied biology/psychology, so if you were interested in this kind of thing, I could always look through my textbooks again and write something more comprehensive about it ;)
K.Z. wrote: "Hi, sweethearts! I popped out of my self-imposed bubble long enough to catch this thread. Although I'm an old biddy, I find all age groups fascinating. (Hell, I find all people fascinating!) Teen..."
That's very true!! I've just found out that I need a bit of a break of teenagers and their problems and insecurities book-wise. Maybe it's because I've read so much about it for so long or maybe because it's not even been 10 years for me and not-so-pleasant memories of my own nervous stumbling around and desperate tries to be cool come up - and I'd rather try to not think about them to much, they give me the creeps. (Okay, so I STILL do the nervous stumbling around today, but puberty was a whole different WORLD of insecurity.)
In a few years I might think differently, when the distance has increased or when I've found this marvellous state of self-deceit where the years of teenage-dom suddenly become the best time of your life (as some people I have encountered seem to think). But until then I'd rather avoid it. Unless my GR friends tell me I absolutely HAVE to read a book because it's just sooo good. I'd read everything if my GR friends tell me something is good ('cause they are usually right ;D).
Na wrote: "Well, I'm always curious to read more about those subjects. :)"Just tell me, what you would want to know and I'll look it up once I'm in my other home (where I have most of my books). :D
Aside from Statistics, Social Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Neurobiology, Cell Biology, and Genetics, I'm afraid, I've forgotten almost everything from my studies. And even these subjects start to crumble...
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I was s..."
Yes. But even without dramatic change...there is chemical change. I mean, I know this sounds sort of trivial but I don't eat sweets like I did when I was a kid. I don't have the taste for sweets that I had in my 20s and 30s. Your brain chemistry changes in major and minor ways.
Josh wrote: "Na wrote: "Juthi wrote: "Yes that's what I naturally thought too. However, there are some highly comprehensive studies like this one mentioned in the NY times that say otherwise: http://goo.gl/1FXt..."Actually, that's not trivial at all. There are a lot of things that go on during aging - thanks to the aging of our Western societies (people are getting older in average) it's one of the hot topics of neuroscience right now. I'm sure I could hook you all up with some scientific articles if you're interested.
I'm surrounded by the "New Adult" crowd, I work at Disneyland in the costuming department, working on shows and parades, which have tons of twinky little boys and bitchy girls dancing and smiling their candy coated smiles. While us bitter not overly young or happy people dress them. Anyway, I look a lot younger than I actually am and I'm treated as though I were one of them, though I am actually old enough to be nearly everyone's dad. I find myself falling into their habits. I can't tell you how excited I was to find out that I was one of the mean girls on the show I worked.
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**splutter** :-D
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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I'm writing a story for the M/M Romance group's Love Has No Boundries anthology and would like to have a basic website put together for my pen name by the time that..."
I love fan fiction and some of my all time favorite m/m writers only wrote in fandom. That said, I don't think linking your professional writing career to fandom is a good idea.
But I could be very old fashioned on this one, so I would say go with whatever the consensus of opinion is.