Tuesdaily with Writing Ramble
Mar. 15th, 2011 01:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellenmillionI had a work meeting this morning that went well and ended with bacon chocolate. I'd call today a win (at the risk of tempting the Universe), but I have another meeting this evening that is causing dread and prickles of anxiety. We'll see how that goes.
A story I was working on yesterday veered off from 'spicy' into 'downright explicit' unexpectedly. I mean, I knew the story was going to involve blackmail and romance... but somehow, we've ended up with murder, exploitation, betrayal and sex - and... I don't feel it would do the story justice to put all the gritty bits behind closed doors. I've never written outright pornography before (and I'm not entirely sure this qualifies), but it's definitely got a mind of its own, and I like the way the plot is unwinding and the characters are weaving together. A LOT. These are interesting people, and the choices they make, and the places they find themselves, are drawing me along for the journey.
The lovely thing about Torn World is that I can tell the story at a variety of levels - the really gritty bits can be peeled off into their own stories, and skipped by people who want just the spicy parts; the story is still cohesive without them, if not as lush. And if they don't like that storyline (or if I'm bored writing it for a time, or whatever...), there's another dozen that might be more to their taste. Writing the scenes because I want to write them... it's like fanfiction for your own original work. That's one of my favorite things about Torn World... I don't have to write everything for everyone, I can write the bits I want to, and go forward or back to expand the parts that work, and write this bit at this level and that bit becomes an optional treasure, and suddenly someone else has written a portion of the storyline and I don't have to!
Layla and I were talking a few weeks back about how fanfiction has this really invested participation, and you just don't see that in original fiction. I've watched a number of people try to develop it, and talk about how to promote it, and make efforts to unite the various fractured communities that work with original fiction. They seem largely to fizzle (though I do like Web Fiction Guide). It seems ironic that people are more invested in things they have NO control over (fandom), than things they do (original). Maybe it's about protecting their creative material and jealously guarding the readers they've got? Or maybe it's the easy playground of a shared world that comes with fanfiction (as already established) Maybe it's the added layer of being a fan first, and a creator second?
No worries, I don't have any nefarious projects planned. I already promised myself I wasn't getting involved in anything else for a while - I want to get Commission-Control steaming forward (more backend progress has been made!) and focus on streamlining the things I've got going. If we make the EMG-Zine goal, I have some major changes I plan to start putting into place there - really *awesome* features that I know I can build now.
Just dithering around while printing an order... I'm done now, back to work.
A story I was working on yesterday veered off from 'spicy' into 'downright explicit' unexpectedly. I mean, I knew the story was going to involve blackmail and romance... but somehow, we've ended up with murder, exploitation, betrayal and sex - and... I don't feel it would do the story justice to put all the gritty bits behind closed doors. I've never written outright pornography before (and I'm not entirely sure this qualifies), but it's definitely got a mind of its own, and I like the way the plot is unwinding and the characters are weaving together. A LOT. These are interesting people, and the choices they make, and the places they find themselves, are drawing me along for the journey.
The lovely thing about Torn World is that I can tell the story at a variety of levels - the really gritty bits can be peeled off into their own stories, and skipped by people who want just the spicy parts; the story is still cohesive without them, if not as lush. And if they don't like that storyline (or if I'm bored writing it for a time, or whatever...), there's another dozen that might be more to their taste. Writing the scenes because I want to write them... it's like fanfiction for your own original work. That's one of my favorite things about Torn World... I don't have to write everything for everyone, I can write the bits I want to, and go forward or back to expand the parts that work, and write this bit at this level and that bit becomes an optional treasure, and suddenly someone else has written a portion of the storyline and I don't have to!
Layla and I were talking a few weeks back about how fanfiction has this really invested participation, and you just don't see that in original fiction. I've watched a number of people try to develop it, and talk about how to promote it, and make efforts to unite the various fractured communities that work with original fiction. They seem largely to fizzle (though I do like Web Fiction Guide). It seems ironic that people are more invested in things they have NO control over (fandom), than things they do (original). Maybe it's about protecting their creative material and jealously guarding the readers they've got? Or maybe it's the easy playground of a shared world that comes with fanfiction (as already established) Maybe it's the added layer of being a fan first, and a creator second?
No worries, I don't have any nefarious projects planned. I already promised myself I wasn't getting involved in anything else for a while - I want to get Commission-Control steaming forward (more backend progress has been made!) and focus on streamlining the things I've got going. If we make the EMG-Zine goal, I have some major changes I plan to start putting into place there - really *awesome* features that I know I can build now.
Just dithering around while printing an order... I'm done now, back to work.
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-15 09:36 pm (UTC)When you get a chance I'd like your thoughts on this.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-15 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-18 10:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 11:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-15 10:06 pm (UTC)Strange as it may seem, I've put a fair amount of thought into this. I think the reason people get so invested in fandom is because it allows them to feel like they're a part of something greater than themselves. Fandoms usually form around stories/worlds that evoke strong emotional connections. The characters and their plights move us so strongly, because we feel connected to them (we most likely see ourselves in at least one of those characters). Fan fic/art allows us to feel like we're a part of that great big meaningful "thing", and allows us to *act* on that connection.
Just my two cents.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-18 10:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 03:57 am (UTC)Another reason might be related to the ownership of "original" ideas. Many people don't like the idea of relinquishing creative control of their characters/worlds, or treading on the toes of someone else's world. I know you have done this with Torn World, but I've run into this problem many times with group projects. Someone creates a story/character, that we're all supposed to work on, but they get upset if anyone wants to change their ideas (as this suggests their idea wasn't as good as they thought, or something). Or, they feel like they can't suggest changes because the person who created the story/character will get mad (which generally makes them less interested/invested in the project).
I think the big copyrighted worlds are so large that people don't really connect the ownership of that idea with an actual person. Fanart doesn't really require "permission" or agreement (in the sense that it's usually allowed, as long as no one's making profit, because of the benefits of a healthy fan community), so if a fan's interpretation of the world is different than the creator's, or other fans, there's no conflict.
As with all things social, it's hard to say. Sometimes things become popular, or unpopular, for no obvious reason.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-16 03:10 pm (UTC)