iwantthatbelstaffanditsoccupant:
“Well the Secret World Chronicle series started out as fanfic within an RP community playing the City of Heroes MMORPG. Then we took the same basic characters and put them in their own entirely different universe.” – Mercedes R. Lackey
Source: http://qr.ae/TU1mZn
This is SUCH bullshit though.
The basic sentiment is lovely (”Go, ye little writers!”), but the notion that no published writer is still writing fic is so clueless it’s laughable.
Fandom is full of published authors. And even if a writer hasn’t gone pro, don’t even try to tell me that means they can’t have Olympics-level writing skills.
A lot of fan fiction is so toe-curlingly good, it makes whole heaps of published works (especially of the “she boobily breasted down the stairs” variety) look like a preschooler’s first attempt at storytelling.
Fanfic can be amateur, yes. It can also be the best fucking thing you’ve ever read in your entire life, and if you haven’t noticed that, please don’t talk about it like you’ve any clue about the matter.
Wow, could she be more condescending?
‘I published a series that started as City of Heroes fanfic. Fanfic is never going to be good, because any good fanfic writers move on to publishable work. I see no contradiction in these two statements.’
OMG! WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK!!! I can make a list of excellent, outstanding, incredibly talented and creative fanfic writers a mile long, and I’m really only in two fandoms (OK, three, if you count “Sherlock”). I pretty much stopped reading published fiction, because – SO DISAPPOINTING. Could count published books I liked in the last two years on my fingers. One hand only. So here it is, the truth about published writers. BTW, I read A LOT since I’ve learned how at the age of 6, it’s not like I’ve read five books altogether and I did not like four. Oh, and one of the published books was so damn bad that I wanted to throw my e-reader across the room (Yuri Plisetsky moment). They made a movie, also damn bad. UGH. Seriously, there are writers of fanfic who are Adam Rippon NOW. Some are even Yuzuru Hanyu. So, there. .
OH MY GOD MERCEDES LACKEY GOES ON MY LIST
(I have a list of all writers who say annoying things like this about fanfiction. I don’t read any of the writers on that list.)
I love that you have A LIST, ETG.
Hahaha! There’s an otherwise what I remember as being fairly lacklustre West Wing episode with the quote “NOTHING HAPPENS ON THE LIST.”
But! That would not be accurate here! Important things happen on my list! Well, important things *don’t* happen. In that I *don’t* read any of the writers on my list.
Really, I am organized in my boycotting lol
Obviously, logical fallacy here. According to this writer just implied, all good writers get published. Hmmm.
The world is filled with genius writers and musicians and artists who never get their work recognized. News flash! Crap writers get published, too! Walk-on-water writers get published, and so-so writers get published. Talent helps, but it’s also about recognition and loads of luck that you find the right person to represent your work. Luck that it gets published at the right “time” for that work to get recognized.
There are people who do get lucky and published AND still write fanfiction (and they don’t look down their nose politely at those who do write it).
Actually, you will find an Adam Rippon in fanfic. Because guess what? Olympians, by and large, are amateurs— not professionals.
My first fanfic (before I knew what fanfic was): Mercedes Lackey fic.
Interestingly I just went back and re-read some of her very early Valdemar books recently, and… I’ve definitely read better fanfic. Sorry, Misty!
Haha, and I have written two versions of the same story with this result (to my not very great surprise):
Fanfic version: adored by readers, declared a favourite novel by a broadsheet journalist who confided to me she didn’t dare tell her colleagues for fear of mockery;
Origfic version: my bemused agent says it’s the best thing I’ve written but she can’t sell it; editors confirm this with ‘You write so well! We don’t want it!’
Don’t tell me there’s a neat linear progression in skill from fic to publication. The two progressions I routinely observe are in very different areas: the level of editorial finesse (the author’s skill at self-editing and the amount of editorial skill and time invested in the work by other people) and a switch from niche to mainstream subject matter. NOT the same thing.
Once again putting out the reminder that not every fanfic writer even wants to publish fiction commercially.
I have a job that pays modestly but decently enough to sustain a life in my city of choice and offers health insurance, sick leave, and thirteen days of paid vacation a year. Financially, I imagine I did better last year than 75% of published fiction authors. I have a day job so I don’t HAVE to sell my fiction.
punkpixel 