sundries

[rm]

Make the Mercury Retrograde stop, I want to get off! Seriously, I left my keys at work yesterday and I'm damn well hoping I left my passport and cash card at home this morning or else I'm a bit fucked. Also, eleventy billion other things.

Went to ellen_kushner's party for the debut of "The Man With the Knives" last night. I'm very excited that more people I know will have read it soon, as I've had things to say about it since I heard it at the NYRSF reading some time ago, but have been avoiding doing so because it's high on the list of things you need to experience in the moment. It, and the presentation of it in this form, gets at some of the stuff in my Bristol paper in a sort of sideways way. So I'm really excited about it, but am still like "fsdjkafjldgjaldfgjal! read it people, so I can talk about it!"

Anyway, cool party, cool location, cool people. One of those nexus of awesome things. *Waves at the new people.*

All of which means I did maybe less work on the Bristol paper than I should have last night. HOWEVER, 1,200 words, some of which might eventually be useful isn't bad. Also, this morning I woke up knowing how to solve the current problem with the intro, so yay? I do much of my best work when I am sleeping; I think I learned this from the Asimov Robots books; I did a book report on one of them in 7th grade and remember how the main character kept almost solving the mystery as he fell asleep after sex, but his mind wouldn't quite let him hold the connections. Thank god I can hold the connections.

A suspect has been caught in the Times Square car bombing.

You know, I don't particularly want to give the Diana Gabaldon anti-fanfic screed more attention, but I feel like some things need to be said, above and beyond all the right on kalichan said here.

1. Stories make me brave, made me brave. They help with the getting out of bed sometimes, or the walking into a room full of strangers. Which is why I find it so fundamentally appalling when writers act in a manner, that sure seems like cowardice to me, about their writing and its reception.

2. My background in largely in public relations and marketing. Add to that my life as a performer and a storyteller and nearly everything I do at least brushes against the idea of image-making and image control. And here's the thing, you can control what people see about you; but you can't control HOW THEY SEE IT. This is true of everything from the fiction you write to the self-image you sell¹.

3. I have never read Gabaldon's books, and now I probably never will. Not because she doesn't want fanfiction written about them, but because she has contempt for people engaging in dialogue about her texts. To me, this screed from her is no different than when other pro writers lash out with ad hominem attacks at professional critics or random readers offering reviews on Amazon. It's inappropriate and rude².

4. I am a published author, and I write fanfic.

5. I don't need your approval.

Last night we watched the "Hand! Evil Hand!!" episode of Angel. Is there really anything else I can say to that? Actually, there is:

1. Viscerally, totally creepy and awesome.
2. The guy who was all "kill me" -- sure, he'd lost his hand, but he seemed otherwise in tact. What gives?
3. Angel is such a fucking five-year-old sometimes.

I looked myself up on the evil that is Spokeo before opting out. It claims, when you search on my full name, among other things, that I am a scorpio (I'm a libra), that I have children (I don't), that I am a clerical worker (I'm not), that I have "some college" (I have a BA), that I have lived at my current address for 1 year (try 4), that I'm single (I'm not), that I'm not interested in politics (WHAT?), that I enjoy shopping (eh?). Now I want to punch someone.

I cannot listen to this shitty, shitty song without working on ConSweet.

---

¹ Yes, this tangent speaks to my feeling about the fact that while some RPF may be squicky some of the time for some people, that it's a valid mode of cultural dialogue.
² I'm looking at you, Anne Rice.

Comments

[tommx.livejournal.com]

3. Angel is such a fucking five-year-old sometimes.

Sometimes?

[paulshandy.livejournal.com]

Angel spends a lot of time being emotionally stranded. The point of the curse was to make him suffer guilt, and it works. But any love strong enough to relieve him of that guilt risks turning him back into Angelus, giving him more stuff to feel guilty about later.

[contrarywise]

Word on the Mercury Retrograde thing! Why must the damn planet go retro just when I need clear communication and reliable facility with numbers more than usual?

I've ordered the book, and am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

[dr-is-in.livejournal.com]

Re: Mercury retrograde.....

I'd like it to be over to and for it to return my car and house keys. Which if we can't find by this afternoon I am going to have to borrow money off of dad to replace the car key and get a new lock for the door. **sigh**

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

Make the Mercury Retrograde stop, I want to get off!

One more week.

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

2. The guy who was all "kill me" -- sure, he'd lost his hand, but he seemed otherwise in tact. What gives?

Well, there's no telling how they were immobilising him, for one thing - maybe it hurt. Also no telling what else they took from him - internally, I mean. For all we know, someone got his kidneys and he was being kept artificially alive by magic while still feeling the agony of perpetual renal failure. Or the thought of his eventual fate drove him crazy. I always figured he had to be hurting badly, either way.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Ditto this — I always figured he (a) was worse off than he appeared or (b) had seen "donors" who'd been there longer and wanted to leave the party early.

To this day, my friend Lily and I will sporadically break into a chorus of "Evil hand! Evil hand!" when bitching about our jobs.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Another WEEK of Mercury Retrograde. Batten down the hatches!

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

I really love Lindsey episodes of Angel.

I adore Christian Kane, and his acting is so good in this show. As much as I love him and thought his acting is great in Leverage, I was really blown away here. Also, because he's so much younger.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Almost all my favorite episodes are Lindsey episodes. I am pathetically predictable.

[girlingoldboots.livejournal.com]

You don't want to read anything by Gabaldon. I tried and...she's not good. Her plots are confusing and her characters are ver one dimensional. I gave up a quarter of the way through the first book.

FanFic could only improve on it. I think that's the problem with writers opposed to fan works. Same goes for Anne Rice.

[elisi]

Re. Diana Gabaldon, then Stoney has a fabulous post that you might want to check out. Snark makes everything better.

Angel is such a fucking five-year-old sometimes.
Most of the time, really. *pets him*

[supertailz.livejournal.com]

Popping in as promised to say hi! I am the redheaded one from yesterday. It was so lovely to meet you and we should absolutely coffee-shop write soon:) Also possibly dinner with 1/2 a table of geekery and 1/2 a table of fond amusement:)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hi! And yes, excellent!

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Oh, Jesus. I'd never heard of this "Spokeo" thing. DO NOT WANT. Goddammit, what happened to my promised faceless anonymity?!?

(Also, I was mildly surprised to learn that I apparently own a cat.)

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

I've got DGs books... currently more interested in reading and writing fanfic than reading her latest tome and that attitude certainly is not helping! That said, I've never been inspired by her books to write fanfic, so she's safe from me.

And yeah, I get the whole: Stories make me brave, made me brave. They help with the getting out of bed sometimes

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

As much as I enjoyed DGs book at a certain point in my life, they never inspired me to want to write or even read fanfic from them. Make some of Claire's ballgowns, yes, but write a story no.

I gobbled up the first 5. After the unedited tome that was Fiery Cross, it took me ages to read Snow and Ashes and where that was better than FC, not enough better. I still haven't read Echo yet. Will probably get to it sometime, when I'm not reading Buffy fanfic or conventionally published stories about Southern hill billy vampire librarians.

[austengirl.livejournal.com]

The Spokeo info had me listed as living somewhere else in the country, but since I'm outside the US there may be less information they've collected so far. And they've got some really random data for my mom. *shakes head* I opted out anyway, thanks to eumelia's helpful instructions.

And Diana Gabaldon...well, I started one of her books on the recommendation of a former coworker who adored them. Immediately I found the language incredibly jarring and anachronistic (it sounded pretty modern for being set in the 1940s then the 1740s) and I gave up after about a chapter. Not likely to return to her writing now.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

I have never read Gabaldon's books, and now I probably never will.

Ha! I haven't read them either and didn't think I was interested until I read two interesting fanfic stories written by a friend of mine based on a couple of her characters. I was considering buying a book or two of hers. If I had purchased them, she would have had the fanfic writer to thank for it. And, like you, now I won't. I have far more reading and writing that I am falling behind on at the moment to spend my time on her work after seeing that post. The defensive and semi-hysterical tone of her rant made me wonder.

Maybe she isn't very good. Or maybe she is only overworked and stressed out. I've been told her work demonstrates a lot of historical research. She is very productive and is actually making a living publishing the stuff. Or maybe she is incredibly insecure about her own skills. Who really knows? She needed a friend who could say, "Oh, no! I know you've had a hard week, but you really don't want to post that!"

I keep thinking of Ann Rice's rants and snorting to myself: perhaps there is a good reason for DG's insecurity. I can be a pompous beast, especially when I get so much entertainment out of reading and writing fanfic. Hey, authors: fanfic writers ought to be considered your most valued fans. No one else reads your work like they do.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Here from following a link...I think from bookshop's post, and Angel's pouty stupidity is really one of the best things about him. Joss could've made him the Cool Action Guy, and a lot of times he is, but his petulant dorkitude is what made me love him and stay with the show.

[maryling.livejournal.com]

The one good thing about sharing my name with my grandmother - most of 'my' information on Spokeo was actually hers. Though how her information got on there when no one else in my family has anything listed is beyond me.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

re: Spokeo -- creepy address finding, omg. Mine claims I am a) male, b) in my mid 30's, c) married, d) education: some college, and my home value is > $1 million.

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

[eandh99.livejournal.com]

I don't exist on Spokeo - which is actually kind of disturbing. I've been online for nearly 15 years, if you put my RL name into google the first hit is my webpage at work, but Spokeo just asked if I had spelled (my own) name correctly. Is it a US-focused site?

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

I don't exist either! YAY!

[idiomagic.livejournal.com]

Diana Gabaldon posted a follow-up to her rant, in which she once again entirely misses the point, and doesn't bother to apologize for her inflammatory language. *sigh*

http://voyagesoftheartemis.blogspot.com/2010/05/fan-fic-ii.html

[rm.livejournal.com]

Wow, it's hard not to start in on her just for the tone. "Apparently Stacy exists."

Oi.

[robling-t.livejournal.com]

Make the Mercury Retrograde stop, I want to get off! Seriously, I left my keys at work yesterday and I'm damn well hoping I left my passport and cash card at home this morning or else I'm a bit fucked. Also, eleventy billion other things

Yeah, pounding on doors for the Census gig has been... fun. And then the first night, I came home and nearly killed my washer/dryer combo with my iPod...

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

Spokeo is fascinating. Did you know I was Caucasian and single? Or that I have children?

[paulshandy.livejournal.com]

Hey, I took a Facebook quiz and convinced it that I was 100% black. My ethnic background is German/English/Norwegian. The trick is to always click off the the most sarcastic, dismissive opionions about American mainstream culture.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Re: Gabaldon's taking it all WAY too personally - yes.

[paulshandy.livejournal.com]

As an artist, I get how fanfic influences artistic evolution. King Arthur, Robin Hood, Star Trek, Star Wars, the Monkey King, the Holy Bible... lots of what people think they know about the original sources is just as likely to be fanfiction dressed up and ready to go as new material, or fanfic so old it has been added into the canon material.

And I get, from a big picture POV, that fanfic is here to stay. So I hope I can have a more constructive relationship with future fans than some other writers, including their fanfiction.

But as someone who wants to make his living off his ideas, if I found out people were making money off their fanfiction based on my books, I'd lawyer up. Most fanfic writers don't have that kind of disrespect for the authors they enjoy, I know, but it should still be nipped in the bud where it springs up. And fanfic writers should know that Paramount has completely wiped some fanfic writers out and left them homeless for copyright violations.

[rm.livejournal.com]

1. And fanfic writers should know that Paramount has completely wiped some fanfic writers out and left them homeless for copyright violations.

Citation, please. I feel pretty confident, however, in telling you that beyond a C&D here and there, this is unlikely to be even remotely true.

2. Stop lecturing me and my friends. You do it about Buffy and Angel and now you're doing it about fanfiction. I have said this to you before, and clearly I need to say it again: I am a pop-culture scholar and a writer and a performer. Most of the things you presume to lecture me about (thanks, I know how and to what purpose narratives are constructed), are the primary focus of the work that I do. And because like tends to gravitate to like, a huge number of the people you've been similarly rude to in my playground are also scholars and creators.

3. I write fanfiction. I got a book deal because I write fanfiction. I have been invited to be in anthologies of original fiction because of the quality of the fanfiction I write. One of my first pro publications was in a magazine and subsequent anthology dedicated to work inspired by the Cthulhu mythos. That story? That story that is arguably fanfiction is the story I have sold for reprint rights the most times.

4. Fanfiction has never cost an author a dime ever. No one buys fanfiction INSTEAD of the source material. Hell, I know lots of people who went and bought the source material after getting turned on to it through fanfiction (usually when a writer they like in a property they were familiar with jumps to something else).

5. If you actually want to understand these issues, I suggest you read the Corey Doctorow essay on fanfiction (which he supports) and investigate the OTW.

6. Trivia that might interest you: Nearly ever single person currently writing Doctor Who for the BBC has admitted to writing fanfiction. In several cases, that's how these writers met.

[woogledesigns.livejournal.com]

1) ... And you can’t use someone’s copyrighted characters for your own purposes, no matter what those purposes are. Really. I’m not making it up; this is International Copyright Law.

She does have a point on this, though. Money doesn't come into it- she has copyright. It's up to her to say what happens to her creations, and it's up to her to be magnanimous about it like JKR and many others or to be protective of it. I do not see why the fanficcers rights to create work should supersede her right to control her own. I have an exclusive right to say 'this is my photo, I'm okay for it to go up here but I'm not okay for it to go elsewhere', whatever my reasons. That's my work, my decision and that's the fundamental principle of international copyright law according to the Berne convention.

[rm.livejournal.com]

No, she is not entirely correct.

At least some fanfiction is arguably critical and/or satirical text. It is a form of discourse and commentary. Read Barthes. Her copyright does not grant her the ability to eliminate discourse.

I suggest you check out the OTW's content regarding the legal issues surrounding fanfic.

[sanat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've never read Gabaldon either (shelved her stuff aplenty in my bookjockey days--the size of the books alone put me off), probably won't now either.