sundries

[rm]

Found my passport and cash card. Yay.

Oh god, menstruation. Ow.

New tomatoes have finally been put in the garden.

Diana Gabaldon has posted more on the subject of fanfiction and has promised a third post on the subject. You know where to find it if you want it.

Of course, when things like this happen, a couple of things always happen in response. First, fandom unites. Second, we all play lawyers on the Internet. I like to try to avoid doing the second, and I don't always succeed. I apologize for that, because it doesn't actually improve the discourse.

However, here's the deal. I am a published writer. I plan to be an even more published writer. And I write fanfiction. And I will never stop writing fanfiction. And I do not believe what I do to be illegal. And so, unless you are a lawyer, and, more specifically, my lawyer, I'd appreciate you not telling me I'm committing a crime, disrespecting authors or not being a Real Writer. I won't listen to you, and I'll probably even be cranky, and sadly, not necessarily gracefully. I do know my flaws, if nothing else.

But here's the part I where I get really flumoxed: fandom and fanfiction are HUGE parts of what I do. I met my partner through fanfiction. I write fanfiction with my friends. I have published perfectly legal work for money that is arguably in the category of fanfiction. I do scholarship about fandom and fan culture. And yes, to be super blunt, I read porn people write about other people's characters on the Internet, and every once in a while it has changed my life.

I'm not interested in defending fanfic, although I sure get called to a lot in all sorts of ways. And when it's not about how it's illegal or how I'm wasting my life with low-culture (arguments I have nearly always lost in the minds of those who start them before the discussion even begins, because they are almost always about scolding and shaming, achieving status by denigrating another's, and playing that serious man vs. silly woman card¹), I am pretty much always interested in talking about it.

Of course, because I have no self-control and am easily indignant, I get into these things where I want to mention the Gabaldon thing in passing and then here I am defending fanfiction or playing a lawyer on the Internet or otherwise engaging the topic in a way that is counterproductive for me, you, and it.

But seriously, if you think the existence of fanfiction, the enjoyment of it, the respect for it, the curiosity about it, the creation of it is illegal, immoral or a weakness of character, then I would seriously, seriously question why you're here. While this is something we can agree to disagree on to a given extent because, ultimately, your views don't affect me, if you think I'm immoral or criminal or just pathetic... well, I just don't get it, no matter how much you like my other content. But hey, an audience is an audience, and ultimately this stuff is more about you than me. *shrug*

Meanwhile, from the department of credit where credit is due: Apparently Sen. McCain doesn't think the Time Square bombing suspect should have been read his Miranda rights, despite being a US citizen arrested on US soil. Glenn Beck, however, does. At least that's what The Daily Show tells me. Yes folks, I'm agreeing with Glenn Beck. What the hell?

Ethics for Extraterrestrials

Anti-gay activist returns from European vacation with rent-boy.

Help ensure relationship equality in Hawaii.

When languages meet. Or, China tries do something about those wacky English signs.

Last night on Angel it was time for Lorne's ridiculous backstory. There's a lot wrong with this episode, including Lorne's cousin's "this monotone is how we tell you he is a Viking" and Cordy getting food posioning while eating the food in question, but there's a lot right with it too, including the parallel between Lorne's cousin not dying while Gunn's dead friend sorta winds up with the Viking funeral. Also, Hollywood sucks. And Angel? Is a COMPLETE asshole. Who the fuck arbitrarily shows up at someone else's JOB? Also, can anything happen that doesn't make Wesley make the "my heart is breaking" face? I ask you that, and can only think of Ianto's father pushing him too hard on the swings.

---

¹ Seriously. As much as I have a lot of discomfort with the "fanfiction is by women for women" angle that the OTW promotes because I don't live in a world that dichotomous and I'm in a fandom that is much less gender-skewed than many others, fanfiction discussions get ugly on gendered terms very, very quickly as a rule. Whether that's the craft and significance of fic getting dismissed because it's "just women," the policing of female and queer sexuality, the fetishization of the men who do write fanfiction (or accusations of same), or the calling people out for just wanting attention (hello mode of women attacking other women that Gabaldon engaged in so effectively in her first screed on the subject), this stuff happens all the time. I can't tell you how often in a fanfiction discussion someone has said to me something along the lines of "I thought you were a serious woman" as opposed to "I thought you were a serious person." It's deeply, deeply telling.

Comments

[sethg]

The “Ethics for Extraterrestrials” piece reminds me of a Soviet SF story, from back in the day, in which humanity makes first contact with an alien species but of course the aliens, just like the humans, have progressed through Marx’s stages of development all the way to communism (otherwise, how could they have mastered space travel?), so the humans have no fear that the aliens will commit violence against them or vice versa.

No, this was not the kind of story that you read for the plot.

[stephl.livejournal.com]

And Angel? Is a COMPLETE asshole. Who the fuck arbitrarily shows up at someone else's JOB?

Angel frequently demonstrates that just because he's been on the planet for 200+ years, he's still utterly dense as to proper human behavior. He often comes across as not the brightest fellow, which is weird, because Angelus is extremely intelligent.

[reannon.livejournal.com]

I guess that means the demon is the smart one. :)

[pandarus.livejournal.com]

Ah, the Gabaldon thing. I'd been vaguely meaning to read her books, as several fannish types had mentioned them positively, but life is short, books are plentiful, and presently I feel only distaste for her. (And I'm still REELING from learning that her protagonist is based on Jamie from Doctor Who; I'll do her the courtesy of assuming that his 20th Century love interest is not a self-insert, but I understand that not only does she incorporate various characters from other people's stories into her books, but it's also fairly pornalicious stuff. So...er, that's most of the things about fanfiction that apparently make her want to barf right there, as far as I can see. Um. Yeah. Still boggling like a boggling thing.)

Aha! You're at the odd 3-part Over The Rainbow culmination of Season 2 of Angel! Jolly good. (I did find Numfar's Dance of Joy hilarious in its unexpectedness, and I was delighted Andy Hallet got more screen time. Also, Angel being distracted by his reflection & the remarks about the hair did make me giggle. Bless. But, yes, he is mighty with the assholedom, and Wesley is my boy. I &hearts Wesley even more than he &hearts Gunn. With regard to that, as you are now approaching Season 3, I should perhaps say that....

WHAT FOLLOWS IS SPOILERISH IN GENERAL TERMS, NOT IN ANY SPECIFIC POINTS - WHETHER YOU WISH TO AVOID IT IS UP TO YOU....

....

....Season 3, whilst containing some very good things, took me to the point where I found I no longer gave a flying fuck about most of the ensemble, other than Wesley, and where I mostly wanted to punch Angel in the throat. I've not rewatched it for years, but I think that this reaction was very much from my Wesley-is-my-favourite-and-you-should-all-back-the-fuck-off-now point of view, and may not have been an entirely fair critique of the season as a whole. (I mean, it may be perfectly fair - I'd need to rewatch & try to be dispassionate about it. I just remember that at the time, I was in a very defensive place wrt Wesley's narrative arc. Whilst also having huge admiration for Alexis Denisov's impressive range. Jings, he can turn on a dime.)

Anyway, ijs that I remember railing at the heavens - or, well, the writers - and it is possible that you may find yourself in similar straits. If you're thinking about Ianto's father pushing him too hard on the swings at this point in canon, then I'm thinking your partiality to Wesley is perhaps quite like my own. In which case Season 3 may lead you to a HULK SMASH!!! place. But hang in there! Because Wesley keeps on bringing the awesome, and then some, and Season 4 does do quite a lot to redeem Season 3. imho. ymmv)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Do we ever meet Wesley's father?

That phone conversation really, really reminded me of convos I had with my father in the bad ol' days.

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

In s5. Sort of. ::bites tongue::

[pandarus.livejournal.com]

We do, in fact. It is an episode I mostly spent flailing at the screen and chewing my knuckles unhappily, wanting the world to give Wesley hugs and puppies. And instead the world pretty much tears out his heart and stomps on it, whilst laughing. Ack. Brilliantly inventive episode, as I recall, but quite wrenching, on a number of levels.

God, Wesley really does get put through the wringer, bless him.

[pandarus.livejournal.com]

Um - but he does sometimes get hugs and puppies in canon too! Shouldn't gloss over that. Um. Or at least hot sex, and cuddles.

And lots and LOTS of being awesome. Really - he cranks it up to eleven.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Wesley does seem to get laid more than anyone else on the team.

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

I'm another person who watched the entire third season with my face like this: D: D: D: D: - but it's still my favourite season. Full disclosure though, I do quite like having my guts wrenched. I thought it was so well done, and not just from Denisof (though he is absolutely fantastic), on all fronts. Just as a piece of writing, it took some guts, I thought, and to follow it through, and keep on following it through for seasons after, when it would have been so easy to come to a point and then hit reset.

Though I admit I'm rewatching S3 at the moment, and fast approaching the point where there's a little voice in my head going, OMG, I don't wanna watch any more...

[00goddess.livejournal.com]

I really love the way Wesley develops throughout the series. Denisov's range really blew me away, too- had had this role that could have been really bland and he made it so awesome! He was dark and dramatic, he was funny, he was goofy, he did it all.

The visit to Pileah I found amusing. Like most of Whedon, I found it weak in some points and strong in others. I don't expect a lot of depth from Whedon, so when I get it I am pleasantly surprised, and when I don't, I can enjoy some fluff.

I also love Wesley's season 3 relationship... it absolutely delighted me. It was so unexpected and refreshing.

Angel is hundreds of years old and finds that he relates best to people in their teens and early 20s. Mature he is not.

[pandarus.livejournal.com]

I also love Wesley's season 3 relationship... it absolutely delighted me. It was so unexpected and refreshing.

Oh, agreed - I loved Wesley throughout Season 3, and A.D. got some really fantastic stuff to play. It's just that I wanted to punch everyone else in the throat, by the end of the season.

(I had no interest in what was going to happen next to Angel, Cordy or Gunn or Fred, pretty much, by the finale - I would totally have tuned in to watch a Season 4 that involved Wesley, Justine and Connor, though.)

Season 4 did win me over, however. And Season 5 brought some terrific episodes - God, the double whammy that is 'Smile Time' followed by 'A Hole In The World' - good GRIEF, that was quite the emotional rollercoaster.

[00goddess.livejournal.com]

I couldn't stand Connor, personally- he was so repetitive and pouty and boring to me. I think Connor was something of a shark-jump, honestly. And Justine, I think, suffered from the combination of shallow conception/overacting that so often bothers me on Whedon's shows.

I agree, S5 had some great episodes; I was basically on the edge of my seat the whole time.

[elisi]

Love your thoughts on fanfiction.

the parallel between Lorne's cousin not dying while Gunn's dead friend sorta winds up with the Viking funeral
Oh yes, that's beautiful (in a very painful kinda way).

And Angel? Is a COMPLETE asshole.
Oh yes. That's part of why I love him. :)

Also, can anything happen that doesn't make Wesley make the "my heart is breaking" face? I ask you that, and can only think of Ianto's father pushing him too hard on the swings.
*draws hearts* Oh Wesley. He breaks so very, very beautifully.

[1-mad-squirrel.livejournal.com]

Anti-gay activist returns from European vacation with rent-boy.

Totally not surprised. It's only a matter of time until whatever Dobson's "dirty little secret" is comes out. You know he has one.

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

Anti-gay activist returns from European vacation with rent-boy.

Don't they realize that every time they do that, they just undercut their own (stupid) arguments?

*boggles*

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

I was slightly encouraged by Gabaldon's second post in that she seems to have mellowed a little bit with some education, but it's still irritating to see her leaning toward a harder edged system of intellectual property rights. Grr. Argh.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Sure, at least she admits that Stacey is real, but the pitch of the whole thing is still intensely irritating (apparently?????). That said, had this been her first missive on the subject, the whole thing would have escape my comment. Instead, there was the first screed, the prior comment regarding white slavery, her history of defending plagiarists, and, oh yeah, her hypocrisy as regards her own writing process/product.

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, 'slightly encouraged' here is definitely a relative thing. The more of her blog I read, the more uncomfortable I get.

Why is the Internet full of crazy?

[editrx.livejournal.com]

... her history of defending plagiarists ...

Have you ever read my stories of some of the truly awful romance books I used to copy edit, which included lines such as (as a Native American comes up to a naked white woman bathing in a creek), "he came upon her in a stream ..." ::facepalm::

Or the entire section of the same book where it was clear the author was changing up words by looking in a thesaurus, but didn't know what the words meant? (e.g.: "the river that dissected the city" or, "he handed her a mug of coffee and some sweetbreads" [for breakfast!] or my favorite, "the Indian brave died, fluttering to the ground.")

I ended up, after four or five of these atrocities, telling the publisher I wouldn't copy edit that author again for even twice the usual rate. Ever. And then the author moved to another publisher (apparently because she was too much of a pain in the ass, and no one in-house wanted her), who asked me again to copy edit her! It was like stalking. Bizarre.

I finally ended up asking the second publisher if English was her second or even third language. It was that bad.

The author? You guessed it: CASSIE EDWARDS.

Gah. The plagiarism came later, thank god. I didn't have to endure that on my watch. But when I heard about it, I wasn't at all surprised. Sadly, Gabaldon's defense of Edwards doesn't surprise me either: they're both not very good writers in the same genre of flawed romance/historical/pr0n (to put it gently).

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

I love internet lawyers and I am a lawyer :)

You can tell I'm a lawyer because I don't give legal advice on the internets

At least, not until the internets pay me :P

[rm.livejournal.com]

WORD.

[penguineggs.livejournal.com]

My personal position is that when unqualified writers stop smearing the internet with their ill-informed statements as to what the law is, I might consider stopping posting fanfic, but until then, while they're in my sandbox I might as well enjoy theirs.

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

But seriously, if you think the existence of fanfiction, the enjoyment of it, the respect for it, the curiosity about it, the creation of it is illegal, immoral or a weakness of character, then I would seriously, seriously question why you're here.

This. Thank you for stating it so well.

[tdanaher.livejournal.com]

You've mentioned over time various writing endeavors you're working on that involve original fiction, characters you're creating from scratch. What's your perspective on the possibility that people will take your own characters and write fanfic about them, making them live and decide things and have opinions in ways those fic authors were comfortable with but you yourself would find distinctly uncomfortable? Would you be comfortable or not with, say, the development of a universe where your own characters act in ways 180 degrees from the way you'd prefer?

[rm.livejournal.com]

I'm 100% fine with fanfiction about my characters. Full stop. The only scenario in which I could see going after someone other than the "someone making money off my stuff" is if someone was writing fanfiction regarding my characters for a "charity" auction supporting a political cause I find repugnant (i.e., some sort of anti-gay activism). I've yet to see any such auctions exist, so it seems unlikely, but it strikes me as the only way fanfiction would seriously, SERIOUSLY incur my wrath.

I have had fanfiction written about OCs I've created for fanfiction before, and that fanfiction has WILDLY diverged both from my vision of those characters and the point I was trying to make with them. It was weird, but that's my problem, not theirs.

All times are now. All stories are true.

If ConSweet gets published people will write fanfic about it (a, because friends have already threatened and b, because it's just that sort of book/characters/story). That will be weird in all sorts of ways, not the least of which is because some of the events in it come out of my own experiences of my incredibly bizarre Z-list celebrity life (it is not autobiographical at all, but there's one twenty page sequence of events that people who hang with me at Dragon*Con may recognize the roots of), which I suppose brings us to the fact that I am also fine with the idea of people writing RPF about me as long as it's because its a thing they and their friends want to do and not something that's being done for the express purpose of issuing not particular veiled threats in my direction.

[penguineggs.livejournal.com]

A case in point is the man who took the iconic photo of Che Guevara. He has on a number of occasions stepped up to prevent its use to support causes he (and, he asserts, the photo's subject) would not have supported, while being cool about its general use.

[scarlettgirl.livejournal.com]

The thing that confuses me most about author v. fanfiction is what was so clearly exhibited in DG's post (and what she admitted to failing to acknowledge in her follow-up): 99.9% of fanfiction comes from a place of deep, deep love. Why would someone bother to invest time, energy and, in some cases, not inconsiderable amounts of money, to write about something they didn't like or wanted to slander? Fanfic writers are a invested in ways that writers should dream about. They're the ones following the blogs and buying the product and promoting the original work in ways that a PR company could only hope to accomplish.

So whenever an author comes off as "you people are evil" I really just have to shake my head at their utter ignorance of the culture.

ETA: Angel is a complete jackass in this arc. Wesley, however, brought it and completely captured my heart.

[natf.livejournal.com]

This. Fanfic = free publicity and, as the saying goes, no publicity is bad publicity.

[kessie.livejournal.com]

The fanfic issue has popped up in a lot of the writers' message boards I frequent, and I've been keeping out of it. Seeing the same arguments and elitist attitude pop up again and again is tiring, along with accusations of fanfic writers being lazy with no respect for writers or intellectual property. Yes, because writing fanfic is so easy. Sigh.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have 200K words and a tattoo I'm getting that makes me go? Easy? Fun? Lazy? Fuck off. Seriously my novel is about 100 times easier to write than IHNIIHBT was.

[kessie.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. There seems to be this idea that because it's someone else's characters and world, it's naturally a piece of cake. To which I say: go write something about a character that's intriguing but gets five lines in a trilogy. Then get back to me about how easy it was. Grrr.

I had huge learning curves through fanfic. I don't regret them, even if it makes me, and my original works, lesser in the eyes of others.

[austengirl.livejournal.com]

Yes, this. I am much more of a fic reader than writer, but the one piece I'm most proud of was written in a rush of anguish. There was nothing easy about it. If I hadn't cared so damn much at that moment, I would never have written it.

Regardless of fandom or quality, it takes guts to share what you've written with the world. I think that gets forgotten in these arguments sometimes.

[missdeanna.livejournal.com]

To be honest, this is why I'm a little hesitant to get involve in writing message boards these days. Not the fanfic criticism specifically, but just some of the elitist attitudes some people put forth.

[curriejean.livejournal.com]

I didn't know who Gabaldon is. I looked up the post. I didn't read the whole thing because then I would be compelled to write a play-by-play of her hypocrisy, and it would put me in a very, very bad mood.

[digitalsidhe.livejournal.com]

Wow, I really like the way Robert Wright ended his "Ethics for Extraterrestrials" essay. It's refreshing to see someone who's willing to be open-minded about their conclusion, who's willing to say "hey, that other guy might be right... and it might be better if he were".

[marchek.livejournal.com]

Help ensure relationship equality in Hawaii.

Letter has been sent. My home state is one of those places where everyone acts like they're laid back an accepting of homosexuality as long as you NEVER talk about it or acknowledge it in any way. The Mormon Church as well as many other evangelical churches are very popular in the islands and have openly supported the anti-gay legislation. While you are less unlikely to see crazy angry folks picketing and shouting "Death to homos!" you will here the word faggot thrown around alot in casual conversation. It took a while for me to realize how conservative my home state really is.

Re: Thank you

[rm.livejournal.com]

I totally wrote a note too re: the tourism dollars, since Hawaii is on our list of potential future trips.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I should write my own post about fanfiction and her asshaberdashery as so many others have written what I have to say.

I suppose a critical mass is something - as a reader and someone who has sought out other fandoms because of fanfiction.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I think the more voices the better. It leads to the next mainstream article about fandom saying something other than "did you know peopel write Harry Potter porn?"

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

*nods*
Man, fanfiction between the two years of "Goblet of Fire" and "Order of the Phoenix" was a life saver for me!

I discovered so much (about myself) from HP fanfiction in those years (I was 14-16 back then).

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

I've enjoyed seeing what everyone's been saying about it because it's been a well-thought out rebuttal to a half-assed rant, often touching on the nature of why we create fan works. And, I'm a bit of junkie for reading about what drives people to make art. ;-p

I'm tired of being told what I do is lazy, unimaginative, immoral, and illegal, when it's none of the above. I want to scream to assorted original creators to get over themselves.

[deza.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'd be extremely flattered if the characters I created resonated with someone enough to inspire them to write fanfic. That's just me, though, with my paltry one published novel.

[kel-reiley.livejournal.com]

i can't remember which angel episode that is - it doesn't sound like the... one i don't want to spoil you for ;)

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

I think fanfic is an interesting phenomenon. Certainly a large portion of it is simply terrible, but I respect it as an active way of engaging with a work as opposed to passive absorption. Even if you create something terrible, you're still being creative. I can appreciate that.

There's also the weird thing that at least on TV, it seems like most of the writers are either or male or writing from a male-normative perspective, so fanfic, as it's dominated by women, seems to be a way of women engaging with male narratives. Um, I realize I'm talking in broad strokes here (heh, 'broad'). I don't really know why TV writing is so dominated by males, since I thought writing in other areas had evened out quite a bit (though perhaps I'm wrong about that, who knows).

I did read about one TV writer whose main concern about fanfic was that if it was written during a show's run that he could possibly get sued if he wound up having an idea in one of the episodes that was similar to the fic (This is J. Michael Stracynski, who wrote most of Babylon 5). Otherwise, he didn't seem to care about fic if as long as it was written after the show's run.

The stuff in your footnote is quite interesting and also quite dismaying. Meh.