A thought. And then some more thoughts.
It doesn't make me want to buy jeans at all, but I do get giddy when I watch it and listen to Walt Whitman's words. Very nice, Levi. Very nice.
And now the real reason I am doing this post. Several points will be made, all of them centering on fandom/fanfiction.
The rules are:
Don't take it personally.
Learn from it as I have.
Go forth (heh) and write.
So, first let me comment on the cracked-out nature of fandom - that wonderful world where we have all been, some for a little while and some of us... forever.
It is a lovely place, where shared loves can come together and bond us to one another in a way that little else can.
But, just like anything else, it can bloat. It can become perverted. It can turn into a battleground of beliefs and wills and such.
I've lived through a flame-war or two in my day (Gundam Wing AC was notorious for these damn things!) and they usually start over something so stupid - for example: 'So-n-so doesn't belong with such-n-such and you suck for putting them together!'
Is that really a reason for a war of words? Nope. Don't think so.
But when a fan/reader decides to 'attack' a fanfiction author - for any reason that seems less than valid in my own eyes - I tend to get pissed off on the author's behalf.
Case in point. Just jump to what would have been the second chapter.
Seriously people? Are you for real?
Now I cannot say if the first chapter had a disclaimer or not - I never pay attention to these things. And if the author had continued with the story and claimed it as her own idea... then there would be reason for her to pull it off the site.
But, in later chapters, she offered up disclaimer after disclaimer - and people were still giving her grief. Some were even blaming her for taking away sales of the book she based the fanfiction off of - which is the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever heard.
I mean, there is a SON version of 'Twilight' on FF.Net and I don't see masses of girls going batshit over this... nor the author of the 'Twilight' novels.
I highly doubt Julie Anne Peter's is taking the time to find this fanfiction author and give her hell - and if she is, honestly, I would take a dim view of Julie Anne Peter.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If you are making money from another person's creation, be prepared to pay the price. But if you are just tossing your favorite characters into a storyline you love - for your amusement and the amusement of others - then let it go.
Stop attacking and stop judging and let the fanfiction author work/write/have fun.
Now, moving onward........
I do not have many rules when it comes to being a fanfiction author myself.
I get an idea and I type it down. I try to keep some of a character's personality, if that works with the idea. If not, I try to reinvent the all situation.
Or I try to do both - keep it as close to reality and still switch aspects on their head.
The possibilities are endless. And that is why the fanfiction side of fandom works for so many of us - it is the opportunity to see those we adore in situations they have never been in and it is a chance to explore things that the shows/films/books either didn't get around to or didn't capitalize on.
And I've grown over the years, developed my 'style' - so to speak - and think I am at my best these days. But there were times where I couldn't fashion a real plot to save my life and my grammar was horrid (hell, I probably still have those problems on occasion).
My ability to write a sex scene, in the beginning, was so bad... I hate to think on it.
So, don't say I am being hypocritical - 'coz I know how bad it can be, from firsthand and personal experience.
-Thou shalt not use any other terminology for eyes but eyes.
Please. Stop it. They are not orbs and they are not pools of the deepest waters. Eyes can be the window to the soul, but they are not - in fact - windows. They are eyes, pure and simple. And simple is good, people. Oh. And this could be it's own rule, but since it is so closely linked to this particular commandment - I'll put it here. Eyes are not chocolate or a sparkling blue wave. They are brown or blue. Or green. Or whatever. Have I done either of these things? Sure. But I've stopped now and it is wildly liberating.
-Thou shalt not use any other nickname for a character that is not already within the show/book/film.
Oh, this one bugs me. In reading SON fanfiction, I've discovered a whole new world of dislike for the errant nickname. In the show, they call each other 'Spence' or 'Ash' - so it is good by me to see it in a fic. But 'Ashash'? Or 'Ashy'? I mean, c'mon. Or, as
fangirl_bubba has informed me, the nickname urge has gone haywire in the Naruto fandom - with things like 'my raven' or 'the raven-one'... if anyone called me variations of this, I'd dump them in a heartbeat. Oh! And the 'my bard', 'my warrior' and 'Xe' need to die in Xena fanfiction, too. Xena would never call Gabrielle 'my bard'. Never. Xena doesn't do shit like that, so why are you writing it? I know fanfiction is all about a person's own vision, but this is going too far.And this extends to terms of endearment as well. If they use it in the actual show/film/book, fine. But if they don't - avoid improvisation. Please.
-Thou shalt not refer to kissing with tongue as a 'battle for dominance'.
Alright, I tried to not let it bother me. But after the tenth or eleventh fic where Ashley & Spencer's kissing turned into 'tongues battling for dominance' - I wanted to jab out my eyes.
Tongues do not battle. Tongues do not fight. Tongues do not beat each other and try to force submission out of other tongues.
They assist us in talking. They can lap up ice-cream. They can lick and they can be used in many a pleasurable experience - but they do not 'battle for dominance'.
You want to battle with your tongue? Teach it to wield a gun and see how long you last.
Sheesh.
-Thou shalt not get characters point-of-view continually confused.
We can't always catch every grammatical error or every misspelled word. Even after running a fic through checks galore, I can still do a re-read once posted and find mistakes. Such is life.
But when I read a story and I have absolutely no clue who is speaking/thinking... that is just piss poor. It is not that hard to differentiate one person from another when writing them. Really. Try it sometime.
-Thou shalt not write a character falling in love with someone who rapes them.
Okay, this one should be a no-brainer. And yet, there are so many fics where it happens. Usually it is in the male/male slash world (which are mostly written by women and that brings up so many issues about the nature of how these girls/women are expressing a possible need for power in fanfiction... it's deep enough to be a post all on its own.) and I just don't get it. Not at all. Rape isn't about sex or about love. It is about power.
And while the real world is a kinky place most of the time, I am sure the percentage of people who develop feelings for the one who raped them is slim to none.
It isn't angsty fanfic goodness and it isn't sexy and it is such a slap in the face to those who have gone through something like this. This is one commandment where I draw a hard line.