Ideas are...wrong? What the ...?

[shi_koi]

I accidentally read this, and now I feel sick.

Has she never thought that a writer might indulge themselves in fanfiction, simply because the universe created by the original author is so wonderful that we cannot bear to leave it?

 

Not that such a concept would be easily understandable by someone with such a flawed understanding of so many people.

I do a lot of fanfic writing for Yu-Gi-Oh!, not because there's anything wrong with the universe created by Kazuki Takahashi, who is a Godlike being in my mind, but because when I first found out about his creation, it was hard to buy the manga, the anime was un-subbed and impossible to get a hold of, and I had no internet.

Writing fanfics for this fandom was a way to stay connected until I could track down another volume of manga, a way to keep myself immersed in the wonderful world Kazuki Takahashi had created.

It's the same for Naruto. I don't think there's anything wrong with what Masashi Kishimoto created, in fact, when asked who my idols are, who are the people I looked up to growing up, I say Alexander the Great was the first, when I was a child, and now, it him and it's Uzumaki Naruto.

Just because I write something that turns the canon universe upside down, doesn't mean that I think my creation or delve into a pre-existing world is any better, I'm just trying to show my appreciation of the original writer's ideas. I want to share my appreciation of their world with my friends, so I create stories that will draw their attention, so I can say, see, you liked it, you'll love the original work even more, it's amazing.

It's worked before, and I have friends who have become hooked in the same fandoms I'm in now, and it's wonderful to be able to share the excitement with a like-minded person.

It's almost as though Hobb is saying that we must read her work with a closed mind. We must not speculate on anything not pre-written, and my are not to indulge our imaginations of things that might have been, since in her creations, there are only what is, and no divergences have ever had a chance to exist.

What a horrible world.

I may be biased, since I bought one of Robin Hobbs books before, and I tried to read it repeatedly, but I just couldn't get into it. I thought it was terribly dry and more than a little contrived, but it was the sort of book my other half likes to read, so I gave it to him. If the book is a direct representation of her personality and self, then it's no wonder. I shudder now, when I think of it.

I believe the greatest things life has to offer are creation, expression, communication, compassion, evolution and hope.

I wonder how many Robin Hobb and other likewise thinkers would disagree with, or argue that they do not apply to their ideas. (Which are obviously always 'Right' and 'Good'.)

From what I can gather, one of the main points Hobb makes, is that imitation of any sort is wrong, and therefore bad. If applied broadly to life, that kind of statement of belief would be utterly damaging.

During one of the Creative Writing courses I took, our teacher – who was a published writer – encouraged us to find passages in books that we liked, and write our own twist in our own words, before re-writing word for word the exact passage that inspired us, to feel the difference in the writing methods. She did the same for her work, bring in one of her books, and giving us a brief history on what inspired her, asking for ideas on what inspired us, but they had to have been based on her own, as she wanted to understand and share how her work could be interpreted.

It was wonderful, and we spoke of so many things, and her creation myth for her characters was so inspiring. By that same account, imagining the position of Hobb on such matters seems so positively barbaric.

Do as I say, not as I do.

I'm not a very thoughtful person, I say things as they occur to me, and I don't think too deeply into reasoning the whys and wherefores of events and opinions. I cannot break down another's intellection and dissect it rationally with logical explanations and rebuttals.

I can only give my opinion on my understanding of such things, and my gut feeling of Robin Hobbs' words, thoughts and opinions are utterly and completely terrifying. I felt violated that such a person existed. As though, my simple failing, my love of immersing myself in another's world, and playing there was so abhorrent that I was unclean. My ideas? Disgraceful. My thoughts and fantasies – what would Naruto be like with a mother and father? Disgusting.

Reading Robin Hobb's views, not just for writing fanfiction, but wanting to be a part of that world made my feel sick to my stomach, and I wanted to vomit. I still do, but I also want to cry.

I don't pity Hobb for never knowing the joy of sharing in the love of something with others, and I don't hate her, or dislike her. I would rather forget she exists. I don't want my life tainted with her presence, I don't want to remember that there are people like her around. I know it's childish but she's like the bogeyman under the bed, and I want to grow up and forget it existed.

I adore the creators of the fandoms I enjoy myself in, and especially those I dabble in. I try and recruit my friends into buying the books, seeing the movies, buying the games, talking about the series, and basically involving themselves in the wonderful worlds I've discovered, and I've found this behaviour goes both ways.

Why can't people be happy with what they have? Why can't they be happy to share? What's wrong with others sharing your ideas?

My head hurts now.

I'm sorry for the rant.

If you guys read through this, I'll love you forever, especially if you don't hate me now. ::sniffle::

I need some love.

Hugs all,

~Shi-koi~

 

 

 

Comments

[cherry-san.livejournal.com]

And I give you love. D: -huggles-

I've always been defensive about people who are against fanfictions. They always so that it's not as creative as original writing, etc, etc. Bah. I've always wanted to slap them upside the head. I've always though fanfiction are a bit harder to write than original writing just because while the characters are created, you need to properly keep them in character. Since they are not your own, you don't have the liberties of an original character where since you own that character, it can't be OOC. In addition, you have the work with the situation given to you in canon and make it fit your storyline.

I rephrase one of my statements: It's harder to make a -good- fanfiction than write a crappy original story. Gurg. <.< -gets really heated and annoyed at the subject- I'm probably bias, since I read more fanfictions that original fiction but that's simply because most of today's newer fiction really sucks.

But urg. Hokay. I stop. I could rant on and on about this topic. @.@

But I still give you love. Lots and lots of love. -hands you a cookie-

[order_of_chaos]

*hugs*
What a depressing world-view. Fanfiction's fun. I don't look at canon and think "that's wrong - it should have gone like this," I look at it and think "this universe makes it possible for alllllllll these other similar universes to be imagined, and is therefore even more awesome than I'd have thought it was without taking fanfiction into consideration, and I am all but drunk on the sheer potential of it."
And I do so stick thought-bubbles on the Mona Lisa - and when I do, it doesn't mean I think they should have been there on the original.



*deletes Robin from the fabric of the universe*

[silver-sama.livejournal.com]

Well, thank god no other author thinks like her, or fanfic writers would cease to exist, and we'd be living in a world of uncreative hell.

What's all this shit about "fanfic writers think the author's ending sucks and wants to create their own ending because that's the way they want it to be"? We are NOT, for the record, trying to screw with the original endings. Because the characters and the plots only take a certain, narrow path in the author's book, fanfic writers tend to explore all the other possibilities of a plot and/or character to see if they can create something new and original yet still canon. It's perfectly harmless; we're not doing it for money, and it gives us a chance to explore and hone our own writing skills.

No bitch is going to put a lid on our creativity. Hobbs is just going to have to live with fanfic writers for the rest of her life.

[radowan.livejournal.com]

I remember I read that text around the time it came out, and I was enraged. Even know when it's no longed news for me, reading it agains reminds me why I boycott R. Hobb's books.

She's surprisingly narrow-minded. And I guess that she's also rather unconfident about her work, since she seems to be afraid of 'non-professional writers' who might surpass her in her own field. I'd call her a coward.

[farseer-lolotea.livejournal.com]

Thank you.  Thank you for posting what many of us were already thinking. 

As someone who's at work on a few WoW fanfics myself, I actually cringed and felt guilty when I first read Hobb's screed.  Sooner or later, I may just post my own rant:  In my opinion, those narrow minds who froth about fan fiction are in desperate need of introduction to the Japanese concept of dōjinshi.

Luckily, although there are other authors who are equally narrow-minded (many of whom, rather hypocritically, pen derivative works all the time), there are also authors who don't feel the need to attack their own fan base (read: bite the hand that feeds them).  J.K. Rowling (reportedly a regular on MuggleNet) comes to mind.

Once again...thank you.