Fan Fiction Update

It looks like it's about time to put up another chapter of my ongoing Bone-based fan fiction.

The Chronicles of Fone Bone Oathbreaker

Chapter 4: Birth

In this chapter, the ominous foreshadowings of chapter 3 bear fruit: dark events occur in Atheia and Boneville, hinting at forthcoming bloodshed, and shocking secrets are revealed that stretch continuity with the comic books to the breaking point.

But who cares about that stuff? What's really important is that this chapter at last introduces the cute school teacher! (Don't even get me started on cute school teachers.) I originally threw in this character because I wanted to see if I could paint a relationship similar to the one between Fone Bone and Thorn, but with the genders reversed. However, in chapters 5 through 9, I found myself writing the story for a specific young woman who had been giving enthusiastic critiques to each new chapter, and as a result, this character came darn close to taking over the story. But I'm comfortable with that, as I found her an important role in the climax and conclusion.

I had to kick around a bit for a good teaser quote. Everything in this chapter is either too revealing or too badly written to be an appropriate teaser, but after some editing, I think this might work:

A shape emerged from the darkness. The void had condensed into a moving body and gathered around itself a swarming cloud. It was like a tornado seen from a distance, but one that was human in form. It had four massive limbs that tapered at the ends like claws. Its torso was thick like a pillar, and topping that pillar like a sinister capital was a gigantic Dreaming Eye gaping like a mouth. The Dreaming, appearing as cords and streamers of light, fell into the Eye in a swirling torrent like a whirlpool threatening to swallow the universe. [more...]

(Contains coarse language and sequences that may disturb sensitive readers. I promise.)

Fan Fiction Update

For those of you following my Bone-based fan fiction novel, chapter 3 is now posted.

The Chronicles of Fone Bone Oathbreaker

Chapter 3: The Courtship of Thorn Harvestar

If you've been waiting for the sexy parts, they're in here. This is the gooey chapter, but after this come six chapters that are gooey in a different sort of way. Originally, chapter 3 came with a warning at the beginning. I've removed it from this edition, but I'll reprint it here:

In the afterword to his famous play, Der Besuch Der Alten Dame, Friedrich Dürrenmatt explains the slapstick humor in an awkward seduction scene by saying he wanted to spare the audience the embarrassment felt by the characters. I, however, wish to spare neither audience nor characters, so I must apologize for this chapter ahead of time. Bear with me, dear readers, and we can get through this and on to the blood-and-guts parts.

Admittedly, I still think that's funny. Anyway, here's your tantalizing excerpt:

As Thorn’s duties--and Fone Bone’s own--grew numerous and wearisome, the pair saw less of each other in private. As Bone’s private life languished, his public life became more difficult. Bone had the task of upbraiding the Veni-yan general for the embarrassing affair with the assassin Erasmus. Since that time, Thorn traveled everywhere with a hand-selected Veni-yan guard, and an inquiry was underway to root out sedition in the military--and Fone Bone headed the inquiry. He discovered that, while loyalty to Tarsil himself was forgotten, bigotry against dragons and other non-humans ran deep. As Bone monitored the gossip among the soldiers and aristocrats, he heard more and more disturbing rumors and whispered accusations about himself... [more...]

Fan Fiction Update

I was originally planning to update every two weeks, but since the hits have slowed down, and since the first chapter is only a small taste, I've decided to put up Chapter 2 of my Bone-based fan fiction novel a little ahead of schedule.

The Chronicles of Fone Bone Oathbreaker

Chapter 2, "Back to Boneville"

This chapter is much more substantial than the previous one, which was merely a teaser. Now the story is underway: Phoney and Smiley return to their old tricks in Boneville while Thorn and Fone Bone learn that ruling a fairy tale kingdom isn't all it's cracked up to be.

This chapter begins introducing the numerous original characters who will fill out the story. Probably the one of which I'm most fond is the barber Floyd Bone, who first makes his appearance in chapter 2:

Floyd Bone XI, the tenth successor to the original Floyd Bone, was one of the few male bones with hair on his head. His hair billowed out in luxurious, tight strawberry curls, so from a distance he was frequently mistaken for a girl. Floyd was tall and thin, almost as tall as Smiley, and his face had unusual deep hollows at the cheeks. His nose was strangely small and his eyes oddly bright, and the nasty rumor around town was that one of the Floyds in that venerable line had produced these traits by a tryst with a human wench from Portsmouth, though Floyd XI denied it and even insisted he had a pedigree. When he wore his leather apron and held scissors and razors in his big hands, Floyd looked like some strange, primeval god of ritual hair removal. [more...]

Fan Fiction...*sigh*...Again

After conferring with my priest and being told that fan fiction is not morally problematic if it is noncommercial, and after reading an article by a lawyer indicating that fan fiction is not legally problematic if it is noncommercial, I have decided, against my better judgment, to restore my Bone fan fiction to the Internet. You are all invited to read and review--nay, skewer--this work. I produced it in my younger days (that is, about three years ago) and am embarrassed by some of its contents, though other parts I'm still pleased with. Then again, I'm kind of embarrassed by the whole thing since it is, you know, fan fiction.

It is a full length novel, and so I will be producing it in serial fashion, with a new chapter about every two weeks. It assumes reader knowledge of the entirety of Bone.

Because I rate other people's content on this blog, it is only fair I should rate my own, so be warned: this work contains coarse language, excessively ornamented prose, graphic violence, sexual angst, a kissing scene, copious quantities of certain bodily fluids, lurid blood-rites, gratuitous biblical references, cute school-teachers (don't even get me started on cute school-teachers), blood-sucking monsters, large-caliber firearms, cliched dialogue, literary allusions, hunky men with German accents, preachy parts, and exactly one ill-timed, inappropriate, and ultimately ineffective joke on the genre of slash fan fiction. Otherwise, the whole thing really isn't very good.

(Someone here once suggested I write bodice-rippers; well, consider this a PG-rated bodice-ripper.)

A derivative work this bloated and audacious deserves an equally derivative, bloated, and audacious title, so here it is, with the link to FanFiction.net where this monster is posted:

The Chronicles of Fone Bone Oathbreaker:
Being an Account of the Second Bonewar,
the Rise of the New Locust,
and the Fall of the House of Harvestar

More on Fan Fiction

To continue our exploration of the question of fan fiction, which is, curiously, occupying a prominent place in our fiction-free Lent, I absolutely must refer you to the engaging article, "Legal Fictions: Copyright, Fan Fiction, and a New Common Law" by Rebecca Tushnet, who makes a compelling case (at least to me, a non-lawyer) that fan fiction, apparently more legally murky than I previously believed, might fall under the category of fair use as long as it's noncommercial.

If you love fan fiction, or if you write it, this is definitely an article to read. I can't put it down, and that's something I never would have thought I'd say about an article on copyright law. It's a testament, I suppose, to Tushnet's writing skill; I hope she puts that to good use and produces some great fan fiction.

Hat tip this bad boy to EveTushnet.com.

Fan Fiction...Is It Wrong?

Frequent readers know we have brought up the question of fan fiction before on this blog. You can read some previous comments here and here. Recently, the blog It's All Straw posted links to some articles on the web about the legality of fan fiction. Also, Niall Mor, proprietor of the blog, links his own fan fiction piece.

The links start with an article at FindLaw, where Julie Hilden argues that original works must be protected so that authors can get their money. I imagine very few people would argue with that, even ones who favor fan fiction and fan art. Personally, I think fanworks should be considered fair use as long as they are noncommercial.

That brings us to the blog 43(B)log where Rebecca Tushnet responds to Julie Hilden's article. What I find most interesting is this claim: "Noncommercial fanworks are fair use, which is one reason there are already millions of them freely available online."

Is that true? Do we have any lawyers out there who can tell me if that's true? Because if that's true, I'm going to put my Bone fan fiction back on the Internet and shamelessly promote the heck out of it.

My understanding, after some searching on the subject, was that fan fiction is always technically illegal, which is why I removed my own works. Now that I've read Tushnet on the subject, I'm not so sure. Can I get a witness from the audience?

Oh, and go read Niall Mor's fan fiction if it's not illegal.

Also, see Eve Tushnet on the subject. Her thoughts are quite deep and a little trippy. I wish I were that deep (or trippy) while talking about fiction. She makes an interesting comment: she can't write fan fiction, she says, because she wants so much to write about original characters who are her own creations. Not a bad dilemma to have, if you think about it.

And don't forget to see Niall Mor's thoughts. I have to add that because I just stole all his links.

Phat Tuesday!

"I have come to kick butt and to chew pancakes...and I'm all outta pancakes."

--Snuffles the Dragon, overheard on Fat Tuesday

As I write this, Super Fat Tuesday (contracted to "Phat Tuesday") is drawing to a close. This unofficial holiday is also known as Carnival, which roughly translates as, "Hasta la vista...meat."

Or, in our world, "Hasta la vista...fiction." As you know, I'm taking Lent as an opportunity to kick my fiction addiction (ooh, that rhymes) and read some nonfiction that has kept sliding down my list from where it belongs because new comic books keep showing up in the mail.

But Phat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins, is an opportunity to get rid of all that spare whatever-you're-giving-up by finishing it off, so Snuffles and I have both been hard at work finishing off our spare fiction. He's over there plowing through volumes of manga at twice his usual rate, and I of course am looking at the seventh color volume of Bone, Ghost Circles. Though I won't be able to review it until after Lent, I can tell you now that Steve Hamaker's color keeps getting better. This is one volume that, probably more than any other in the series, has cried out to be colored, and at last that cry has been answered with stunning virtuosity. I'll tell you about it when the Read-a-Thon is over (stunning virtuosity, incidentally, is one of those things we book reviewers keep in reserve for those times when we can't think of anything meaningful to say, but the color really is good!).

No holiday is more (unofficially) self-indulgent than Phat Tuesday, and no form of fiction is more officially self-indulgent than fan fiction. I've spoken of fan fiction previously on this blog. Many authors dislike fan fiction, and the site Fanfiction.net even maintains a list of writers and publishers who have asked that their work not appear in fan fiction stories (don't ask me how I know that). Even Strong Bad hates fan fiction. But personally, I think fan fiction is the greatest compliment to an artist's work; it proves that he has built something so wonderful, it invigorates imaginations in a way that demands responsive creative output.

But it recently occurred to me that no form of fan-fiction could be more indulgent than self-referencing fan fiction. Now that this blog actually has a moderately respectable readership, and now that we are in the midst of a self-indulgent holiday, I have decided to produce, in honor of Phat Tuesday, some examples of what Sci Fi Catholic fan fiction might look like if someone out there were actually producing Sci Fi Catholic fan fiction. So grab your plastic beads, put on those pants with the butt cut out, and gather 'round for some serious self-indulgence.

First, we have that form of fan fiction tht attempts to be as true as possible to the original material. SF Cath fan fic of this nature would look something like this:

Around 10:00 on a Monday night, D. G. D. lay in the middle of his living room floor with a cheap paperback open across his face.

"Hey, Snuffles," he muttered in an alcohol-slurred voice, "get me 'nother beer, huh?"

"You're pathetic and stupid and I hate you," Snuffles said from across the room where he had his snout buried in yet another volume of Cardcaptor Sakura.

"Man, this is lame," D. G. D. said. "Maybe instead of getting drunk and reading sci-fi every night, I should get a woman or something."

"Yeah," Snuffles agreed, "but before you can do that, you have to get something else first."

"What?" D. G. D. asked. "Axe Body Spray? Already got some."

"No," Snuffles answered, "it's called a life. You should seriously think about getting one."

See? The characters and situations are true to life. This is a conversation these two could really have...um, because we actually had this very conversation last night.

Another type of fan fiction is the sort written by fourteen-year-old girls, who are fond of taking underdeveloped or ambiguous relationships in their favorite fiction and blowing them up into sappy, cliché-laden romances. Observe:

D. G. D. sat down next to Lucky the Goldfish's bowl. "Lucky," he said in that deep, charming voice, "it's time we talked...really talked."

"You mean...?" Lucky gasped, her fish-sized heart missing a few beats.

D. G. D. lay a hand tragically against his forehead. "I know I've been neglecting you," he said, "but I can't deny my true feelings anymore. I can't deny my passion for you. I don't want to be like that lame-o Darren who so totally dumped the author of this fan fic just so he could go out with Melissa, who he only likes because she's a cheerleader, not to mention a little slut."

"That Darren is, like, a total jerk-wad," Lucky agreed.

"But I don't want to be a jerk-wad anymore," D. G. D. said manfully. "Even though you've been cursed to be a goldfish, I know what kind of person you really are. I can see the beautiful princess you once were and can be again, unlike Darren, who can't see the beauty of this fan fic's author just because she has glasses, braces, and acne."

"Oh, like, wow!" Lucky gasped, her golfish heart skipping for joy.

Lucky's curse made him so sad, D. G. D. cried two pure, perfect, beautiful, manly tears, which fell into Lucky's bowl. Because of the purity of D. G. D.'s love for her, the magic tears transformed Lucky back into a princess. She rose with joy out of her bowl, restored to human form, and melted into D. G. D.'s arms.

Then they, like, totally made out.

And they say fan fiction has no literary merit. Take a close look at that last piece and you might notice what appears to be a second narrative running under the main narrative! It's, like, genius!

But that brings us around to sappy romance's twisted uncle, or maybe twisted younger brother--you guessed it, the fan fiction known as...slash.

"I can't help it," Snuffles the Dragon said with a fierce gaze in his draconic eyes. "When you came home from the field in that all-leather outfit, it seriously turned me on."

"Oh, really?" D. G. D. said, lifting one eyebrow and--

Whoa! Hold the phone! I'm cutting that one off early; it was, like, totally grossing me out.

So there you have it. Sci Fi Catholic fan fiction. And here's from all of us--me, Snuffles, Lucky, Frederick, Phenny, and even Rocky--hoping you have one really super Phat Tuesday!

Thoughts on Fan Fiction

I've been having an e-mail conversation with a certain Aragem (I'll write you back soon, Aragem), and the conversation turned to the topic of fan fiction. Aragem gave me permission to post his comments, so I am doing so here. I find them interesting, and they convey information I didn't know.

My own opinion on fan fiction is simple. I see it as a natural extension, one impossible to get rid of, of our love for storytelling. Good stories make us want to tell more stories about the characters we care about. Of course, copyright law, at least as I understand it, doesn't accomodate this; and of course, I also believe in keeping the law. Aragem suggests that Japan has already found a solution to this dilemma:

Now here is my opinion on fanfiction, fanart, and AMVs (anime music
videos). To me, it is free advertising for the creator's work and
merchandise. Plus, it's a great way for creators and people who created
the fanon to see how much people love their comics, shows, and work. I
understand if someone is claiming it as their own and is making money off of it
that it would violate copyright law, but at most times every fic writer is
careful to give ownership to the creators and claim ONLY the characters they
created for the fic or art.

AMVs have recently taken a hit
from copyright law, but ONLY from the music companies, not from anime. In
Japan they actually encourage them. Especially doujinshi, an unauthorized
comic based off a canon comic that takes the characters and continues or expands
the story. Most anime makers encourage this because they see it as a fan
showing their love of the series and others see it as drawing in more business
from people unfamiliar with the work.

And this is true in my
case. There are several animes I didn't know existed or I wasn't
interested in until I saw some nice artwork on the net with the characters
that it drew me to learn more about them and ended with me actually buying the
dvd set for them. The creators got money from my pocket because somebody
took her own time to draw a picture of the characters for free. It was a
poster that advertised their work.

There was even an AMV that drew
me because it was playing a song that I liked, but I saw the characters and the
situation and I got curious, looked at some fansites, and I am purchasing the
anime now as I can find the dvds. There are even music artists I knew
nothing about until I saw an AMV with an anime I liked of whose I bought a
cd.

When I hear of the music company giving online sites a
hard time, I think to myself, "They are shooting themselves in the foot."
They are losing money instead of making it and are hurting the fans by
disallowing them from showing their love. It's like a mother pushing a
child away for trying to hug her.

Yes, there are irresponsible
people on the net who would ruin the fun for everyone, but there are many
responsible people. Imagine if every writer, anime creator, comic artist,
and music star chose not to allow fans to create fansites of their work on the
internet? It would be a very boring net and how would anybody learn
anything about shows or music or art? Imagine how little you knew before
you got access to the internet. Me, I can remember when I first got the
internet when I was 11 and it changed my life. Honestly, I spent it
looking at Gargoyles fansites till 2:00 in the morning that Summer.

And yes, just about every site has advertisements. But there
is a Vin Disel fansite, called the VinXeperince, that has a link to Amazon.com
so you could buy some of the movies he was in. To me, if that isn't
helpful to the actor or producers of the movies, what is?

Seibertron.com has links to sites that sell Transformer toys and
EVEN puts out alerts when a comic is in stores, or there is a sale at Toys R Us,
Walmart, or Target and even when a certain toy hits these stores. Is this
site hurting Hasbro's business?

I think the Copyright laws
should be tweaked or changes a little to allow fans to show their love and even
make some money for the businesses.

Well, that's my opinion
and you can post it if you want, but I'm sure it's the same as a lot of other
people's.