Finally figured out the comment problem and fixed it. Hopefully it doesn't happen again. This is the second time it's happened...but anyway it's working for now.
Thanks Nellie for pointing it out.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Comment problem fixed
Posted by Morgaine Pendragon at 5/17/2010 04:25:00 PM
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2 comments:
No problem - you'll be inundated with comments now! heehee...
When I was reading your last post it reminded me of something I think I remember reading... Now it's a tiny problem in that I don't remember where I actually read this snippet of info *sigh*...
Never the less. For your question of being able to use the palantir etc. Well I do recall reading that you can legally take a character's basic make-up and use it as long as you give them a different name etc. So I'm guessing you can legally take something like a pensieve and give it a new name??
Again I'm not sure where I remember this info from so it'd be wise to take it with a pinch of salt for now. I'll try to rumage through my piles of crap and find out if it came from one of my books. (I want to write sci-fi/fantasy too. I have enormous trouble following a story to it's conclusion though!!)
Anyway, really like the blog :)
Nellie x
A quick surfin and a wave-hello from me:
As a former writer, to answer your query - you CAN change the name and just no one notices. However, you probably shouldn't. Voracious readers will know whether or not you've just put a new name on another concept (Witness the cringeworthy Sword of Shannara series). What you're writing at that point is derivative fan-fiction, not original work. And granted, I have seen some pretty good fan-fic out there, usually based on online games or something similar - a nice exercise for writing, but I'd never personally try to make a story out of it; it's just too derivative. If you're wanting to write something to be published, create your own world, your own mythos. That was always most of the buzz for writing IMO.
That isn't to say you can't be inspired by other ideas, but doing direct lines (a immortal scotsman, as you say, has been done) will get one slated for infringement. This happens a lot when people start talking about rp characters - they don't have to develop the entire world from the ground up because the game has already done that for them. They just move the character around in it. Personally, when I worked in dark fantasy, I sketched a character together, and then concentrated on the world - and that's when my imagination soared the most. Now THAT is writing.
Writing isn't always fun; it's discipline. Note I say I don't write anymore, as I've lost the discipline and, sadly, the mental acuity to do so (thank you, M.E.). Everyone has moments of what friends of mine called "Imposterphobia" where we knew, just KNEW, we were hacks and someone would figure it out. The only way to deal with that, honestly, is to put away the work that pisses you off so badly, and write something else entirely new.
As for other things...well I have My Own Opinions on That, but I will say without any hesitation or doubt that there comes a time when you need to live YOUR life with or without someone else's approval; and in my case, I did so and am much happier for it.
Good luck, and keep striding forward.
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