(no subject)
THe recent rumours about Omnific (unlikely to be true, but interesting to see its origins dragged back into the limelight) and this article on turning fanfic into original have me thinking about the process.
So, mental game. What if I turned Caffiene & Saccharine into original fic? It's the best known and probably one of my better written, so it's got a built in audience.
So, premise: Openly gay man has unrequited feelings for closeted bisexual. Closeted bisexual has some kind of illness he recovers from/learns to control near the end.
Characteristics story depends on: Gay man is a wealthy orphan. Bisexual is a grown-up class clown with a bigoted father who recently had a near death experience.
Setting: Needs to be somewhere they both live and work together. Boarding School is best place. Could switch to UK to make it easier.
Secondary characters need to include: an openly bisexual man whose main purpose is to fail to have sex with Closeted Bisexual; a stucky up, wealthy man whose business mistakes have impacted Openly Gay and is good friends with Bisexual; a very well education doctor, another good friend of Bisexual; a nurse, a good friend of Openly Gay; the headteacher who holds back information for 'other people's good'. We can probably lose the sister with MPD. We do need to justify why so many millionaires are working at a school (or how they go so rich working there).
The rape court case subplot would have to go, since (a) it would require a lot more research and (b) it depends on Bisexual's powers being out of control. Too canon-specific.
The disease angle would be awkward, since it affects his appearance but not his abilities. It's believed to be genetic, but turns out to be some kind of slow acting poison. Odds of finding a real disease to fit profile? Unlikely. So, this needs some kind of paranormal setting like a school of mutant. Say, a world with magic. Why has Bisexual been attacked in this way? He must have some kind of significance in the paranormal world like being a superhero. To avoid Gary Stuness, so must other characters who are also significant. Also, the Big Fight occurs when Openly Gay tries to prevent Bisexual from doing something dangerous that could make his 'disease' worse. So Bisexual needs to be useful in the paranormal world, but not irreplacable, especially since the 'disease' is almost incidental to his work.
Let's say the school has a magical curriculum running alongside the normal one, and it's staff are often consulted on matters of magical importance. In dangerous situations. That require teams rather than individuals. And a lot of physical exertion. Bisexual is not taken seriously, despite acknowledgement of the extent of his magical powers, and through fear of them has avoided pushing himself to the limit in the past.
Also, some kind of plot climax would need to be inserted. Like an attack on the school. Which would require an ongoing subplot. Otherwise it's a very straightforward romance (they get together. They fall out. They get back together) that happens to be set in a paranormal world in which every overreacts.
So, our new, 'original' story: James Peter and Robert work together at St Xavier's School. James Peter is a wealthy businessman brought in to teach classes on management to the older classes, while Robert is an accountant turned maths teacher. Robert is also suffering from what he believes to be a magical disease, which he's trying to keep secret. JP falls for Rob, and very slowly seduces him out of the closet. Rob has a secret - he once got off with his friend Warwick - that leads to him falling out with his close friends as the relationship with JP progresses. Rob's disease gets worse, until everyone in the school is aware of it at some level, and JP gets increasingly over protective. The relationship moves very quickly, as there is a sense Rob might not live much longer. They fall out when Rob is invited to act as consultant on a certain magical case and JP tells everyone quite how bad Rob has gotten. They break up, Rob makes up with his other friends but keeps getting sicker, until Henry finds the real source of the disease and cures him. He and JP reach a basic truce, until Christmas approaches. Rob ends up inviting JP back to his parents' house. His father is homophobic, but he and JP bond over a sport. Rob and JP get back together, promising themselves to take it more slowly.
All well and good, but. What happens after it's published and I've promoted it here and fans of C&S go and read it? What if one of them tells people it's basically the same as C&S on the fundamental levels? I might have deleted C&S, but there's all sort of quirks to the internet and I know fans have downloaded and saved it before.
What happens when my publisher realises I've essentially used up first rights for this story? Changing names and settings isn't enough to change that fact, and the plot is essentially unchanged. The story has already been available for free online.
Somehow, I don't think my publisher would be very happy. Do you? And that, really, is the essence of the problem with filing the serial numbers off. Omnific may invite it, but there's a reason other publishers don't.
So, mental game. What if I turned Caffiene & Saccharine into original fic? It's the best known and probably one of my better written, so it's got a built in audience.
So, premise: Openly gay man has unrequited feelings for closeted bisexual. Closeted bisexual has some kind of illness he recovers from/learns to control near the end.
Characteristics story depends on: Gay man is a wealthy orphan. Bisexual is a grown-up class clown with a bigoted father who recently had a near death experience.
Setting: Needs to be somewhere they both live and work together. Boarding School is best place. Could switch to UK to make it easier.
Secondary characters need to include: an openly bisexual man whose main purpose is to fail to have sex with Closeted Bisexual; a stucky up, wealthy man whose business mistakes have impacted Openly Gay and is good friends with Bisexual; a very well education doctor, another good friend of Bisexual; a nurse, a good friend of Openly Gay; the headteacher who holds back information for 'other people's good'. We can probably lose the sister with MPD. We do need to justify why so many millionaires are working at a school (or how they go so rich working there).
The rape court case subplot would have to go, since (a) it would require a lot more research and (b) it depends on Bisexual's powers being out of control. Too canon-specific.
The disease angle would be awkward, since it affects his appearance but not his abilities. It's believed to be genetic, but turns out to be some kind of slow acting poison. Odds of finding a real disease to fit profile? Unlikely. So, this needs some kind of paranormal setting like a school of mutant. Say, a world with magic. Why has Bisexual been attacked in this way? He must have some kind of significance in the paranormal world like being a superhero. To avoid Gary Stuness, so must other characters who are also significant. Also, the Big Fight occurs when Openly Gay tries to prevent Bisexual from doing something dangerous that could make his 'disease' worse. So Bisexual needs to be useful in the paranormal world, but not irreplacable, especially since the 'disease' is almost incidental to his work.
Let's say the school has a magical curriculum running alongside the normal one, and it's staff are often consulted on matters of magical importance. In dangerous situations. That require teams rather than individuals. And a lot of physical exertion. Bisexual is not taken seriously, despite acknowledgement of the extent of his magical powers, and through fear of them has avoided pushing himself to the limit in the past.
Also, some kind of plot climax would need to be inserted. Like an attack on the school. Which would require an ongoing subplot. Otherwise it's a very straightforward romance (they get together. They fall out. They get back together) that happens to be set in a paranormal world in which every overreacts.
So, our new, 'original' story: James Peter and Robert work together at St Xavier's School. James Peter is a wealthy businessman brought in to teach classes on management to the older classes, while Robert is an accountant turned maths teacher. Robert is also suffering from what he believes to be a magical disease, which he's trying to keep secret. JP falls for Rob, and very slowly seduces him out of the closet. Rob has a secret - he once got off with his friend Warwick - that leads to him falling out with his close friends as the relationship with JP progresses. Rob's disease gets worse, until everyone in the school is aware of it at some level, and JP gets increasingly over protective. The relationship moves very quickly, as there is a sense Rob might not live much longer. They fall out when Rob is invited to act as consultant on a certain magical case and JP tells everyone quite how bad Rob has gotten. They break up, Rob makes up with his other friends but keeps getting sicker, until Henry finds the real source of the disease and cures him. He and JP reach a basic truce, until Christmas approaches. Rob ends up inviting JP back to his parents' house. His father is homophobic, but he and JP bond over a sport. Rob and JP get back together, promising themselves to take it more slowly.
All well and good, but. What happens after it's published and I've promoted it here and fans of C&S go and read it? What if one of them tells people it's basically the same as C&S on the fundamental levels? I might have deleted C&S, but there's all sort of quirks to the internet and I know fans have downloaded and saved it before.
What happens when my publisher realises I've essentially used up first rights for this story? Changing names and settings isn't enough to change that fact, and the plot is essentially unchanged. The story has already been available for free online.
Somehow, I don't think my publisher would be very happy. Do you? And that, really, is the essence of the problem with filing the serial numbers off. Omnific may invite it, but there's a reason other publishers don't.