[Rant]: Professional Writers vs. The People Who Love Their Work, Round Umpty-Snout

[thefourthvine]

(I realize right now fandom is rightly and deeply upset about a whole other issue. I live in the past, okay? But I know for a fact that this particular one is comin' around again, so. Also, warning: possible triggers

Comments

[sequinedfairy]

you are so amazing, seriously. thank you so much.

also, just to add on to it, because i have been needing to

dear writer who over-identifies with their characters: your characters are not real people. they are fictional, and they do not have feelings. they do not exist outside of your fictional universe. they cannot be hurt by fanfic, because they are not in this world. i understand being attached to and loving your characters! i have original characters i love with a crazy and intense passion! i understand that when you find porn about your characters (hint: don't read it. you can report it to publishers/whatever without reading it! it's possible! fics are generally labelled!), it feels icky and awful to you.

but please, please, please, do not compare it to someone receiving actual harm. because, hint, no one did. you might feel like you did (i have read things that scarred me, too. they're gross. i know how you feel), but you really, really have not. and your characters have definitely not been actually harmed, because, as stated

[jacquez]

Hey, do you remember that extremely whackadoodle thread about fanfic where someone purporting to be Bella from Twilight (having fallen through from another universe, apparently) was objecting to fanfic?

That was some quality good times.

(eta because I CANNOT SPELL)

[sequinedfairy]

...whaaaaat. that sounds like the EXACT kind of crazy that i need in my life now.

oh crazy trolls, never stop.

[jacquez]

AHHHH I did not bookmark it! It was made of high-octane crazy juice!

I think maybe seperis linked to it back when it happened, but it was a while ago now.

(eta: what is WITH my spelling?????)

[insane_duckfish]

I... wait. Someone was writing fic from Bella's perspective about why fic is wrong???

Oh internet. Never change.

[jacquez]

well, someone was pretending to BE Bella and objecting to fic. At least, I hope they were pretending and not actually delusional.

[insane_duckfish]

Yeah, and guess what writing about (including 'from the pov of') a character you didn't create is called? I'm just saying. XD

[thefourthvine]

Yes, definitely. The world is full of people who believe fictional characters are real, and over-identify with them. It doesn't make you less crazy just because you wrote them first. (Writers whose first names are Anne, I'm looking especially at you.)

And, in reference to what jacquez said, I totally remember the I'm Bella person. She's right there alongside Married to Snape on the Astral Plane woman in my mind.