Why I *can't* read your script

[cleolinda]

Okay, since I think I was waxing a bit verbose about this on a site meant for 140-character messages:

What happened was, A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson informed the internets that He Will Not Read Your Fucking Script.

Cole Abaius thought this made him a bit of an asshole, although more for the tone than the sentiment.

John Scalzi

Comments

[sunni_sideup]

Agreed. This is why there are so many problems with authors reading fanfiction. They just can't do it.

[lied_ohne_worte]

Yeah. Tamora Pierce talk about this on her website, too.

[derangeddarling]

Tammy! <333

Geeze, I haven't checked her site in awhile ^.^

[lied_ohne_worte]

Do you know that she has two LJ accounts? Both tammypierce and tammy212 are her. She replies to comments and all.

[khaman]

The MZB story still gives me the shivering fits, as it should any writer.

[cleolinda]

Well, and it should REALLY piss off her fans, who then never got to read that novel.

[eregyrn]

Oh, it pissed off her fans, all right. Monumentally. Which I know just from having watched the reaction from one fandom over, not even from being IN her fandom at the time. (The repercussions of that event had direct influence on Pern fandom for years as well, in terms of the rules that AM put in place to protect herself from anything similar happening.)

[killiara]

You mean like that rule I came across for roleplaying in Pern online, i.e. you aren't allowed to use any characters from her books, or any of the weyrs that show up in her novels?

[bizarreoptimism]

As a budding freelancer, I have to say that the only thing that scares me more than someone stealing one of my stories is someone claiming that I have stolen one of theirs. So all writers can DO is take the Mad-Eye Moody route and practice CONSTANT VIGILIANCE ... even if it means not being able to be as helpful and polite as some people think they should be.

So, y'know, well-spoke.

[dwg]

If you want to add it to your links, Laurell K Hamilton also thought Josh Olson was a bastard. Mostly for the language he used, but not so much for the principle of the matter.

[khaman]

I have never been a fan of her novels, but I agree entirely with her article there.

[dwg]

Before, I was willing to dismiss a lot of her blogs as crazy, but since watching the Twitter feeds and some of the stuff that she has to deal with from fans on a daily basis, I've actually regained some respect for her. I don't necessarily agree with what/how she writes, but I've made sure that if I have had any interaction with her, that at least I've been polite and remembered that she's an actual human being. For the most part, she's been pretty classy in her responses to fans

[lemonade8]

Yeah... the crazy is really really scary. And the hostility if she doesn't do/say/allow things that might damage her is baffling as well.

[nicolars]

My mind boggles over the person who wrote X-Men in 15 minutes and then sent it to you. What were they thinking? I can't imagine why a. someone would give away their work like that and b. would think that another writer would want to put their name on something that wasn't theirs.

[bizarreoptimism]

I don't get B., but I can sure as heck get what they were thinking with A. -- the best shortcut in the world. It comes down to that girl deciding that not getting personal credit for her write-up was a worthy trade for taking advantage of the work and _time_ that Cleolinda has put into building up a fanbase. If Cleo had posted it, the girl wouldn't have gotten credit for her work, but she WOULD have gotten the satisfaction of seeing Cleo's entire audience read and respond to what she's written. I, personally, don't see that as a worthy trade at _all_ -- but it doesn't shock me that there's some people who would. Some people will do almost ANYTHING to reap benefits without putting in any time, effort, or hard work. (I know this because I have the laziness to be one of them -- it's just that my ego outweighs my laziness and so I won't actually try to get away with anything like that. I want the credited glory too much, y'see. XD)

[nicolars]

I don't know, I guess I'm just not understanding how someone could get any satisfaction from getting a big reader response when those readers believe another writer has written it. It just seems so hollow.

[cleolinda]

See, I just don't get that at all. More than that, I don't understand why she would think I would WANT responses for something I didn't write. But then I find a lot of people "offer" me things without stopping to logic out why in the world I would actually want them. It's about them wanting to give me something that benefits them, not me.