"Richard Lawson & Joseph Palmer" Early this year a budding fanfiction author asked a question about creating fanfiction in the R.A.A.F. newsgroup. As a subject near and dear to my heart I responded with a few suggestions, one of which was "We are guests, we should act like guests." After a lively discussion on usenet, I received an Email from Richard Lawson, who was unable to participate in the discussion because of bad propagation. He suggested we co-author an article on the subject. We decided to each write an opening statement, and then follow up with a series of threaded discussions. This is the result of that collaboration. J. _______________________________________________________________________ "What kind of fanfic should an author create, and how true to the original should it be?" _______________________________________________________________________ by Richard Lawson The art of writing is one of self-expression. Something moves us, something interests us, we become intrigued and even fascinated by an idea, and we write it on paper (metaphorical or not). Because the paper is blank, we have no limits to where our minds can take us. So why do we write fanfics? Two reasons, I think. One: much of the hard work has been done for us. The characters have been created, the background developed, the situations put in place. No longer do we have to create the shy ESPer or the irreverent spaceship captain - this has been done for us. We don't have to spend time and effort to develop these things before plunging right into the plot - our readers already know these things. Which leads into the second reason we write fanfics: a ready audience. People are much more willing to read a fanfic about an anime or manga series of which they're already familiar than somebody's original story with characters they don't know. We write fanfics because we know an audience is already out there, waiting to read. So then, you're going to write a fanfic using someone else's characters. What rules are there? My answer: there *are* no rules. It goes back to what I said right at the beginning: writing is an art of self-expression. We want to express something, and even if we use other people's characters to express it, we shouldn't limit ourselves. Only by experimenting with your writing will you grow as a writer. You have a dark vision, of that favorite ESPer of yours slowly going mad and destroying much of the city around him. Your favorite princess and future queen suddenly decides to stop fighting altogether and moves to a South Pacific island, growing orchids while the forces of evil grow stronger around her. These visions are different from the visions that the manga or anime artists had of the characters, but - and this is important - they are *no less valid*. Write that vision out. Take it where you think it should. Express yourself. It is by following these visions that we discover more about the characters we're writing about - and ourselves. When you're doing this, keep in mind reason #2 above. The further you diverge from the anime or manga, the smaller your receptive audience may be. By taking characters into uncharacteristically dark place - or even uncharacteristically happy moments - you lose some of the appeal of the characters. How many people want to see a story about Ranma growing sunflowers and singing Gilbert and Sullivan? Perhaps not a lot, no matter how well you paint your vision. However, if you're willing to limit the possible appeal of your story, go ahead and write "Oklahoma! 1/2". Go ahead and write "Friday the 13th, part X: Jason meets Lum". Expressing yourself and giving full reign to your imagination is what writing is all *about*. Don't ever feel bound by artificial restraints. _______________________________________________________________________ "What kind of fanfic should an author create, and how true to the original should it be?" _______________________________________________________________________ By Joseph Palmer The best kind of fanfic for an author to write is not a fanfic at all, but a work with original themes, settings and characters. Original works are free from the entanglements that cause us to place 'legal disclaimers' within our fanfictions, and come with economic rights and copyright protections recognized throughout the world. When we write fanfiction, we step outside of those protections. The stories we borrow are the undisputed property of the creator/publishers. In the United States, law compels a trademark owner act to protect their trademark when presented with evidence of misuse, or risk loss of that trademark to common usage. Copyright law is different. A Copyright holder is not in danger of losing their rights if they turn a blind eye to violations of their property, but if asked for permission, the copyright holder must either refuse, or grant a license, for if they ignore a specific and documented request, they might loose control over some aspect of their work. In spite of all this, fanfictions of many genre have been around for years, and copyright holders do purposefully cast their gaze aside, so long as fanfic authors do not try to make money or infringe on the copyright holders economic rights. Some authors have even gone so far as to release into the public domain locations and settings that fan writers may use. When we write fanfics, we venture into this moral twilight and legal darkness. We have been granted no right nor license to use these stories or characters. We are uninvited guests. My gut reaction to the question: "What Kind of fanfiction Should an Author Create?" is that we are guests, and we should act like guests. To me, this means we should strive to make our stories true to the 'nature' of the original. It wasn't until I recently consulted my dictionary that I was finally able to put words to my long and deeply held beliefs. My Funk and Wagnalls defines nature as: Na-ture n. 1. The character, constitution, or essential traits of a person, thing or class... and character is defined as: Char-ac-ter n. 14 That by which a thing is especially known or distinguished... To put my feelings into twenty words or less: "As fanfic authors we should celebrate and protect the things that distinguish this series from other works." To do so protects the artistic rights of the creator, for if we remain true to the nature of the series, we are unlikely to dilute the essential qualities that drew us to the series. We also protect the creator's economic rights, since we are unlikely to affect our readers feelings in a way that would tilt them away from future purchases of the artists works. It is from behind these thin battlements that I both urge other fanfic authors to remain true to the nature of the series they have chosen to write within, and point out the total freedom available to them in original fiction. _______________________________________________________________________ Discussion Threads: _______________________________________________________________________ "Definitions, Objective and Subjective" _______________________________________________________________________ Richard Lawson Herein lies the main problem of Joseph's viewpoint. To him, there is one way a "guest" should behave. I have guests who put their feet on my furniture and jeer at my taste in music. How guests "should" behave varies greatly from individual to individual. The "nature" of a series, too, is a very personal, subjective interpretation. Some people see Ranma 1/2 as mindless fighting. I happen to see Ranma 1/2 as the story of two people slowly coming together. The answer may or may not lie somewhere in the middle. But the point is that there is no objective way to determine the "nature" of any story. So any attempt to ask people to act like "guests" and stay within the "nature" of the series is doomed to failure from the beginning. Certainly we can't - and shouldn't - try to enforce any standards on what topics can be used in fanfiction. And since opinions can vary so widely on what's acceptable in writing fanfiction, asking for voluntary compliance will not result in any noticeable change in the way fanfiction is written. In short, the battle is unwinnable. So why fight it? Now, at the same time, I don't want to give the impression that the only acceptable fanfiction is deliberately contrary. fanfiction that is written in the style of the source material can be of great benefit to the series and the genre in general. I have no argument there. But there are those who would argue that WAFF (warm and fuzzy feeling) stories are as out of step with Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 as any story fraught with murder and mayhem. Are they right or wrong? And who is to judge? Certainly not I; I'll accept both extremes as part of the panorama of Ranma 1/2. Joseph Palmer Those of you who've read my works you'll know that I choose my words carefully, and in this case "guest" perfectly describes what I mean. It allows for latitude, yet carries the cultural baggage of visits to your great aunt's doily-filled house. The implied question is, would the host invite that guest back? The answer depends both upon the behavior of the guest, and on the expectations of the host. I've read fanfictions that are pure Emily Post, and others that are the moral equivalent of burning the record collection and chucking cherry bombs down the plumbing. I know who I'd invite back. "Nature" is another word that carries much cultural meaning. I first used it in reference to the Koan; "Does a dog have a Buddha nature?" (Mu!), and it brings to mind the outdoors, and the study of natural science. "Nature" hits both the target of mechanically sorting and categorizing by characteristic, and the spiritual wonder of the objects of study. I do not claim that I can mount my favorite series (Ranma 1/2) in the center of target, fix a bulls-eye around it and declare that an arrow which falls outside the boundary, by even the slightest fraction, is "out of nature", but I reject as patently absurd the notion that we cannot see when that arrow has completely missed the target. It is a distinguishing ability of man to divide and sort by characteristic, starting all the way back at the first command; to name the animals. The record is unclear on whether this meant that a specific camel was to be named 'Clem', but It clearly acknowledges that man is able to tell a camel from an ox, both by recognizing those characteristics that make up a camel, and those that set it apart from an ox. I claim, in my genetic inheritance, the ability to do the same. When I wrote my first words of fanfiction (now buried in Chapter 2 of Ninja no Himitsu) I had given no thought to the ethical ramifications of my actions. I was just writing a story, like those I'd seen in rec.arts.anime. (Yes, it was that long ago.) Over time, a few posts in that news group led me to think more about what I was doing, but I still felt relatively safe in what I was writing since I was careful to not give away series spoilers, and I was sticking fairly close to cannon. My first real twinge of conscience came when I was writing "Autumn", since it grew to contain a real kiss between Ranma and Akane. That's all, just a kiss, but Takahashi had never never allowed that kiss, either in the Manga she wrote, or in the anime written under strict license. I knew at that time I was stepping outside the canonical bounds of Ranma 1/2, and that since the Manga had not ended ("Autumn" was written when the stories of volume 36 were running in Shonen Sunday) I was mindful and hesitant that Takahashi might end the series with a kiss, and that I was writing a story that a number of people might read before they saw her version, and that their appreciation of her scene might be in some way tainted by my work. With the end of the Manga series, I've taken it upon myself to unfreeze time, and to write my stories with the same nostalgia that Takahashi might feel for being that age. (I'm the same age as her) I am ever mindful of the historical cannon of the series, and mindful of my readers who may have never seen a single episode, or may have seen it all 4 times, as I have. When Lawson-san offered to co-write this article, I felt it might be a good opportunity to present my views before the fanfic authors, and to provide argument for my view of what we should write. It isn't a matter of enforcement (A power I reject as too repulsive to consider), it is a matter of persuasion. Fanfic authors need to know that any act of fanfiction carries the ethical burdens of copyright violation, and the possibility of economic damages to the copyright holder. They should also be mindful of their effect on the readers feelings for a series. Richard Lawson Joseph talks about how the behavior of a guest might vary, but still fall within what the host finds acceptable. The problem here is that the host - let us use Rumiko Takahashi as an example - has given us no boundaries, no indication of what or what it not acceptable behavior for her guests. So what assumptions can we make about how Takahashi would ask us to behave? Very few, I'm afraid. She may very well expect us to stay within strict guidelines. As the woman who's written a wide range of stories, from purely humorous to horrific, I feel comfortable in thinking that she'd allow a lot of latitude in how her characters are used. But that is my opinion, and my opinion only. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary. You may have a different opinion. Whose should we go by? We simply *can't* enforce any one person's opinions. Even if ninety percent of the readers agree with one set of rules, how could they enforce those standards on the remaining ten percent? Joseph makes a very valid point; the best we can do is try to persuade. It is up to you, gentle reader, to decide whose arguments you find most convincing, Joseph's or mine. I hold a slight advantage over Joseph, in that I am advocating what is already standard practice: no limitations on how characters are used in fanfics. As to "nature": Joseph is right in that there is no one fixed mark that defines the nature of a series. I do not agree that there is a standard that is clearly outside, however. It might be that a certain characteristic of a particular series is tremendously exaggerated; does that mark it as contrary to the story's nature? You may disagree, but I say that the answer is "no". There are moments of violence in Ranma 1/2. No murder, no rape, true. But lethal force is used. The minds of the characters are sometimes taken over by others against their will. In those scenes we can find traces of murder and rape. In writing a fanfic that concentrates solely on murder and rape in the Ranmaverse, we do not necessarily create a fanfic that is against the manga's nature; we merely focus on bit, blow it up out of proportion, and ignore the other things that make up the nature of Ranma 1/2. The same thing works the other way: if we write a story where Ranma and Akane are warm, happy, and act nicely towards each other and walk around holding hands in public and generally having a good time, we've exaggerated one aspect of Ranma 1/2 while ignoring the zaniness, madcap fighting, and outlandish situations that are an essential part of the manga. Is this kind of story against the nature of Ranma 1/2? Again I would say "no". Joseph Palmer On the contrary, Takahashi-sensei has left us plenty of evidence with regard to Ranma 1/2. We have the 38 Manga volumes, penned literally by her own hand. We have the 18 episodes of the original anime series (2 of which contained non-manga stories), and we have 143 'hot fighting stories' episodes, of which 76 (more than half) were not taken from the manga, and we have 6 OAVs, (3 non manga) and the 3 movies, only one of which came from the manga. Those 81 non-manga stories were created under license, and therefore provide direct physical evidence as to what sort of stories Takahashi-sensei would feel comfortable with. Lawson points out that Takahashi has herself created stories "from purely humorous to horrific". The fact that the "horrific" so evident in her other works is conspicuously missing from Ranma 1/2, both in the manga and licensed anime, is irrefutable proof of her intentions that it not be there. One of the things that draws readers and viewers to Ranma 1/2 is that it is free of the horrific, and that's a depressingly rare thing. As fanfiction authors we should ask ourselves why we would add such elements to a series which was so successful without them. As artists, we should ask ourselves why we would dishonor the original author's artistic intentions. As human beings, we should ask ourselves why there are so very few like it. If an author feels the need to unleash dark and horrific visions on their readers, (a subject for another discussion) why not choose a series where those elements are already present, or better yet, why not start with a truly clean sheet of paper? Lawson claims a slight advantage by claiming the status quo, but that's not really an argument. I'd guess most authors haven't given the ethical aspects of fanfiction much thought. I advocate that they do, and that their stories reflect that thought. _______________________________________________________________________ "The Blank Paper" _______________________________________________________________________ Joseph Palmer When we write fanfiction, we do not start with blank paper. It comes fully equipped with stories, characters, images, and fans (Or as Lawson puts it; "the hard work"). Our readers are intellectually aware that our stories are not part of the original series, but fanfiction, particularly if it is well written, can leave a profound impression in the heart of the reader. If that impression is negative, we have taken both from the series creator, (since they may lose sales) and our reader, since they may be disinclined to seek out the rest of the series. If we keep to the spirit and nature of the original series, and we write good stories, we are likely to encourage our readers to seek out (and buy) more of the series to which we ourselves have been attracted. I say as fanfic writers we should paint from the same pallet as the creator, so that if our work were taped to the 'paper' of the original, (as it is seen by the reader) they might see it as a part of the original. A great series like Ranma 1/2 has within its nature bright highlights, and very dark shadows. There are countless stories we can write within this gamut, all the while protecting the nature of the original. If we mix pallets with another series, we add to neither, and diminish both. The works of Rumiko Takahashi are a great illustration of how different series, in this case from the same author, are created with different pallets. Ranma 1/2 contains no murder, no rape, no suicide. There are dark episodes where major characters come close to death, but they do not die. Ranma is even forced in the last story arch to use lethal force, but he is saved from the consequences of his action because his opponent has rejuvenating powers. In Ranma 1/2 we are frequently exposed to the naked human form, but we are not exposed to the blackness that lies within the hearts of man. Inuyasha, Takahashi's new series, takes a dark turn. Innocent bystanders are frequently killed, and villains are dispatched with blades of living blood. The nature of Inuyasha is distinct from Ranma 1/2, here the stories are bloody and murder is normal. Both series were first published in the same magazine, Shonen Sunday. Both series are aimed at the same readers. Both are written by the same author, but the two were kept separate. A Ranma story, painted in the garish colors of murder and mayhem found in Inuyasha is a blight on the 'paper' of Ranma, it does not belong. We should not turn the 'hard work' of the series creators against them. Richard Lawson This works both ways. We can also enhance those quintessential qualities of a particular anime or manga by providing contrast. A personal example for me is "The Bitter End". It has a very dark portrayal of Akane, full of anger and rage. It's a dark and depressing story. And yet, its existence has made me appreciate all the more the moments in the original manga where Akane is sweet, nice, and helpful. The ending of the recent "Shiryu Hoten Ha" arc in the Viz translations is an excellent example - at the end, Akane is as kind and sympathetic as I've ever seen her. And I appreciated it all the more because of the darkness of Zen's portrayal of her in "The Bitter End". The economic impact Joseph refers to can also work both ways. I have had many people tell me that they've acquired "All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku" tapes after having read my Nuku Nuku fanfiction. This despite the fact that my fanfiction is much more serious than the anime on which it's based, and that "Transitions" is a very depressing story that introduces tragedy to what's supposed to be a light, fun comedy. I see the net effect of fanfiction's impact on the original works as zero or plus, myself. The creation of fanfiction is more likely to interest people in there series on which they're based. The existence of sharp contrasts are more likely to make us appreciate the original characters more. Let me say that I've seen both sides. I did have one person write to me telling me his reaction to the first Ranma 1/2 movie. He talked about how, at the end, when Ranma and Akane are onboard the floating ship and are looking at each other out of the corners of their eyes, all he could think about was Kentaro. :) Certainly not what I intended when I wrote "Thy Outward Part". So Joseph's point is well-taken. But I still believe that the overall effect is positive. I think the existence of mine and everyone else's fanfics are doing more good than harm - no matter how dark, twisted, or "out of character" the stories are. Joseph Palmer We have no right to these characters at all, so we certainly can find no right to rewrite a character to "provide contrast". Contrast means 'To set in opposition in order to show differences.' Recasting the same character in opposition to their "quintessential qualities" is self defeating, since it demonstrates that those very qualities are not so quintessential after all. It is this dilution of the essence of the original story that I find the most disheartening. The message, (whether intentional or not) is 'See, this series wasn't so special after all, I can recast these characters into the same banal plots of crime, violence and hate we get every night on television.' Having written all that, I can recall a number of good stories that successfully provided contrast, (for example the good Kirk - bad Kirk Star Trek episodes) but they do so by providing an unbroken connection and a positive return to the original characterization, and a plot device to explain the abnormal behavior. The slightest flaw in that connection damages that character forever in the mind of the reader. _______________________________________________________________________ "Writing and Rules" _______________________________________________________________________ Joseph Palmer Writing is all about rules. It's about spelling and punctuation, rhythm, cadence and sentence structure. Those who break these rules do so only by making their own. (The rare orthodox sentence shines out of 'Finnegans Wake' like a shiny nail in a box of rusty screws.) If we write non-fiction, our pen struggles beneath the burdens of truth and fact. If we write science fiction, we must know our science, or be prepared to invent a whole new one. If we write history, we must honor documented facts. If we write historical fiction, we must weave our story without disturbing the threads of time. Even if we write pure fiction our pen is still gently bound, for we may not libel, nor may we plagiarize. Richard Lawson e. e. cummings, among many others, demonstrated that rules are made to be broken. His poetry broke many of the molds that had constrained literature up to that point, and lent legitimacy to new forms of expression. Many of the "rules" Joseph talks about are relatively arbitrary, and *can* be broken. You must be prepared to pay the price, of course - your poetry better be darned good if you decide not to rhyme anything or use capital letters. Eddie Murphy's classic poem "Kill My Landlord" also comes to mind. :) Joseph Palmer e. e. cummings demonstrated only that it is possible to make up his own rules, and he ground the capital letters from his typewriter to enforce his rules. Writing without any rules is like music without key or time, it is but noise. Publishing a nonfiction book filled with libel and fabrications will likely land the author and publisher in court. I don't believe that the declaration that "There are no Rules" is likely to hold much sway with a jury. Fanfiction is the use without permission of proprietary, copyrighted property. (We do not write fanfiction, we commit fanfiction.) :) Copyright laws are rules of a sort, and while writing a story and leaving it spinning on our hard disks can be considered fair use, publishing them in the internet breaks that copyright law. Richard Lawson Joseph splits hairs when he talks about "making up your own rules" versus "no rules". Obviously when you go against established tradition, you're making your own rules. The point I'm trying to make is that you should never feel limited by someone else's rules. Feel free to make up your own, and don't worry about those who might call it "noise". Just so you understand the risk you are taking: that by creating your own rules, you may limit the appeal of and the audience for your work. Joseph does make a valid point about libel and plagiarism. Obviously there *are* some rules. Just as obviously, the very act of writing fanfiction breaks those rules. However, since the industry at large turns a blind eye (and in fact, copyright-violating manga has its own industry in Japan), we pretty much get away with it. There are other "rules", too. If you want to get your story published on rec.arts.anime.creative, you'll need to post it in a certain format that's readable to everybody. Such rules are not meant as creative limitations, but as a necessity for accessibility. Once we get beyond those limitations, however, there simply are no rules. Neither the moderators of r.a.a.c nor the internet community at large places any restriction on your creativity. And, as stated above, I don't think there should be. Joseph Palmer Looks like Lawson and I agree, rules is rules, pick one or make one up and stick to it. ..Or not, if your rule is not sticking to rules, but wait, isn't that just another... Oh never mind. As for the hair, here's your half, Richard. (Sorry about the gray, must be one of mine) Lawson's made a strategic retreat. In his opening statement he said with great force and authority that "there *are* no rules", now that's been toned down a bit to: "Obviously there *are* some rules." Rather than needling him for a paragraph or two, I'll get back to the heart of the matter. There is another rule we must face, and that is the rule of law. Copyright law was not created as a roadblock to our creativity, it was created to protect the economic and artistic rights of the original author. Copyright law has this to say about fanfiction: (paraphrasing) "Don't." Fiction is unique. It's not found in the ground like the elements, nor is it part of the universe to be discovered, like mathematics. It is the willful creation of man. Neither the fibers of the paper nor the pigments of the ink are fiction, only the words and ideas. As authors, we should be especially sensitive to the rights of other authors. As fan fiction authors we must additionally recognize that our works are distributed worldwide, for free, and are frequently more accessible than the original. We must recognize that if our vision is different, and we assert that vision with great force and skill, that we are violating the artistic rights and intentions of the original author. Lawson asserts with regard to creativity: "I don't think there should be [any rules]." Just because we are writing fanfiction, it doesn't mean we are issued us a special "artistic learner's permit" that grants us unrestricted use of the original artist's vehicle. When we take that vehicle out for a spin, we owe it to the original author to return it in the same condition (and top off the tank). If that vehicle is unique or rare, we should take extra care not to damage it. I've presented my case that the creation of any fanfiction is fraught with ethical problems, and have offered two alternatives, the first reduces the ethical problems to 'de minimus', [Still ethically wrong, but unworthy of pursuit, (like eating 1 grape in a grocery store)] and the second is the freedom of original works. In his opening statement, Lawson made the assertions that "there *are* no rules", and [If] "We want to express something, and even if we use other people's characters to express it, we shouldn't limit ourselves". Those assertions carry much authority and force, yet I can find no evidence or argument to support them. Richard Lawson When trying to define my "strategic retreat", Joseph holds up a Red Delicious and attempts to show how different it is from a Florida Seedless. To the original question, "What kind of a fanfic should an author create?", I said that there were no rules; feel free to create any fanfic you want. Do you want to publish it on raac? Then there *are* rules, mostly having to do with formatting. Do you want to go to Doubleday and have them publish your collection of Sailor Moon stories? Be prepared to be play by the rules of international copyright. Want to write a fanfic for your own enjoyment, and perhaps the enjoyment of a few people who come across your web page? Do whatever you feel like. As to returning the car in the same condition you got it in: there are those who say you should never have taken the car out for a joyride in the first place. Following Joseph's own arguments to their logical conclusion would lead us to never write fanfiction in the first place. I loved Joseph's line about "committing" fanfiction. ^_^ I am proceeding from the assumption that you have decided to learn how to drive in your neighbor's car without permission. And, indeed, most neighbors these days are turning a blind eye to the fact that their cars are being used for this purpose. For good reason, too: their cars, if you follow my arguments above, are generally more valuable to them after they've been used in this manner. And *that* is the force of my argument: that the overall affect of fanfiction (even the stuff that has a tone that contrasts with the source material) is positive. More people are aware of the source anime or manga, and draw greater appreciation of it. If you're looking for material justification for fanfiction, you need look no further than that. However, my stronger belief is a more ethereal one: that there should never be a limit on creativity. Don't be fettered by the opinions and interpretations of others, but explore where your imagination takes you, even if you're using the benefits of someone else's imagination to do it. Joseph's points are well-reasoned, and I would be lying if I said that I haven't had similar thoughts myself. After having a conversation with someone in the manga industry at an Anime Convention, I seriously considered getting out of fanfiction writing altogether. But as long as I do not try to make a profit out of it, and as long as I perceive the overall influence of fanfiction as positive, then I will continue to write fanfiction and continue to advise others to write fanfiction in whatever form they choose to do it. Of course, the above is my opinion only, just as Joseph's arguments are his opinion. It is up to you, dear reader, to decide whose arguments above you find most convincing, and to live by them. _______________________________________________________________________ Joseph Palmer's fanfictions include the Seasons and Colors series. He lives and works in Silicon Valley. email: jpalmer@best.com url: http://www.best.com/~jpalmer Richard Lawson's fanfictions include "Thy Inward Love", "Thy Outward Part", and the largest collection of All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku fanfics to be found in the English-speaking world. He lives and works in Plymouth, MN, and is open to offers of employment in warmer climates. email: sterman@sprynet.com url: http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/sterman/fanfic.htm Copyright 1998, Richard Lawson & Joseph Palmer All Rights Reserved.