My Blog

The Fight to Save Science Fiction

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Yesterday on this blog, I refered to a post by Richard Wheeler lamenting the demise of the western. According to an article syndicated by the Associated Press, the Science Fiction genre is also fighting for survival. They talk to author James Gunn, who heads the University of Kansas’ Center for the
Study of Science Fiction…

…which he started in 1982 as an extension of
the writers’ workshops he conducted and courses he taught to teachers looking to add science fiction to their lesson plans. These days, he and the center are gearing up for a new mission – to save science fiction, itself.

…The economics and social shift Gunn and his supporters face are daunting, however.

Andrew Grabois, director of publisher relations at Bowker, said the combined science fiction/fantasy category published 3,197 new titles last year and sold $484.8 million, its highest total in three years.

That’s dwarfed by romance novels, which sold $1.6 billion last year, and is even behind the production of mystery writers, who cranked out 4,181 new titles in 2004.

…Gunn, who considers "Star Wars" closer to a fairy tale than science fiction, says there’s less room these days for what he calls the "mid-level" books that may not sell as well but contain the most imaginative and thought-provoking writing.

"(Science fiction) has to change to remain relevant," he said."That’s harder to do today because the best seller needs to have broad appeal, so they’re less likely to be on the cutting edge. You need that to drive the genre forward."

It seems that every genre, with the exception of Romance, feels threatened with extinction. And yet Romance Writers, whose works outpace the sales of mysteries, scifi and westerns combined, complain (and rightly so) that they get no critical respect or recognition despite the enormous commercial popularity of their work.

The moral of this story? Writers are never happy.

Holly Lisle Says No to Fanfic

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Novelist Holly Lisle promises to prosecute anybody who circulates  fanfic based on her work because "fanfic writers demonstrate not just blatant disregard for, but
active antagonism toward, the wishes of individual authors on this
issue."

UPDATE (6-24-05) Holly posted this as a comment on another blog entry:

"Ten years ago, I was, if not wildly supportive of the idea of
fanfic, at least tolerant of it. A few fans asked if they could write
fanfic using my characters, I told them they could as long as they
understood that they could not publish it and that I owned all rights
to the characters, and that under no circumstances would I be willing
to read what they’d written.

Times changed, associates started having to take legal action
against people who were writing in their worlds without permission, and
I asked my fans to please discontinue writing fanfiction in my worlds.
Which they did.

There were some fanfic writers posting in these threads who said
they would respect the wishes of authors who stated clearly that they
didn’t want fanfic written around their characters or worlds.

So obviously there are still some decent people like my fans who are
writing fanfic, and I feel badly about having to post a harsh notice
informing all fanfic writers that under no circumstances will I condone
any fanfic set in my worlds, and that any such writing that IS done
will be treated as derivative work and prosecuted.

Looking at the quality of people posting here, however — people who
are actively hostile toward the creators of the original work, who hold
the rights of the original creators in complete disregard, and who
state that they don’t care whether the original creators want them
writing in their worlds or not — that they intend to do what they want
until someone forces them to stop — I’m confident that the posting of
my notice is necessary.

As for taking heat from the people who have chosen to use my
statements as an opportunity to vilify me — ah, well. They’ve also
done a pretty good job of disseminating my wishing across a number of
sites and boards, thus decreasing the chances that someone writing
fanfic in one of my worlds could claim ignorance of my clearly worded
hands-off post.

So, to all of you who have been spreading the word for me, my deepest thanks."

I Hate Mysteries

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Well, I do today.  I’m struggling with some clues in my latest MONK novel and it’s hell.  I’ve been in this position hundreds of times (literally) and it never gets any easier.

God, I wish I could write a "mainstream" novel. It must be so nice to just tell a story without having to weave in a puzzling mystery to solve…

I suppose it could be argued that all great novels include a mystery to be solved and clues to the solution along the way… but those are mysteries of character. It’s not easy coming up with those puzzles either.  But in a good whodunit, you need to have the mysteries of character and a murder/crime puzzle as well.

It’s especially difficult if you’re writing a long-runing mystery TV or book series,  because you’re also struggling not to repeat yourself, not to use any of the tricks or clues you’ve used in the past.  So the more successful you are, the harder it becomes.

End of whine. Back to work.

Novik Chimes In

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Naomi Novik, one of the two "pro-fanfic" guests on OPEN SOURCE, comments on the radio show and the discussion here on her blog.
To give you a sense of the bizarre logic behind her arguments, she believes
that writing reference books about television (like my book UNSOLD
TELEVISION PILOTS)  is no different than fanfic.

And the books in the last category profit off the creations of others
*without* authorization — because legally you don’t need to have
authorization to report facts. So in the venn diagram of ‘borrowing
characters to write fiction’ and ‘use without authorization’, where
fanfic writers are in the intersection, he’s got one foot in either
camp even while he’s going after the people in the middle.

Need I say more? Okay, a little more. Here’s how she feels about authors who object to fanfic about their work:

I realized after posting, that the joking remark above might seem to
imply an insult any author who does object to fanfic. Not my intention
— I do understand individual authors who feel strongly that they don’t
want fanfic on their own work out there. If an author feels an intense
negative reaction to fanfic on her work, that is a completely valid
feeling. I don’t think that it obliges people to respect that feeling,
but it’s not ridiculous, it’s how she feels, and I personally do
respect that reaction out of courtesy.

Courtesy?? What
courtesy? She isn’t showing authors any courtesy at all. She "respects
the reaction," but not the author.  Her attitude is basically this:
Fuck JK Rowling if she doesn’t like stories about Harry using his magic
wand to have sex with everybody at Hogwarts.  Anything she writes
belongs to me to use however I see fit.

Her arrogance and stupidity is mind-boggling. Between her, and the
guy who made the "We more emotionally attached" comment, I think you
get a pretty accurate picture of the fanfic community and how they
think. Scary, isn’t it?

(I was amused, though, but her inadvertent acknowledgement of the central hypocrisy of fanficcers. If someday fanfic is written based on one of her
novel, she won’t read..

  …any of the fanfic anyway (just not worth the
potential legal headaches), so what difference does it make to me?

That statement says so much. Fanficcers see absolutely nothing wrong with stealing the work of other writers, even if it the author of the work is opposed to it, but
would sue any novelist or TV producer they think may have stolen something from their
fanfic.  Their work should be protected, it’s everybody else’s that up for grabs…)

Last Round-Up for Western Writers of America?

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On the eve of the Western Writers of America’s annual convention, legendary western novelist Richard Wheeler laments the state of the western genre…and the wisdom of the WWA’s decision to "drop its professional requirements for membership."

This merely formalized the practice of admitting most
anyone, regardless of the strict bylaws, which had been going on for
several years. So the organization switched from being a classic guild
looking after professional members to being an open-membership group.

Recently it was noted that Library Journal, which scrupulously
publishes the winners of various awards given by author societies, had
not included Spur Awards in its listings for some while. Apparently it
deemed the WWA awards to be beneath notice, which is a good indication
of the fate of the western novel. Maybe the LJ has a point: many of the
Spur judges no longer have true professional credentials, so the Spur
Awards are increasingly fan-given or wannabe-given awards rather than a
selection made by professional peers.

WWA is booming, actually, now that anyone can join. It has around 600
members, publishes a flossy magazine, sets up booths at trade shows,
and is prosperous. And there is no lack of books written by members,
even if these are often print-on-demand titles from vanity presses, or
more commonly, works published by spare-bedroom presses, some of which
do not even have ISBN numbers or bar codes, and thus are not
distributed by larger booksellers.

I am wondering where it will all lead.

That’s a good question…and one the Mystery Writers of America might ponder before they ever consider loosening their membership requirements.

Another Writers Conference Horror Story

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Author Penny Warner writes in the Contra Costa Times today about her experience at the California Writer’s Club conference in L. A.  last weekend… which I also attended. The event was held at a convent in San Fernando and many of the attendees actually spent the weekend there (and had to remember to return their towels to one of the club volunteers, who brought them  from home). Here are some of my favorite excerpts from her column, which was in the form of a diary…

3 p.m. — Check itinerary. Hotel not open until five. Try sightseeing, see only
strip malls, graffiti walls, bail bonds, Taco Bell, Arby’s, IHOP….

4 p.m. — Give up sightseeing, go to hotel, pray they will let us in early
for nap before conference. Discover "hotel" is actually a convent, with
religious statues, tolling bells, and nuns on wheels (golf carts?). Mother
Superior, who runs the office, is firm about check-in time, which is now 6 p.m.
instead of 5. Am I being punished?

4:30 p.m. — Search neighborhood for place to take nap in rental car. Not
possible in L.A. Return to convent and park in shady spot near Jesus statue. Nun
shows up to check if we’re vagrants. Swear on Bible we aren’t. Tom naps. I keep
an eye out for more nuns on wheels.

8 p.m. — Sneak out before "Senior Poetry Slam." Go to room. No key required.
Doors have no locks. So much for romantic interlude. Turn on single light bulb
and remove lampshade to read in semi-darkness. Drift to sleep hoping for
contagious disease so can go home.

That was day one. On day two, when I happened to be present…

Noon — Lunch cooked and served by nuns. Plain chicken, plain rice, plain
veggies, plain salad. No dessert. (Being punished?). Dig out Reese’s Peanut
Butter Cups from purse. Wolf them.

2 p.m. — Give another talk on mystery writing with Tom Sawyer ("Murder She
Wrote") and Lee Goldberg ("Diagnosis Murder"). Twelve people attend.

The volunteers were nice, and their intentions were good, but it was a poorly organized and sparsely attended event. I have to say that, after being disappointed with the last few conferences/events I’ve participated in,  I’ve decided I am going to be a lot more selective about accepting speaking invitations in the future.

The Difference Between Tie-Ins and Fanfic

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In a comment to my post "What Stupid About It, someone asked what the difference is between someone who writes tie-ins and someone who writes fanfic… beyond the fact that tie-ins are written with the consent of the author/right’s holder.

There’s a big difference.

I was hired to write DIAGNOSIS MURDER and MONK novels. It’s something I am being paid to do. It’s not like I woke up one morning with a burning desire to write DIAGNOSIS MURDER novels, wrote one up, and sent it off to a publisher (or, as a fanficcer would do, posted it on the web).  The publisher came to me and asked me to write them. 

I would never write a book using someone else’s characters unless I was hired to do so. It would never even occur to me because the characters aren’t mine. 

Given a choice, I would only write novels and TV shows of my own creation. But I have to make a living and I take the work that comes my way…and that includes writing-for-hire, whether it’s on someone else’s TV show or original tie-in novels based on characters I didn’t create. Ultimately, however, what motivates me as a writer is to express myself…not the work of someone else.

That’s the big difference between me and a fanficcer.

Given a choice, fanficcers "write" fanfic. 

More Books on UNSOLD PILOTS?

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I got this email today:

I am a television trivia addict from Sydney Australia and a couple years ago I ordered copies of your books Unsold TV Pilots  55 – 76 & Unsold TV Pilots 77 – 89.I thoroughly enjoyed them and read them both from  cover to cover and then read them again. I was wondering when i can expect a third (and  maybe fourth edition) covering the Unsold Pilots from seasons 90 – 05.

I’m glad you enjoyed the books and I appreciate the kind words. I don’t intend to do another volume…nowadays, information on pilots is readily available on a number of industry databases (TVTracker.com is one). Besides, I’m
just too busy!

That said, I still casually collect the data just in case I ever do another Unsold Pilots TV special (I’ve written and produced two over the years —  THE BEST TV SHOWS THAT NEVER WERE last season for ABC and THE GREATEST SHOWS YOU NEVER SAW for CBS).

What The Homeless Are Reading

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Publishers Weekly asked a homeless man ("homeless by choice," he says)  in San Francisco about the books he reads.  David Cook, aka Alley Cat, 52, is currently reading CRADLE OF SATURN by James Hogan ("I like the descriptions and the political critiques"). The last book he read was A PUZZLE IN A PEAR TREE by Parnell Hall.  The magazine asked him what he plans to read next.

"The next book I get. I receive donations by the crateful."

Now, after this tidbit in PW, he’ll probably start getting ARCs, too… and blurb requests from  PublishAmerica authors.

“What’s Stupid About It?”

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I got this email today:

"Fan fic writers have no deadlines, networks/producers/actors to please,
and often have a better grasp on the characters and their history than
the tv writers usually because We Are more Emotionally attached."

You said that comment is stupid. I don’t get it.  What’s stupid about it?

Okay, the email is probably a fake, but I’ll treat it like it’s not.  I create the characters and the world they live in. I figure out the relationships, what they do, and why they do it. And then I come up with every single thing that happens next.  I also hire the actors,  the directors, the writers,  the set designers, the costume designers, the composer etc. etc…. and they all are charged with interpreting my vision of the  show as I see it. We all spend every waking hour making the show (and even non-waking hours…my dreams are often filled with scenes and characters from the show I’ve spent all day working on).

And somebody who merely watches the show says he has a better grasp on the characters and their history than I do? That he’s  more emotionally involved in the series than I am? The guy who created the characters, who came up with every single thing they have ever said or done or experienced?

Okay, let’s say I’m not the creator. I’m a hired gun, one of the writer/producers. I am working hand-in-hand with the showrunner to articulate his or her creative vision of their show. All I do every day is live with those characters, whether I’m writing a script of my own, rewriting someone else’s script, plotting a story, editing an episode, prepping an episode with a director, or discussing character with one of the actors. I am as emotionally involved as it’s possible to be. The show is all that I do and all I am thinking about for most of the working day…and, because I am a writer, I can’t stop thinking about it once I go home, either (even if I don’t have a script or story to write/work on every night).

And somebody who watches the show thinks he’s more involved than that? Knows more about the  characters than I do?

That’s why it’s a stupid comment.

…but I can see how the fanficcer’s emotional involvement with a show is very different than the one that I have as a TV writer/producer. A TV show is something I write, something I do, it’s not my world, it’s not my religion, it’s not who I am and my reason for breathing. It’s not my obsession.  I don’t dress like the characters, wallpaper my house with their pictures, or fantasize about having sex with them.  Whe the show is cancelled (or I leave it for whatever reason), I stop thinking about the characters and their "lives." I move on creatively and emotionally to something else. There are viewers who are incapable of doing that…who become so emotionally attached to fictional characters and an imaginary world that they can’t ever let go. And in that sense, yeah, a fanficcer is more emotionally attached than I am.  Frighteningly so.