Dragon Age News Thread

To be honest, even if he had some I don't think he should have answered. I don't know... I just don't think it would be fair to single out particular fanfic writers in that way. I don't think it's the same as pointing to a fanart because a writer is working in their (the devs') world, with their characters, and so on.

You can't really lock down fanfic, though. Just after reading this post, I did a search on AO3 for "game of thrones," and got back 15,334 results. AO3 is quite popular, and there are some other large fanfic sites as well, but they're not the only ones out there. There are also personal blogs and such in addition to the aggregate fanfic sites, certain fandom oriented forums where fanfic is posted, and all sorts of places all around the internet. Lawyers can't get to them ALL.

He can say he doesn't allow or permit fanfic all he wants, it's still going to happen. I believe Anne Rice is the same way, but I'm sure there are all sorts of things out there.

Didn't Bioware literally sponsor a contest about how could write the best DA2 fan fiction a few years back?

Awesome Inquisitor cosplay. She nailed down the details on both armour and dragon bow.

I'd like to get into doing more cosplay photography after my first experience at Edmonton Expo.

Nevermind fanfic, I'm surprised fiction writers read any fiction by any other writer, at least in the same market. How do you know that this great idea you think up in 2016 wasn't actually something you read 15 years ago and forgot about, consciously but not subconsciously?

And there's such a fine line between homage and derivative, how do you know when you cross the line?

Meh, the whole thing is a minefield. I really don't know how writers get anything done. I'd be a nervous wreck.

I'm an artist, but I think the same idea applies.

If you're worried about this kind of thing (and I do worry, constantly), the trick is not to avoid consuming other art (or written works), but to consume ALL OF IT. As much as you can. Read, read, read. Research everything. Study art and artists and technique. Read articles. Watch film, read comics, play video games.

Because then, you're much less likely to accidentally be too similar to a single piece. Instead, you can point directly at the 15 pieces you intentionally were inspired by and referenced, and own it. Say: "these things were my inspiration. I read them. I looked at them. I studied them. And then I put them away and made my thing." And because you're aware, because you had so many influences, because you studied, you're not inspired by any one thing, but by all the things, and are therefore more likely to have made it your own. In spirit and substance.

It's impossible to be completely original, but you can infuse it with whatever makes it uniquely you. But that requires practice and knowledge and not taking too much inspiration from a single source, or taking a single person's advice too seriously.

I see your point, but these writers have already been influenced by things they read as a kid, and later on as an adult before they became professional in their own writing. We absorb everything we've ever been exposed to. There's also something to be said for enjoying a particular genre and also writing professionally in that genre. I'd think that seeing that creativity, or knowing about the research required first-hand, would do much to foster admiration for another author. And too, there are other components of a work to like and admire. One of the things Stephen King does really well is character development, even if his plots are sometimes a little all over the place; he also seems to be attuned to portraying children, in the same way that Steven Spielberg gets good performances out of them. So another horror author could read his work and enjoy that aspect of it.

That said, I'm sure there are some authors who don't read much newer fiction for that reason, or those that read everything for the same reason (to know what to avoid). Everyone will have their own way.

Not to mention that even if something IS highly derivative, it can still be published. I'm thinking of Dennis L. McKiernan, whose The Iron Tower trilogy is very, very much like J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I know, and I do enjoy his work. I was just using him as an example for people who are too paralyzed to write anything because they're afraid they'll get sued. I also think it's important to keep this in perspective: pretty much nothing you write will ever be completely free of influence. And that's okay. That is how we humans are wired, from time immemorial. Pretty much every story you have ever read or heard probably has something in common with another story out there in this little world of ours.

Mike Laidlaw ‏@mike_Laidlaw
I'm reading a thing here for work and chuckling aloud now and then. That's a good sign.

Mike Laidlaw ‏@mike_Laidlaw
In the background, I can hear @patrickweekes and @hanlsp plotting. It is a good day.

- Should we just start mailing you our tears now and skip the wait...? 

Hell, that gator is my patronus!