I've been re-reading my stuff, and realized some of my best work takes place in someone else's sandbox. My Mercy story, my Phoenix story, both (In my humble opinion) really good stories with genuine feels in them.
Now, I'm not sure what this means for me going forward. Can I take something from those stories, and put them into a unique setting, or am I doomed to only be able to do good work inside someone else's universe ?
Comments
All your work is Good
Be it one of your original, or in an establish universes...
All your work is Good.
Thanks for all of the wonderful stories you gave us.
Big Sweet Hugs tmf
What's the difference between original work an fanfiction?
Many of the greatest science fiction and fantasy books ever written are fanfiction to some extent, as are a great many classic computer games, with authors liberally ripping off classic mythology, fairy tales, and The Lord of the Rings for their ideas.
The question isn't "can you write good work that isn't fanfiction." Short answer: of course you can, you have before. The more important question is "what is it about these worlds that inspires me, and how can I apply that to my own original creations?"
Taking fan fiction and turning it into something original can be as simple as swapping around a few names and omitting or adding a detail here or there as necessary. What are the elements that you've glommed onto -- the feel of the world, the deep history, etc. -- and how can you facilitate keeping those parts without deriving your work from the original directly?
You've got the skills to pay the bills, hon. And of course, you know if you ever need/want to talk through world building details, I'm easily reached :)
Melanie E.