A dilemma I need some advice on

[Senor_Smut]

I never thought of it that way. The Lovecraft circle has some serious talent. Robert E-Howard Robert Bloch, Clark Ashton Smith to name a few.

At one point HPL and Bloch even "killed each other" in mirrored stories they wrote based on each other's work.

The Lovecraft Circle dominated horror and sci-fi for more than a generation. Lots of big-time talent there. And none of it would have been possible if Lovecraft had been parsimonious in his permissions.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Yeah, this is becoming an offshoot of the I want to start an argument thread.

For me, writing a sequel to something another wrote isn't evil or unethical, I think posting it publicly without consent is, at least in the case of a direct sequel, and not a "based on" type of story. Two different things.

Sorry to derail things.

I think what you've done is fair and reasonable, and I'll leave it at that

 

[lovecraft68]

Sorry to derail things.

I think what you've done is fair and reasonable, and I'll leave it at that

No derail, its going down that path all on its own, which I should have suspected would happen, but I did get great feedback in either direction and thoughtful responses. All in all, I'd say this is a good thread.

 

[Plathfan]

No derail, its going down that path all on its own, which I should have suspected would happen, but I did get great feedback in either direction and thoughtful responses. All in all, I'd say this is a good thread.

Well, if we're being completely honest here, this thread is a direct sequel to her original thread and should have been posted there. But you just had to grab your share of attention. If she were that kid on the playground, she would have sued you for violating her copyrights.

 

[MrHereWriting]

So now here's my dilemma. This is not how she acted in my story, its not how I want her to act moving forward.

It's your character, and it's supposed to be a sequel, not fan fiction: It makes no sense for the character to change between one day and the next. It takes away something that was lovable about them and turns it into a cliche, and it sounds like they do it without any character development.

It sounds like your character had depth and your fan is taking it away.

But...this isn't me writing it, and if I geen light it, I have to let him have the freedom to make the story his beyond keeping the premise in line with mine.

Maybe with ideas, scenarios, and situation, but imagine if you wrote a huge space opera with a hero who fought for what he believed no matter the cost and someone else took it over and turned your biggest hero into a recluse who no longer had the spirit to fight for what he believed in, taking away everything that made him (or her) them. That could upset some of the original fanbase.

The freedom to write is different from the freedom to change and possibly destroy the essences of the fan-favorite character you created.

Not sure what I should do. Am I being to protective of a character? Should I be?

I wouldn't let him post it if it bothered you enough to make a thread about it. On the other hand, if dialogue changes were made and you could live with that, then, do as you feel.

Your story, your choice, right? (But, if it's going to bother you, even just a little bit, to the point you wonder if you want them to take it down, don't do it.)

Where's the line between allowing another to pick up your story and how much say you'd have over it?

The line comes with your say until you give up creative control, then it becomes someone ruining something you put effort into because they either didn't understand the character, or they think they can do it better than you.


Outside of all this contemplation, it's great that you had a fan who loved your story this much, and it's great that he would get his feet wet writing something based on your work, but the customer isn't always right, no matter how good their intentions.

 

[MrHereWriting]

Think of your namesake: H.P. Lovecraft was an enthusiastic supporter of other people taking what he had written and writing their own stories around it, or picking up his unfinished ideas, or writing sequels. He always gave his blessing no matter his reservations on the writer's abilities or perspectives. I've always admired that profound generosity and selflessness, and I think we'd all do better if we emulated it.

My $0.02.

And he was poor throughout his life, and was probably only worth .02¢ upon his death.

 

[Senor_Smut]

And he was poor throughout his life, and was probably only worth .02¢ upon his death.

True. If Lovecraft68 doesn't let her admirer do what he asked, she'll make much more money sharing her stories on a free site. Wait...

 

[MrHereWriting]

True. If Lovecraft68 doesn't let her admirer do what he asked, she'll make much more money sharing her stories on a free site. Wait...

Where'd the point go? Over your head.

 

[BrokenSpokes]

I have a story here that is immensely popular (Its in the top 10 most favorited stories of all time here.) It's a sweet(ish) first time romance between long time friends and the girl had a thing for him, and he couldn't see it, and she finally makes her move. Nothing overly original, but I guess it hit the spots for people.

Its 10 years old at this point and still gets a lot of comments and favs, and of course the endless "we need a sequel"

People say that about most of our stories, but this one is wide open. The next day could be fun and wrap up a few things. How do his friends react, his mother, what happens when the bitchy girl who was stringing him along shows up...

But I don't do sequels. I'm a thrill of the kill writer, and once the ice is broken, the act is consummated, our couple is together, I like to leave everything to the imagination. Write it out in your own head.

Last week someone sent me a sequel they wrote and asked me if they could publish it and of course credit me and say they have my permission.

My first reaction is to be flattered, especially when he said this was the first thing he wrote because he liked the story that much and now has his own series he's about to start. Ultimate compliment here is that you inspired another to pick up the figurative pen and paper. Second reaction was that, sure, I'll let them do it.

But...then I read it.

On the plus side, he wraps up everything I mentioned, and I'd say is pretty faithful to the original as in I wouldn't have done it too much differently myself. Downside is how he has the girl behaving. The best way I can put it is he is writing her from the POV of pure male fantasy. When they meet their friends and announce they're a couple (BTW story is the boyfriend's POV both mine and his) he has her saying things like "Let's get home so you can fuck me some more, because you're sooo good at it" then mentioning her love of giving head and a couple of other things.

So now here's my dilemma. This is not how she acted in my story, its not how I want her to act moving forward. But...this isn't me writing it, and if I geen light it, I have to let him have the freedom to make the story his beyond keeping the premise in line with mine.

Not sure what I should do. Am I being to protective of a character? Should I be? Where's the line between allowing another to pick up your story and how much say you'd have over it?

I’d say it depends on how much your characters live on in you. If you are truly a one-and-done author and don’t spend a lot of headspace thinking about your characters after you are finished, then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I personally am constantly thinking about the characters in my stories, even series I’ve long finished. What they would do in different situations. What are they up to now? How would their lives go on after I finished writing? There’s NO other author who could write something with my characters which would satisfy ME from the stand point of who I believe they are. I have a trusted friend and fellow author who wanted to have a couple of my characters make a cameo in one of their WIP. At first I thought it was a situation like they’d be seen across a room and physically described, which I was okay with. But the author wanted to have my characters have dialog in the story. And even though I respect the other author and trust them there’s no way I could be happy with anyone else deciding what my characters would say in a situation or how they would think or act. And it was tough telling my fellow author I wasn’t comfortable letting them write my characters in, even though it was flattering and I trusted them. And this is an author I know, not someone I don’t.

So I guess my answer to your question is a question: what’s your relationship with your characters post-writing?

 

[lovecraft68]

Bump.

Que paso? Por que no respondes? Le dijiste que se fuera a la mierda, no?

No, les di permiso con un descargo de responsabilidad. Apruebo que lo haga, pero esta es su versión de los personajes, no la mía.

 

[Britva415]

The Lovecraft Circle dominated horror and sci-fi for more than a generation. Lots of big-time talent there. And none of it would have been possible if Lovecraft had been parsimonious in his permissions.

Mmm, persimmons.