# George r.r. Martinâ€™s 20 quotes on writing



## Ankari (Jul 26, 2013)

I'm reading the twenty collected tips from GRRM to writers on writing. I though others would like to read it as well. Read it, then post your opinion(s).


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## Penpilot (Jul 27, 2013)

I like number 7.


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## Nobby (Jul 27, 2013)

I do hope he's joking about number three!

Paraphrasing, he knows the start and end for every (every!) character, but not exactly how they get there...sort of like knowing how to play a piano concerto without knowing 2/3 of the piece.

Pity he's so bloody good at it!


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## Jamber (Jul 27, 2013)

Great set of quotes! I loved 16:

"As for 'too much description,' well, opinions differ. We write the books we want to read. And I want to read books that are richly textured and full of sensory detail [...]"

Thanks,
Jennie


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## Steerpike (Jul 27, 2013)

Nobby said:


> I do hope he's joking about number three!
> 
> Paraphrasing, he knows the start and end for every (every!) character, but not exactly how they get there...sort of like knowing how to play a piano concerto without knowing 2/3 of the piece.
> 
> Pity he's so bloody good at it!



I agree with #3. I think I liked quotes #2 and #3 the best.


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## SineNomine (Jul 27, 2013)

I hate 2.

I mean, the broad gist of most of part of it is undeniably true:  Read a lot, read broadly, and write a lot are all super important.  But he takes time to flog his personal bugaboo of fanfiction, which is silly.  

And advice that people should start with short stories before they tackle novels is a pretty "old guard" opinion that most people now disagree with.  Admittedly, he is definitely an author that has done tremendous things with both novels and short stories but the better advice nowadays is to write short stories if you want to write short stories and write novels if you want to write novels.  Writing short stories teaches you a hell of a lot about writing short stories and only a small amount about writing novels.

Other than that, it's also a poorly constructed grouping of GRRM quotes.  1 and 20 are the same.  9 and 13 are on the exact same subject and say, fundamentally, the same thing.  Same with 8 and 17.

Maybe I am just feeling particularly curmudgeonly...


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## Chessie (Jul 27, 2013)

^^ I'm with you on this. People should write whatever they want to, period. About the sex one...sure, I get it. Its a natural part of life. But not all readers want their share of it in their fantasy novels, and not all writers are willing to go there...and there's nothing wrong with either of those. To say it should be included was eye rolling. Personally, I have no problems including it in a story if it fits, but if it doesn't, then who cares? 

Besides that, all the others were reasonable. I understand what he means about #2 though. New writers should get used to what it feels like creating your own world and characters. But if writing fanfic is your passion, then go for it.


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## A. E. Lowan (Jul 27, 2013)

As I'm sure everyone can imagine, I'm behind #5 all the way. 

However, #3 irks me a bit.  I hate it when famous writers say things like "I hate outlines."  I think it sends a dangerous message to new writers who think "Wow!  I can skip a huge step and still be great!"  And they do that and in their inexperience end up with a huge mess and are left dispirited and frustrated.  What Martin fails to mention here is that he's been a working TV writer for years and years even before starting ASOIAF and that he's been working on that for 20 years now - he doesn't need an outline at this point because he IS the outline.

#10 I identify with completely.  That's exactly how I write!  *does happy dance*

And omg I love this so much! 





> We read fantasy to find the colors again, I think. To taste strong spices and hear the songs the sirens sang. There is something old and true in fantasy that speaks to something deep within us, to the child who dreamt that one day he would hunt the forests of the night, and feast beneath the hollow hills, and find a love to last forever somewhere south of Oz and north of Shangri-La.
> 
> They can keep their heaven. When I die, I’d sooner go to middle Earth.


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## Steerpike (Jul 27, 2013)

How do you know whether he ever used outlines to any great extent? I don't think you have to outline just because you are inexperienced. Being a discovery writer is just as valid for newbies.


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## Kevlar (Jul 27, 2013)

Chesterama said:


> ^^ I'm with you on this. People should write whatever they want to, period. About the sex one...sure, I get it. Its a natural part of life. But not all readers want their share of it in their fantasy novels, and not all writers are willing to go there...and there's nothing wrong with either of those. To say it should be included was eye rolling. Personally, I have no problems including it in a story if it fits, but if it doesn't, then who cares?



I didn't so much read this as "put in sex scenes" as "don't avoid the subject of sex". If it comes up, don't bury it (unless of course it's a children's story). Doesn't mean you have to force sexual content, just means that there isn't any reason to run from the mere mention of sex in a book geared to more mature audiences.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Jul 27, 2013)

Whenever I see advice from a famous writer, especially one I love to read, I don't think of the advice as a formula for success.

I do try to find ideas or concepts that maybe I haven't tried or methods I haven't considered. It shouldn't be about this or that writer being right or wrong. These are merely a telling of what they've found to work.

I can't totally forego an outline but I don't strictly adhere to one either. I can't be a pure gardener. ....There's a lot of advice here that I agree with. It fits with what I'm already doing. Some of it is contrary to my current process. That's okay. I'm not GRRM or King or anyone else. 

Further, I don't think he was "flogging" fanfic writers. Seems to me he has a vast amount of experience in TV writing which, in a way, bears similarities to writing fan-fiction. The writer works in a world that is either the creation of another or the creation of a group which he/she is only a small cog in the machine. Perhaps he feels that his writing and abilities took greater leaps when everything was a creation of his own mind. That's worth some level of consideration whether or not you agree.


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## A. E. Lowan (Jul 27, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> How do you know whether he ever used outlines to any great extent? I don't think you have to outline just because you are inexperienced. Being a discovery writer is just as valid for newbies.



For starters, he actually complains about having had to outline extensively in #17.

I'm not saying new writers _have_ to outline, just that it's dangerous for established writers to flaunt that they don't and new writers suffer for that.  Discovery writing can be fun, but it's not without significant drawbacks that discovery writers conveniently forget to mention to new writers, like massive cutting and revision.  Martin is an every day writer, and still takes years to produce those door stops of his because he is a discovery writer.  Stephen King claimed to never outline and had to eat those words, later.  Laurell K. Hamilton writes stream of consciousness with only a wall of posties to guide her, drops subplots like hot potatoes and has a cast of characters whose features and ages change such with alarming frequency that her publisher finally assigned her a continuity editor.

I think a very experienced writer who's been through the trenches can choose any writing method they desire, but they really need to realize that they have a significant influence on the writers coming up behind them who are looking to them for guidance and advice in a profession that is largely an apprenticeship/trial and error system.  When they make flippant remarks like "I hate outlines" they send a message, and that message can be destructive to writers who are still learning to ride this dragon.


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## Chessie (Jul 27, 2013)

Kevlar, I understood his message the same as you did, I was just adding on further comment.

AE Lowan, I agree with you. Its important for new writers to try out different things, not just taboo something because an established author says so. I like reading all these suggestions from famous authors since there's always a consistency: read and write, do what feels right.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Jul 27, 2013)

A. E. Lowan said:


> When they make flippant remarks like "I hate outlines" they send a message, and that message can be destructive to writers who are still learning to ride this dragon.


Destructive how? 

What's the worst that can happen? A new writer experiments with discovery writing? Maybe they spend some time learning it doesn't work for them, maybe they find out it works well. Either way, the time spent writing & trying new things is not wasted effort, but necessary for growth.

We should all try new methods and concepts...searching for those that work for us & developing our own processes. Experimentation and emulation is key in a writer's development.


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## A. E. Lowan (Jul 27, 2013)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> Destructive how?
> 
> What's the worst that can happen? A new writer experiments with discovery writing? Maybe they spend some time learning it doesn't work for them, maybe they find out it works well. Either way, the time spent writing & trying new things is not wasted effort, but necessary for growth.
> 
> We should all try new methods and concepts...searching for those that work for us & developing our own processes. Experimentation and emulation is key in a writer's development.



Well, the worst that can happen is a new writer gets bogged down, lost, frustrated, and gives up while wondering why "everyone else" can do it and not them.  Obviously they're not good enough, they should stop trying, and they close their notebooks and sign up to major in accounting.  I went to an arts school - they really are that emo.  BUT, that's the worst case scenario.

I completely agree that new writers should try everything and find what works and what doesn't work for them.  That's what being in the trenches is all about.  What I'm saying is that when the big guys say things like "I hate outlines.  They take the fun out of writing" they need to explain that when they choose that creative road they consciously complicate their creative process - which is a valid choice, if you know what you're getting into.  But when they say things like that what beginning writers hear is, "Don't outline.  It's a killjoy."  So they just flat out don't, because their idols don't, without considering the why's.  That's why it's potentially destructive.


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 27, 2013)

> I'm not saying new writers have to outline, just that it's dangerous for established writers to flaunt that they don't and new writers suffer for that.



It's not exactly a secret that there are two types of writers, those who like discovery and those who like to outline.  Why is it GRRM's, or any other author's, responsibility to include a dissertation on the subject every time he voices his preference?

With information so easy to find, it's really up to a newbie to figure out what works for them.  If someone reads a quote like the one you're referring to and it sends them down a wrong path, I think it's their own fool fault.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Jul 27, 2013)

A. E. Lowan said:


> Well, the worst that can happen is a new writer gets bogged down, lost, frustrated, and gives up while wondering why "everyone else" can do it and not them.  Obviously they're not good enough, they should stop trying, and they close their notebooks and sign up to major in accounting.



If a person is going to give up because a famous writer's advice didn't work for them, they never really wanted to be a writer in the first place.


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## ThinkerX (Jul 27, 2013)

> 1. “The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real … for a moment at least … that long magic moment before we wake.”



Yes, some of my writing was an attempt to put dreams to paper.  Pity I have so few interesting dreams anymore.



> 2. “The most important thing for any aspiring writer, I think, is to read! And not just the sort of thing you’re trying to write, be that fantasy, SF, comic books, whatever. You need to read everything. Read fiction, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers. Read history, historical fiction, biography. Read mystery novels, fantasy, SF, horror, mainstream, literary classics, erotica, adventure, satire.



Yes...always been a big reader.



> These days, I meet far too many young writers who try to start off with a novel right off, or a trilogy, or even a nine-book series. That’s like starting in at rock climbing by tackling Mt. Everest.”



Reminds me of quite a few posters here...and myself, long ago.



> 3. “I hate outlines. I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book, but I don’t necessarily know each twist and turn along the way. That’s something I discover in the course of writing and that’s what makes writing enjoyable. I think if I outlined comprehensively and stuck to the outline the actual writing would be boring.”



Pretty much the way I do things, though I spent a *lot* of time working through one scenario after another, and I *still* end up hitting road blocks.  

He repeats this with the 'architects and gardners' thing.


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## SineNomine (Jul 28, 2013)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> Further, I don't think he was "flogging" fanfic writers. Seems to me he has a vast amount of experience in TV writing which, in a way, bears similarities to writing fan-fiction. The writer works in a world that is either the creation of another or the creation of a group which he/she is only a small cog in the machine. Perhaps he feels that his writing and abilities took greater leaps when everything was a creation of his own mind. That's worth some level of consideration whether or not you agree.



GRRM is notorious as being absolutely, ridiculously, COMPLETELY against fan fiction in general and absolutely fan fiction using his creations in specific.  It isn't anything specific he said in that quote, it's a reinforcement of what he has said elsewhere.  S good number of authors started at a very young age with fan fiction and while they may have learned more when they moved on to original creations, it wasn't useless and it sure wasn't "lazy".  It's almost always an easy introduction into writing fiction in general and eventually leads to you moving on to your own worlds.


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## Spider (Jul 28, 2013)

A. E. Lowan said:


> Well, the worst that can happen is a new writer gets bogged down, lost, frustrated, and gives up while wondering why "everyone else" can do it and not them.  Obviously they're not good enough, they should stop trying, and they close their notebooks and sign up to major in accounting.



Whether or not beginners are impacted by the opinions of their idols, they're going to have to get used to failure before they can start being successful in their writing. If a new writer gets frustrated and gives up for something like that, imagine how they would react if they submitted something for publishing and got rejected. 



> What I'm saying is that when the big guys say things like "I hate outlines. They take the fun out of writing" they need to explain that when they choose that creative road they consciously complicate their creative process - which is a valid choice, if you know what you're getting into. But when they say things like that what beginning writers hear is, "Don't outline. It's a killjoy." So they just flat out don't, because their idols don't, without considering the why's. That's why it's potentially destructive.



As a beginning writer myself, I did not read it like that. I agree with BWFoster78 that it would be the fault of the writer for misinterpreting the quote. Established writers shouldn't need to baby proof their opinions.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Jul 28, 2013)

SineNomine said:


> GRRM is notorious as being absolutely, ridiculously, COMPLETELY against fan fiction in general and absolutely fan fiction using his creations in specific.  It isn't anything specific he said in that quote, it's a reinforcement of what he has said elsewhere.  S good number of authors started at a very young age with fan fiction and while they may have learned more when they moved on to original creations, it wasn't useless and it sure wasn't "lazy".  It's almost always an easy introduction into writing fiction in general and eventually leads to you moving on to your own worlds.



This is the quote, pulled from the article:



> And write. Write every day, even if it is only a page or two. The more you write, the better you'll get. But don't write in my universe, or Tolkien's, or the Marvel universe, or the Star Trek universe, or any other borrowed background. Every writer needs to learn to create his own characters, worlds, and settings. Using someone else's world is the lazy way out. If you don't exercise those "literary muscles," you'll never develop them.



I'm not saying you're responding to anything specific in that comment, and I understand your assertion that he is against fan fiction. However, and this is speculation, couldn't he be against fan fiction for the reasons stated above ( or at least partially due to those reasons)?

I think he makes a valid point. To exercise the creative muscles necessary to produce great fantasy, an author needs to create. This makes so much sense to me. If I'm borrowing characters, their relationships with others, settings, etc. how much creative work am I really doing? How much growth as a writer will I truly gain? 

In my view, one of the hardest parts of being a writer is sitting down to the blank page and hammering out a story that has never been written before with characters of my own creation, in events and settings of my making. I don't have any problem with fan-fiction if that's what someone wants to do. However, it seems a far easier road considering the writing will begin with an established framework. As such, I don't see how the fanfic author will progress as quickly as the one who creates everything from nothing.


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## Steerpike (Jul 28, 2013)

George Martin doesn't like fanfic. I read a blog post of his about it, in defense of Diana Gabaldon, who is also against it and who wrote a blog post about it that started as follows:



> OK, my position on fan-fic is pretty clear: I think it’s immoral, I know it’s illegal, and it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters.




I'm not a fan of it personally. I don't read it or write it, and I think a writer learns a lot more by working on their own original material. The arguments that fanfic writing is a net gain as opposed to original fiction when it comes to learning how to write are bogus, in my view. 

Still, I don't have a problem with people writing it if they enjoy it. But they should just say they write it because they enjoy it and leave it at that, rather than trying to convince us that it's a better way to learn to write than by writing your own original material. It's not.


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## Chessie (Jul 28, 2013)

What I find the most amusing is that he mentioned playing video games when he's had enough of writing for the day. Good to know one can never get too old for that. 

Edit: About the fanfic, people are going to do it anyway. I don't know how I'd feel if one day I were to see some of it on my own work. Gauging the journey from writer to author being a steep one, yeah I can see myself thinking of it as stealing. But in another way, it seems harmless because it can't be published. And its not a good thing to write if you want to improve your skill. Growth happens from our own creations, our own hero's journey to being published.


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## Tirjasdyn (Jul 28, 2013)

On 3#.

What he describes doing is actually an outline. Huh. An outline doesn't have to be a play by play of a story. Most outlines are a "I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book". 

Just sayin.


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## Jess A (Jul 29, 2013)

Interesting quotes. I think new writers who read these sorts of things need to read it critically. Nobody is going to agree or disagree 100% about someone else's point of view or journey as a writer.

With regards to fan fiction - Robin Hobb once said she felt fan fic writers were 'raping' her characters, if I am remembering the quote correctly.



Chesterama said:


> Edit: About the fanfic, people are going to do it anyway. I don't know how I'd feel if one day I were to see some of it on my own work. Gauging the journey from writer to author being a steep one, yeah I can see myself thinking of it as stealing.* But in another way, it seems harmless because it can't be published*. And its not a good thing to write if you want to improve your skill. Growth happens from our own creations, our own hero's journey to being published.



It's being published online, whether on fanfic.net (is that the correct site?) or a blog or elsewhere. It's more about whether it's clear that it was done as a piece of fan work and not written or endorsed by the author of the original world and characters. 

I'm not for or against fan fiction in general. But I am not sure how I would react if somebody wrote about my characters and my world. I think I would be curious to see how my world was interpreted by someone else, but as far as my characters and creations go, I might feel protective. In general I would expect the writer to say how they deviated from the world and what their take is on it/the character. It'd be a shame if someone judged a novel or story by someone's famous fan fic. I would also be quite annoyed if they made the character do something very much out of character. That sounds paranoid, doesn't it! I can seriously see where the authors are coming from.


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## Penpilot (Jul 29, 2013)

Chesterama said:


> Edit: About the fanfic, people are going to do it anyway. I don't know how I'd feel if one day I were to see some of it on my own work. Gauging the journey from writer to author being a steep one, yeah I can see myself thinking of it as stealing. But in another way, it seems harmless because it can't be published. And its not a good thing to write if you want to improve your skill. Growth happens from our own creations, our own hero's journey to being published.



I don't think the authors think or fear that people will try to publish the work. But it does one thing that really hurts the author, and that is it can cut the author's ideas off at the pass. What I mean by this is if some fan fic writer starts toying with ideas and throws a work out there with say elements A,B, and C, and the author who never read the fan fic just so happens to writing a story with elements A, B, and C, now this results in a problem for the author. 

When and if the author publishes the story with elements A, B, and C, the fan fic writer may decide the author stole their idea and may try to sue. OR this may make the author abandon their story because they don't want to be sued thus wasting hundreds of hours of work.

Think about it. How many of us have done work developing a story only to realize something very similar has already been published? This usually causes some trouble. Either we abandon the story or we work to change it into something less similar. But regardless of if it turns out well, it still sucks having to do extra work through no fault of your own.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Jul 29, 2013)

Penpilot said:


> I don't think the authors think or fear that people will try to publish the work. But it does one thing that really hurts the author, and that is it can cut the author's ideas off at the pass. What I mean by this is if some fan fic writer starts toying with ideas and throws a work out there with say elements A,B, and C, and the author who never read the fan fic just so happens to writing a story with elements A, B, and C, now this results in a problem for the author.
> 
> When and if the author publishes the story with elements A, B, and C, the fan fic writer may decide the author stole their idea and may try to sue. OR this may make the author abandon their story because they don't want to be sued thus wasting hundreds of hours of work.
> 
> Think about it. How many of us have done work developing a story only to realize something very similar has already been published? This usually causes some trouble. Either we abandon the story or we work to change it into something less similar. But regardless of if it turns out well, it still sucks having to do extra work through no fault of your own.



True. However, in the age of information this potential is not solely in the the realm of fan-fiction. Forums, even ours, postulate all the time on what will happen in popular stories. These days, everyone has a theory on where popular stories are headed. Although, in those cases, the people posting theories are not likely to claim any responsibility for the idea.


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 29, 2013)

Penpilot said:


> I don't think the authors think or fear that people will try to publish the work. But it does one thing that really hurts the author, and that is it can cut the author's ideas off at the pass. What I mean by this is if some fan fic writer starts toying with ideas and throws a work out there with say elements A,B, and C, and the author who never read the fan fic just so happens to writing a story with elements A, B, and C, now this results in a problem for the author.
> 
> When and if the author publishes the story with elements A, B, and C, the fan fic writer may decide the author stole their idea and may try to sue. OR this may make the author abandon their story because they don't want to be sued thus wasting hundreds of hours of work.
> 
> Think about it. How many of us have done work developing a story only to realize something very similar has already been published? This usually causes some trouble. Either we abandon the story or we work to change it into something less similar. But regardless of if it turns out well, it still sucks having to do extra work through no fault of your own.



I'm confused.  I didn't think that ideas could be copywrited.  If someone were to write fanfiction about my characters, wouldn't I be perfectly within my rights to steal all their ideas as long as I didn't use their words?


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## Steerpike (Jul 29, 2013)

BWFoster78 said:


> I'm confused.  I didn't think that ideas could be copywrited.  If someone were to write fanfiction about my characters, wouldn't I be perfectly within my rights to steal all their ideas as long as I didn't use their words?



Depending on how you went about it you could be OK legally, but you'd probably look like a hack to your readers and it would damage your reputation, I would think. People would wonder why you can't come up with your own ideas instead of 'stealing' them from fanfic writers.


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## wordwalker (Jul 29, 2013)

The problem isn't a legal one (usually; there's always been that minority who see themselves having any contact with a writer as proof that they were robbed), it's that it's awkward to find yourself writing what the fans have already tried. It's constraining if you hear about slightly-matching fanfic before you publish, and embarassing if you hear it after-- and I guess it would be crippling if you had trouble forgetting fanfic ideas and started second-guessing yourself.

Then again, this is tricky stuff. The "there's only five plots" arguments are always true, and always meaningless, depending on how you look at them. Spider Robinson did a story ("Melancholy Elephants") where a great composer was heartbroken to realize the beautiful song he wrote for his wedding night stole the melody from an old folk tune.

I suppose one point is that the more fanfic (and fiction in general) is written --and shared, in our connected world-- the more cramped all creativity gets, period. But since it's *impossible* to turn back that clock, we might as well get more used to knowing stories that have gross similarities to others.


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 29, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> Depending on how you went about it you could be OK legally, but you'd probably look like a hack to your readers and it would damage your reputation, I would think. People would wonder why you can't come up with your own ideas instead of 'stealing' them from fanfic writers.



Not that this is an issue for me since no one, to the best of my knowledge, is writing fanfic about my stuff, but I was more interested in the legal aspects.

As to the other, I think we all "steal" ideas from all kinds of sources all the time.  Am I somehow a lesser writer because I take a beta reader suggestion to modify my plot?

EDIT: My main beta reader probably feels I have the opposite problem; I don't take enough of his suggestions


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## Steerpike (Jul 29, 2013)

BWFoster78 said:


> As to the other, I think we all "steal" ideas from all kinds of sources all the time.  Am I somehow a lesser writer because I take a beta reader suggestion to modify my plot?



I'm talking about perceptions. No one is going to know that you made a change due to beta reader input except you and your beta readers. If there was a fanfic of your work up on some fanfic site and your next book basically took that story and rewrote it as your own, I bet a lot of unflattering commentary would spread around the internet in a hurry and it wouldn't be helpful to your reputation in the long run.

As for legalities - there could be some issues, but it is highly fact-specific and not the most well-settled area of law. I suspect there would at least be enough there for the fanfic writer to get past summary judgment if they tried to sue you.


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## Mara Edgerton (Jul 29, 2013)

I don't agree with GRRM's stand on fanfic. Heck, I can't wait for the day when people write fanfic on my stories--what an amazing compliment for people to want to play in your sandbox! My main characters are already LGBT, so obviously I don't mind slash, but I can't wait to see what unusual pairings fans come up with. 

In fact--I won't feel I've really made it as an author until I see fan fics of my stories on LJ, AO3, and Fanfic.net.


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## wordwalker (Jul 29, 2013)

I suppose the more provocative side of the fanfic/hate cycle is really the "sausage-making principle" in three forms. Unless you're one of the fans and into it, it can be painful to see too much of:


A newbie's learning to write, practiced on beloved characters
Fandom's odder desires about what the characters "should really be like" (hello, 'shippers!)
The author's resentment, if he actually shows some of his protectiveness in public.

It's not pretty-- but no better and no worse than that.


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## Chessie (Jul 29, 2013)

To be fair, I played a bit with Skyrim fanfics a short time just for fun. Since I started writing by creating my own work, it kind of always felt like it was disposable and that my time was better spent focusing on my own stuff. So I don't write it anymore. My whole view on fanfic has changed since I've gotten serious about my own work. First of all, its not my universe. Second of all, my universe is much more exciting. And there's no replacement for the amount of growth a writer goes through when creating their own universes, characters, and story lines. We can't control what other people do, only our reactions to it. Personally, I think writing fanfiction is ultimately a waste of resources and time...but that's just my opinion. I wouldn't go calling my fans names and accusing them of moral crimes if fanfic was written on my work. I think it makes authors look bad when they do that.


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## Jess A (Jul 30, 2013)

This should probably become a separate forum. I think there was a discussion about fan fic somewhere? 

With the evolving internet comes new challenges. It's not just challenging for journalism, but for all writers. But exciting, too, with new opportunities.


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## Gurkhal (Aug 1, 2013)

Great quotes. Like almost all of them.


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## Daichungak (Aug 2, 2013)

Kevlar said:


> I didn't so much read this as "put in sex scenes" as "don't avoid the subject of sex". If it comes up, don't bury it (unless of course it's a children's story). Doesn't mean you have to force sexual content, just means that there isn't any reason to run from the mere mention of sex in a book geared to more mature audiences.



This is how I read it.


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