lian
Resistance Member
Posts: 22 
|
Post by lian on Oct 11, 2009 14:44:50 GMT -5
Hello,
as I venture into the dangerous process of creating *gasp* EC-10 material for the first time, I need an experienced sense offender to cover my back.
I am looking for a beta reader versed in EQ to give me his valued critique on the first scenes of a growing fan fiction.
Here are the odds against us:
English is not my native language.
I am new to EQ.
I am new to writing fiction.
And here is the first paragraph as a sample so you can asses what you'll get yourself into:
------------------
The door to Anna's cell glided open and despite everything her hope rose as if on bird's wings, frantically beating. It came down just shreds of a second later when the two sweepers came into view. „Is it already time?“ she thought.
Anna rose and obeyed the gestured order to step out of her cell. She noticed her own distorted image in the visors of the sweepers' black helmets. They walked down the barren corridor, the two uniformed men one step behind to each side of the woman.
Anna's mind was so full of swirling thoughts that she could not bring a single one into focus. Her heart pumped. She briefly closed her eyes and tried most of all not to see the furnace before her inner eye. It seemed to Anna that they walked for a long time. With each step she felt the cold of the metal floor like a small pain under the soles of her bare feet. Fear clawed at her.
-----------------
Please PM me if you are interested.
Thank you very much.
|
|
|
|
Post by invisiblescientist on Oct 11, 2009 17:53:56 GMT -5
Hello, as I venture into the dangerous process of creating *gasp* EC-10 material for the first time, I need an experienced sense offender to cover my back. I am looking for a beta reader versed in EQ to give me his valued critique on the first scenes of a growing fan fiction. Here are the odds against us: English is not my native language. I am new to EQ. I am new to writing fiction. And here is the first paragraph as a sample so you can asses what you'll get yourself into: ------------------ The door to Anna's cell glided open and despite everything her hope rose as if on bird's wings, frantically beating. It came down just shreds of a second later when the two sweepers came into view. „Is it already time?“ she thought. Anna rose and obeyed the gestured order to step out of her cell. She noticed her own distorted image in the visors of the sweepers' black helmets. They walked down the barren corridor, the two uniformed men one step behind to each side of the woman. Anna's mind was so full of swirling thoughts that she could not bring a single one into focus. Her heart pumped. She briefly closed her eyes and tried most of all not to see the furnace before her inner eye. It seemed to Anna that they walked for a long time. With each step she felt the cold of the metal floor like a small pain under the soles of her bare feet. Fear clawed at her. ----------------- Please PM me if you are interested. Thank you very much. A number of forum members are actually posting their entire fiction writings here. Unless you are worried that your work will be stolen before you publish it as a book, you might consider posting the entire work at this website. |
|
lian
Resistance Member
Posts: 22
|
Post by lian on Oct 11, 2009 19:01:44 GMT -5
A number of forum members are actually posting their entire fiction writings here. Unless you are worried that your work will be stolen before you publish it as a book, you might considering posting the entire work at this website. Thank you. I appreciate your comment. I am talking here about non-profit writing, so I am not concerned about copyright infringements. (Apart from the one I would probably be committing by putting fiction based on material belonging to Kurt Wimmer on the Internet. Btw: Does anyone know if Kurt Wimmer has ever voiced an opinion about fan fiction based on his works?) I write purely for my own enjoyment and I have just started to be curious if my texts are maybe also enjoyable for other people. That said, I feel uncomfortable releasing my writing to the general public without some quality control by a good beta. I know there is ample possibility for my scenes to improve and I would not want to disrespect potential readers by releasing them as they are now if they can be made a lot better with just a little more effort and some good advice from someone more experienced than I. |
|
|
|
Post by Aedh on Oct 11, 2009 19:04:20 GMT -5
A number of forum members are actually posting their entire fiction writings here. Unless you are worried that your work will be stolen before you publish it as a book, you might considering posting the entire work at this website. Unfortunately, if you post your entire work here you are almost certainly destroying any chance of publishing it as a book. Few publishers are interested in "re-publication" rights, but only the rights of first publication. And if you post something on the internet you have published it, legally, so any appearance after this in book form would be a re-publication. |
|
lian
Resistance Member
Posts: 22
|
Post by lian on Oct 11, 2009 19:23:38 GMT -5
Unfortunately, if you post your entire work here you are almost certainly destroying any chance of publishing it as a book. Few publishers are interested in "re-publication" rights, but only the rights of first publication. And if you post something on the internet you have published it, legally, so any appearance after this in book form would be a re-publication. Thank you, Aedh. Should I ever decide to write original fiction instead of having fun in the EQverse, I will remember your words. ;-) |
|
|
|
Post by invisiblescientist on Oct 11, 2009 20:01:16 GMT -5
Unfortunately, if you post your entire work here you are almost certainly destroying any chance of publishing it as a book. Few publishers are interested in "re-publication" rights, but only the rights of first publication. And if you post something on the internet you have published it, legally, so any appearance after this in book form would be a re-publication. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I never thought about this aspect. The on demand publishers like Amazon/Booksurge, Lulu, etc, do not care if your work has already been published, but I agree that the more prestigious primary publishers certainly might reject already published works. However, let me ask the following question: Can one at least post an outline of the text, and brief excerpt of the work here without endangering its publication? The reason I am asking this question is because as you know, I was planning to post the first part of the Prequel to Equilibrium, specifically the political, psychological and military events that lead to WW III and how WW III is fought, and you and ClericJay would continue the book with the creation of Libria. Another question is this: If our work is sufficiently convincing to become a movie script for Wimmer to adopt as the idea for the Prequel to Equilibrium, then would our posting the text jeopardize its acceptance in any way? |
|
|
|
Post by Aedh on Oct 11, 2009 20:25:20 GMT -5
Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I never thought about this aspect. The on demand publishers like Amazon/Booksurge, Lulu, etc, do not care if your work has already been published, but I agree that the more prestigious primary publishers certainly might reject already published works. However, let me ask the following question: Can one at least post an outline of the text, and brief excerpt of the work here without endangering its publication? The reason I am asking this question is because as you know, I was planning to post the first part of the Prequel to Equilibrium, specifically the political, psychological and military events that lead to WW III and how WW III is fought, and you and ClericJay would continue the book with the creation of Libria. Another question is this: If our work is sufficiently convincing to become a movie script for Wimmer to adopt as the idea for the Prequel to Equilibrium, then would our posting the text jeopardize its acceptance in any way? I would say the answer to both questions is yes. |
|
|
|
Post by invisiblescientist on Oct 11, 2009 20:38:30 GMT -5
Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I never thought about this aspect. The on demand publishers like Amazon/Booksurge, Lulu, etc, do not care if your work has already been published, but I agree that the more prestigious primary publishers certainly might reject already published works. However, let me ask the following question: Can one at least post an outline of the text, and brief excerpt of the work here without endangering its publication? The reason I am asking this question is because as you know, I was planning to post the first part of the Prequel to Equilibrium, specifically the political, psychological and military events that lead to WW III and how WW III is fought, and you and ClericJay would continue the book with the creation of Libria. Another question is this: If our work is sufficiently convincing to become a movie script for Wimmer to adopt as the idea for the Prequel to Equilibrium, then would our posting the text jeopardize its acceptance in any way? I would say the answer to both questions is yes. I assume that when you used the word "yes" for the second question, you really meant that posting the Prequel script at this website will not prevent KW from adopting it, not the other way around. In any case, a nihilistic story about the events leading to WW III can certainly lead to a popular movie, because the interest in such a film is materializing in this current world environment. |
|
|
|
Post by Aedh on Oct 12, 2009 7:00:32 GMT -5
What I meant was this:
"If our work is sufficiently convincing to become a movie script for Wimmer to adopt as the idea for the Prequel to Equilibrium, then would our posting the text jeopardize its acceptance in any way?"
Yes, it would jeopardize its acceptance. For some reason which I can't fathom, writers generally can't abide the idea that their work might be beholden to someone else. It must be all original, all the time, that is the mindset. We know that this is clearly balderdash, that every story owes something to previous stories. But this is not what our publishing system is built on.
That being said, post-apocalyptic movie story ideas are very common. I heavily doubt that Mr Wimmer would take over our idea as we wrote it. However, I allow the possibility that if he were to read it, he might be stimulated by what he read to come up with something on his own.
|
|
|
|
Post by Libby on Oct 12, 2009 11:01:22 GMT -5
Blimey!
I just wrote my EQfics for the fun of it and to entertain others on the boards. It all depends whether you want to make something profitable out of it or just get your feet wet somewhere to start.
If I were you, I wouldn't bother with getting your fic beta'd. The first bit read very well, given, as you say, English is not your first language. Clericjay and reveria are German speakers but write great fiction without the need for anyone suggesting corrections. It's your work and you know what you want to say!
I'd say have faith and post!
|
|
|
|
Post by Aedh on Oct 12, 2009 12:52:25 GMT -5
I should have added that your excerpt as you posted it certainly looked good to me. Better than some native so-called English speakers.
I would say to you, in the words of your countryman Martin Luther, "Be a sinner, and sin boldly."
|
|
|
|
Post by clericjay on Oct 12, 2009 14:18:00 GMT -5
Hmm... I've thought about this problem some time ago, when I started to like my fan fiction enough to imagine to make a movie out of it. And it might be problematical from the following point as well: If the story is readable for everyone able to find it, the film won't be successful at all, because everyone could read it here (considering we would made it to some movies, which really doesn't seem impossible to me). What I'm thinking about now is, whether I should stop publishing my fan fic "Memories of Father" in public, but instead send every new chapter via PM to everyone interested and who has my trust not to give it to other persons... What do you think about it? Oh and before I forget, Herzlich Willkommen Lian. Do you really come from the German speaking countries or are you Dutch? The way you write implies that.  I'd be glad to help you as a beta reader and I've already have some experiences with it. Though I also could recommend you to Aedh or Mira, who are very helpful and native speakers, who know even much more about English then me. |
|
|
|
Post by Libby on Oct 12, 2009 15:43:23 GMT -5
What I'm thinking about now is, whether I should stop publishing my fan fic "Memories of Father" in public, but instead send every new chapter via PM to everyone interested and who has my trust not to give it to other persons... What do you think about it? Hmmm... Maybe I'm a bit grumpy today (very stressful day at school with 3 exclusions), but when these boards first started way back in 2003, fanfiction was just that....fiction written for the fans. If people half-inched an idea or two then that was ok (it usually took the form of a PM saying 'Can I use this or that in my story?)...several of us created a little EQniverse where a writer's OCs sometimes crossed over into other people's fics and that was great. After all, we were producing stories based on Kurt Wimmer's writing. We have to be realistic. KW is never going to make a prequel or a sequel...that ship sailed and sank years ago. He isn't interested. Personally, I'm also not interested in either in film format (it's a bit like ET, a perfect standalone gem)...I just like reading other fans' take on how it all started or what happened next. Jay, I really wouldn't get hung up on whether anyone is going to take your ideas and make them into a 'rival' film...ain't going to happen. No-one 'resident' here is going to steal the plot/tell anyone else, but if you feel that a casual guest might make something of it then bury it in PMs...but I think that would be a shame. My work is up on the main website and the more people who read it the better. We have to keep a sense of perspective. Just look at all the other fanfictions about...you name a film/series and people have produced fics about it (I'm currently fleshing out the plot for another new Stargate one) But if you are truly passionate about the world you have created in Memories of Father, then why not rework/reimagine it into something truly original from which you can make a new film? |
|
lian
Resistance Member
Posts: 22
|
Post by lian on Oct 12, 2009 16:52:25 GMT -5
Libby, thank you very much for your encouragement. I am amazed that the author of some of the finest EQ fiction on this site finds some kind words for my writing. May I take this opportunity to mention that I would be thrilled to read chapter 8 of „Treading on Dreams“? ;-) Aedh, many thanks for your positive feedback. I would say to you, in the words of your countryman Martin Luther, "Be a sinner, and sin boldly." But, man, that was creepy! I had no idea that you guys have taken emulating the Tetragrammaton to the point where you create sense offender profiles from EC-10 material. *quickly getting up to scan street for approaching Sweeper team* What gave me away? Cleric Jay, if you can tell that my native language is German just from looking at one paragraph of my fic, then I need to 1) seriously improve my writing or 2) cease writing in English and switch to my mother tongue. I really do not want to include a German drill nanny for Tetragrammaton toddlers in my story to explain why all the clerics talk English like they learned it in high school. ;-) Thank you so much for your offer to beta! *hug* In fact, I have already found one other person, but this beta does not know Equilibrium very well. So I would be thrilled to send you the first scene (about 1000 words) and hear your opinion on characterization, atmosphere, plot etc. Personally, I find several aspects about putting fanfics on the net difficult: 1) most people seem to suggest it is illegal 2) publication cannot be undone if I decide in 5 years that I am totally mortified at my early writing attempts 3) it can be difficult to read fiction divided into several forum posts without proper formatting etc. 4) I may not want my writings to be associated with my real life persona. However, if anyone for whatever reasons puts his mind to identifying an author, it probably can be done with some digging. 5) the combination of web crawlers and 1.6 billion internet users gives a whole new spin to the word public I guess it boils down to this: once it's out there, it's really out of your hands. But I also agree with Libby's view that it would be shame to hide a good fic from a reader who may enjoy it. Hmm.... so it's probably just me being a control freak. |
|
|
|
Post by Aedh on Oct 12, 2009 18:02:53 GMT -5
Personally, I find several aspects about putting fanfics on the net difficult: 1) most people seem to suggest it is illegal 2) publication cannot be undone if I decide in 5 years that I am totally mortified at my early writing attempts 3) it can be difficult to read fiction divided into several forum posts without proper formatting etc. 4) I may not want my writings to be associated with my real life persona. However, if anyone for whatever reasons puts his mind to identifying an author, it probably can be done with some digging. 5) the combination of web crawlers and 1.6 billion internet users gives a whole new spin to the word public I guess it boils down to this: once it's out there, it's really out of your hands. But I also agree with Libby's view that it would be shame to hide a good fic from a reader who may enjoy it. Hmm.... so it's probably just me being a control freak. Fanfic is not illegal so long as you admit that it is derivative and do not attempt to make any money using it. If you are afraid of being embarrassed by your early writing efforts, you should abandon all idea of writing now. I have been writing for well over thirty years, and not only does the stuff I wrote thirty years ago embarrass me, so does the stuff I wrote two years ago. Your published fictions, even if put up anonymously or pseudonymously, will haunt you. Someone will know. The question is, do you mind them knowing or not? If yes, then again you should again abandon all idea of writing now. As for me, I don't mind. But some people might. |
|
|
|
Post by invisiblescientist on Oct 12, 2009 19:53:28 GMT -5
What I'm thinking about now is, whether I should stop publishing my fan fic "Memories of Father" in public, but instead send every new chapter via PM to everyone interested and who has my trust not to give it to other persons... What do you think about it? Hmmm... Maybe I'm a bit grumpy today (very stressful day at school with 3 exclusions), but when these boards first started way back in 2003, fanfiction was just that....fiction written for the fans. If people half-inched an idea or two then that was ok (it usually took the form of a PM saying 'Can I use this or that in my story?)...several of us created a little EQniverse where a writer's OCs sometimes crossed over into other people's fics and that was great. After all, we were producing stories based on Kurt Wimmer's writing.
We have to be realistic. KW is never going to make a prequel or a sequel...that ship sailed and sank years ago. He isn't interested. Personally, I'm also not interested in either in film format (it's a bit like ET, a perfect standalone gem)...I just like reading other fans' take on how it all started or what happened next.
Jay, I really wouldn't get hung up on whether anyone is going to take your ideas and make them into a 'rival' film...ain't going to happen. No-one 'resident' here is going to steal the plot/tell anyone else, but if you feel that a casual guest might make something of it then bury it in PMs...but I think that would be a shame. My work is up on the main website and the more people who read it the better. We have to keep a sense of perspective. Just look at all the other fanfictions about...you name a film/series and people have produced fics about it (I'm currently fleshing out the plot for another new Stargate one) But if you are truly passionate about the world you have created in Memories of Father, then why not rework/reimagine it into something truly original from which you can make a new film? You are probably correct, and KW will not make a "Prequel". However, if it is a separate movie about a nihilistic WW III scenario, this might be of interest for a new movie. There is plenty of room for such a movie, which has not been done for a long time. |
|
|
|
Post by clericjay on Oct 13, 2009 11:47:38 GMT -5
Jay, I really wouldn't get hung up on whether anyone is going to take your ideas and make them into a 'rival' film...ain't going to happen. No-one 'resident' here is going to steal the plot/tell anyone else, but if you feel that a casual guest might make something of it then bury it in PMs...but I think that would be a shame. My work is up on the main website and the more people who read it the better. We have to keep a sense of perspective. Just look at all the other fanfictions about...you name a film/series and people have produced fics about it (I'm currently fleshing out the plot for another new Stargate one) But if you are truly passionate about the world you have created in Memories of Father, then why not rework/reimagine it into something truly original from which you can make a new film? Sounds convincing to me.  So I'll go along with publishing it at the board, because I'd like to have the possibility to get feedback collected in one thread. It was just a thought anyway.  And about what Aedh said: I'm not ashamed of my old texts. I did not write much, because of my steady business, but usually I like, what I've written in the past. There's even one shortstory from times back when I've still been in 4th class, which is still fantastic to me. I don't have any idea how I was able to write it. The thing stopping me from writing is my much too filled to-do-list.   |
|
]
