|
Post by laura on Apr 24, 2010 8:59:46 GMT -5
Okay, in posting this thread, I sort of have to own up to the fact that, yes, I was reading SimSecret this week. And yes, I then also read the comments, lol! Cheap entertainment, right? Anyway, this thread was not intended to comment on the idea of asking for donations on stories (I mean, unless you want to), but instead, the reaction in the comments of that post that Sim-stories were fanfiction. Grrr, that irked me! The Sim-stories I read (and hopefully the one I'm writing) are the furthest thing from fanfiction! Yet it seemed an accepted and ongoing idea throughout the comments of that post that that's just what Sim stories are. I guess maybe if you were writing about the stock Maxis characters, it might be. But I'd venture to say most of us are not, but instead, about the unique Sims/characters in our own unique custom-made worlds, and unique stories that often veer SO far off of what's possible to create in gameplay. How is that fanfiction?
|
|
|
Post by lhasa on Apr 24, 2010 10:18:41 GMT -5
I read that too and it was just...ugh. People tend to categorize any type of writing that isn't the general fiction/nonfiction writing one sees in books under the umbrella term of fanfiction. It's wrong. Like you said, if the person is writing about the Maxis/EA characters, then I guess that could be considered fanfiction, but most stories don't even involve them. My personal opinion is that if you are writing a story that involves pre-made sims and goes beyond the actions that the game provides (eating, going to work, going to sleep, etc. etc.), it shouldn't be just thrown to the 'fanfiction' pile like it's nothing. Then again, I may just be trying to get both of my stories that heavily involve EA characters out of the 'fanfiction' category, lol. (Not that there's anything wrong with fanfiction. I used to write it all the time when I was younger.)
|
|
|
Post by thelunarfox on Apr 24, 2010 10:47:15 GMT -5
Haha, I had the same thought! I was very likely to go, "Wait-- I am NOT writing fanfiction!" Because I'm not. Hello original characters and original world. Yeah, I use TS3 for the pictures, but I really wouldn't have to for the story. How is that comparable to fan fiction?
On the other hand, I get what they're saying. People are basically saying you can't charge for sim stories because you're using sims to tell it. It's like those people who make content for the game and charge for it. They don't really own the content because they're turning it into a package file for use in the game. The moment they do that, it becomes a part of the game.
But then again, we also have to look at the source. I am NOT going knock LJ users, but have you noticed that a lot of LJ users tell different sorts of stories? They're usually legacies or other challenges, or stories revolving around Strange Town things like that where I can see the close classification with fanfiction (though I still would hesitate to actually call it fanfiction a lot of the time). A lot of those people are just writing about what they did with the game.
And paying for stories! I was like whoa! I won't even put ads on my site. I'm of the opinion that I'm sharing my stories with my friends and whoever else will read them and I'm very grateful. I wouldn't ever ask any of you for money even if I needed it.
Maybe whoever is doing that is taking a cue from webcomics. There are quite a few that take donations. There are some that offer up extra pages for everyone to read when they reach a goal. There was one that used to offer special content only to donators. If I remember right, there were a lot of people not happy about that because that came off very greedy.
|
|
|
Post by laura on Apr 24, 2010 11:04:56 GMT -5
Lhasa: Ha, I've definitely done my share of fanfiction, back in the day, lol! It serves its purpose.
But you're right, there is a stigma against fanfiction. I don't know if there should or shouldn't be. I do know that it's a very special thing to be able to create an interesting original character, plot, situation, or world.
I'm more comfortable calling my stories play fiction, or freebie fiction, or I often think of my blog as an open fiction journal. But fanfiction, no. More than anything, I'd call Sim-storytelling its own method of storytelling - like a mix between text fiction, screen writing, and maybe comics or graphic novels.
But my LH characters and stories live in my head in every bit as real a way as any of my stories, so to see them lumped in as fanfiction, yeah, it's kind of grating.
Lunar: On the pay/no pay thing - yeah, it's a little tacky. And I've even been in the position before where I had to dish out a good chunk of my own money to host these pictures that other people read and enjoy for free. I don't know though. $25-50 a year for hosting is something a lot of us are willing to dish out for the hobby (I'm paying $50/yr for my webspace, but I host my other website with it too), but if it got to be more than that, for me, I'd either have to stop doing it, or ask for "tips" lol! But you know, I doubt this person has reached that level.
I see nothing wrong with webcomics asking for donations. Nothing at all. You've put your time and skill into something that people can enjoy, then why shouldn't you be compensated? Especially if all you're doing is just accepting "tips".
A lot of people forget that storytelling is an artform that some people would like to make a (meager) living at. I'm one of them (though not with my Sims blog, lol!) And if I tip my waitress or pizza delivery guy, why wouldn't I tip the author of a story I enjoy and who's given it up for free? It takes much more time and effort to create a good story than it does to deliver a pizza.
|
|
|
Post by Stacy on Apr 24, 2010 11:29:18 GMT -5
I stay far far far away from that place. It's evil. Of all the secrets posted about me during Valley's run, I saw the first one and maybe one or two others that a friend forced on me. Also, the idea of cowards saying nasty things without putting their usernames on it makes me RAEG!!! Say it with your name attached to it or don't say it at all. I wouldn't put any stock in the secrets or the comments on them. Who the fuck cares if some asinine trolls with nothing better to do than throw shit at others say that Sims stories are fanfiction? I imagine that they can't write anything creative or original and so they try to dismiss the efforts of those who can, to tell themselves that it's okay if I can't do that because it's stupid anyway. Either that or they're just prejudiced closed-minded overly capitalist fucks who say it's not real writing unless you get paid money for it. And yeah, come screenshot this post and put it in a secret. You fuckers can't hurt me anymore. Also, I can always tell when I'm in the secrets because I get a significant bump in my traffic. Thanks for the clicks, assholes. Also, I never said cussing was against the rules here and did I mention that secrets make me RAEG?
|
|
|
Post by laura on Apr 24, 2010 11:54:51 GMT -5
Say it with your name attached to it or don't say it at all. Agreed. I get the idea it was sprung from, Post Secret, which is artful and poignant. But what SimSecret has become is something very different and hateful most of the time. No value in it, really. I should stop checking it just by principal alone, yet I find myself going back every week. To be honest, just to see if anybody is talking smack about me or my friends... OMG, high school never ends
|
|
somuchsong
Full Member
...certainement disaster
Posts: 197
|
Post by somuchsong on Apr 24, 2010 21:13:05 GMT -5
I check SimSecret every week, mostly because it amazes me that people can get so worked up about someone uploading some custom content you don't like, or someone whom they don't care for posting on the same forum as them. It's just bizarre. I'd like to believe they're all about 14 but I know people old enough to know better who get caught up in this kind of shit, so I'm not very optimistic about that.
Anyway, I guess I could sort of see the comparison to fan fiction if we were talking about people writing about the Maxis characters. But I've read some amazing stories about Maxis characters (I'm thinking something like Strangetown Here We Come, for example) and I really hesitate to put them in the same category as Harry/Ron slash or whatever. They're more than that.
And as for most of the stuff I read, which are stories made up exclusively or mostly of original characters? Well...call that fan fiction if you like but what are these writers supposed to be fans of, exactly? The characters? They created the characters themselves, so by that logic, all fiction would be fan fiction. The game? There's a bit more of a case for it there but all of the stuff I read involves events and happenings that do not happen in the game. That can't happen in the game. So I look at Sim storytelling as regular storytelling that just happens to be illustrated with Sims.
|
|
|
Post by mdpthatsme on Apr 24, 2010 23:34:27 GMT -5
I only go to SimSecret if I'm looking to be aggravated. One person actually had a problem with people remaking their TS2 characters into TS3 characters, just ask atomicspacekitty about that... Fanfiction is the recreation or use of characters of a original storyline in some little skit...do I use it...absolutely not. Unless, we are talking about drawing...then maybe.
|
|