All posts by Selim Ulug

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About Selim Ulug

Author of the short story collections Something Special and The Woman in Red. Author of the Big Finish Short Trips Landbound and Battle Scars.

FanFiction

Uncategorized, Writing

Do you read or write FanFiction? Do you care about it? If so, then there’s an article that might interest you at Wired.com.

keep calmWikipedia  defines FanFiction as “… a broadly defined fan labor term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator.”

Again according to Wikipedia, FanFiction.net is the largest FanFiction site, hosting some millions of stories. I post stories there myself based on characters created in Doctor Who, Castle, Firefly, and others.

The Wired article makes the case that FanFiction has generally been looked down upon by the writing community, but that this may be changing. They note that a new publisher, Big Bang Press, having successfully completed a Kickstarter campaign, will be publishing original works by FanFiction authors. Just as interesting as the article are the comments.

Normally I shy away from the comments section of Internet articles. They all too often have the intellectual and emotional maturity of eight-year-old miscreants on speed. Not these comments, which are well written and thought-provoking. They make some excellent points.

The key point is this: the world is full of derivative works of art. (If you want to impress your friends, talk about intertextuality, my new word for the day. You can look it up at Wikipedia.) Would you turn up your nose at AMC’s The Walking Dead because it’s based on a series of comic books? (Sorry, graphic novels.) Then there’s Robert Jordan, author of the beloved Wheel of Time series, who wrote a number of books based on Conan, created by Robert E. Howard. By Crom! And the list goes on.

Let’s be honest. Part of the reason FanFiction has its reputation is because of the quality of the writing. But come on. Lots of FanFic authors are kids. How often have you heard adults wringing their hands at how seldom kids read these days, and blame it on the Internet and (gasp!) Social Media (the source of all evil). But at places like FanFiction.net, you’ll find lots of kids, university students, and young adults who not only read, they write. They deserve to be cheered on, regardless of whether or not their prose is a match for Alice Munro.

Which isn’t to say you won’t find some great FanFiction stories out there. If you are skeptical, just check out “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality” by Eliezer Yudkowsky. You’d be hard pressed to find any commercially published work that was funnier or more thought-provoking. I’ve seen some FanFics that were painful to read, and some that were a joy. You can explore what-ifs, alternate universes, and the further adventures of your favourite characters. And all for free. Really, what’s not to like?

Writing FanFiction is fun, you see, and FanFics can be fun to read. Once you find some authors you like and start to follow them regularly, you’ll find the experience more and more rewarding.

Feeling spontaneous? Here’s some spontaneous FanFiction for you.

“Wash, we seem to be getting a might close to that sun,” Mal said.

Wash held the flight controls tightly and grimaced. “Afraid we’re going to get a whole lot closer, Cap’n. We’re caught in its gravity well. Got a plan though,” he said.

“Please tell me it doesn’t involve turning my boat into a molten puddle.”

“Can’t promise anything, but I think I can slingshot us ‘round the sun if I increase the speed,” Wash said.

“Sorry, did you say you wanted to fly us into the sun faster? That’s your plan?”

“Here we go,” Wash said, and keyed in the course and speed.

Mal picked up the intercom. “Um, this is the Captain. Those of you who like your meat extra crispy are in for a treat. Hang on to something.”

Some time later, he wasn’t sure how long, Mal picked himself up off the floor in confusion. Then it came to him. The sun. Slingshotting. Glancing out the forward window, they seemed to be in orbit around a planet that he didn’t recognize.

Mal shook Wash by the shoulder. “Wash! I need to you come ‘round, figure out where we are.”

But as Wash struggled to regain his sensibilities, Serenity received a voice transmission.

“This is Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise. Please identify yourself.”

Mal and Wash looked at each other.

“Oh, crap,” said Wash.

Oh, didn’t I say? You can write FanFiction crossovers as well. Feel free to take the above as a writing prompt and finish the story.

The image is from http://keep-calm-and.tumblr.com

Life, the Universe and Everything

Life,

the little prince

Life. Don’t talk to me about life.

Actually, do.

A few of us were talking about the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movies the other day. One friend opined that they were boring. Well, I thought, that’s different. But her comment got me thinking about my reaction when I first watched The Fellowship of the Ring. I was stunned, and I sat back in the chair and said to myself, I’m glad I’m alive to see this. It was a great moment.

Sometimes its the arts, a particular movie or a beloved book. Anyone read Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince? Other times it’s nature, whether sitting by the pond in the local park, or walking on a quiet trail in the Gatineau Hills in complete peace, with no sound but the rustling of leaves and the whistling of birds.

What makes you glad to be alive?

Mostly Harmless?

Life, , , ,

With apologies to Douglas Adams.

The brief entry for planet Earth in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the e-book with the words “Don’t Panic” written in large, friendly letters on the cover, has recently been updated.

earth 1 : mostly harmless 2 : best known as the site of the second ugliest building in the universe, which of course is the ironically named Algonquin Centre for Construction guideExcellence, Ottawa, Canada; the irregular, asymmetrical and drab building includes vegetation on the rooftop, reflecting nostalgia felt by the earth’s ape-like inhabitants for the trees from which they recently descended; bipedal species should note that the sight of the building can produce symptoms ranging from headaches and nausea to complete mental breakdown; protoplasmic species are urged to avoid the building at all costs as in all likelihood they will explode into puddles of goo; in general, the building appears to produce effects similar to that of Vogon poetry.

An earlier version of this was posted elsewhere. However, the building is still ugly.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Writing, ,

Have you heard it said that it’s all about character? Stories, that is. If your readers don’t care about the characters, then all the plot twists, surprise endings and literary gymnastics in the world won’t amount to a hill of beans, sweetheart.

paul_pipchinI know I’ve loved a book when I can’t bear to say goodbye to the characters. The first time this happened was when I read Charles Dickens’ Dombey and Son. Not his best or best known, but a sentimental favourite because it was my first. Dickens that is. And as I put the book down at the end, I did so slowly. I didn’t want it to be over. I wanted more time with those characters with whom I had fallen in love.

It happened again this morning (at the time of writing) as I put down Stephen King’s It. (Was there ever a more simply named book? Could there be?) Even though the book was over a thousand pages, it wasn’t enough. Mind you, after what those poor characters had been through, they deserved some time off. Still, for a time they had become part of my life and I know I’m going to miss them.

As I start to write more original fiction, that’s what I’m going to shoot for. I know that in genre fiction in particular it seems to be all about the Really Neat Idea, but for me, regardless of the genre, it’s all about character, and I’ll know I’ve done it right when someone tells me they didn’t want to say goodbye.

Skating

Life,

Was there ever a more magical activity than skating? Ottawa is home to the longest outdoor skating rink the world, the Rideau Canal Skateway, boasting some 7.8 kilometers of uninterrupted ice. And this has been a banner year for the canal. The weather has been nearly perfect and much of the canal seems as smooth as an indoor rink. There’s just something about bright sunshine, blue skies, refreshing cold air in your lungs, and the look of happiness on everyone you skate by. The BeaverTails don’t hurt either. So far this year I’ve been good and refrained from indulging, but that might not last. In fact, it almost certainly won’t.  Few things are better for the soul than to skate a few kilometers, then stop for a steaming BeaverTail and cup of hot chocolate.

IMG_0528 - Version 2

Skating is a very welcoming sport. On the same ice surface you’ll see everyone from beginners, lacing up for the first time, to seasoned pros blasting down the ice on speed skates. On that spectrum, I tend to fall closer to the beginner, but just

advanced enough that I don’t often fall. Woo hoo! I learned to skate on the canal which was both good and bad. The fact that it’s so long forces you to practice, that’s the good. The challenge is right in front of you. You just have to skate the whole thing. Or as much of it as you can manage. The bad part is that since it’s so long and straight, you never learn to turn and seldom need to stop. In the beginning, my stopping strategy was to spot a snow bank and plow into it. My turning strategy was to first stop then aim myself in the desired direction. Simple, but effective.

Our Winterlude festival is in full force and my favourite event has always been the ice sculptures. I’ll post a photo of one them. How anyone can get so much detail carved into ablock of ice is a deep mystery. Hmmm. That sounds like a story waiting to be written, how an ancient enclave of magicians uses deep magic to carve runes and symbols into ice. The hero wields a sword of ice, hard as diamond, that never melts. Right. That’s my queue to put down the pen and think some more about winter wizards and swords of ice.

Whatever form winter takes where you are, I hope you’re able to make the most of it. ‘till next time…

First Post

Writing,

The first post! If you noticed the subtitle, “A writer’s ramblings”, then you’ll have gathered that there won’t be a single theme to this blog. I’ll be writing about, well, writing, as well as movies and–am I borrowing from John Scalzi when I say this?–whatever. As a developing writer after all, practice makes perfect.

Which begs the question, is there any writer who is not a developing writer? Consider Stephen King, who’s been writing professionally for decades. Compare the maturity of his recent books to Carrie, for example. He’s come a long way and by now is truly a literary Normal Rockwell, painting spot-on portraits of everyday people going about their lives and getting eaten by monsters. OK, well, monsters aside, the characters in his stories are so real you feel you know them.

Like many other things, writing is a journey, and along the way you learn to sharpen your pencil a little sharper, write prose that’s a little cleaner, and develop characters in a way that seems more believable to your readers. That’s a journey that I’m looking forward to.