Timewaster's Guide Archive

I have a question that relates to fan art, so I am posting it here.  However, if there is a more appropriate place for it, feel free to locate it there.

Basically, when it comes to things like fan art, how do the legal aspects play into things? 

For instance, what if someone wanted to make something using the symbols from Mistborn (Such as the Wallpaper Brandon posted http://www.brandonsanderson.com/graphics/Mistborn%20Wallpaper%20One%201028.jpg) or Elantris, what are the limits?

What are the restrictions there?  I would assume that if someone draws a picture of what they think Vin looks like, then it's fine.  What about if they include the words "Mistborn" or some of the symbols from Mistborn or Elantris or something in their art?

I'd imagine that you couldn't make something like that to sell, but what if you made a wallpaper to distribute on the net?  What about hiring another artist to help make something for you.  Like if you do an ink drawing using something, can you pay someone to color it?  What about the other way around?

I'd imagine that there are (hopefully) not many legal problems that arise from fan art, but am interested in the rules anyway.

Even reading ahead a little bit would ruin the story for me, thus I never do.  But, I'm also very easily entertained, and never read a book I hated, only picked up a few that were just ok, and like or love the rest.

The only exception was Alcatraz, Brandon just made it too tempting...

I don't understand author's who don't allow fan fiction (not just that they are against it, but they enforce their viewpoint with legal means).

Such as GRRM.  He's pretty famous (I believe) for standing against fan fiction of his works.  I don't understand that viewpoint.  Doesn't it just mean that people love your series even more and (as has been said above) want to experience it more?

What does the author lose by allowing or (daresay) supporting it?  I know JKR has read a lot of the fan fiction of her work.

GRRM was discussing it somewhere and said that he thinks it hinders an authors development by letting them use characters and worlds that already exist, rather than going through lengths to develop their own.

Now, that may seem like a sound argument, but I find it utter BS.  If someone is new to writing, let them have a start.  People learn better doing baby steps.  Maybe they aren't interested in being published, and just want to do it as a hobby, what harm does it do letting them save some time by writing about your world?  My guess is that if a study was done they would find that writing fan fiction helps people instead of hindering them.  First, it's easier to write since a lot of the ground work is done, but it still leaves plenty of room for creativity.  You can still develop characters and plot lines.  In addition, most fan fiction is read by other people.  IMO a starting writer will have much better motivation to finish something if they know it will be read by someone.  I'm sure they also get a lot more feedback about fan fiction than they would about something else they wrote.

I know there are some authors here, would any of you be against fan fiction?

Also, speaking of BS, how does Brandon feel?   

I should end by saying take this all with a large grain of salt, since my experience with writing is zero.  The only things I've written since I've left school are forum posts, emails, checks and code.  Though, I have thought about trying out some MB fan fiction just to see what the whole 'creative writing' thing is all about.

This thread does bring up some other interesting points.

I wonder how much Brandon works on back story for his novels.  From what I understand, authors like JKR and Jordan put a lot of effort into this kind of thing, and even if they didn't write more than a paragraph about an event that happened in the past, in their notebooks or minds they had the event in question fleshed out in detail.  Do pretty much all authors do that?

Also, I think this is one of the most interesting parts of the first book that is talked about, but left out.  I would love to see a Hope of Elantris style short from Brandon that describes this scene.  In fact, there isn't anything else that I can think of that I would want to see more (though the part with Vin and her Mother would be #2).

I'm about 2/3rds through Confessor right now.  In that book, I came to a realization.

His books are quite entertaining when something is happening.  Goodkind does have a talent for writing an action scene and building suspense.  His action scenes might not be as 'cool' as Brandon's (You just can't compete with the dimensions that allomancy throws into the mix) but they are fun to read.

However, in his books, when nothing is going on, they are among the most boring books I have read.  I'm in the group of people that used to be a big reader, then stopped.  I was turned off of books by school mostly.  We read old, boring novels and were forced to analyze them for one kind of element or another.  In my entire high school career, I read 2 books (including those assigned in English class).   Then, with JKR and HP, I was brought back into the wonderful world of reading, realizing that reading can be fun.   It's possible to just sit back, and throughly enjoy a great story.   Sometimes, Goodkind meets this goal, in other's he doesn't.

Confessor is the only book I can remember reading since highschool that I have been tempted to skip ahead pages simply because I don't care what is going on.  When things are happening, it's great, but when nothing is going on he just drudges on and on about things.  Two characters will get into an argument about something, and within 2-3 paragraphs into it you'll understand both sides, but he'll just keep repeating himself over and over and carry that on for 5-10 pages.   That just isn't interesting to me.  In Phantom there was a section of about 40 pages towards the beginning that took me 5 might s to read, simply because each time I went to read it, I literally fell asleep trying to drudge through the mess.  Once that section was over, it was easy to read 200+ pages in a single night.

That is kind of how the series has been with me.  There are a few things I love, and a few things I hate.  I love some of the wizard rules, and have found myself quoting the first rule to multiple people both online and in person.  I love the logic he presents in those rules.  As I said, his action is also great.  Yes, it's very cliche, and the hero always wins, and there are many parts about it to which someone could complain, but none of that bugs me, and I enjoy it.   However, I really hate how he crams his philosophy down your throat, and really hate how he sets up situations to make altruism look worse than it is.

Also, I find it a little humorous that as much as he says his books aren't fantasy because "Magic isn't a central part."  Yet, he has spent no less then 150 pages in each of the last three books going into great depth about how the magic system works.  Providing details that IMO sound fake and no one really cares about.  It's almost like he threw it in there just to say "Hey, look, my 'magic' system is based on math and science, thus it's not really 'magical' and so these books aren't fantasy."

Ok, that's enough ranting.  I have to go find out what happens to Richard...

Congragulations Brandon!  What an honor.

I submitted the story to slashdot, but it looks like while I was editing mine, it already made the front page.

I dugg the digg story, I'll submit a reddit one as well.

I've never been to anything like this, but might have to check it out since it's local.