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Now this is a rare thing, folks.
I agree with Lurker.
Speaking as someone who has been known to take as long as a year between
releasing chapters of a story (ask anyone who reads "Cry of the Phoenix"
about that), first of all, nobody but the author can say whether or not a
story has been abandoned. Maybe the writer is just really slow. Maybe it's
on hiatus, as with my BGC 'fic "Awakenings", which I stopped working on
three years ago but still hope to finish someday.
And maybe it is abandoned. But it's still the author's story, not yours or
anyone else's. And until that author gives someone permission to pick up
where he left off, it should remain his.
Yes, I know what you're saying... "But isn't fanfiction stealing someone
else's story?" I suppose that depends on the fanfiction author. I know I
consider my fanfiction to be "might-have-been" stories, or if it's a
continuation 'fic, a "might-be" story. And my stories themselves are
original concepts, even if they don't take place in original worlds. Taking
someone else's plot and "finishing it for them", without their permission...
that's different.
An author... a good one, anyway... puts a great deal of his or her soul
into the work. It is, in a way, a part of them that they share with their
readers. To take that part away, and try to make it one's own... is a
terrible thing.
I could say more on this... but so far I've managed not to get too
indignant, and I'm going to stop before I degenerate into pyrotechnics.
Next time, though... think a little about what you're saying before you hit
that send key.
'nuff said,
Stormwalker
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Douglas A. "Stormwalker" Reeves <stormwalker@airmail.net>
Computer tech, anime fan, hopeless romantic, and sometime writer
Fanfiction Archive - http://web2.airmail.net/a0011387/fanfic/
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"Why did you challenge us to this fight? I'm not really
sure why. But I know that you made two mistakes. One was
hurting a lot of people to achieve your goal. And the other...
was picking a fight with me!"
--Lina Inverse, "Slayers" ep. 26