Interesting article -- a must read for anybody hoping to shift from fanfiction
to original fiction. I'm not sure I agree with the descriptive tag 'metafiction'
for fiction that borrows archetypes and style from another genre, however. Genre
writing has the right to consider itself original writing, even with common
elements.

So, off I go on a tangential rant...

I've got one project under my belt and another in progress under the header of
'Original Anime Fiction' (kinda like OAV, but textual). The idea is to take some
familiar themes, archetypes, elements and so on from anime genres and mix them
with your own ideas to create something you can both declare to be your own (and
profit from if you wanna :), AND declare to be part of a subculture which
appeals to a group of fans. It's not unlike science fiction or fantasy authors
borrowing familiar elements such as spaceships and swords and magic spells, even
if they don't implement these things in exactly the same manner as others do.

I did have a strange incident when someone declared that Sailor Nothing was
obviously a "Sailor Moon fanfic in the New Senshi subgenre" and I shouldn't call
it an original story at all, and trying to profit from it via donations was
wrong. Which is silly, because even if it involves school uniforms,
transformations, special attacks and so on it has none of the backstory or
implementation of powers that Sailor Moon has. Even anime creators who use
common elements like mecha or magical girls vary the background involved in how
such things operate and especially WHY they operate, and their work is just as
original as that which came before. I don't see this sort of genre mix 'n match
as a reduction in any form of the creativity of the work. If it was, terrific
animes like Love Hina would be declared cheap derivative fanfiction of six or
seven different sources. :)

Anyway, this article is an excellent read, and a good way to break into OAF type
writing without hitting the pitfalls that lie along the way. Good work!

-2f
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