Why do I call it practice?  Because these writers should be the Danielle
Steels, the Clive Cusslers, the Robert Ludlums and other big name writers
that everyone talks about.  These people should be on our shelves being

read

by the populace at large, far more so than J.K. (boohoo I only made seven
million so I'm going to hold my next book hostage until I make more)

effing

Rowling.

At the risk of incurring wrath, I want to publicly defend Jo Rowling at this
juncture. Why? Because I personally enjoy her books, admire her as a writer,
and have begun to envision her as a role model for my own career--because
I'm just about as badly on the skids as she was when PS/SS was published.

But lucky breaks aside, I respect her writing because she keeps me
interested and keeps me on my toes as a reader--something which rarely
happens these days, because even reading some of the better writers out
there, I can always predict which way the wind is going to blow hundreds of
pages before the leaf drifts past. I can't do that with the Potter books--I
always miss the obvious clues until I reach the end of the book. Granted,
she makes excessive use of red herrings, which isn't necessarily good
writing in practise, but...eh. I dunno. I just like her style, and hope
someday I'll be as well received by the world as she has.

Sorry for that rant, folks. I'll be good now, I promise. ^_^;;

Take offense if you want, but writers like this deserve more than just a
"best fanfic award"  and so long as they write just fanfic, they will

never

get it.

And we, as fans, owe them more than that.

The problem with original works versus fanfiction is coming up with ideas.
Ideas for fanfics are easy--everything you need is already there: world,
setting, characters, events, situations. You just need a germ of an idea and
a little elbow grease.

Writing original works for publication--that's hard. And it's even harder if
you have a tendency to quit on an idea after half a chapter because you just
can't sell it to yourself. I've abandoned numerous projects that, for all I
know, would have sold thousands of pulp paperbacks, or better, because I
couldn't sell them *to myself*.

I don't know how other writers, such as those you mention by name, feel
about these things, but for me, if I can't sell a story to myself as both
its writer and primary reader, then I just can't bring myself to write it.

This tends to throw a massive monkey wrench into the works for a hopeful pro
writer. For, if you cannot produce a finished, publishable work, then you
are left with less than nothing.

Fanfiction is a wading pool, and some people really need to take the

plunge

into deeper waters.

I agree. I just wish I knew where to find my blasted snorkel....

--------------------------------------
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com



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