I have become an absolute Dark Shadows freak, always trying to work Dark Shadows references into everyday conversation, probably annoying and confusing everyone around me! In addition to this, I also greatly enjoy writing and reading DS fan fiction. One of my favorite stories I've read has Sam from Quantum Leap leaping into the body of Barnabas Collins, circa 1967, and solving everything from the murder of Paul Stoddard to Barnabas's vampire curse!! I wished that writer had Sam solve the Quentin's ghost problem too.
Another one I enjoyed was one where a young Elizabeth Collins discovers Beth Chavez's dead baby in a shoe box under her father's bed!! [hall2_lipsrsealed]
And I am sure most of the Cousins on here would LOVE the one I read about Victoria and Jeff Clark happily married in the year 1968!
Who else loves/hates the fan fic?
I appreciate people trying their hand at creativity so I don't fault anyone for that. The ones written well do flow much better and entice me to return to their stories over and over.
I do believe fan fic is very subjective. If the stories don't content certain characters, people who favorite certain ones will not read them.
I think of most of it as Fantasy Fulfillment Fiction
not that there's anything WRONG with that!!!
Well, so long as the characters involved behave with the same personalities and motivations as they displayed on the series. Giving characters personality transplants to suit ones own ends is often a big mistake in any sort of fanfic. And one doesn't even need to go to fanfic to see it.
I think of most of it as Fantasy Fulfillment Fiction
Gee, ya think? [hall2_grin]
I figure ppl are free to write pretty much whatever they want so long as there's SOME semblance of who the characters were on the show.not that there's anything WRONG with that!!!
Well, so long as the characters involved behave with the same personalities and motivations as they displayed on the series. Giving characters personality transplants to suit ones own ends is often a big mistake in any sort of fanfic. And one doesn't even need to go to fanfic to see it. [hall2_wink]
We did a Round Robin once on the Sci-Fi boards where one of the 'writer's' decided to make Barnabas gay and Willie was his pimp who brought him young boys to 'enjoy', then kill! Interesting concept to be sure, but NOT what fans would expect to see of these two characters. Nothing wrong w/a gay Barnabas mind you, but I think it was pretty well established that he enjoyed woman, so his being gay in this story went against what was established about him on the show.
Personally, if I was to write such a novel, the opening scene would be the one where the Collins family is burying Barnabas at the crossroads of some major intersection in Maine, accompanied by the Rite of Exorcism being intoned by a Cardinal, at the very least.
YES!!!!! A place for a blatant and shameless commercial for my DS Fan Fiction!
I too will shamelessly promote my books too! [hall2_grin] I have a volume of short stories on the various characters and of course, my NEW Bramwell/Catherine/Civil War novel! [hall_wink]
Yes, I highly recommend this.... You will learn much about the Civil War for starters. Plus a lot of expostion that helps to explain the PT 1841 story and relationships. And keep a box of tissues handy--- it's a "multi-hanky weeper."
I have tended to favor the Karlenzines, which obviously covers every single aspect one can imagine about Willie Loomis and the other JK DS characters (and even once included an amusing Cagney&Lacey story about "good old "Harv".)
But what I think is really something for me to marvel at is an extremely little diddy I wrote called "Firefly Dreams." It's about Vicki and Burke, and a lot of people have told me it's pretty good. I wrote it as a result of a writing challenge on some DS group or other, so check it out on FanFiction.net. If anyone goes to read it let me know what you think, good, bad, or ugly.
Very sweet. I hope you continue writing. [hall2_cheesy]
There was a long fanfic I read some years (and three computers) ago. In essence it followed the story of Barnabas, Julia, Quentin, etc. from when they returned to 1970. Written in the style of the "Episode Guides" it included cast lists--and a visit to Parallel Time 1897 where the villain was 'played' by Alexandre Molke.
Never been able to find it again, alas.
A friend of mine runs a fanfic group devoted to stories about Barnabas and/or Bramwell. The list is always looking for "new blood." It is an adult list.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BarnabasBramwellfanfic
didn't i post this already . .maybe i dreamt it. .
Who would have made an interesting love interest for Julia besides Barnabas?
If you're writing a DS novel in hopes of actually having it published and making a profit from it, then by all means, you'd better keep the characters the way they were originally written, and don't let the plot stray too far from the Collinwood we all know and love.
But if you're writing for the love of it, because you have a story idea you just HAVE to explore, and characters you're dying to bring to life, then write what you damn well please
Personally, if I was to write such a novel, the opening scene would be the one where the Collins family is burying Barnabas at the crossroads of some major intersection in Maine, accompanied by the Rite of Exorcism being intoned by a Cardinal, at the very least.
And personally, aside from being an unabashed and unapologetic B&J nut, I just cannot get enough of Julia fanfic {squeal}...especially since only bits and pieces were inferred about her background on the show, so its a neat area to explore.
However, as long as a story or novel appears, IMO, to be well-written, I'll give it a whirl, no matter which character is in the spotlight. though complex multi-character plotlines are always appreciated. (I've endeavored to include as many original characters as well as my own in my fan-fiction, with vital actions for all.)
Since others are plugging, I will plug away too!
I haven't written much DS fanfiction. I wrote a little diddy called Murder in Collinsport that upon re-reading it really not too bad, but given the time that has passed (like 3 or 4 years) since I wrote that and now, (I've become much better, at least I like to believe that) it really lets me know how far I've come. So if you do read that, please please please please ignore the plot jumps, the passages that have run-ons and the various other mistakes that occur here.
Heather, have you ever read Tales of Hoffman? It's a novel-like collection of short stories taking one from Julia's childhood to post DS where she's married to Barnabas and fawning over their college age son Ben. Good reading! ;)
Thanks for the advice, Pansity.
Petofi through the 20th century too... and there are all the alternate events that happened in the years leading up to the now altered 1971, where ECS is alive but obviously knows Barnabas, Julia, and Eliot.
So many characters that we didn't find out about, and who would seem to have interesting backstories: Gerard, Samantha and Quentin, Kitty Hampshire, Beth, Flora Collins -- the list just goes on and on.
Since there's no real critiquing of fanfiction on the fanfic oriented groups, thats the only way authors are learning to improve their work that I can see.
I find that really sad; the fanfiction groups I am used to exchange notes on writing resources and function as writer's workshops so that everyone can learn how to make their work better. (And there's NO AUTHOR, whether professionally published or an author of fanfiction, who can't benefit and learn from a thoughtful critique of their work. This applies even to self critiques, though it's very hard to be objective about one's own work.)
I think that there is a great fanbase out there for stories with Quentin (or anyone, really) in the world outside of Collinwood. A number of years ago I read a couple of stories that were all connected-- Like one story and then sequels-- by someone, whose name I can't for the life of me remember.
But, what I do remember about them is that they were VERY entertaining. I think I've read them on FanFiction.net as well as on some Yahoo Groups. I don't remember much about them except that they delt with Quentin being in Egypt and some sort of story there. Does anyone know the stories I'm talking about? I never finished reading the entire series, but I'd like to return to it when I get them time, because they were expertly written.
I know what you mean that certain boards accept any and all fanfiction, and many of it is either knocked down or praised whatever quality it is, but I don't agree that there is no real critiquing out there. It does exist on a few rare groups. Maybe I just lucked out, but I have found a group where people, fellow writers, ARE willing to take the time to critique and beta read each other's work before it's posted to a board...I know my writing (which is far from perfect - as i joke with friends, I am an artist, not a writer) has definitely improved because of my association with DS writing groups. The pointers and lessons I have learned from tough critiques have even helped with my college writing classes as well...