Hi y'all

So...a question.

I terms of fanfiction, which I gather very evidently isn't Discussed Here (which is all fine and dandy), where do people stand on the idea of writing character background stories for tabletop RPGs, such as (in this instance) Scion?

I'm interested to know what people think the classification of writing such stuff comes under, because, ostensibly it's fanfiction, right?  It takes an existing universe and uses it as the basis for the story.

Thank you all very much for feedback so far: it's nigh on impossible to get a feel for how things go when you don't get anybody commenting.

As for the story itself, it's the sort of story that was written in a one-off session in front of the computer and was, in that regard, totally freeform.  In some respects it's stream of consciousness fiction. 

Really appreciate the comments...

Thanks!

I will never quote from the Book of Armaments when using Hellfire.
a) It is not the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.
b) I will not count to five three.

I found it amusing! which is more of a compliment than it seems!

Thank you, horsehearted! 

Now then, fellow Dresdenarians.

It's been a long, hefty while since I've just had the creative wherewithall to sit down and write a one-off, short story out of nowhere.

I've just done just that.  And I would really, really value general opinion and thoughts on it. 

However, I'm unsure of the protocol on these boards.  Would people gut me if I were to put a link up to the story?  I like being alive, it has many perks.  Like breathing, that's a good one.

My first on-topic post! 

Tentatively dabbing my toe into the calm waters of Dresdenville to respond to what is obviously a fairly contentious thread.  As an oft-times fanfic writer myself, I fear that I'm opening myself to being eviscerated alive, but you know.

Nothing like confrontation.

Except more confrontation.

Cassandra, you caught it for me perfectly when you said that fanfic should be about capturing an 'off screen' scene, or using incidental characters who are only mentioned in passing.  The majority of the one-off stories I've written have generally been small scenes, or lesser characters from a variety of fandoms.  The Dresden Files, in my opinion, doesn't lend itself largely to fanfic because the story plans are so well constructed.  Harry particularly wouldn't be good fodder for fanfic material (in my opinion) because he's too well rounded.  As Cassandra points out, characters like Billy and Georgia do lend themselves to fanfic.

I'm a great believer that fanfic should be about character studies, a glimpse into the life of a character as you personally imagine them.  Not re-writing what you know about someone just to suit your purpose.

(Don't get me started on how much I dislike slash-fic-for-the-sake-of-slash-fic, for example).

I've read some very good fics over the years and I've also read some absolute rubbish.  But a lot of people take a lot of pleasure in enjoying their fandoms.  Where the author is not overly bothered about such activity (see, JK Rowling, just don't try to publish anything), then as with everything else, if you're not enjoying something...stop reading it.

Just to skew the conversation in a slightly different direction: what is the overall opinion of 'interactive story' type forum-based fandom 'games'?  Again, I've seen some that are dire beyond belief and others that are good, interactive fun.  I myself write regularly on an original fantasy-based forum and get great enjoyment out of it.

~P~