[JenB]

Hmmm... three-four years ago, I remember hearing vaguely disgruntled noises from Pern fandom, but wasn't paying much attention to other fandoms, so it might not have changed.

Er, on the other hand, I'm in general supportive of fandom and... if you're not trying to make money I think it ought to be ok. That said, there are a lot of fanfic stories that are... well, abominable in many senses.

So you had to invent a whole entire seperate cast, but could use the 'Pern' ideas? Hmm... my 'thing' in fanfic was usually picking a really minor character and retelling something from her POV. To use Pern as an example, you know how "Nerilka's Story" fits in with "Moreta"? That's what I tried to do.

No wonder I always liked Nerilka better than that stupid Moreta!

[300winmag]

Hmmm... three-four years ago, I remember hearing vaguely disgruntled noises from Pern fandom, but wasn't paying much attention to other fandoms, so it might not have changed.

When I finally bailed on Pern fandom, newcomers were already making trouble. I suspect the grumbling you heard was from the same people who screwed things up with their adolescent inability to follow rules, and not mess with a good thing.

I guess I'll save all my fanzines as belonging to the now-lost golden age of Pern fanfic. Some of it was good, while a lot of it sucked. But I learned a lot about writing.

And to think my freshman English teacher, the famous Joyce Carol Oates, said I should stick to nonfiction because I could never write a decent piece of fiction.