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Here Comes The Boom
Looks like we’re in for some rough weather but what would 2019 be without another rainstorm?
What? More Rain?
As I’ve mentioned before, it’s not officially Summer yet. That comes on Friday.
Just to remind us that it’s technically still Spring, Mother Nature has decided to deliver a couple more days of rain.
Suits me fine. I like staying indoors.
I’ve got some errands to run today but fortunately, they’re mostly indoor and my van has lovely AC that makes the running around really bearable.
When I was stationed at Minot, AFB in North Dakota,
these bad boys were parked across the flight line from my KC-135A‘s
FanFic
I’m really sorry that this particular project got sued out of existence. I can understand that Paramount wants to maintain creative control of their copyrighted material but the fans are what keep Trek alive. There’s no reason to produce more “official” Trek content if there’s no market for it. The original series died an ignominious death in 1969 and would have been relegated to the ash heap of TV history had the show not built such a rabid fanbase in syndication.
Given what can be done with a bit of talent and some relatively inexpensive software, fan fiction films are now approaching or even exceeding the quality of the “official” stuff. Unfortunately, because of the scope and quality of this endeavor, Paramount came up with the final set of rules for Trek fanfic productions. They’re pretty crippling to the fanfic community.
As much as I love the Star Trek universe, I think it’s time for these incredibly talented storytellers to come up with their own sci-fi milieu. There are so many excellent stories waiting to be created that can be Trek-like without depending on the actual brand anymore. What appeals to us about Star Trek is actually bigger than the setting. I think that a genuinely shared non-Trek is waiting to happen. I think Paramount is ultimately cutting their own throats with their stingy rules. The Trek fanbase will eventually move on to this new collaborative sci-fi universe and the fact that it is independent of any network’s copyright will allow fanfic to go any direction that they want.
Some will be abject failures. Some will be so niche that only a small audience will even want to watch them. Some will reach the level of the Axanar project. I think that not only does actual space exploration need to be decentralized and privatized but so does space opera. It’s time to go where no storyteller has gone before. Fanfic is great but original-fic is better. Maybe some of the better projects will provide frameworks for fanfic productions that won’t be squashed by overprotective rights holders.
One of the biggest complaints I have about Hollywood and TV networks is that they are trying to milk the same franchises forever. Good God! Tell a new story, will ya?
It’s kind of hard to square that with an enjoyment of fanfic Trek videos. Sure, the stories are technically new but they’re hanging their creative hats on an existing framework. Considering how creative they are, they could just as easily create their own sci-fi platforms. Now that Paramount has dropped the hammer, they’re going to have to.
Being Careful
If you are careful about the content and writing style, readers will not feel that you are in a hurry. ~Ravi Subramanian
Despite the irritation my wife feels about me starting over, I feel like the re-do has been worth the lost time. The first draft was a bit too hasty in some respects. I’m getting more of what I wanted on this version.
As much as I want to bang out thousands of words per day like Chris Fox, I’m just not at that level of writing yet. I need to work at this story carefully and thoughtfully so that the milieu is coherent and that people will want to read the sequels.
That is all. Carry on.