Media and Fan Relationships: Zones Of Creativity

A lot of us work in or want to produce media, including fiction.  For those of us writing fiction, or planning to film it, or whatever, there may be some concerns about how to deal with fanfic and the like.  Fans are why we're here and how we get paid, and their fanworks help promote our works and draw everyone into a community.  However fanworks can also accidentally "brand" your work, something creators don't always seek or like – as we've had discussed here by our own Rob Barba.

I'm pro-fanwork as long as there's mutual respect and understanding.  I also know some authors fear what happens when people begin "playing in their world," and it's not always irrational (i can immediately think of two series I avoided due to fanfic battles and fanwank that gave me the wrong impression).  For authors and creators who want the best of both worlds, I had an idea.

Read more

Musings on Media Cycles: The Rich And The Distilled

So, why do so many horror films, well . . . turn out not only kind of bad but are really just pseudo-snuff films?

This question came up on Twitter, and I responded with my theory – that when the killers of the slasher genre became stars, franchises, it meant horror turned into a body count factory.  Once the killer is just there to pile up bodies, yet is a star, there's not much to do.  Perhaps the ultimate distillation of this is the FInal Destination series where people who avoid death die creatively at the hands of a kind of "force of fate."

Read more