#she wrote the Love Hypothesis as Star Wars fic but published it as original in 2021

[hollandorks]

Do you have any advice for someone who’s attempting to foray into writing but already has other obligations? Any suggestions for balancing work and other aspects of your life with writing? Also have you encountered any issues with creating an original work based on a your own fanfiction such as toeing the line with being original and paying homage? You seem successful with all of your writing and so getting your thoughts would be so great!

*cracks knuckles* had to get on desktop for this to be sure I answered thoroughly! First of all, thank you!! I don't necessarily feel succcessful with my writing but it's really nice to hear.

I actually asked a lot of favorite authors about this (especially when I was in college!) during their Q&A on social media etc and the #1 response I got was: you have to make time. And it's so true. Obligations suck, work sucks, school sucks. Those things unfortunately have to come first just because, yknow, life!

So you have to carve out time to write and be purposeful about it. For motn I wrote a ton on my lunch break at work on my phone but I also like....gave up on laundry and keeping my house clean as often as I needed to in order to write more after work.

Even if it's only 15-30 minutes a day, you have to just purposely make time, which sucks. But also, prioritize it if it's really important to you. Like I said, I decided laundry and a clean bathroom were a lot less important (lol) when writing motn. Just decide what's most important and focus on that, even if only a little at a time.

On to the next part of the question: an original work from a fan work. Listen, you have to get rid of copyright stuff. For motn, I got rid of anything even remotely related to Batman. Symbols, names, etc. I renamed the vigilante, the city, revamped the backgrounds and such. And when I paid for a beta reader, I let her know that it was based on the Batman movie and she purposely looked out for stuff that was too similar! (Like a couple of lines she noted that it sounded "too Batman-y" so I changed it accordingly)

I can't answer about legal stuff (like if I'll have to delete the original motn) because I'm not there yet! I do know Ali Hazelwood wrote the Love Hypothesis, a hugely popular romance book, that was based on her own fanfiction, but it also isn't set in the same kind of world of the movie if that makes sense! (As in, it was a Star Wars AU fic I think, and the book is set in the "real world" so she likely didn't have to change much other than names!)

I definitely toed the line in a lot of places. I mean, I set it in a gritty, corrupt city that has a vigilante who is a billionaire with cool gadgets and an armored car and dead parents....but still altered enough to not be copyrighted. Again, I'm not really into the publishing process yet so I may get notes back (if I get any) saying it's still too close to the source material! But my goal is for 1) anyone familiar with Batman at all to get the gist and 2) OG readers of motn to still be able to recognize it!

Last but not least, it's super important to realize that every person is different and every story is different. What worked for motn might not work for my next project! And what worked for me, personally, might not work for you. It's just a matter of keeping at it and being persistent until you find what works.

Idk if any of this makes sense so feel free to send any other questions and stuff! I'm happy to answer them, I love writing and am passionate about it and love to talk about it!

[queer-ragnelle]

I’m going to go out on a limb here in defense of editors.

Too often I see people dump on poorly written books like “Where was the editor?” Uh they were probably banging their head on the desk in frustration as the author had a tantrum and dug their heels in about every suggested change. Then the dogshit market and algorithm and nepotism rewarded this by launching the mediocre book to the NYT bestseller list or whatever.

After that or even simultaneously it lands movie deal and gets made into an even more mediocre franchise. Look no further than Fifty Shades of Grey author E. L. James who pioneered this shit over a decade ago. Just ctrl+f your fanfic names for new ones. Edit absolutely nothing, certainly not developmentally. Sell a million-billion copies on a false premise of BDSM. Make a movie and scream and yell at the director doing her damn best the whole time. Then fire her. With a new director, install your husband as the script writer so no improvement can be implemented in the adaptation of your idiotic and harmful story. Profit.

The downfall of storytelling is not on editors.

This shit isn’t art and it’s grown in a lab by people with influence who don’t have to work hard or improve themselves or think constructively because they’ll make money anyway. They don’t care about quality because they’re not artists, they’re merchants dealing in marketable tropes and taglines without any substance behind it. They’re snake oil salesmen. The editor is the health inspector they knifed out back.