I have been a dedicated reader of OSC and a lurker on this board for a little while now. Pouring through the posts on this site and seeing the fairly unique interaction between devoted readers and OSC himself gave me an idea. I was wondering if there were any way for OSC to arrange a user-generated serial short novel on this board.
I am thinking while I am typing to a degree, so stick with me and if this has been suggested before, I apologize.
I'm sure OSC has some peripheral concepts from the Enderverse that have popped into his head during the writing of the various books; concepts that he could never get around to writing or simply aren't appropriate as a standalone work. Perhaps OSC could lob one of these ideas into the forum and, through a moderated process, members could write serialized sections of it.
I know, I know. It has been done. It's flavor of fan fiction. The kicker here, my hope here, the beating heart of the concept here...is that OSC would participate in the process; he would write sections of it, interlacing his writing with that of his readers.
In terms of logistics, obviously there would have to be some sort of daily control: e.g., someone would have to be picked out of a hat to write the next section, there would also have to be a control on the length of each section and some basic ground rules so that it doesn't come completely off the rails plot-wise.
In short, I am asking if you, Mr. Card, would be willing to try this experiment. It is a little bit of a half-baked idea right now, but it could be worked out.
If nothing else, maybe it will show you how the worlds you have given birth to have grown and spawned new life in the collective minds of your most passionate readers.
Or maybe it will be crap...but I bet it would be fun.
Tom W.
[ August 27, 2007, 06:45 PM: Message edited by: TomW ]
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Welcome Tom!
Mr. Card might do something like that, but my guess is he won't. He seems very protective of his creative work, as most artists are. It would be fun if he did go along though.
Posted by TomW (Member # 10893) on :
Thanks, Morbo.
True. Based upon some of his interviews, forewords, etc., he seems attached -- and rightfully so -- to his personal vision on the Enderverse. But, also based upon interviews, etc, he also seems to have an enduring passion for the writing process.
I am also not suggesting using any core characters in the experiment. In fact, I think it would be more fun not to. For instance, set it at the battle school right after the defeat of the Formics. Was there some sort of coalescence of the students in to nationalized groups? Was there maybe some sort of confrontation there? Or how about...Ender has arrived on Lusitania and someone, a miner and an obsessive student of ancient history, recognizes him and becomes obsessed with him.
We wouldn't want to try to add to canon, but to simply add auxiliary depth of world...just an experiment.
Posted by Papa Janitor (Member # 7795) on :
Welcome to Hatrack, Tom.
Mr. Card has said in the past that the advice/directives of his lawyer(s) have been not to allow fan-fiction, and to pursue aggressively from a legal standpoint anyone who publishes it, especially as talks of the Ender's Game movie continue.
In addition to the main Hatrack forums, there is also the Virtual Battle School, where people can and do write within the Enderverse Battle School. You might look there for something similar to what you're suggesting, though it would not be for publication, and it doubtlessly would not involve OSC (he only rarely takes part in the forums at all).
--PJ
Posted by TomW (Member # 10893) on :
Understood. That's too bad on a number of fronts. First, that something like this would necessarily be labeled as fan fiction (I was hoping that the connotation would be avoided with author participation) and second, that even if he wanted to, OSC couldn't take part in something like this. The unenviable shackles of success, I guess.
Mark this place, oh muse, for one of your creations has fallen on this spot, another victim of the cruel machinations of man, before it had chance to take flight. (and then probably fall out of the sky like blue-ice from an airplane anyway, but what the hell, worth a shot) <grin>
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
The thing is, if others participate in the creation of it, they own it as much as OSC does. Hurray for synergistic artistry, boo for copyright law.
Posted by TomW (Member # 10893) on :
This is true, except, I believe, that everything written on this site becomes property of Hatrack River Enterprises, Inc.
I even had a great idea on subject. It could center around the pilots that made it to the bugger homeworld. OSC could write the beginning providing the initial impetus, and then a member could develop a small story on one pilot apiece. This provides for the changes in voice, tone and writing. OSC could then weave all of these individual characters together for the final, climactic moment.
It would have been fun, but I also understand the restrictions.
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