aadler: (ChainGiles)
 
This year’s Circle of Friends Remix — at [livejournal.com profile] cof_remix — is now finished (though [livejournal.com profile] sroni may tack on another story if she ever recovers it from her crashed computer). [livejournal.com profile] jedibuttercup was a new participant this year, and this was her first full-story remix (she had previously taken part in a drabbles-only remix); the results, I would say, speak for themselves.

The listing is as follows:
    • [livejournal.com profile] jedibuttercup: remix of [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix, with “For They Shall Be Comforted
    • [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix: remix of [livejournal.com profile] sroni, with “The Letters” [Part 1”, Part 2”, Part 3”]
    • [livejournal.com profile] sroni: remix of [livejournal.com profile] eilandesq, with “Give Me Three Steps
    • [livejournal.com profile] eilandesq: remix of [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip, with “Regrouping
    • [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip: remix of [livejournal.com profile] aadler, with “Déjà Without a View
    • [livejournal.com profile] aadler: remix of [livejournal.com profile] jedibuttercup, with “Tea and Oranges

Originally it was set up so each participant would be remixed by someone who had never remixed him/her before, but we had one person drop out (real-life pressures, I believe), so [livejournal.com profile] eilandesq was once again remixed by [livejournal.com profile] sroni. What the heck, they like each other.

I recommend that anyone who hasn’t already done so go check out these stories, and offer your appreciation to the authors. I thought [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip did a nice job remixing me (there was real power and real tragedy in “Déjà Without a View”); [livejournal.com profile] jedibuttercup’s first full-scale remix was expertly crafted, and [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix did a nice job under some unexpectedly trying circumstances (referenced in my LJ and hers).
aadler: (Muse)

Over the past few days, [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix has made a couple of posts about complications arising from the story she was doing for [livejournal.com profile] cof_remix. Let’s start by saying a few things. First, the problems go back almost entirely to me, since she corresponded with me regarding the rules about remixing remixes, and I thought I’d covered all the necessary angles but clearly did not. Second, the original original author (author of the story the remix of which [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix proposed to remix) is entirely justified in her position regarding remixes of her work: okay with permission, but permission basically restricted to remix events in which she is taking part. (I would be likewise protective of my work, there just haven’t been that many requests or inquiries.)

It does raise a question, though: is it possible to remix the remix (the derivative work) in a way that doesn’t impinge on the territory of the original?

The best remix I ever did, no question, was “Otherwise a Perfect Sky”, a reworking of [livejournal.com profile] deird1’s stark, haunting “Come Crashing Down”. I call it my best remix because it took her story and put my own cast onto it. (I’ve done other remixes based entirely on some single note or concept from the original, but in OPS I remixed the story, to great effect since it was a great starting story and I’m halfway competent myself.) If someone wanted to remix OPS, then, and [livejournal.com profile] deird1 was either unwilling to consent or just simply out of contact, how could that be done without — in the absence of her permission — plagiarizing her work?

Basics of [livejournal.com profile] deird1’s story repeated in OPS:

  • Post-apocalyptic wasteland. Okay, that’s generic enough that anyone could work with it.
  • Willow maintaining a mystical barrier that protects the refugees in the compound. Particular to the story, but also obvious enough — who else would do it? — to not be an offense if repeated.
  • Buffy killed by a demon after sending a truck convoy ahead of her while she stayed to fight. Not copyrightable, but a bit too close; better if it could be changed to deliver the same flavor and consequences without actually using the same scenario.
  • Xander’s staying to fight a vengeful Spike, and being killed by him. Yeah, that one is clearly [livejournal.com profile] deird1’s. Change it, delete it, or work around it.
  • Memory of the post-Glory portal-opening apocalypse being stopped by Anya’s killing Dawn, only to be immediately killed by Buffy. Perfectly reasonable, but still something that [livejournal.com profile] deird1 did first, an identifiable part of her story. Lose it.
  • The sky being green inside the safety zone. Not exactly a major plot point — I used it more than she did — but still identifiably hers. Has to go. Even just using a different color wouldn’t really be enough to provide the necessary distance.

Elements of OPS not present in [livejournal.com profile] deird1’s original:
  • Story from Tara’s POV, and ultimately about her.
  • The Xander/Tara pairing.
  • Tara — instead of Xander — killing Spike.
  • Fred’s suicide.
  • The discovery that Willow is the Big Bad here, and her reasons for doing what she’s done.
So, lots to work with, right? Full bang ahead, remix “Otherwise a Perfect Sky” in a way that veers far enough from [livejournal.com profile] deird1’s original that there’s no conflict.

Except …

Even in this example, there’s the same complication that [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix ran into. In OPS I mentioned a character named Jacie Li, as a sidelong tribute to [livejournal.com profile] deird1 because it came from another story of hers. (I’ve done the same with other authors, including the first remix I ever did — of [livejournal.com profile] bastardsnow — and most recently of [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip.) What if a prospective remixer didn’t know that? [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix found herself faced with her remix-source including elements from several different original-source stories, which complicated the problem enormously. I suspect that she’s still trying to make it work only from unwillingness to see the writing she’d already done go to waste.

And, just as I (and she, but mostly I) had failed to foresee those first two complications, there may be yet others lurking to trap the unwary. This is uncharted territory, and the rules are still being discovered.

So, in conclusion:
  1. It is, in fact, possible in certain cases to remix a remix without sinning against the original story.
  2. An author who chooses that course of action isn’t in the wrong, even if the OA doesn’t necessarily agree.
  3. Doing this can be extremely ticklish, and except in unusual and extreme cases it would be a lot less work and less risk to just skip it and remix a story that isn’t a remix.
[livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix has pretty much already covered these points in her own posts. This is just me owning up to the problems I unleashed with my blithe Sure, go ahead. My feelings now are quite a bit less carefree, and can be summed up thus: It’s not easy, and snares abound, so why look for trouble? Get advance permission from the original-original author, or just find a non-remix story for your source.

It’s easier all around.

aadler: (NightWatch)
 
Since this year’s RemixRedux is getting set to start in a few days, I’m trying to power through and finish the remix I intended to do for [livejournal.com profile] cof_remix in November. Also, Susan and I intend to go to town tomorrow to watch Avengers: Age of Ultron so I can start reading some of the commentary on my flist.

Some things in the meantime:

It has been determined that my grandchild-soon-to-be in China is a girl. (And when I told a co-worker about this, he thought I meant my son was adopting a baby in China.)

[livejournal.com profile] sroni’s husband just got accepted for a training slot with yet another international company, so the two of them will be living in Rome for five months, after which he’ll have a permanent position in Dublin.

In a little over a week, I’ll be buying tickets for the time at the end of September when Susan and I fly to China to visit our new granddaughter (and the happy parents, of course, but they’ve abruptly been relegated to afterthoughts; what counts now is grandchild!).

I’m happy that Orphan Black has started a new season, sad that the Americans has ended another, and almost finished watching the final season of the Dead Zone. (Interest waned, so I’ve slowed way down in my viewing, but I won’t quit when I’m almost done.)

I’m suddenly becoming increasingly interested in the e-publishing market.

And that’s all for now.
aadler: (Wood)
 
It’s been over a year now since I posted “the Silence in the Spaces Between”. I acknowledged at the time that it was the re-telling of another story, well-known in certain quarters, and I expected the source material to be identified in days if not hours. Well, that didn’t happen (or, if it did, nobody mentioned it to me). Time, then, to put the matter to rest.

ExpandBig Reveal below the cut )

aadler: (Pain)
 
Just since the last time I made any significant post:

My daughter ([livejournal.com profile] sroni) has rejoined her new husband in Ireland, where he now has a job with a multinational company.

My son and his Chinese wife have been sending us sonograms of our soon-to-be-first grandchild. Susan asked several times if they knew the gender yet, before Mei told her that in China it’s not legal for techs to give that information to prospective parents. (Too many female-negative selective abortions.) He has applications in for a few companies that, if he could get hired with them, would allow them to live in America.

The same day [livejournal.com profile] sroni left for Ireland, I got a new job. Very entry-level, and the least I’ve worked for in a dozen years, but it’s a job and those are still a bit thin on the ground, so I’m not going to be complaining.

I haven’t quit fanfic writing, I just haven’t been doing any recently. I won’t make promises, but my intent is to get going again within the next few days.

And I’ve been working my way through the Dead Zone, the 2002-2007 series with Anthony Michael Hall. Saw a few episodes back when it was first airing, but never had the opportunity to get into it, and I find I’m enjoying the way they address the possibilities. Less than halfway through at this point, but progressing steadily.

Also, gradually losing some of the weight I began to put on the moment I ceased driving long-haul. Really needed to do that. Let’s see how far I can go.
aadler: (T&D)
 
Posting for Phase 3 of this year’s Circle of Friends Remix ([livejournal.com profile] cof_remix) was today. Newcomer [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip was the only participant who managed to meet the Phase 3 deadline, though [livejournal.com profile] sroni and I are still working on stories we may add later. See [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip’s submission, “Defining Moments”, and offer the feedback it deserves.
aadler: (ChainGiles)
 
In Phase 2 of this year’s Circle of Friends Remix ([livejournal.com profile] cof_remix), the participants were allowed (if they wished) to remix anyone else who had signed up this year. The results are as follows:

    • [livejournal.com profile] aadler remixed [livejournal.com profile] eilandesq, with “Rough Trade
    • [livejournal.com profile] eilandesq remixed [livejournal.com profile] sroni, with “Improvising Modesty
    • [livejournal.com profile] sroni remixed [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip, with “Love is Only Heaven Away
    • [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix remixed [livejournal.com profile] eilandesq, with “the Witness

Two remixes in two months is noteworthy output, and there are some good stories there. Phase 3 awaits; let’s see who’s masochistic enough to go for that one!
aadler: (ChainGiles)
 
I didn’t make any post here acknowledging it, but Phase 1 of this year’s Circle of Friends Remix ([livejournal.com profile] cof_remix) has been completed happily and successfully. We had two new participants, [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix and [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip, both of whom were remixing for the first time, and I believe the results were definitely to their credit.

The listing is as follows:
    • [livejournal.com profile] aadler remixed [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip, with “Long Time Passing
    • [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip remixed [livejournal.com profile] eilandesq, with “Comeback
    • [livejournal.com profile] eilandesq remixed [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix, with “Blood and Chocolate
    • [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix remixed [livejournal.com profile] aadler, with “The Man” (Part 1 and Part 2)
    • [livejournal.com profile] sroni remixed [livejournal.com profile] evil_little_dog, with “Falling From Your Grace
    • [livejournal.com profile] evil_little_dog remixed [livejournal.com profile] sroni, with “Normal Days

(There was one full round, [livejournal.com profile] aadler through [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix, and then [livejournal.com profile] sroni and [livejournal.com profile] evil_little_dog remixing each other. I’d prefer to do an unbroken round — as we’ve always done in the past — but this way allowed every participant to remix, and be remixed by, someone he/she hadn’t had before.)

I urge anyone who enjoys Buffyfic to check out these stories, and express your appreciation to the authors. As to the remix done for me, I thought [livejournal.com profile] dragonyphoenix’s “The Man” was a total hoot from beginning to end.
aadler: (ChainGiles)
 
So, [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip just posted a Ten for Ten Fic Fest recap (here) to mark her ten years as a fanfic writer. Since I’m now at the fifteen-year mark, I decided to imitate her. So:

ExpandThe Recap )

aadler: (Skyline)
 
[livejournal.com profile] snickfic instituted this meme, and others are following:

“I think that many of us like talking about our and linking to our work but are embarrassed to do so without excuse, so I am making us an excuse. Behold, the Seven Days of Self-Promotion Meme, inspired by another recent meme but with more categories, all obviously customizable as you see fit. Notice that the categories are very broad, so you can talk about your art or vids or meta or whatever if you don’t write fic.

The Days:
     1. Something old
     2. Something new
     3. Something you made for someone else
     4. Something you made just for yourself
     5. Something for a major fandom/pairing/character
     6. Something for a minor fandom/pairing/character
     7.
ExpandSomething you’re just really proud of )

And then other people can read your discussion and follow your links to your fanworks (and maybe comment on them?) and you can read their discussion and follow their links and comment on them, and it will all be lovely.”
aadler: (Skyline)
 
[livejournal.com profile] snickfic instituted this meme, and others are following:

“I think that many of us like talking about our and linking to our work but are embarrassed to do so without excuse, so I am making us an excuse. Behold, the Seven Days of Self-Promotion Meme, inspired by another recent meme but with more categories, all obviously customizable as you see fit. Notice that the categories are very broad, so you can talk about your art or vids or meta or whatever if you don’t write fic.

The Days:
     1. Something old
     2. Something new
     3. Something you made for someone else
     4. Something you made just for yourself
     5. Something for a major fandom/pairing/character
     6.
ExpandSomething for a minor fandom/pairing/character )
     7. Something you’re just really proud of

And then other people can read your discussion and follow your links to your fanworks (and maybe comment on them?) and you can read their discussion and follow their links and comment on them, and it will all be lovely.”
aadler: (Skyline)
 
[livejournal.com profile] snickfic instituted this meme, and others are following:

“I think that many of us like talking about our and linking to our work but are embarrassed to do so without excuse, so I am making us an excuse. Behold, the Seven Days of Self-Promotion Meme, inspired by another recent meme but with more categories, all obviously customizable as you see fit. Notice that the categories are very broad, so you can talk about your art or vids or meta or whatever if you don’t write fic.

The Days:
     1. Something old
     2. Something new
     3. Something you made for someone else
     4. Something you made just for yourself
     5.
ExpandSomething for a major fandom/pairing/character )
     6. Something for a minor fandom/pairing/character
     7. Something you’re just really proud of


And then other people can read your discussion and follow your links to your fanworks (and maybe comment on them?) and you can read their discussion and follow their links and comment on them, and it will all be lovely.”
aadler: (Skyline)
 
[livejournal.com profile] snickfic instituted this meme, and others are following:

“I think that many of us like talking about our and linking to our work but are embarrassed to do so without excuse, so I am making us an excuse. Behold, the Seven Days of Self-Promotion Meme, inspired by another recent meme but with more categories, all obviously customizable as you see fit. Notice that the categories are very broad, so you can talk about your art or vids or meta or whatever if you don’t write fic.

The Days:
     1. Something old
     2. Something new
     3. Something you made for someone else
     4.
ExpandSomething you made just for yourself )
     5. Something for a major fandom/pairing/character
     6. Something for a minor fandom/pairing/character
     7. Something you’re just really proud of


And then other people can read your discussion and follow your links to your fanworks (and maybe comment on them?) and you can read their discussion and follow their links and comment on them, and it will all be lovely.”
aadler: (Skyline)
 
[livejournal.com profile] snickfic instituted this meme, and others are following:

“I think that many of us like talking about our and linking to our work but are embarrassed to do so without excuse, so I am making us an excuse. Behold, the Seven Days of Self-Promotion Meme, inspired by another recent meme but with more categories, all obviously customizable as you see fit. Notice that the categories are very broad, so you can talk about your art or vids or meta or whatever if you don’t write fic.

The Days:
     1. Something old
     2. Something new
     3.
ExpandSomething you made for someone else )
     4. Something you made just for yourself
     5. Something for a major fandom/pairing/character
     6. Something for a minor fandom/pairing/character
     7. Something you’re just really proud of


And then other people can read your discussion and follow your links to your fanworks (and maybe comment on them?) and you can read their discussion and follow their links and comment on them, and it will all be lovely.”
aadler: (Skyline)
 
[livejournal.com profile] snickfic instituted this meme, and others are following:

“I think that many of us like talking about our and linking to our work but are embarrassed to do so without excuse, so I am making us an excuse. Behold, the Seven Days of Self-Promotion Meme, inspired by another recent meme but with more categories, all obviously customizable as you see fit. Notice that the categories are very broad, so you can talk about your art or vids or meta or whatever if you don’t write fic.

The Days:
     1. Something old
     2.
ExpandSomething new )
     3. Something you made for someone else
     4. Something you made just for yourself
     5. Something for a major fandom/pairing/character
     6. Something for a minor fandom/pairing/character
     7. Something you’re just really proud of


And then other people can read your discussion and follow your links to your fanworks (and maybe comment on them?) and you can read their discussion and follow their links and comment on them, and it will all be lovely.”
aadler: (Skyline)
 
[livejournal.com profile] snickfic instituted this meme, and others are following:

“I think that many of us like talking about our and linking to our work but are embarrassed to do so without excuse, so I am making us an excuse. Behold, the Seven Days of Self-Promotion Meme, inspired by another recent meme but with more categories, all obviously customizable as you see fit. Notice that the categories are very broad, so you can talk about your art or vids or meta or whatever if you don’t write fic.

The Days:
     1.
ExpandSomething old )
     2. Something new
     3. Something you made for someone else
     4. Something you made just for yourself
     5. Something for a major fandom/pairing/character
     6. Something for a minor fandom/pairing/character
     7. Something you’re just really proud of


And then other people can read your discussion and follow your links to your fanworks (and maybe comment on them?) and you can read their discussion and follow their links and comment on them, and it will all be lovely.”
aadler: (Pain)
 
Having finally posted the last part of “Reversible Error”, I at last found myself able to spend some time (while continuing to drive during almost every waking hour) thinking about what I might do in my upcoming remix. I’ve been assigned an author, of course, and it was a name familiar to me, and I even remembered a story that would lend itself excellently to reworking. I thought through approaches and twists, tried to focus on remembering some good lines for when it came time to start writing, and even found a suitable title. Then I got some spare time tonight, and went looking for the story I remembered so I could review it before beginning …

Yeah. Tiny problem. [livejournal.com profile] sroni once described exactly this event, and now I’ve had it happen to me. The story I remembered? It’s by a different author. Which means I’ll have to start looking again.

What the heck. Still have nearly a month.
aadler: (ChainGiles)
 
As I might have mentioned before, as soon as I had finished “Maxima Culpa” I started immediately on the next story, the one I’d been desperately holding at arm’s length so I could first complete the one already in progress. That effort bore fruit; I got MC posted (and received an unexpected outpouring of positive response), and now I have the next one ready to go.

As in, done. I’ll be putting it online probably the first thing in the morning, and the only thing making me wait even that long is that [livejournal.com profile] sroni and I are going out tonight for karaoke. (Watch me rip through Eminem’s rap of “Love the Way You Lie”.)

There’s a euphoria that always hits me when I finish a new story, but it’s been awhile since I felt it this strongly. I don’t think it’s because the new one is so good (I like it, but it’s not the greatest thing I’ve ever done); I think I just got lucky on the feeling. I’m not about to complain, I’m enjoying the love.

So: tomorrow, prepare to see the next [livejournal.com profile] aadler-Buffyfic.
aadler: (FedUp)
 
Okay, my latest story has now been posted. (I got tired of waiting to hear back from [livejournal.com profile] sroni. Yes, I’m annoyed.) And I’m working on another, which I’ve been looking forward to even though it’s a fairly recent idea.

The thing about driving? It doesn’t really feel like work to me, but it takes up a lot of time. Even though I have plenty of opportunity to think — about story ideas and other things — by the end of the day I’m lucky to have more than an hour or so to do anything before I have to go to bed. (You don’t skimp on sleep when you spend most of your waking time piloting forty tons of metal down the highway.) I actually had more time on deployment; even if I worked more, I could grab spare moments here and there, and as a driver that’s just nearly impossible.

BTW, for those persons familiar with the term “lot lizard”? I had one approach me at a truck stop in Alabama. Startled the heck out of me, and I responded very abruptly (though I believe I fell short of actual rudeness). And afterward, all I could think was: I just turned down sex with a woman. Have I ever done that before?

I was very happy at seeing the announcement that RemixRedux would be back this year. I do wonder how well I’ll do at it, though, given the time strictures I just described.

And now, it’s just about time for bed again.
aadler: (ChainGiles)
I haven’t left LJ, I’ve just been silent because I’ve been busy. It’s an unusual day when I have more than a couple of free hours, and I haven’t looked to spend any of that on LiveJournal posts. I’m still following my flist, though, and still reading fics recced by my LJ friends … and I’ve continued to write.

In fact, I have a new fic, though it may be a day or two before I post it. (I’m getting it read by my first critic, [livejournal.com profile] sroni, and waiting for her feedback before I open it up to the public. So I’m still here, and I’m still active, just a bit less visible.