6:2:15 betweenthelines

Between the Lines Spring Issue

Are You Stuck in the Past?

Ebook Takeover

Red Carpet or Red Cover?

Movies or Books?

Evolution of Literature

The impact overtime

Fanfiction

Inside a fan’s mind

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Contributors Shelby Dearing

Shelby is a straight-A student in the WCHS Marching Band and concert band, as well as a member of the WCHS track team. In her free time, Shelby enjoys reading any type of book.. She believes reading is an impact on the world around us and everyone should read more often so we as people can expand our thinking farther than anyone could imagine.

Gabrielle Plata-Madrid

Gabrielle is a stellar student and a swimmer of the WCHS swim team. Gabrielle will read absolutely any book placed in front of her and spends a chunk of her day buried nose deep into a book or a pool. Gabrielle believes that reading is a beautiful escape that all should experience.

Gracie Crook Gracie is new to WCHS. She enjoys hiking, being with friends, and of course reading! Her motto is “Hakuna matata” and is a major “Potter-Head.” She thinks books are a way to let your mind explore and let your imagination create an image of your own.

Cody Redwine

Underneath his woven beanie, is a curious and creative mind.

You might find him plugged in and searching for the latest trending fan-fiction. His love for reading began at the young age of two when he read his first book aloud. Cody is deeply passionate about reading and believes that all children should read their little heart’s out.

Letter from the Editors

Dear Reader, Thank you for taking the time to read our magazine. This magazine is the product of many intense hours toiling in front of a computer. We editors are merely high school students brought together by our Digital Discourse and Design class. In our magazine you will discover many aspects of the literary world that enhances our lives. We hope that every book enthusiast can find inspiration within our magazine.

Sincerely,

Cody Redwine

Shelby Dearing

Gracie Crook

Gabrielle Plata-Madrid

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Table of Contents

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Contributors.........................................................2

Letter from the Editor....................................3

Are You Stuck in the Past?..........................6

Red Carpet or Red Cover?...........................10

Evolution of Literature...............................14

Fanfiction.............................................................18

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Are You Stuck in the Past?

By Gabrielle Plata-Madrid Books are a portal to another world.

They encompass the mind and provide a distraction from reality. Although printed books have a more authentic feeling to them, they can be hazardous. Have you ever felt the sting of a papercut? Ouch!

Technology has been evolving since the beginning of time. Now we have a way to limit the number of papercuts and still travel to another universe. Ebooks have a rich history that started in 1971. They have countless benefits ranging from accessibility to cost. The benefits of ebooks are hard to deny, so why aren’t more people using them? They make the lives of millions of book enthusiasts worry free.

How It All Began Throughout history, technology has been evolving, and shaping society. With the evolution of technology, our lives have become easier. Books were originally made from bones, wood, clay or mud, berries, blood, and animal skins.

Thankfully, book making techniques have improved. Paper, leather, and ink are now used. Books, however, would not be what they are today if it weren’t for the printing press.

As our libraries filled and became cluttered, we searched for a way to eliminate this mess. Electronic books or Ebooks, allow one to place thousands of books on a portable device. But how did this idea come about?

The journey towards an easier way to enjoy books began in 1971. Michael Hart

founded Project Gutenberg, a program designed to make printed files accessible and available to download. At the time, these files were available on computers.

These downloads were not popular at first, but with time, more and more people began to use and appreciate them. Authors such as Bob Gunner were the first to make his stories available for download.

As the internet, and the world of computer graphics expanded, authors began creating websites for fans to view their work. Ken Jenks, around this time was launching Mind Eye ePublishing, which allows readers to preview a book before purchasing it. This is a convenient tool when buying ebooks because it allows you to get a feel for the book before you purchase it. This can help save money, and ensure that you only buy books that you will like.

In 1987, Eastgate systems, made books available on floppy disks. This made it easier to transfer books between computers.

A program called PC-Book was launched in 1990. This program gave these digital books realistic characteristics such as page numbers, bookmarks, headings, and pictures.

In 1994, Roy Hoy, launched a company with the purpose of selling ebooks, and in 1998 the Rocket was created. The Rocket was the first handheld ebook reader. From here the ebook business soared. More authors were converting their works to a digital format, and several companies arose with the purpose of improving the

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Photo by Mackenzie Plata-Madrid devices that ebooks could be stored on, and the layout of the books. The number of books these devices could hold improved drastically. More stores arose that sold these books. Overtime the prices of ebooks dropped within these stores.

The journey may not have been easy, but the outcome was great. Now the world, and all of its literary works, are available at your fingertips. You can no longer complain about not being able to find a book or the long trips to library, because now everything is online.

Teaching and Technology In elementary and middle school, printed books are the primary source for educational and recreational purposes.

The recent addition of iPads at the high school, have enriched the lives of students. Because of the addition of iPads, a variety of educational apps are now available. Teachers from the math, and social studies department are optimizing iPad usage by making textbooks available. This

eliminates any unnecessary locker space and maybe the locker itself. Teachers are also using interactive apps to engage students during class.

Some teachers also provide printed textbooks which provides a second resource for students. For English, students are required to read one or more books a month. Ebooks, ensure that all students will receive a book and no books will be lost or stolen. In English class we also analyze several documents for educational purposes. Teachers often make these available for download. Teachers in the science department make worksheets and additional textbook pages available. Students can download all this information to Notability or iBooks.

What Woodford Thinks I personally prefer ebooks over printed books. I like how easy it is to purchase and download a book. I also like how I can edit the book to my taste. Hwowever, not all people prefer this method of reading.

8 A survey regarding ebooks and printed books, was sent out to the teachers and student body at Woodford County High School . Although students at Woodford prefer printed books over ebooks, they recognized a handful of the advantages of ebooks.

Most students recognized the availability and cost of ebooks are better than printed books. They also recognized that devices made for ebooks, can store thousands of books, and that ebooks are Earth friendly. Recognizing the many advantages of ebooks, is the first step to fully appreciating and understanding their potential.

Students who prefer printed books over ebooks, recognized that printed books have a more authentic feeling, have a better connection with the story and physical object, and appreciate the usage of bookmarks more because you can see how much you have left in the chapter and book.

I was surprised that students preferred printed books over ebooks. With the addition of iPads in our school, one would think that the popularity and usage of ebooks would be more than their counterparts.

Benefits of Ebooks 1) Can be purchased and downloaded in a matter of seconds: These digital books can be purchased and downloaded through various websites, and devices. This eliminates the nuisance of going to a bookstore, tracking down your book, and waiting to check it out.

2) 100% Earth friendly! No trees are cut down in the process of manufacturing ebooks because they are digital.

3) Easy to store: Ebooks do not take the space that printed books do. Thousands of books can be stored on one device.

This eliminates the hassle of a huge, professional library.

4) Lightweight: They are more compact and manageable. Thousands of books can be stored on one lightweight device. Imagine having to carry thousands of printed books!

5) Cost less than printed book: Ebooks cost less on stores such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon. This is before taxes but for book enthusiasts, this can make a huge difference when buying on a budget. Ebooks cost less to make and have no added fees such as shipping and handling.

6) You can purchase an Ebook everyday, at any time of day. Because Ebooks are purchased online, they are readily available. Ebooks definitely save time.

7) Contain features that enhance ones reading experience: You can change the font and style of the print, edit the spacing and margins, change the theme (Example: Day, Night, Gray,Butter) and brightness, search the contents of the books, create bookmarks and highlights, and navigate the book. As you read you can also make notes and annotations, and look up the definition and origins of certain words and phrases.

8) Often contain links to various websites that contain more information regarding the author, book, and upcoming events (publications, book signings, etc).

9) Can be read anywhere.

10)Thousands of books are available to purchase. Books from all genres are available. You can no longer give the excuse that you can't find a book.

11) On Barnes and Noble, classics are under $5, and on iBooks they are available for free.

12) If you accidently delete your ebook, it can be downloaded again for free. Ebook purchases are saved on your account

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Photo of my personal digital library.

so there's no need to worry about getting behind in your reading!

have an admirable past and a bright future. They have dozens of advantages that enhance ones reading experiWhat Will the Future Hold? ence. As we advance in technology and What will be categorized as authentic time, I believe that ebooks will become in ten years or twenty years? Our world is more popular. Ebooks will eventually be becoming more technologically advanced. thought of as authentic and be widely People are becoming infatuated with tech- accepted. nology. There are still some old souls out there using more traditional methods and http://www.successconsciousness.com/ resources, but their numbers are decreasebooks_benefits.htm ing. Now you see older citizens with smart phones and children of all ages getting exhttp://www.theguardian.com/ cited over video games and smart phones. books/2002/jan/03/ebooks.technology As technology advances and changes, so does society. I predict that in the next ten to twenty years, when asked, citizens will answer that they prefer ebooks over printed books. More people are reading for fun and for a decent amount of time.

Now that the advantages of ebooks are known, it is up to us to give them the recognition they deserve.

Ebooks journey towards popularity is not over yet. They are here to stay. They

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Red Carpet or Red Cover?

By Shelby Dearing Finally an image of your imagination appears on a screen, it may not be what you expected but the pure desire to know what she looks like or what this mystical and unknown world is really like keeps you on the edge of your seat. Movies are a big form of entertainment but the real hook is in the books themselves.

Books allow your mind to run wild and find new places to explore. Movies lock down our imagination’s power which we are taught at a very young age that you can imagine anything you want. There is an endless debate on if the book or the movie is better. No matter what side you are on, there are pros and cons to both sides. Books hold the originality and grow into a rich depth, they allow your mind to interpret what it wants instead of being limited to the screen in front of you that is coming from the mind of the director. Although movies can catch the essence and interpret the meaning for everyone in case there is any confusion, movies can also sometimes be more impactful with the help of effects and background music.

Most people generally believe that movies don’t fulfill the book’s original impact. This is because it’s hard to capture the characters’ true emotions and thoughts without the constant voice over. In an interview with Heather Sunseri, author of the Mindspeak Series, I asked if movies take away what the author is attempting to express. Sunseri responded “Not always. I think there are many movies that have been produced quite well.” She went on to describe how she was enjoying seeing some of her favorite novels on the big screen such as the Divergent Series, The Hunger Games Series, and The Fault in Our Stars.

Sunseri still strongly suggests that these incredible

books still be read since they are such amazing novels.

A major downside to books being made into movies is that some important sections and outstanding parts of the book are left out.

For example, in the movie Perks of Being a Wallflower, there were some parts that were not filmed such as when Charlie’s sister found out she was pregnant and he helped his sister resolve the situation. Because of that specific event, Charlie and his sister became closer.

This was incredibly significant because in the end of the book, a major and serious situation occurs and because of how close Charlie was to his sister, the situation was resolved and saved a life.

The first book to the Percy Jackson Series was not even close to the book other than the fact that it was about Greek God’s. The story line was completely changed and barely followed the book. The plot was similar but the resolution was no where near the book’s, which is why it could not make a sequel after the second movie.

Survey taken by students at WCHS on if they prefer books or movies better, this is on The Lightening Thief.

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Photo by Shelby Dearing

Sunseri always stated that she believes some author’s desires to see their book on the big screen excites them and they don’t necessarily know what they are agreeing to when they sign the contract. Directors typically change the storyline to what they believe will make the movie better. Authors also have no input whatsoever when it comes to major decisions. At first, The Hunger Games movie was going to be completely rewritten with new characters, scenes left out, and other key details from the book would vanish. However, Suzanne Collins (author of The Hunger Games Series) was the screenwriter and helped produced her movie, which is why the movies have been so successful. Collins’ determination for her movie to be just as incredible as her book is what produced the movie we all know and love perfectly.

Occasionally the movies do follow the book fairly well but often the movie still isn’t as effective. This could be partially because of the casting.

Directors need actors who can truly fulfill the shoes of this character. Shailene Woodley, the actress who played Tris in the film Divergent, mentioned in an interview that getting into the mindset of the character is difficult because they are trying to reflect the character’s personality, thoughts, feeling, actions, etc.

Woodley also explained how after finishing the movie, she played in a tv show. So when she found out the second movie was being filmed she established that getting back into the mindset of the character again, is more challenging than it was before.

This is because the actors have to recreate the image they have already revealed to the public.

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Therefore it can make the sequel not as powerful as the original just like the saying “the sequels are never as good.”

Which can also refer from the original writing to the film on screen. Even the appearance of the actors, actresses, and even the setting can throw viewers off because it isn’t what they expected. A book can perfectly describe how a character and the settings look like. They don’t just throw the most famous actor at the time in the story and develop from there. According to a few high school students, the looks of the characters can bother them as the movie progresses on. If directors want the movie to be successful, they should at least hire someone who portrays what the characters may look like.

the story better. It has also been said that movies are more boisterous than books.

For instances, a group of students were discussing the book and film The Great Gatsby. There was a certain scene where a small party had taken place and in the book it seemed quite civil and more reserved, while in the book it was wild and extravagant. It was nothing the group of students were expecting. The majority found the movie more entertaining in this case. Movies can also be more modernized depending on the time setting of the book and the date of when it was written.

For example, the music selection.

Music is used to set the tone of the scene and having a peculiar section of the book on screen with background music and effects really makes an impact and increases the emphasis on the situation.

“Everyone typically prefers movies because they arent as time consuming.”

Although, there are some people who do prefer the movie over the book. This is mostly because of the time span. It takes on average 1.5-2 hours to complete a movie when it can take a week or two to finish a book. Everyone typically prefers movies because it isn’t as time consuming. On a Sunday afternoon with absolutely nothing to do most enjoy a great movie, some may start a book but it is hard to finish in a short amount of time.

But of course that isn’t the only factor, in a survey taken by high school students, some say the reason they like movies better is because they know exactly when a scene changes and they enjoy seeing a physical picture in front of them to attain their constant attention. There is also the problem of not actually being able to imagine something, such as a specific setting. There are some who need someone to paint the picture for them so they can appreciate

It’s obvious that not all movies will do justice for the book, but it is great publicity. I, myself, never would have started reading some of these books if it wasn’t for the movie. It also bring more wealth to the authors. They have reached the fame they have deserved. They created a work of art and now they finally get to sit back and relax as they watch their masterpiece become a hit.

Genre is also a very important key factor to a successful book or movie. Also in a survey, it was concluded that adventure, fantasy, and romance were the top three genres for books because it allows readers to connect on an emotional level ind pendently, they can create a world they desire to see and feel through the words; while comedy, action, and horror were the top three genres for movies because the effects and extras added really portray to the emotions on an external level to where they will physically scream at a pop up,

or laugh at a funny action that the main character did, or be intrigued by the fight happening in front of them. Genres can typically make or break a movie, so it’s not necessarily a horrible movie, but the genre just isn’t fit for a movie.

The ongoing debate between books and movies may never be resolved. Both are a great form of entertainment and millions of people love the experiences. Whether one is better than the other is just a matter of opinion. Obviously this is judging more on the director’s ability to making their movie close to the book instead of criticizing the book, since the book is the original.

have succeeded in providing us with quality entertainment. Books have been around for thousands and thousands of years while movies haven’t nearly as long, therefore there’s still time for improvement. Books are what created the sense of incorporating details and letting imaginations run wild; they were the creators of expressing our ideas with others, the original source of entertainment. But most importantly, let’s not forget to give honors to these authors by reading the book before we see their work on the big screen.

Most can agree that books and movies do a splendid job at attempting to connect with the readers and viewers, to reel us in, play with our emotions, and in the end

Photo by Gracie Crook

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ure rat

o f L n ite o it u

Evo l

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by Gracie Crook

Books have had their own kind of evolution through the thousands of years they’ve existed. Someone’s book choice can say a lot about them and the environment they live in. As the world has grown and transformed, books have too. The content of books reflects issues and aspects of the culture around them.

So you know your great grandparents obviously lived differently than you, but have you thought about what they read when they were your age?

Reading has a colossal impact on our world. Books give us hope, inspire us, entertain us, transform our minds, and give us knowledge. It’s very important that we understand that without books we would not be as technologically advanced and life would be completely different. So now let’s compare books with culture.

Back in the 1800’s Britain, it was considered very scandalous to write about things we read everyday. There were definitely no 50 Shades of Grey in that time period. That book would have caused an uproar; we can only imagine how they would’ve reacted. Maybe they would’ve burned it in old town’s square in a large heap of books like the Nazis did to any book that put Jews in a good light. Or maybe

they would have put the author in the the dungeon for the rest of their life.

Sadly, reading has not always been available to everyone. Some of your grandparents didn’t own books growing up due to expense.

Another obstacle from older times is subjects that were banned and frowned upon in print.

It was not unheard of for people in authority to hold book burnings destroying literature deemed unfit. There are no book burnings today in our country due to racy or illicit content; however, today we enjoy the freedom to write about whatever subject we wish. Encouragement to one up what was previously written seems to be the trend.

Also, even in America, “land of the free”, women were publishing their books under a man’s name. It’s hard to imagine women doing that now. Imagine Suzanne Collins publishing as Collin Suez. To let someone else take all the credit for your hard work because you’re afraid that who you are and people’s prejudice will get in the way of your book. So women who published books back then were not writing the books for fame or for themselves at all; they were writing to say something important with no ulterior motive.

Language has also been one of the

15 most transforming aspects of a book. Most high tion. Therefore, if we wish to really appreciate schoolers today claim that they can’t understand a novel then we need to understand its dialect a lick of the Shakespeare literature English teach- or we are merely selling the book short. Think ers are required to teach. A survey was taken by of it like watching a movie where the main students in Woodford County and when stu- character speaks a language that you are undents were asked if older books were harder to familiar with. You can probably guess what’s read, three quarters said it was harder. going on and can piece things together from

It’s true that it takes more comprehend- the English speaking characters but the movie ing to read Pride and Prejudice then it does to would be a lot better if you could understand the insight and informaread the latest Fault in tion the main character Our Stars because Jane was giving you.

Austen could go on for pages describing Dar Diction is differcy’s inward battle of ent in every person you loving Elizabeth using meet, every country terms that the average you go to, and especialperson does not know. ly every different time However, if you were to period. You would use show someone from the different diction if you 1800’s The Fault in our were presenting a proStars they would be as fessional piece to your terribly intrigued by all boss then you would the technology it uses if you were watching a and the slang would ballgame with a friend. throw them off from the We do this betrue meaning. Like when cause people will judge Hazel and Agustus both you based on your word say “ok” and really are choice. If you wished to making a secret promise remain formal and reto be together forever. spectful you would say Classic novels throughout time

“hello sir” to your teacher or boss; however,

A writer’s language is how they interpret if you were to greet your mom or buddy, you their ideas from their mind to their reader’s mind. may say “hey” or “what’s up?”. People make It paints a picture in their mind, gives them a judgements based on how you talk. If you’re taste of your world, and leaves them wiser than a babysitter and curse every other minute before. So it’s a big deal that we know how to then people will be less likely to trust you with their kids. If you use improper grammar then interpret the different dialects of English.

For example, say you had a friend from you will be deceived as dumb. No matter England and they asked you to make them how intellectual something that you’re saying some biscuits. In England they call cookies bis- is, it will always sound dumb if you cannot use cuits but if you didn’t know that then you would proper grammar and use good words to ilhave made biscuits for no reasonthough this is lustrate your message. The same thing goes extremely small scale it is a good way to show for books; formal books would use formal dichow easy it is to completely misinterpret a situa- tion. A scientific book meant for genius sci-

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If you use a southern diction (ya’ll, yonder, hollerin’) then you are allowing people to stereotype you as they may a person from the south so you have to be careful with that. Many old books use this southern diction and dialect which gives them character that most books published now lack. For example, the classic To Kill a Mockingbird uses a southern dialect that suits the novel well seeing that it is set in southern Alabama and is fitting to the characters. For a lot of people, including myself, it gives a sense of comfort and happiness because of a loved one who talked in the sweet southern tone.

This is an example from To Kill a Mockingbird: “I’ve seen Atticus pat his foot when there’s fiddlin’ on the radio, and he loves pot liquor better’n any man I ever saw”. This type of conversational dialect takes the reader right into the deep, slow, descriptive ways of the south.

Not only have books changed but the way we read and connect with them have changed too. For example, all the way back in the 1500’s in Catholic Europe there was an uprising called the Protestant Reformation. The Church had most of the power in Europe and used it to control the dissemination of the scriptures in order to benefit themselves. Reformers like Martin Luther challenged papal authority and stressed that you as a person must read the Bible yourself and interpret it how you see fit instead of the priests who read the church the bible and told his views on the bible. No one was ever to question him or think differently so when

Martin Luther says to interpret the bible how you want to it not only changed the Christian religion forever but also changed books as a whole.

People were encouraged to think differently and make their own spin on things. Which is really what every book is. It’s someone taking a situation that happened or didn’t happen and putting it in their own words or maybe they completely change the world by creating something that doesn’t exist. That’s a recent genre that has come about: fantasy. So we can thank God- literally- for the Protestant Reformation because it opened up the world’s minds to interpretation; a huge step in the history of books.

Older novels used mystery in flowery language to take the reader on the journey of the story with a lot of supposition which becomes clear, typically, at the end. Recently, books have become more direct, exploring specific subjects and characters. The language used in more recent novels is usually very to the point and spelled out for the reader so not much interpretation is needed. This is probably because today readers like to be able to have something unfold in front of them without having to put in a lot of effort in it. Like when watching a movie, all you do is sit back and enjoy. Books 50 years ago were not all made into movies like books are today and that’s just a competition today’s books are trying to overcome.

From language to interpretation to variety of cultures, times are very different for writers and readers. The world of literature has transformed into something beautiful and a wide open range of subjects. The classics are still available to us today so we can revisit that time in history, exploring a different way of thinking about our inner feelings and how it affects our behavior. Also, today news and information travels like the speed of light, so

“people were encoraged to think differently and make their own spin on things.”

the topics are still very relevant to what’s going on in the world around us. However the aspects and universal themes in novels have remained the same, the contents have transformed to fit every society and every culture.

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As in Pride and Prejudice and The fault in our stars, both novels depicted the theme that as long as you have true love, nothing can keep it apart. This is what keeps us interested and coming back for more.

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Fanfiction

By Cody Redwine

So… Fan Fiction. For many this is a way to express their creativity to others. Meaning that anyone can read this. Basically this is a form of writing that is developed from already published works that range from books to movies to tv series. Authors of fanfiction create their own story line with already made characters and send them in a ultimately different direction from the original storyline.

Technically speaking, forms of fanfic are illegal due to copyright laws.

However, authors generally don’t care much if someone uses their characters for non profit, so no real punishments are given for this offence. There are millions of people out there who read/write fanfic in one way or another. There are apps made specifically for young or old writers to express themselves in the form of fanfiction.

As a whole the subject of fanfiction has been debated over its legality. Where one side believes that it hurts the original author from the financial standpoint. Which really isn’t well supported and should be immediately dismissed from court. This is because of it’s non profit nature. Others take the standpoint of

how it was the author’s original creative genius that brought the original piece into being. This is correct to a point but what they fail to see is that really the fanfic writers aren’t taking anything away from the author by editing events.

Only simply creating a different route for the story to go. An example would be say in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Harry comes back from the last challenge in the Triwizard tournament with a fellow student’s body exclaiming how the dark lord has returned. The Ministry of Magic denies any claims of this and dismisses anyone who believes Harry as a complete fool discrediting him in the process. Now say that the Ministry had believed him. The entirety of the wizard world would’ve been plunged into turmoil and a man hunt for Voldemort would have began and potentially ending the book series a book early because of the capture of him which would take the main antagonist out of play. How would my own example take away from the great J.K. Rowling?

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Mark Twain

It wouldn’t.

So really there would be no point in even trying to make it illegal or banning it. Since neither of those would ever stop the production or distribution of fanfic. Just there would be a more shady way of getting to it, but I won’t get into that. Back to the legal standpoint, with so many authors not actually saying anything about it there would be no point to making it illegal.

From that we can move on to who writes fanfic. The answer you may ask? Everyone and anyone. If one so chooses to they can write about any type of show, book, movie, or comic they want. People

you wouldn’t suspect to write fanfic do and you would never guess if they did or not.

Believe it or not there are popular published authors that got their start from writing fanfiction. E. L. James, author of the trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey, got her start from writing her xrated take on twilight called Master of the Universe. Another not-as-popular one is Lies Inside by Lindsey Gray which originally started as a fanfic called Bring Me to Life. Meljean Brook who wrote the Guardians series also wrote a sexfic of Batman. As you can tell now there are people who write or have written fanfiction that you may not have suspected.

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Some may think that fanfic is primarily a thing that came about around the time the internet was invented. That, however is wrong. Fanfic has been around since as far back as Virgil. Virgil himself created a fic from the epic The Odyssey. He took a minor character that was unimportant to the plot and made him the main character as opposed to someone who doesn’t matter. Though in earlier forms of fanfic it was just an adaptation. Some of which are very well known such as A Midsummers Night Dream by William Shakespeare, which was the tragic story of Pyramus and Thisbe from Roman mythology but Shakespeare turned this tragedy to a fluffy joke of sorts since the great bard’s genre was in fact jokefic.

Another famous author that was a fanfic writer of sorts was Samuel Clements or as you know him: Mark Twain. That’s right he was a fic writer. His genre was self insert which meant he inserted himself under an assumed pseudonym into the story in some way.Twain supposedly

dreamed of being a knight in arthurian court one night and wrote about it. He put himself into the novel Yankee, along with others from around his home. Reading the story its hard not to imagine Twain as the main character.

How about Charlotte Bronte? Writing in the gothic style and producing Jane Eyre, she was also a fic writer. She based some of her fantastical adventures around The Duke of Wellington who was known as being a real person.

Now, what would present day be without that fantastical invention of the Internet? The world just wouldn’t be the same without it now. The internet itself has made the world of fanfiction a whole lot easier to access. As well as writing it with all the options for writing it and publishing it. Since it is so easy to access and write it now there is unlimited possibility for subjects for writing.

With programs for writers what was stop-

ping them from making something for fanfic writers? Nothing, thats what, there are websites to help said writers be discovered as well as to write fanfictions. One of these websites is called FanFiction. com which has all sorts of fanfiction from Supernatural to Pokemon. All sorts of fanfic is out there and is just waiting to be discovered. If only you allow yourself to be immersed in this world of fantasy.

Since fanfiction is sort of a big deal among the internet, guess what goes hand in hand with it. The illustrations to provide visuals. Which is called fanart, it is created from descriptions in the writing and some people take it as a huge deal and create the character themselves.

So there is an even more artistic side to the writing of fanfiction than just the writing itself.

Sometimes, a writer will get extremely creative and create an entire different scenario of the original work.

Making characters a different gender or even sexuality. An example of this would be from Supernatural, the main characters of Sam and Dean Winchester, and Angel of the Lord Castiel. From the first appearance of the Angel the fans commented on the apparent sexual tension between Dean and Cas which would’ve made Dean bisexual. Of course all throughout the show Dean has been denying that he was gay or bisexual. But the fans would get on tumblr and talk of how excited they were on how the two were

21 made for each other and all which sparked the idea of Destiel. Fanfic writers created a story based on the two being together in a relationship that was more than friends. Which just drove the fanbase crazy and in need of more of it, sparking the creation of even more fanfiction and creating a relatively endless supply of fanfic for the show.

In conclusion fanfiction was a wonderful invention for the world. The idea of creating story and being helped along by getting an already made plot was loved by writers. Making it easier to write and helping more creative genius to flow with art. The fanfic helps the people the fanfics based off of by increasing popularity and sometimes increasing sales as well. Which helps the original creator financially and adds more popularity to fan cons of the subjects of the show and books. Fanfiction all in all is a positive for everyone involved even if there was the small percentage of people claiming it to be bad.

Not actually knowing the facts and bashing it because they couldn’t do it themselves. Fanfiction though is a greater good to more people than it is bad too. Take some time and read some of it. You may enjoy it.

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