Final Creative Gallery

So, for my Creative Gallery, I decided to try to begin mapping the fanfiction community using Google Maps. I created a map and put instructions on how I would like to see the map work. I would like for someone to map either themselves, or an author that they know and put links to their work as well a little bit of information about themselves. I'm in the process of trying to get the word out about it. I created a facebook group and invited all my friends and I am trying to make my "real-life" friends use it too. I also think I am going to try to post information about the map on the forum boards on the fanfiction sites (such as Fanfiction.net). For now though, here is the link to the map (which can be edited by anyone with a google account) and a link to the facebook page. =)

Fanfiction Authors Around the World Map

Facebook Group: Know a Fanfiction Author? Put them on the Map!

I also have started putting up posts on Forums as of now and I will be posting links to where I have posted in Forums as I go. Because I have a Fanfiction.Net account- I will be posting in the forums on that site so if you go look at these forums, it may be hard to find my post but look for my PenName- which is WriteratWVU =) and I will also put which post number I am.

1. #2,010

2. #273

Oh and I'm having trouble getting the links to work IN the fanfiction Forums- so please be patient with me.


UPDATE!!! People are using the map! Its so exciting! I didn't know if anyone would and now people are! People that I don't even know! and its exciting!! Go look at it!

Collaborative Trailer Images

Final Essay

Final Essay- all about Fanfiction, can be found here!

I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the MAP!

View Cool Beans =) in a larger map

The Ambush....

I found out how very easy sneaking around in the dark can be. At first, I was worried. I silently crossed in front of his living couch and I spotted my prey in the studio apartment. I was sick and tired of this. Such bull crap. Day in and day out, always playing that stupid violin...badly, I might add. Well I was ending it; no longer would I suffer sleepless nights and endless days.
Just a few more steps...finally here I was- face to face with the end of my misery. I felt sort of maniacal as I lifted the gun to the now silent irritant.

"What are you doing?" I heard a voice behind me just before I pulled the trigger. The light flipped on and I was caught... but this was NOT going to stop me. Before anything could be done, I turned around, pulled the trigger, and fired a round into the horrible instrument. Wood splintered everywhere as it was blown to pieces. I smiled...it was done.

Short Fiction =)

“It’s very hard to live in a studio apartment in San Jose with a man who’s learning to play violin.” That’s what she told the police when she handed them the empty revolver."

How is the author constructed on YouTube?

YouTube seems to me (in comparison with Facebook) to be more focused on the author's creativity. YouTube gives the authors, who can be anyone with a YouTube account, freedom to post (almost) anything that they would like to share with the world. YouTube seems to be about what YOU (YOUtube) as an individual want to share with the world. The freedom in this is that, what you share with the world doesn't even have to be about you. It can be about anything in your life, your sister, your high school, a concert you went too, a class project homemade movie, UFO sightings, Christmas with your family, or even that bum you saw pass out on the street. Whatever an author decides that he would like to share with the world, is what YouTube is about.

The "Tube" seems to be referring to 'watching' part of it (how some ppl call a television a "tube") this end is the receiving end I think. On YouTube, within your account, you can personalize the types of videos you like to watch and search.

Logical Map =)

This is my logical map =)

Narrativity....

Alright, so as we just discussed in class, Narrativity can be a big topic in Fanfiction. How closely are you going to keep to the original story line? At what point in time, in comparison to the original story, is your fanfiction going to take place? Are you going to introduce two entirely different stories to one another and attempt to combine them?

These are all questions that need to be asked when beginning a fanfiction. When you have written your fanfiction and it is finished, generally the narrativity of it follows a certain pattern- there is a beginning a middle and an end, there is the build up to the climax, the climax, and then the closing of the story, generally with the issues resolved. Now that it is written, with all of these things incorporated, we need to ask, who is actually narrating? Is it you? Is it your narration or is it you and the original authors? If you have introduced new characters is it possible for there to be narration between your characters and say, JK Rowlings? Obviously it is, if you can write it, it can happen, however whose narrativity is it?

Because the internet has made it easier for all of us fans to connect and communicate with one another, there has also become this need to define who these stories we are writing belong to. We fanfictions authors are not entirely inventors as a "regular authors" are, I would classify us more as builders with a bit of an inventive side. We take pieces of stories and we make and take our own additions.

Some of the things I would like to discuss in my essay are 1) how the author of a story can suddenly become authorS 2) the legality of this and the opinion of the "original" authors, obviously not everyone can contact Stephenie Meyer to make sure she's cool with you writing a sequel to Breaking Dawn 3) how the internet and the speed at which information travels affects the spread of Fanfiction.

Fanfiction is a growing genre in the world of stories. Authorship can now have a plural meaning as others decide their imagination can take a story in a different direction. =)

Fanfiction Topic =)

Alright, so my topic is fanfiction. Fanfiction (which can also be referred to as Fan fiction, fanfic, or fic) is a group of stories that are written using an already existing character, world, or setting that was created by another author. Thus the FANS of the book, or book series, or TV serious, or Movie(s), etc. write FICTIONAL stories using characters that they did not create. However, here lies the problem.
Obviously, taking someone else's work and creativity (characters, settings, etc.) and using it with your OWN work and creativity, may or may not violate some copyright laws. Because these stories, individually, exist outside of the author's original intent for his or her ideas, but at the same time exist within the author's ideas- it is a very strange place to be caught. Most Fanfiction is not published for money. For many fans, it is a way to artistically express themselves and their love of whatever Fandom they are a part of (Fandom encompasses all types of Fan work, such as art, movies, fiction, etc). This is how some argue that Fanfiction should be fine; authors should be flattered. The fans are not ACTUALLY changing the original work and at the same time, they are creating more fun for other fans to enjoy. Generally, the author is given credit also.
Based on my above, thorough writing of the Pro-fanfic position, I think you can guess that I think that fanfiction should be fine. Although I haven't completely researched the legality of it, I think that fanfiction IS legal as long as credit is given to the author and no money is made (speaking specifically about books, tv shows, movies, etc. that the copyright laws are still in effect).

Final Trailer! (...and maybe the other trailer)

Ok! Here is my final trailer for my research project which is Fanfiction! and maybe later I will edit this and also publish my "draft" trailer because I was an idiot and was doing a bunch of really silly stuff wrong- so I might upload it just to let you guys see how far it has come! Alright I hope you like it!




*EDIT* Alright, so I hope that everyone liked the final trailer but I'm going to go ahead and upload the draft just so that everyone can see what it was originally going to look like. This clip made it into the final- but you can't really see the cleverness of it unless you are really paying attention. I used paint for all of this and I really liked the idea, it just wasnt as groundbreaking as I had hoped- lol- here you go!

Draft...

So, I'm having some technical difficulties with my draft. My draft consists mainly of pictures. I'm not even sure if this is how I am going to do my ACTUAL trailer, this is just the only way that I could think of to portray what I am trying to get across. So, its not going to upload for some reason and I can't get the file to email to me...so right now I am in the process of emailing all one thousand pictures (exaggeration) to myself to see if I can't get it to work in class...I am going to need some serious help with this project...

*EDIT*

Yea so I have to leave immediately if I want to be in class on time. My video is not uploading and my pictures are not uploading- I am not computer savvy but I have a feeling its because A) my windows is screwed up at the moment, details if you ask and B) Due to windows being screwy, I also have a virus that I am trying to get fix...all while trying to do this video- SO what my plan of action for today is- I took the pics with my cell phone- so I am going to bring the pics to class on my cell phone- I think I can do like a slideshow thing with it..? maybe? idk- I WILL get this thing uploaded ASAP though.

Class Project: Revised =)

Alright, so after deciding that I was going to do my project on Ebook Readers I discovered that Laura is also doing her project on Ebook Readers. Not that I don't enjoy sharing ;) but Laura did stake claim on the topic first and I'm going to be respectful of that. But all is well, because I have come up with another topic that I need feedback for.
As I said in my last post, I really enjoy reading. So I narrowed my topic down to either Fan Fiction or Online Publishing. I've read fan ficion ever since I was probably 12 years old and when I was in high school I discovered Online Publishing. As I am revising this post, I've decided to do my project on Fan Fiction. One of the main questions for this class is what is and who is an author? I think that Fan Fiction does a better job of "blurring the line" at authorship, which is what I am interested in. Online Publishing is for those who write and create their own ideas and put them out there for others to see and enjoy; generally without any type of compensation.

So, if I could get some feedback as to what direction I might be able to take this project in, that would be great! I have a few ideas but I would like to know what yours are! Thanks!

Research Topic =)

Alright so I was not in class last Thursday, I wasn't feeling too well, so now I am trying to play catch up. I am having issues with my internet at home, so I have spent the last 2 hours going over everyone's posts, the syllabus and the class blog trying to figure out exactly what I am supposed to do. It wasn't hard to figure out that we are supposed to be brainstorming for our semester long project- but this is exactly the problem. I understand that the topic can be on anything that I want to to be...but I was/am confused as to how I am supposed to relate it to the class. I think I have it though and I would appreciate if I could get some feedback about what direction I can take my idea in.
One of my hobbies is reading; I really enjoy it. About two Christmases ago, I was given the first edition Kindle as a gift and it has been well used. For those of you who are not sure what a Kindle is- it is Amazon's Ebook reader. If you are not sure what that is then google it because there is alot of information about them and they are a pretty cool piece of technology. This is why I think I'm going to do my project on Ebook readers. Now, like I said there is a LOT of information about these and I'm not sure if my topic is too broad. So I'm not sure how I'm going to construct my trailer thing but at least I have an idea for a topic. I'm terrible with decisions so I'm actually quite proud of my progress! lol! Again, some feedback would be great if anyone has any ideas or suggestions! Thanks!

Plagiarism...

After reading the Tenner article. I can't quite work out what I think about it. Obviously, there is no way to stop these advances in technology; although one might wonder, why would you want to?
The article makes a good point that anymore, our thoughts and ideas don't feel as original as they might have 20 or 30 years ago. This is not due to a lack of creativity by people, but it is due to better communication. People tend to think similarly, so our thoughts and ideas lead us to the same places. Therefore, how can it be plagiarism, if you didn't copy it, or take somebody else's ideas? What if you simply had the same idea as someone else- which is entirely possible.
Again, I'm not sure how I feel about the article and the information it gives me. In high school, I had a teacher that used the Turnitin site. It actually does find passages that are just similar, not exactly the same. I turned in a paper on Charlemagne. She searched the Turnitin site and it turned up a passage that was similar to one in my paper. Let me just say that I am not a cheater, nor have I ever been or will ever be a cheater. I would never take someone's ideas and call them my own. Therefore I was slightly confused when she kept me and 2 other students after class. The other two students had clearly plagiarised and they admitted it and agreed to do another paper for half credit. My paper, however she was unsure about just because it was such as small amount. She was going to give me a zero but instead, settled on a 50% because I so adamantly maintained that I had not plagiarised. I still feel however, that it was unfair. These types of search engines and sites will cut back on cheating however, I feel that it will sometimes also unfairly punish those who do not cheat.
As I said, there is no way to slow or halt the advancement of this type of technology but perhaps the definitions of plagiarism should be rethought.

Fear of Chat Rooms

2) Describe your earliest memories of using the web. Describe a memory of using the web that involves a moment of insight, inspiration, or other strong emotion.

In my household, I am the oldest child, so when we got our first computer (I was in 4th grade) I was thrilled and began using it everyday. I was old enough to learn how to use it and not be confused by it, whereas my younger siblings are.
At school, I would talk to my friends about it and I soon discovered what chat rooms were. I thought it was cool, the idea of talking over the internet to other people. So, one day, I searched and found a chat room. I went in and joined the conversation. I was asked "asl?" Which I learned mean "age, sex, location." I had been taught to not ever give out this information. However, I didn't see (being a 10 year old) the harm in giving out at least my age and sex. So I told them I was 10. Then, I was told by the other two people that I was talking to, that one was 15 and one was 12.
Soon, the 12 year old, invited me to a "whisper chat", which was just a private chat and I accepted. He was nice and, as I said, I was dazzled by the internet. He soon coerced me into telling him where I was actually from. His reasoning was "Hey, I'll tell you if you tell me. We're just kids, what could be the harm?" So all I typed was "Belington, WV." The next thing he typed was "Haha, you actually believed I was 12".
As a 10 year old, being tricked by someone I had never met, didn't know their real name, and could not see scared me. A LOT. I immediately held down the power button on our new computer, turning it off incorrectly. I realized that the internet was a way to connect people, but that not all the people were good, honest, nice people. I realized how scary the internet could be and I now realize how naive I was. I have been very careful about the information that I put on the web since then and I have steered clear of talking to people I do not know and have never met on the internet.