Question Whatever Happened to the Kimbas?

Sir Lee wrote: Having another author take over a character is a bit akin to recasting a character in a TV series. Sometimes it has to be done (like with Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies) but it's better to be avoided, because the audience tends to not be forgiving - look up the terms "Fake Shemp" and "The Other Darrin", or the way replacing Jerry O'Connell with Robert Floyd went down in "Sliders."

sacwriter wrote: Okay, how about this? I'm sure Bek and some of the original canon editors can get in touch with most of the Kimba authors, even if only by e-mail. What if a new author wants to use an old character, and they draw up a proposal with a detailed plotline, and they send it to Bek who passes it along to the original author. That person can either agree to their character's use, or they can nix it, or agree with maybe make a few suggestions.

sacwriter wrote: Okay, how about this? I'm sure Bek and some of the original canon editors can get in touch with most of the Kimba authors, even if only by e-mail. What if a new author wants to use an old character, and they draw up a proposal with a detailed plotline, and they send it to Bek who passes it along to the original author. That person can either agree to their character's use, or they can nix it, or agree with maybe make a few suggestions.

Valentine wrote: If the Devil had a Hammer, then every planet would look like a nail.

Kristin Darken wrote: If I were to write a Sidhe character, it would be high Court.

Malady wrote:

Kristin Darken wrote: If I were to write a Sidhe character, it would be high Court.

...

What is High Court?

Sir Lee wrote: Back to the original point... there's also an unspoken, built-in assumption that one could simply walk from the street, write a proposal to take over a character and the TINCC would forward it to the original author of that character for evaluation.
Simply stated, that's not how it works. Canon status is by invitation only.
One has to have shown writing qualities and a reasonably good understanding of the setting (usually by posting WhatIFs) before being invited into the TINCC.

E M Pisek wrote: Yes.

Astrodragon wrote: Yes.
But with fewer cats

Ebola wrote:

Sir Lee wrote: Back to the original point... there's also an unspoken, built-in assumption that one could simply walk from the street, write a proposal to take over a character and the TINCC would forward it to the original author of that character for evaluation.
Simply stated, that's not how it works. Canon status is by invitation only.
One has to have shown writing qualities and a reasonably good understanding of the setting (usually by posting WhatIFs) before being invited into the TINCC.

[sarcasm]
You mean to tell me that you have to work for things on the internet the same way you do in real life.

[/sarcasm]

Astrodragon wrote:

Ebola wrote:

Sir Lee wrote: Back to the original point... there's also an unspoken, built-in assumption that one could simply walk from the street, write a proposal to take over a character and the TINCC would forward it to the original author of that character for evaluation.
Simply stated, that's not how it works. Canon status is by invitation only.
One has to have shown writing qualities and a reasonably good understanding of the setting (usually by posting WhatIFs) before being invited into the TINCC.

[sarcasm]
You mean to tell me that you have to work for things on the internet the same way you do in real life.

[/sarcasm]

Yes.
But with fewer cats

annachie wrote: Dianne: Burned out it seems. Still talking to some authors here apparently. Known to have Ayla stories part written and plotted, so there's a chance. Writing a lot of Buffy crossover stuff at Twisting the Hellmouth. (Seriously, like 3 million words)

My Team Kimba stuff is stuck. My muse will not go near it, because she's still upset about The Year Without Updating, where I basically burned out trying to write, edit other writers' stuff, struggle without hope to get new stuff posted, post chapters of stories in the forums because we could not post where we needed to, run into brick wall after brick wall and never get resolution, and finally flame out. I'm still trying to bribe her with stuff. I've got like six Phase stories lying open and started but not anywhere close to publishable. Plus two Aquerna stories, one Fractious story, and a couple others. Ugh.

annachie wrote: Lets see, from the original kimba's, and from my memory.

Starwolf: Has been known to pop in, personal life got in the way.
Maggie: Still contacts, burned out. Did publish a non-Kimba story 3 years ago, and has spoken of health problems on Bigcloset last year. (I think she was talking of doing a Gen 2 character as well, but nothing seems to have come from it)
Bek: Not willing to write Chaka, but still here running the place and writing other great stuff. (That's right yeah)
Babs: No online presence for around 10 years. Even Babs' last story sat in the queue for years before published, with no internet presence. Didn't even respond to the story winning an award. Hate to say it, but probably dead.
Dianne: Burned out it seems. Still talking to some authors here apparently. Known to have Ayla stories part written and plotted, so there's a chance. Writing a lot of Buffy crossover stuff at Twisting the Hellmouth. (Seriously, like 3 million words)

The later additions:

Dr Bender: Still writing, but burned out for Whateley, and real life.
Heather: Recently returned.

Funkleburg wrote: isn't there some legal thing where after 10 years of copywrite expiring/ copywrite owner's death that copywrited material becomes open to public use? as babs no longer contributes, the characters of babs would become a part of whateley copywrite, as owned by the canon authors?

Arcanist Lupus wrote: ]

Um... By definition, copyright is the protection against material being public use. Once the copyright expires, the material immediately becomes part of the public domain. That said, copyright in the U.S. lasts the entire life of the author, plus 70 years. And it will get longer the next time Mickey Mouse gets close to leaving copyright .

Ebola wrote: And now that Captain America is owned by Disney he will never see public domain either. I'll let the irony sink in there.

annachie wrote: Babs: No online presence for around 10 years. Even Babs' last story sat in the queue for years before published, with no internet presence. Didn't even respond to the story winning an award. Hate to say it, but probably dead.

Funkleburg wrote: isn't there some legal thing where after 10 years of copywrite expiring/ copywrite owner's death that copywrited material becomes open to public use? as babs no longer contributes, the characters of babs would become a part of whateley copywrite, as owned by the canon authors?

JG wrote:

Angeldude wrote:
Strangely enough, aside from team Kimba, the more established characters like Kayda, Loophole, Tansy and the Outcast corner are the ones I'm least excited for because I feel like I'm missing important background information on them.

Such as?

Valentine wrote:

JG wrote: Such as?

Razorback's shoe size.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Angeldude wrote: Strangely enough, aside from team Kimba, the more established characters like Kayda, Loophole, Tansy and the Outcast corner are the ones I'm least excited for because I feel like I'm missing important background information on them.

JG wrote: Avian Type II, Size 150

Size 1 is for things like parakeets and hummingbirds.

JG wrote:

Angeldude wrote:
Strangely enough, aside from team Kimba, the more established characters like Kayda, Loophole, Tansy and the Outcast corner are the ones I'm least excited for because I feel like I'm missing important background information on them.

Such as?

elrodw wrote:

Angeldude wrote: Strangely enough, aside from team Kimba, the more established characters like Kayda, Loophole, Tansy and the Outcast corner are the ones I'm least excited for because I feel like I'm missing important background information on them.

?????
What?
In what way?
I can't speak for Loophole and Tansy, but I know for CERTAIN that Kayda's background - and a bunch of her parents' backgrounds - are thoroughly documented in the series of stories. Moving in 3rd grade, the trauma of being the new kid, feeling rejected, the girl who humiliated Brandon, little brother being a perpetual brat, being a football hero, his girlfriend Julie, and so on and so on and so on.

What parts of Brandon/Kayda's backgrounds do you feel are missing? Because I though I pretty comprehensively covered a helluva lot.

In other stories, strewn through them, Loophole and Tansy have had a lot of their backgrounds documented, and more is forthcoming.

I'm a bit perplexed as to what's missing.

elrodw wrote: I'm a bit perplexed as to what's missing.

JG wrote: you don't need to understand Caitlin Bardue (as an example) to be able to enjoy Gen 2. She's a supporting character for the gen 2 monkeys, and is not intended to be a primary PoV character there. She fills roles more akin to Elyzia Grimes and Gunny Bardue in Gen 2.

And as to the Outcasts, sorry, I tend to peel back the layers bit by bit rather than doing an infodump on origins. I tend to want the reader to learn the facts as the characters do. Such as people learning that Diamondback was assaulted and nearly killed by a lynch mob called effectively by her own family at the same time that Say, Eldritch learns it. Then Anomaly's story unlocks more of the past and you start seeing all of the permutations of why. In the Gates of the garden you find out a bit of what set Erik Mahren off over a decade ago as Caitlin is forced to confront her conflicting and angry feelings about family, and learn the hows and whys.

If it's not your cup of tea, that's fine. I recognize that not all writing styles really mesh with all of the readers. But for the Outcasts, as an example, becoming a girl really does take a backseat to having your lower body merge into a snake tail. FtM transition doesn't take on the same level of importance as say the Poe Kids, when your body warps into something resembling a creature feature from Jurassic Park.

I wanted them to be a very DIFFERENT experience from the Kimbas, sometimes crossing paths, but with a very, very different story, and method of telling from the original batch. So the more the characters learn about each other, the reader learns with them as they tell each other their stories, and their trials, or you see them through the few first-Person PoV stories I've written for Jericho, Diamond and Razorback.

Just reading Parkour Jam Hooligans will tell you the kind of man and teacher Erik Mahren was, and some of the shit that haunts him, but the first Outcast Stories were focused on the here and now.

I understand that the storytelling style isn't universally adored, but it's the one I seem to be best at.

Kristin Darken wrote:

ShadowedSin wrote: That's one reason I like Whately. Honestly, I don't like the stories about Fling and the Baker's Dosen, and some of the other PoV's aren't my cup of tea.

Besides the 'ouch' factor there... I don't really follow what you meant here. You say you like that you don't necessary have to read everything to understand what's going on in one story... and that you're on a TG/LGBT story kick. But that you don't like the Fling storyline... which was specifically written to be mostly self contained and to focus on the issue of identity, especially gender identity, early on.

Don't get me wrong, if you don't like 'em you don't like them and I'm ok with that. But it's helpful to understand why.

ShadowedSin wrote:

Kristin Darken wrote:

ShadowedSin wrote: That's one reason I like Whately. Honestly, I don't like the stories about Fling and the Baker's Dosen, and some of the other PoV's aren't my cup of tea.

Besides the 'ouch' factor there... I don't really follow what you meant here. You say you like that you don't necessary have to read everything to understand what's going on in one story... and that you're on a TG/LGBT story kick. But that you don't like the Fling storyline... which was specifically written to be mostly self contained and to focus on the issue of identity, especially gender identity, early on.

Don't get me wrong, if you don't like 'em you don't like them and I'm ok with that. But it's helpful to understand why.

Hey Kristin, I understand the ouch factor of that statement. First to preface, your style as a writer is good and I like it, I just as a person don't like Fling. They are a fun character, but their storyline has just repeatedly not caught my interest. I've read through the story and when I found myself just skipping chunks of it I shrugged and closed the tab. I did the same with most of the early Merry stories.

I kind of wish as a publisher I could give you a better idea, and as a writer I get the ouch factor. But there's not much more I can tell you :/ recheck the story I skipped and see what I think in a day or so. I'm kind of mercurial as a reader and I an easily shift in what I like to read at a given point.

Kristin Darken wrote: If there's ever something that you think people would like access to and you can't link/upload it because site security/tools limit you from doing so... feel free to email it to me. Once I scan it to make sure you're not being evil and sending me virii or wormy things... I'm happy to put stuff up. If its nice/useful enough, I'll even give it its own space on the site somewhere. Like the Google Map Sir Lee put together.