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One more question



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Tue Mar 06, 2007 4:28 pm
AWritersFantasy says...



So, I've been thinking about doing one of two things.

1. Writing a story to submit to one of the Writer's Digest competitions

2. Writing a short story to post here, since I don't want to post my novel-type-thing on the 'net because of the whole publishing rights thing.

Or, I could do both.

I came up with this idea for a story last night that I think I would like to write. My problem is getting feedback. I do have one friend who could read it, but anyone else who's willing to read it is online, so it would require my emailing the person or posting it in a friendslocked post on Livejournal. The rules of the Writer's Digest contests state that the submission can't be previously published.

So what my real question is is this. I was thinking of writing a story about...basically, the main character would be the equivilent of someone's side kick. So let's say it was going to be about something like...Batman and Robin. Robin would be the main character of the story. Would this be considered an original idea? Edit: Er, an original idea as far as fantasy goes, which is what it would be. Most stuff I've read has had the main character be the one that has some "special destiny," and you don't really get too much of the sidekick's view. The "sidekick" in this story would only have a "special destiny" to a certain extent.

I'm really not sure whether or not I want to submit this story to one of the contests or not, because I'm going to need feedback on it. I'm going to have to look at the contests again and see what it is they say exactly. Maybe I'll end up rewriting what I wrote of my NaNo this past November and send that to one of the contests so that I can write this idea and post it here. o___o

Sorry, I'm rambling. XD But any help given would be appreciated.
  





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Tue Mar 06, 2007 5:18 pm
Meep says...



I think telling a story from the sidekick's point of view would be really interesting. I don't think e-mailing or posting in a locked journal post count as "publishing," because they're private or limited exchanges: it's not like the whole world has access to it.
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:52 pm
AWritersFantasy says...



Hmm, true. But then there's still the chance of someone claiming it to be theirs, unless you take the steps to get it copyrighted (stuffing it in to an envelope and mailing it to yourself) before hand for just in case.
  





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Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:21 pm
Meep says...



... poor man's copyright doesn't work in the United States, which is listead as your home country on your profile. (See?)
Just FYI.
✖ I'm sick, you're tired. Let's dance.
  





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Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:40 pm
AWritersFantasy says...



My uncle told me that it does work in the U.S. All you have to do is mail it to yourself and it's legally copyrighted. He's not published or anything himself (...as far as I know) but he's done more research about this kind of stuff than me (and has been pushing me for a while to try and get something published o___o). I believe there's something on...the U.S. Library of Congress web site? Maybe? Something like that?...that says that if you mail a -completed- manuscript to yourself, it'll be copyrighted.
  





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Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:54 pm
Meep says...



If you follow the link in my last post (here), you'll see what I'm talking about.

U.S. Copyright Office wrote:I’ve heard about a “poor man’s copyright.” What is it?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.


According to Snopes.com, "poor man's copyright" is only applicable in Britian, and even then only sometimes and it's not going to stand up in court too well.

We're studying this in class, which is how I know all of this stuff. :oops:
✖ I'm sick, you're tired. Let's dance.
  





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Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:58 pm
AWritersFantasy says...



-Shrugs- just telling what my uncle told me, and that's what I was going by.
  





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Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:43 am
HeadInTheClouds says...



I think the story being told from the "sidekicks" point of view is a great idea, and one I haven't seen very often. It would be very interesting to see a story from, say, Samwise Gamgee's point of view.
If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad. ~Lord Byron

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Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:45 am
AWritersFantasy says...



It's not something that I see very often, either, which is one reason I want to do it. I basically want to have the main character be like...a hero, but not in an overly dramatic way, you know? I don't want other characters to make a big deal out of them being a hero and have like...a huge celebration and award ceremony and that kind of thing.
  





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Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:17 am
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Snoink says...



You find someone on a writing forum that you like and wants to read your story and can give you feedback. And you can trust. And then you let that person look over the work, give you feedback. Because really, you need someone to give you feedback. I know my novel isn't on the web in an accessible place, but I let several people read it... I think four? Anyway, it's nice that way. :D
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

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