Dithering... need some advice

[alice_laughed]

It's about my faerie story.
Most of the story as it happens in my brain really depends on the faerie info I've accumulated and invented - my own little universe.
But there's that thread, somewhere on here, about how if something is published on the net... well it might not be usable anymore.
I think a lot of us on here would love to write a real story one day, and I have 2 bouncing in my dreams. One of them involves all this faerie business.
So now what do I do? Do I write this fanfic because it's fun, and possibly negate the whole angsty coming of age story that I really want to write? Or do I blow it off and take the whole thing down?
I have other fanfics in the hopper... another Quil and Claire that is completely different from what I've already written. Something else that is an attempt to be funny... so it's not like I'd just disappear off into the sunset.
I just don't want to use up one of my few original ideas. You know?
It worries me.
And I don't know if anyone will respond. But I had to get that out there.
And I don't know if I should keep going or pull the plug.
It's irksome.

[Rialle]

Ahh, this is a tricky question. I think that the answer depends on how serious you are about getting published. If you think that you can create a publishable novel and plot out of the idea that you have, then I'd definitely recommend that you save it. On the other hand, if it's just a vague idea that you can't see having a place in a full-blown story, then by all means use it in fanfiction.

The important thing to remember is that while writing a successful fanfiction is very gratifying, it doesn't hold any real significance or weight outside the fandom, i.e. in real life. You can't sell it or ever really claim any real ownership towards it because the very nature of fanfic means that is essentially built upon a concept which belongs to somebody else. So although it's great to get positive reviews and feedback from readers, in terms of real life they mean very little. Getting a book deal on the other hand...

At the end of the day, it's up to you whether you use your ideas or not. Personally, I think you should put the possibility of publishing your own original novel above writing a successful fanfiction.

[alice_laughed]

Thanks. I needed to hear that.

[shadowolf]

I had a friend who wrote a very in depth novel for the Stargate fandom and decided to turn it into a publish-able novel about half way through the writing process. She went on and finished the fanfic and posted it so people could read it in it's original form while she started rewriting it from an original fic standpoint. After a year of having the fic up on the web and enjoying discussing it with readers she took it down and continued her rewrites. I don't think you can even find her fic through the wayback machine archives anymore. She hasn't been published yet but she has talked to agents and so forth who've reacted very positively towards her story. She used the fanfic process as a way to really flesh out the story and get it figured out so far as where she really wanted to go with it. Since people were reading her story along the way she didn't want to leave anyone hanging and gave us a year to enjoy the story and save it to our computers before removing all traces.

Personally I'd like to see you finish the story since it is an interesting concept. After a time you can always ask that it be removed from archives so you can do your rewrites and make it into an original novel instead. Just a thought.