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[Face of Evil]

In other news, I'd like to announce that I'm getting a new, 100 percent original novel published. It's called Beginnings, and it's about a young warrior recruited into an order known as the Grey Guardians. He battles an army of horrific creatures called the shadowbrood alongside his trusty companion Mallister, the dark mage Morgana, his trusty giant cat and a host of other companions. Along the way, he must also deal with the traitorous warlord named Brogaine.

Modifié par Face of Evil, 26 janvier 2012 - 03:21 .

[Shadow of Light Dragon]

Hahah...Brogaine.

[DiBernsGB]

Face of Evil wrote...

In other news, I'd like to announce that I'm getting a new, 100 percent original novel published. It's called Beginnings, and it's about a young warrior recruited into an order known as the Grey Guardians. He battles an army of horrific creatures called the shadowbrood alongside his trusty companion Mallister, the dark mage Morgana, his trusty giant cat and a host of other companions. Along the way, he must also deal with the traitorous warlord named Brogaine.

Brogaine, who stands atop his balcony behind his battle-axe wielding amazon bodyguard shouting "COME AT ME, BRO!"

Sorry, couldn't resist the meme.

[Thorncastor]

My Name Does Not Matter wrote...

There was one that I read the abstract of and loved. It was something about a Templar being with a mage who was about to turn Tranquil (so like, her ending days or something), and she was reflecting back on her life. I'm betting on this one.

There's a slight possibility that that might have been mine. Speaking of which, I'd very much like to have it added to the community's impromptu collection.  

Here's the link. 

And here's my cheesy abstract for your reference: 

A templar corporal watches over a young mage who will soon face the Rite of Tranquility. Remarkably, she has resigned herself peacefully to her fate--- an action that sparks the templar's curiosity. As he comes to know her during her final days as her "true" self, he begins to question his faith and finds his own resolve shaken. And thus, a destiny is changed. 

Also sorry, I feel like I came late to the party with this thread. Hi I'm Thorncastor, and I joined BSN not too long ago specifically for this contest- although I've been meaning to join before that for a very long time. That being said, I'm very thankful to be surrounded by people I can nerd with.

Also, good luck to everyone who entered. Don't sell yourself short- the fact that you put pen to paper, or keyboard to screen, means that you have managed to do the impossible: actual writing. And use the downtime to your advantage- distract yourself by starting on that next project, keep working, keep honing your craft. That's my humble take anyway. 

Modifié par Thorncastor, 26 janvier 2012 - 03:32 .

[Camenae]

Just saw that "book" on Amazon, and the one review. I'm pretty speechless now.

Well I think the justices on the court of appeals for the federal circuit are going to have a hard time believing that this trademark infringement wasn't intentional (never heard of dragon age indeed). And intentional IP infringement = treble damages. She'll have to cough up every $2.99 she conned from kindle owners, and more.

[Shadow of Light Dragon]

I cracked and had to read the teaser on Amazon.

Frewyn = Ferelden
Gallei = Orlais (a nation in opposition to Frewyn, located to the west, with a natural mountain boundary between the two. Orlesians = Galleisians XD)
Sanhedhran = Seheron
Alasdair = Alastair XD (OH GOD, King Allande dies in combat and Alasdair takes his place. He's Allande's brother, and he's miserable about being made king.)
Haanta = Qunari. (they come from islands to the far north, have violet eyes, grey skin, white hair, 7' stature.)
'Sten' is in jail for killing a small village in a blind rage.
'Sten' was scouting for his people against a nation they're at war with (probably Tevinter).
'Sten' believes women can't be warriors.
'Sten' has a sweet tooth.
'Sten' has lost his sword.
Fem!Cousland gives it back.

It looks like the darkspawn were removed entirely and the Orlesians are the main antagonists.

Also, the story makes me cringe.

Modifié par Shadow of Light Dragon, 26 janvier 2012 - 11:29 .

[BrennaCeDria]

Well, this has been an interesting little diversion. There's a big difference in having fun and admitting that we're writing based on someone else's property, and such a weak imitation of writing something worthy of selling. You wanna sell it? Write something original. That's what my main fic is practice for--getting into the habit of writing enough that when I'm done, I can work on an original world, characters, and stories. Not the "literary" equivalent of a pallet swap.

[My Name Does Not Matter]

Thorncastor wrote...

My Name Does Not Matter wrote...

There was one that I read the abstract of and loved. It was something about a Templar being with a mage who was about to turn Tranquil (so like, her ending days or something), and she was reflecting back on her life. I'm betting on this one.

There's a slight possibility that that might have been mine. Speaking of which, I'd very much like to have it added to the community's impromptu collection.  

Here's the link. 

And here's my cheesy abstract for your reference: 

A templar corporal watches over a young mage who will soon face the Rite of Tranquility. Remarkably, she has resigned herself peacefully to her fate--- an action that sparks the templar's curiosity. As he comes to know her during her final days as her "true" self, he begins to question his faith and finds his own resolve shaken. And thus, a destiny is changed. 

Also sorry, I feel like I came late to the party with this thread. Hi I'm Thorncastor, and I joined BSN not too long ago specifically for this contest- although I've been meaning to join before that for a very long time. That being said, I'm very thankful to be surrounded by people I can nerd with.

Also, good luck to everyone who entered. Don't sell yourself short- the fact that you put pen to paper, or keyboard to screen, means that you have managed to do the impossible: actual writing. And use the downtime to your advantage- distract yourself by starting on that next project, keep working, keep honing your craft. That's my humble take anyway. 

... This was the exact one I was looking for! Thank you. And thanks for linking me to it, I've been looking so hard for it around the forms (THAT didn't sound creepy ). Thank you for coming up with this idea; it was a good one.

[The Sarendoctrinator]

Wow, I just read that list of comparisons... Alasdair? Really? That's not even trying. >_<

And I agree, if people want to get paid for their writing (which is my goal), they should come up with their own original plots and characters unless they actually work with game developers, movie creators, or someone like that who specifically told them to write for an already-established universe. I can only assume that this person doesn't have a good imagination of her own, if she made such an obvious copy of Dragon Age with very little details changed.

[mousestalker]

"Marysu Costco looked back on her recent past and wept bitter tears of anger and sorrow. She grieved for her poor murdered parents, the Sterk and Sterkina of Costco. She raged at the utter perfidiousness of Erl Wye whose base treachery had cost Marysu her family, her home and her complete set of barbis. All she had left was her loyal Safari cat Purr. If it hadn't been for the Beige Guardian Hines, she might not have survived. Luckily good King Collards had swore to bring Wye to justice."

I came up with the above in less than five minutes. Original fiction isn't really all that terribly hard.

Modifié par mousestalker, 26 janvier 2012 - 04:48 .

[The Sarendoctrinator]

mousestalker wrote...

"Marysu Costco looked back on her recent past and wept bitter tears of anger and sorrow. She grieved for her poor murdered parents, the Sterk and Sterkina of Costco. She raged at the utter perfidiousness of Erl Wye whose base treachery had cost Marysu her family, her home and her complete set of barbis. All she had left was her loyal Safari cat Purr. If it hadn't been for the Beige Guardian Hines, she might not have survived. Luckily good King Collards had swore to bring Wye to justice."

I came up with the above in less than five minutes. Original fiction isn't really all that terribly hard.

Guardian Hines? Sounds like Duncan to me... Duncan Hines?

[Shadow of Light Dragon]

The Sarendoctrinator wrote...

Wow, I just read that list of comparisons... Alasdair? Really? That's not even trying. >_<

And I agree, if people want to get paid for their writing (which is my goal), they should come up with their own original plots and characters unless they actually work with game developers, movie creators, or someone like that who specifically told them to write for an already-established universe. I can only assume that this person doesn't have a good imagination of her own, if she made such an obvious copy of Dragon Age with very little details changed.

Oh, I dunno. There are some fantastic published books/games out there on Star Wars, for instance. And the Arthurian legends have been retold many times, yet people keep reading/watching them. Original characters and plots aren't required for a good or successful book, but acknowledging what your work is based off is only honest.

It's the claims of the author that they've never played/heard of Dragon Age that's the real, and laughable, issue.

[Tryynity]

Corker wrote...

The Sarendoctrinator wrote...
"Boudicca" sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?

Boudicca, queen of the Iceni (a Celtic tribe in Britian), killed oodles of Romans before they finally stopped her.

Hehe - I immediately thought of Boadicea - Enya - love that music

EDIT: and I just googled to find out they are one in the same  hehe

This forum community is very smart - I have learnt more here than in school

Modifié par Tryynity, 26 janvier 2012 - 05:14 .

[BagelBomber]

The Sarendoctrinator wrote...

mousestalker wrote...

"Marysu Costco looked back on her recent past and wept bitter tears of anger and sorrow. She grieved for her poor murdered parents, the Sterk and Sterkina of Costco. She raged at the utter perfidiousness of Erl Wye whose base treachery had cost Marysu her family, her home and her complete set of barbis. All she had left was her loyal Safari cat Purr. If it hadn't been for the Beige Guardian Hines, she might not have survived. Luckily good King Collards had swore to bring Wye to justice."

I came up with the above in less than five minutes. Original fiction isn't really all that terribly hard.

Guardian Hines? Sounds like Duncan to me... Duncan Hines?

... Costco.
Costco is a chain of price club stores around here. xD

[Tryynity]

Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

I cracked and had to read the teaser on Amazon.

Frewyn = Ferelden
Gallei = Orlais (a nation in opposition to Frewyn, located to the west, with a natural mountain boundary between the two. Orlesians = Galleisians XD)
Sanhedhran = Seheron
Alasdair = Alastair XD (OH GOD, King Allande dies in combat and Alasdair takes his place. He's Allande's brother, and he's miserable about being made king.)
Haanta = Qunari. (they come from islands to the far north, have violet eyes, grey skin, white hair, 7' stature.)
'Sten' is in jail for killing a small village in a blind rage.
'Sten' was scouting for his people against a nation they're at war with (probably Tevinter).
'Sten' believes women can't be warriors.
'Sten' has lost his sword.
Fem!Cousland gives it back.

It looks like the darkspawn were removed entirely and the Orlesians are the main antagonists.

Also, the story makes me cringe.

OMG LOLz

The author hasnt even gone to the effort to try and hide the fact that it is totally Dragon Age - it is almost humourous to the point I think she has maybe written some kind of parody that people thought was serious and maybe she forgot to tell them.

This is juicy gossip - I wonder how it turns out

[Hakurou]

BROGAINES BEFORE HOGAINES

...Sorry.

[The Sarendoctrinator]

I noticed "Costco" too. xD

Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

Oh, I dunno. There are some fantastic published books/games out there on Star Wars, for instance. And the Arthurian legends have been retold many times, yet people keep reading/watching them. Original characters and plots aren't required for a good or successful book, but acknowledging what your work is based off is only honest.

It's the claims of the author that they've never played/heard of Dragon Age that's the real, and laughable, issue.

I thought people who wrote Star Wars novels had permission to do so?

I don't really count the Arthurian legends being retold over and over for the same reason that I don't count Greek plays, because it doesn't really count as "stealing" if it's a myth that's been around for generations (and in some cases, the original authors weren't even the people who came up with the legend in the first place). That would be almost like saying that books with any religious themes weren't using an original concept. There's a huge difference between taking inspiration from something like that and stealing another writer's fantasy setting, characters, and story.

[Fortlowe]

Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

The Sarendoctrinator wrote...

Wow, I just read that list of comparisons... Alasdair? Really? That's not even trying. >_<

And I agree, if people want to get paid for their writing (which is my goal), they should come up with their own original plots and characters unless they actually work with game developers, movie creators, or someone like that who specifically told them to write for an already-established universe. I can only assume that this person doesn't have a good imagination of her own, if she made such an obvious copy of Dragon Age with very little details changed.

Oh, I dunno. There are some fantastic published books/games out there on Star Wars, for instance. And the Arthurian legends have been retold many times, yet people keep reading/watching them. Original characters and plots aren't required for a good or successful book, but acknowledging what your work is based off is only honest.

It's the claims of the author that they've never played/heard of Dragon Age that's the real, and laughable, issue.

^ This. Excactly this. I'll freely admit that my entry is more than loosely based on the book 'The Road'. It's a deeply moving work (and I highly recommend it if you're a reader and haven't read it), and one of my all time favorirites, and more importantly, it is in my opinion the very best contemporary example of the venerable 'Journey' story so I used it as a template.

But I wouldn't dare have nudged so close to the source material if this wasn't fanfic. If not because it's plain old dishonest, but because I want my work to be clealy and unquestionably distinguishable as my work. For that to happen I'll have to develop my own style and frankly I'm just not strong enough a writer to say I have my own style. Thus I borrow the tone of my favorites. Hemingway. Rice. Mosley. McCarthy. I write with thier voices until my own is loud enough to drown them out.

[Shadow of Light Dragon]

The Sarendoctrinator wrote...

I thought people who wrote Star Wars novels had permission to do so?

Yeah, I misread your post there and forgot that you said working with the original creator's permission was ok XD Sorry!

Anyway, word on the grapevine is that this particular writer tried to take The Sten and The Warden to the very doors of Bioware and push for publication. I remember her trying to drum up support on BSN as well so that the devs could see how much popularity her fic had. I suppose once publication was rejected she changed the name and some details then self-published under the claim of originality.

That's determination for you, I guess. I worry a bit about her story's fans though.

[Revan1]

Hey guys. This whole thing with the plagiarized book made me want to bring out some real Warden Commander on her butt. So I wrote a review instead and posted it on Amazon--bringin' the truth. Here it is:

Even from what little I've read from the comments and description of this book, it's painfully clear that this is ripped straight from the Dragon Age video game developed by BioWare. As a writer, this makes me truly sad to see something getting good reviews that was copy and pasted from someone else's ideas and hard work.

The orphaned Commander refers to the Cousland noble origin where the Cousland's family is killed. In the game, she's referred to as the Warden Commander.
Frewyn refers to the land of Ferelden.
The giant in the holding cells refers to Sten, from a race called the qunari (a warrior race) who's found locked in a cage in Lothering. Sten has dark skin and white hair.
Cousland offers him a chance to save Fereldan from the Blight, thus defending her country from a war.
Sten helps defeat the Blight and Cousland can offer for Sten to stay, however he chooses to leave.
King Alisdair refers to King Alistair.

Sounding familiar? Please, if you believe in the integrity of writing, do not support this book.

David Gaider, the lead writer for BioWare, has even stated that he received this manuscript as a fanfic: "I am the lead writer of the Dragon Age series you say the author has never heard of, and I can confirm that she did indeed write the "Sten and the Warden" Dragon Age fanfiction novel and even sent it to me. While the characters and events described in this new book have more than passing resemblance to her fanfiction, I have no idea if they're exactly the same. Sounds like someone thought their fanfiction was so awesome they needed to turn it into something publishable. Whether people think that's a good idea or not I'll leave to those willing to read it-- but I'd say that, if there's anything that makes a "talented author" look bad it's outright lies."

[Firky]

Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

Anyway, word on the grapevine is that this particular writer tried to take The Sten and The Warden to the very doors of Bioware and push for publication. I remember her trying to drum up support on BSN as well so that the devs could see how much popularity her fic had. I suppose once publication was rejected she changed the name and some details then self-published under the claim of originality.

How odd. (The whole deal, not your post, SoL.)

I can understand why the owners of the IP etc would be really upset/offended etc.

But isn't this just a really sad tale? I don't know, maybe the writer was being malicious and deliberate about the whole thing, but - you know, lots of people in this thread are aspiring writers, right, for fun or profit?

(Not that I entirely have grasped the entire issue, so this might be incorrect, but ...) How can there be any joy in putting your heart into a fanfic, try to get support for it and failing? How is there any joy in then self publishing something you know belongs to another writer? People might buy it or like it, but it can't be something you're proud of. Surely?

Failure sucks. So does lack of acknowledgement. I'm not defending the person, mind. But I'm trying to look at it with a compassionate eye, I guess.

[Arassi]

Here's proof she not only heard of Dragon Age, she wrote a whole series of books about Sten and the Warden. From a year ago...http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/127/index/2653477/1

But, you probably already knew that. 

Modifié par Arassi, 26 janvier 2012 - 07:16 .

[The Sarendoctrinator]

Hopefully, if more people read these reviews on Amazon that say her work was copied from Dragon Age, they won't buy it. I know that when I read something like that in reviews, I wouldn't buy the product, even if it looked interesting.

Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

The Sarendoctrinator wrote...

I thought people who wrote Star Wars novels had permission to do so?

Yeah, I misread your post there and forgot that you said working with the original creator's permission was ok XD Sorry!

Anyway, word on the grapevine is that this particular writer tried to take The Sten and The Warden to the very doors of Bioware and push for publication. I remember her trying to drum up support on BSN as well so that the devs could see how much popularity her fic had. I suppose once publication was rejected she changed the name and some details then self-published under the claim of originality.

That's determination for you, I guess. I worry a bit about her story's fans though.

That's okay.

I'm surprised she would actually try to get BioWare to publish that book. It would have been better off left as a fanfiction, which some people enjoyed, rather than go that route. She really thought BioWare would publish something that was not only a "canon" storyline for the Warden, but also included a pairing that wasn't even an option in the game? Strange. If she had tried hard enough, it would have even been possible to create a similar pairing (female warrior and strong giant) in a world of her own, without taking plot points and characters from Dragon Age. I'm guessing the "romantic" scenes wouldn't have been taken from the game, as Sten x Warden wasn't there. And instead, she used obvious name changes and left everything else the same. I will never understand it...

@Firky: In my case, it's a combination of fun and profit. I wouldn't want to be a professional writer if I didn't enjoy creating characters, stories, and getting those ideas onto paper as a finished product. But because I want this to be my career, I also need to make a profit. I think it has a lot to do with respect for someone else's work. I would never copy from anyone, and I can see that you guys wouldn't either. I agree, I don't know how she could get any sense of pride by taking credit for another writer's creations.

[Dasque]

Firky wrote...

Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

Anyway, word on the grapevine is that this particular writer tried to take The Sten and The Warden to the very doors of Bioware and push for publication. I remember her trying to drum up support on BSN as well so that the devs could see how much popularity her fic had. I suppose once publication was rejected she changed the name and some details then self-published under the claim of originality.

How odd. (The whole deal, not your post, SoL.)

I can understand why the owners of the IP etc would be really upset/offended etc.

But isn't this just a really sad tale? I don't know, maybe the writer was being malicious and deliberate about the whole thing, but - you know, lots of people in this thread are aspiring writers, right, for fun or profit?

(Not that I entirely have grasped the entire issue, so this might be incorrect, but ...) How can there be any joy in putting your heart into a fanfic, try to get support for it and failing? How is there any joy in then self publishing something you know belongs to another writer? People might buy it or like it, but it can't be something you're proud of. Surely?

Failure sucks. So does lack of acknowledgement. I'm not defending the person, mind. But I'm trying to look at it with a compassionate eye, I guess.

I see your point, but it's hard to understand what's going through her head, all the same. There have been other massively popular stories in fanfiction--SoLD's, for example. I've never heard of anyone pushing so hard to get it acknowledged.

Many of us pour hours of hard work and our hearts into our fics, but fanfiction is there to strengthen your writing, to build a work ethic to the craft, and to share something you love with other people who love it, too. She not only took credit for someone else's creation, she took something that was built by an entire team of talented writers who have paid their dues in trying to get discovered, and then let people attribute it to her own brilliance. I just can't get past that.

[Firky]

With the slightly wrong names and characters, it does seem to come across as a very deliberate F you, especially if she was knocked back after pursuing something with BioWare. I just find myself not wanting to believe that, I guess. It's a sad way to be. It makes me sad thinking about people being that way.

I write for a couple of magazines, currently. (Not fiction, sadly. But, hopefully, one day.) Plagiarising anything, in addition to the fact that I'd have absolutely no pride in my work, would be the fast track to finding a new career direction.

(At this very moment, I'm supposed to be writing 800 words on Chiptunes, which is actually pretty cool. Like, how the resolution of the music in Maniac Mansion matched the resolution of its visuals and that modern cinematic scores are beautiful, but too divorced from visual style. As I'm fairly sure I wont be able to find an article to plagiarise, , I'd better go. But the point is, my current writing gig is fun but not really what I want to do; creative writing. There would be no joy in re-writing Dragon Age or any other thing and passing it off as my own. I just feel really bad for the person.)