Copyright, Greed, and Forwarding Idiocy
Check out Linda Amstutz’ devilish tone on this website:
http://www.braceguard.com/ifmybodywereacar.htm
Do you forward things by email? If so, I’d be more careful, because here’s a writer who’s dedicated her pathetic existence to “cashing in” on people’s mistakes.
As a graphic and web designer, I fully understand how copyright laws have to be taken seriously. You can’t go out taking credit for someone else’s work, and legally, you do own the copyright to anything that you create. (By example, by writing this blog, I immediately own the copyright on every essay and post in it. That’s the way that it works.)
However, I’m pretty liberal with my own writings. I really don’t mind the trackbacks and pings, and I’d consider someone who posted something of mine on their site as helpful advertising, as long as they posted my name.
However, mistakes are made sometimes. I myself have accidentally posted things on forums that I didn’t check for sources, and I was called on it. Since then, I’ve worked to identify sources before I put the posts up. (And I also strive to contact the owners of the material before I post it up. You may notice certain identifiers on the pages on the right for just those reasons.)
What really bugs me about this lady, though, is that she’s siccing her lawyer out to gain $750 for every time anyone uses her little junk essay, “If My Body Were A Car”, with or without credit, unless she gains a profit from its use. I’m aware of at least one incident where she’s come down on a non-profit website for mistakenly using the essay.
Now, I do understand that they were wrong it posting that up. But I also realize that it was a mistake, and was taken down as soon as it was identified as such. But for Amstutz to pursue this course, demanding $750, (a completely unreasonable fee, let me tell you), and threatening with the legal maximum of $30,000 plus court costs, is simply ludicrous.
What a sad writer to have to resort to extortion instead of actually writing. So here’s a tip – Don’t ever post anything on your website, or even forward an email, unless you know that it is free-use or has an open copyright. All you have to do is ask.
- Kyle
Why Critics Don't Make Movies
“In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.
Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize that only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau’s, who is, in this critic’s opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau’s soon, hungry for more.”
- Anton Ego, Ratatouille
I tried and tried to come up with exactly what I wanted to say here, but I think that this quote from Brad Bird’s masterpiece more than tells the tale.
Critics are often able to be harsh on their judgements. They don’t have to risk hardly anything, because they can say their piece, and are lauded as brilliant, when in fact they usually don’t have to do much. Now, even in saying this, I know I’m largely being hypocritical, because I review and critique things all the time.
But I feel that, especially when it comes to film critics, they largely base their own critiques on just their own opinions, as opposed to the quality of a film. A critique should be based on fact, not opinion.
“Now wait a minute, Kyle,” you say. “Critiques are opinions.” That’s not entirely true, or at least, it shouldn’t be.
Any film can be analyzed through the use of techniques that aren’t necessarily based on opinions. Every story, be it about a single mother, the rogue hero, or two young lovers, or an older man finding his way home – they all have certain things that qualify them as full, complete, and usable stories.
I once took a class on text analysis, with this specific goal mind – the analyzation of scripts and text. This class helped me immensely, because instead of simply saying that “I didn’t like” a movie, I could finally tell you why the movie didn’t “work” or even why it did.
My personal belief is that critics don’t make movies because they wouldn’t know how if they tried. There may be exceptions, but I would bet money that the average critic couldn’t tell you anything about story analysis. But you don’t need to take my word for it. Read a gamut of reviews of a certain movie, and take note of how many things are all about opinions.
“The acting was dull,” they say, or “I just wasn’t convinced.” It’s always about opinion.
From now on, I’m going to do my best to avoid, or at least, identify the opinions in my reviews and critiques. Please, help me out. I’ll still provide my opinions on movies and ideas, but I’ll also try to support it with actual analysis. If it all works out, then the critiques will be more informative.
But then again, I guess that’s just my opinion.
- Kyle
Online Writing Forums
I’ve written at Hatrack.com since about November 2001, which makes it just barely six years. In that time, I’ve learned more about characterization, about storytelling, about descriptions, and about writing in general than in any other writing, English, or screenwriting class I’ve ever taken, combined. I would recommend to any aspiring writer, that they find a place like this that’s active and moving, and dive into it. Some may say it’s a waste of time, but I promise you that you’ll learn quickly the difference between good writing, and what it takes, and the mediocre garbage that floats all over the bookshelves.
One of the things that online forums force you to do is to actually write. Usually these kinds of forums get you into a cetain genre or universe, ranging from fantasy or sci-fi, to even cyberpunk and just plain modern worlds. Some are extremely well evolved, the details of the universe really nailed down. Others are more open, which will allow you a little more breathing room so you can stretch your imagination a little bit. In any case, each will offer unique challenges and opportunities.
A chief problem among aspiring writers is trying to decide what to write about. Who to write about. What is the story that you want to tell? Well, these kinds of forums are a great place to practice, because you can focus exclusively on characterization and description without wondering where the story is really going. You just have to jump into a conversation by portraying a role-play.
The first thing that you need to remember, however, is that your goal is not to act out a part. You should be writing with the goal of writing a story in mind. Unless the forum is already set, I’d recommend using a third-person limited viewpoint, which is the easiest. You can describe the things around your character, you can explain her thoughts, and you can also be fairly ambiguous when it comes to describing the other characters, because they aren’t your responsibility.
In any case, that’s my recommendation. In my pages section, you can also look through the article, “Spare Me the Chatter,” which I wrote a couple years ago for the online forum, Avidgamers.com. It talks a lot about the best way to write in a writing forum, as I see it. But for other tips and tricks, I’d recommend Hatrack.com, which I see as the best place to learn from talented writers who are still willing to help out the new guy.
In any case, good luck with the writing!
- Kyle
