Quote:
Originally Posted by Sil_liS
There is no original stuff. There can be original elements to a story, but it's all been done before.
|
To quote Bono, "Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief.
All kill their inspiration and sing about their grief."
Also, you could say Shakespeare wrote "fan fiction." King Lear is based on a legend of Celtic Britain (which has a much cooler ending that Shakespeare's, i.e. beheaded evil sisters, rapprochement between Lear and Cordelia)and I understand Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet also originated elsewhere than with the Bard of Avon. See also the scene with Shakespeare and Marlowe talking in a tavern in Shakespeare in Love.
Certainly most fan fiction out there is crap. I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just pointing out that writers and other artists have always built on what has come before and used it to greater or lesser degree.