Originally Posted by
JB57
Dear Gsbux,
You put me in a difficult position. I have written many stories that are continuations of other people's work. I have written those stories largely because I am motivated by the same sentiments that you are expressing -i.e, I have read a story and am inspired by it to write more because I feel that the story is not "complete" or I rewrite a story that, I feel, can be expanded upon with more detail. So, I do understand where you are coming from.
In the past, when I have worked with the story of another author on the board, I have asked permission to do so, where possible. No one has ever said "no." Thus, I feel compelled to give you permission to write your story, if you feel so strongly about it.
However, I must admit to some discomfort in doing this. This is the first time someone has asked me to write stories using my characters. As I have said many times, I write all of my stories with the possibility of coming back to the characters later and I feel that my vision may be compromised if someone else has taken those characters in directions I may not have chosen. Moreover, at the risk of sounding somewhat hypocritical, I feel a certain proprietary attachment to my characters and I am not comfortable with other people working with them.
Thus, I must add the strong caveat that I reserve the right to choose whether or not anything you write will be part of the "official" canon for the characters. I may eventually return to writing about these characters and I don't want my vision and understanding of them to be compromised by someone else's depictions.
(There are active series that I am presently working on (like the Inge stories, Kath vs. Kil, the Kris stories, the Spa stories, etc.) that I am writing as continuing series. Those are series where I will not give other people permission to work with the characters.)
With that understanding, you have my permission to write your story. However, you must do it on your own. I will not make a contribution.
JB57
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