Epihany, developments, and future chapters

As patient as you wonderful readers have been, I wager you are long sick of hearing apologies and excuses. All I can say is that many of my problems, as well as a few added, from previous post have done little to improve and I freely admit that I am not the most strong willed or confident. I probably should have caved and applied the hiatus button, but I always kept telling myself 'Well, it's not that bad yet. I'll get something there soon.' That said, I have not spent this time idle. I have been working on Jeff, though much of that work has been staring at blank pages and resisting the urge to bash my head into the desk, I will have a new chapter that should be up in a few days with a second following sometime after to bring some measure of closure to this introductory arc. Afterward I will try to bring in more in some form or another as my situation allows. If I can't provide properly coherent chapters then I may treat it as a series of short stories (i.e. chapters would be independent of one another, sacrificing some timeline continuity in exchange for removing some of the pressure and, ideally, making them easier to publish more promptly). Further more, I have actually managed to compose some new material, some as alternates of stories other authors granted permission for and some original, in my attempts to get past writer's block. Between these projects and Jeff, there should be enough to provide entertainment for several weeks to come. After that? Well, part of this sudden return is due to something of and epiphany I had recently. Little more than a stray thought and new frame of mind. Perhaps this will give me the push I need to get back into the swing of things. Or maybe this is just another variation of the 'New Year's Resolution' cliché. Either way, I thank you for sticking around this long and I hope you enjoy what comes next.

P.S. I've noticed a number of authors using patreon for commissions and donations. I've always avoided that direction as I fear the possibility of being copywrite infringement and bringing Hasbro down on the site. That said, I feel like the idea of bringing the occasional buck in to deal with costs, even if it is only to keep gas in the tank and a few meals at the table, would go a long way in putting down some of the insecurities that interfere with my progress. Would anyone know the legalities and ground rules for this or who I could talk to about it?

Comments

[awesomesauce4]

The legality of fanfiction and especially paid fanfiction mostly revolves around Fair Use doctrine, and basically states that you are perfectly allowed to write stories set in this fictional universe and get paid for them so long as your stories are a parody or derivative work. The latter consist of either a commentary or statement on the characters and world involved (whether satirical or otherwise), or a story that clearly uses elements from the source material but makes an effort to include an original interpretation on them. So, basically, by the core tenets of 'fanfiction' itself, you're fine!

However, this is not the case when you start profiting enough for Hasbro to notice. If that happens (which is a very big if, all things considered), no amount of Fair Use is going to save you from their lawyers. My advice to you is to keep it on the down-low and don't go for thousands of dollars off of this - two very easy things to accomplish, given the scope of your work.