chelsierra-remly

[chelsierra-remly]

How Many Rights Can You Sell From One Original Work?

I’ve finished the last episode of Vampire Academy, and I’m done with it. I’m hoping it doesn’t get picked up for a season two so that someone else will buy the rights and give me a more book accurate version.

The best thing about this show is that it has given me an idea for how to sell the rights to future works. If the people planning to buy the rights to your work is going to make drastic changes to it, don’t sell them the rights to your original work . . . instead, sell them the rights to a fanfic parallel world version of your original work. Make those who are planning to buy the rights to your original work, and then turning around and making drastic changes to it, buy the rights to the fanfic parallel world version of your original work instead. Make them change the title and character names, and leave your original work free to be sold to someone who will be loyal to it. Make them pay extra to temporarily take the original work off of the market. They can pay a yearly fee, or a three or five year fee to prevent the original work from becoming competition.

I mean, if they buy the rights to your original work, and then create fan fiction with it, why not just sell them the fanfic rights instead, and keep your original rights to sell to those who want to use the original version of your work? Sounds like a win-win to me. Fans will know from the start that the new show or movie is a fanfic parallel world version, not an original version. If Vampire Academy had been sold as a fanfic parallel world version, with a new title and new character names, and the fans were made aware of it, I probably would have enjoyed it more. But to sell me a fanfic version of the original work that I was expecting? Nope. Never going to fly with me.

Ooh. There are limitless fanfic genres, fanfic categories, and parallel world options. So, why not sell the rights to more than just one fanfic genre/category and/or parallel world option? So, this gives you even more options when selling the rights to your works. You can sell the rights to the original work, yet keep the rights to any and all fanfic and parallel world rights options. And when selling the rights to a fanfic or parallel world option, you can add keywords onto it that will define the niche the rights belong to. Thus, you keep the rights to all of the other niche keywords that you will have the ability to sell to others. And if you sell rights to a fanfic or parallel world niche, you keep the rights to your original work to sell to someone else, plus you keep the rights to all of the other keyword niches to sell to others. Anyone who wants to prevent any competitors from buying the other rights and creating their own projects at the same time should pay extra to have those rights taken off of the market.

[chelsierra-remly]

Get Story Ideas From Movie Trailers

Video: A Banquet Trailer #1 (2022)

Use movie trailers to gather story ideas. Watch the trailer a couple of times, and then make a list of ideas of what you think the movie is about. Make a list of ideas from each of the short scenes within the trailer. What are the scenes about? What is the movie about? What direction will the movie take?

I have already come up with two story ideas so far. Both seem like they will work once I dig in and flesh them out. How about you?

[chelsierra-remly]

Buffy, The Vampire Slayer: What If . . . ?

What If . . .

 . . . All of Buffy’s vampire fighting powers had been in the mole?

. . . Having the mole removed made Buffy defenseless against the vampires, and made her an easy target?

. . . The mole kept growing back, but Buffy kept having it removed? 

 . . . There was a limit of how many times the mole would grow back? How would Buffy be able to get her vampire fighting powers back?

Now, let’s take these, and switch out “Buffy” for Girl. Remove all thoughts on a fanfic, and focus on something original that can be published.

What If . . .

. . . There was a girl or young woman who had vampire fighting powers that came from a mole or a wart or a ??? ?

. . . Having the mole/wart/??? removed made this girl or young woman defenseless against the vampires, and made her an easy target?

. . . The mole/wart/??? kept coming back, but the girl or young woman kept having it removed?

. . . There was a limit of how many times the mole/wart/??? would come back? How would this girl or young woman be able to get her vampire fighting powers back?

Some “What Ifs” can only be used in fanfic. And that’s because it contains copyrighted material that, once removed, leaves a huge void that can’t be filled any other way. When you use someone else’s work to try and create an original idea, you have to be careful what parts you choose to use.

In this case, Buffy did have a mole. And she did have that mole removed. But, the mole in Buffy’s case didn’t have any effect on her ability to fight the vampires. So, this idea can be used in a Buffy alternative fanfic, or a parallel world fanfic. AND, this idea can be used for an original story. The girl, or young woman, can be a vampire slayer, a werewolf slayer, a demon slayer, a . . . ??? slayer . . . anything you want her to be. 

The magic could be anything. The ability to fly, to shape shift, to read minds, etc. You can start out your idea using a girl as a vampire slayer, and you can end up with a boy as a zombie slayer. You can start out with a magical mole, and end up with a magical tattoo or birthmark. The magic could be that it only shows itself to the monster that is to be slayed. Monster says, “Where’d you get that . . . ?” And he’s killed before he can finish his sentence. ( Let’s hope he was going to say ‘tattoo.’ Otherwise, it could be the murder of a perfectly harmless human. Oops. [ And suddenly, you have a comedy. Congratulations! ] )

[chelsierra-remly]

Renesmee Came Before the “Triangle”

Renesmee wasn’t created as an excuse for Jacob to get over Bella. Renesmee was created before the "triangle" even came about.

New Moon / The Story: 

https://stepheniemeyer.com/the-books/new-moon/new-moon-the-story/ 

Forever Dawn, (Renamed Breaking Dawn), was the original sequel to Twilight. 

I was about three hundred pages into Forever Dawn when my life got turned upside down. Twilight was going to be published. People were going to read what I was writing. More specifically, young adults were going to be reading what I was writing. Unintentionally, I’d written a young adult novel. I realized pretty quickly that Forever Dawn did not follow the rules of YA. Because I was caught up in the story, I finished Forever Dawn anyway, knowing that it would never see the light of day; I gave it to my big sister as a birthday gift. And then I started on the real sequel. 

The biggest non-YA thing I’d done with Forever Dawn was this: I’d pretty much passed over the rest of Bella’s high school experience entirely, skipping ahead to a time in her life with more mature themes. So, as I began to sketch out New Moon, I went back to Bella’s senior year of high school and asked my little cast of characters, “What happened?” 

I swiftly regretted asking them for the story. Because they gave me a story I wasn’t expecting. More specifically, Edward told me something I didn’t want to hear. 

I should probably mention here that I am not crazy (that I know of), it’s just that I am a character writer. I write my stories because of my characters; they are the motivation and the reward. The difficulty with strong, defined characters, though, is that you can’t make them do something that is out of character. They have to be who they are and, as a writer, they’re often out of your control. 

As I started plotting New Moon (untitled at that point), it became clear that Edward was Edward, and he would have to behave as only Edward would. And, because of that, Edward was leaving. 

NO! I didn’t want Edward to leave. I pitched a fit every bit as violent and tearful as those I’ve seen in New Moon discussion forums. I tried to talk him out of it. I presented him with other plot options. I begged. Edward remained unmoved. 

Breaking Dawn / FAQs: 

 https://stepheniemeyer.com/the-books/breaking-dawn/frequently-asked-questions-breaking-dawn#foreverdawn

QUESTION:  

How different is Breaking Dawn from Forever Dawn? What changed, what stayed the same, and why? Will you ever post extras from Forever Dawn? 

ANSWER: 

Jacob and Bella are not nearly so close. None of the events of New Moon or Eclipse exist; Edward never leaves, so Bella and Jacob never bond. Jacob’s feelings for Bella remain at crush level.

Jacob isn’t there at the delivery, naturally, so he imprints on Renesmee a few weeks later when Bella is visiting Charlie. 

Breaking Dawn / FAQs: 

Renesmee was inspired by Bella's internet search in Twilight. Her character came before there was even a “triangle.” Jacob imprinted on her in Forever Dawn, which was written before New Moon and Eclipse came about.

https://stepheniemeyer.com/the-books/breaking-dawn/frequently-asked-questions-breaking-dawn#pregnancy 

QUESTION: 

Vampires and pregnancy: when did that idea occur to you? How does that work? 

ANSWER: 

 The first seed (no pun intended) was planted when I did Bella’s computer research in chapter seven of Twilight. Bella reads about several real vampire legends—the Danag, Estrie, Upier, etc. In the novel, I only mentioned a few of the many legends I read through. One that I didn’t mention at this point was the entry on the Incubus. The unique feature about that legend was that the incubus could father children. Hmmm, I said, and I filed that kernel of an idea away for later. When I decided to write the first sequel to Twilight (Forever Dawn), I knew it was going to revolve around a hybrid baby from the outset. 

When my editor and I decided to go back and really develop Bella’s last year of high school, I did so with the knowledge that it was all going to end up with the events in Breaking Dawn. Everything I wrote was pointed in that direction. 

[chelsierra-remly]

Ideas Aren’t Copyrighted

Ideas are not copyrighted, only the way in which an idea is implemented is copyrighted. No two people will write the exact same story using the same idea. By the time they put this idea into a story, many things will have been added and subtracted from the main idea. Their characters and world will be different. 

Using the works of others to gather story ideas is perfectly okay. And using the works of others within your story to get a grasp of your characters and story is perfectly fine . . . as long as you cut everything belonging to others out of your work before publishing it. So, UberFic is publishable once you’ve made changes to it. Once you’ve changed the character’s names, and anything else belonging to the other works.

FanFics that live within the worlds of others is harder to make publishable, as you’re using far too much of the original work in your story. And once you cut it all out, you’re going to have very little left. But, you can take what you brought to the party, expand on it, and turn it into original work that can be published. Because the idea that came to you for your FanFic can still be used with what you have left. You just have to rework the content you have left over to be able to fit it into an original story, and without using any of the other person’s work.

How do you do that? Here’s how:

You remove the names of the copyrighted characters, and you replace them with: She, He, Woman, Man, Human, Vampire, Shifter, Werewolf, etc.

You rethink the world you want to put the characters you created into. You rethink how the characters should be in this new world. You rethink how best this idea should be implemented within this new world, and with how these revamped characters should fit within this new world. You keep asking yourself: What If . . . ?

For example: 

A Woman Scorned … What If … ?

What if, instead of asking: What if Bella became a woman scorned after Edward and the Cullens left . . . you asked: What if a human teen girl became a woman scorned after her vampire boyfriend dumped her because he didn’t want her to become a vampire like him? How would she get her revenge on him?

What If … Bella’s Paleness Got Her Branded as a Vampire?

What if, instead of asking: What if Bella’s pale skin got her branded as a vampire . . . you asked: What if the new girl in school was so pale that everyone thought she was a vampire? What if they tried to expose her as a vampire by putting her in harms way repeatedly? How would she prove she wasn’t a vampire before they could kill her in their attempts to expose her?

[chelsierra-remly]

What If . . . You Unwittingly Buy Stolen Goods?

What If . . . You bought the contents of an abandoned storage unit, and inside you found missing/stolen famous paintings? Jewelry? . . . -or- ???

I got this idea when watching Red, and Frank Moses opened up his storage unit full of artillery.

[chelsierra-remly]

A Woman Scorned . . . What If . . . ?

What If . . . Bella Became a Woman Scorned?

What if, instead of Bella shutting down, she got angry? What if Bella got so angry, at Edward and the Cullens for leaving her, that she went to Italy to find the Volturi to ask them to change her? What if they did change her? And what if they made her part of the Volturi Guard? What then? How would that have played out?

Now use this idea for an original project:

What if, instead of asking: What if Bella became a woman scorned after Edward and the Cullens left . . . you asked: What if a human teen girl became a woman scorned after her vampire boyfriend dumped her because he didn’t want her to become a vampire like him? How would she get her revenge on him?

[chelsierra-remly]

Black Cohosh for Hot Flashes

My mother's friend recommended Belladonna for my hot flashes. She said my doctor could write me up a prescription. She told me that it is highly addictive, but one or two pills will stop my hot flashes forever. She did this herself, and told me I could hand out a couple of the pills to women I knew going through menopause. -- However, my doctor wouldn't write me a prescription, as Belladonna is toxic, as well as highly addictive. 

So, then my mother's friend recommended Black Cohosh. I have a book on vitamins/minerals, and it stated not to take for longer than six months. (The internet says one year.) So, I will take one pill/capsule a day for several months. (2, 3, 4) And then I will stop taking it for a few months. Each time I take a 'round' of Black Cohosh, I've noticed my hot flashes lessening more and more. And, as of right now, I don't have hot flashes anymore. Instead, I overheat. Last year, I had the thermostat set at around 62 degrees. This year I can sleep under the covers all night, and I only overheat when I wake up in the mornings. And I have the thermostat set at around 67 degrees. I can still feel the heat coming off of the laptop, and it sometimes overheats me, but I no longer have the feeling of suddenly being dropped into a rolling pan of boiling grease. I think a couple more 'rounds' of Black Cohosh will do the trick. I highly recommend it. 

NOTE: I'm not a doctor, and so you might want to talk to your doctor before taking Black Cohosh. I have no idea if there is an allergy to this, so, take at your own risk.

[chelsierra-remly]

Books/Shows With a Strong Couple Bond Similar to that of Bella & Edward

The Outlander Series: (books/show) gives me the same vibes as the Twilight series. The bond between Claire & Jamie is as close as Bella & Edward's bond.

The "All Souls" Trilogy & Universe Series: (books/show) are worth reading/watching as well. The bond between Diana and Matthew is just as close as that of Bella/Edward and Claire/Jamie. And sometimes when reading the books I got chills because it had scenes that gave me Twilight vibes.

The Roswell TV Series: (1999–2002) is worth watching. The bond between Liz & Max is as strong as these others. The show is based on a book series, Roswell High, but I haven't read any of them, so I can't comment on them. There is also a reboot called, Roswell, New Mexico. It's okay . . . my heart belongs to the original.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLca-DneFfsDesUJ1QktQaHS2kDx8Xze6x

[chelsierra-remly]

What If . . . Bella’s Paleness Got Her Branded as a Vampire?

What if . . . Jessica and Lauren convinced everyone that Bella is a vampire? What if the van didn’t lose control? What if Tyler slide on the ice on purpose to try and hit Bella? What if it was a test to see if Bella would survive?

What if . . . Bella hadn’t been accident prone “until” she arrived in Forks? How would Edward react to Bella being a target? What if someone managed to draw first blood during school lunch? Would both Jasper and Edward have lost control? How would the discovery that Bella wasn’t a vampire, but that the Cullens sure were, have gone over? Would anyone in the lunchroom survive?

NOTE: 

Ideas aren’t copyrighted. Only the way in which an idea is implemented is copyrightable. You can’t copyright any of your works that contains copyrighted material that belongs to another. Such as, if you wrote this as fanfiction, you couldn’t copyright it and publish it as your own. However, the new material you added to this fanfic does belong to you, and if you stripped your fanfic of everything that you borrowed from the works of others, and only kept what you yourself created, you could use it, and publish it, and copyright it. So, if you take the idea from this, What If . . ., and you removed all Twilight related material from it, and you used it in a new world you created, with new characters you created, you would own the copyright, and you could publish it. No two people will create the same exact story from using the same exact idea. Thus, ideas are not copyrighted.

For example:

What if, instead of asking: What if Bella’s pale skin got her branded as a vampire . . . you asked: What if the new girl in school was so pale that everyone thought she was a vampire? What if they tried to expose her as a vampire by putting her in harms way repeatedly? How would she prove she wasn’t a vampire before they could kill her in their attempts to expose her?

[chelsierra-remly]

Panacur C Canine Dewormer Cures Cancer?

I came across this treatment on Facebook. I thought I’d share just in case there is some truth to the information. 

https://www.facebook.com/ChelSierra.Remly/posts/1049713492147933

https://www.facebook.com/WildHeartRanch/posts/10158268636654091

https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/medicine-for-dogs-studied-as-possible-cancer-treatment-for-people/285-9ad9602a-bd7a-449e-b196-3e8d51bd28e2

[chelsierra-remly]

Why Does Renesmee Have the Same Number of Chromosomes as the Shapeshifters/Wolves?

In Breaking Dawn, Carlisle discovered that Renesmee has the same number of chromosomes as the wolves. Why? What could it mean?

. . . hmm . . . 

Personally, I think it means that she and Jacob are compatible. Which means that they have the ability to procreate. And, since Renesmee & Jacob have the same number of chromosomes, Renesmee's pregnancies will be the normal nine months. The births will be normal, and the child/ren will grow normally . . . until the wolf gene kicks in. BUT, at what age will the wolf gene kick in? How long will their children be “normal” children? 

When I first came up with this theory of Renesmee being able to procreate, I envisioned her being fertile forever. Some didn't like that idea. So, I suggested that she could have a window of opportunity to have children. It would start once she matured at seven-years-old, and last a few years . . . perhaps ten? Maybe seven? Anyhoo, at some point in the not so distant future, Renesmee would no longer be fertile. *shrugs* (Personally, I like the idea of forever. LOL)

And the thought of what Renesmee & Jacob could/would conceive and bring into this world would be of great fear to the Volturi. Aro would be both afraid, and intrigued. His fear, of course, would overrule his interest. And this is what will most likely bring the Volturi back to finish what they started.

Aro might wonder if there is a way to get Jacob & Renesmee to join the Volturi Guard, in order that the offspring would be his to control. But that thought would be short-lived, as he knows where their allegiances lie. So, a second confrontation will most definitely be the order of the day.

Unless . . . hmm . . . Aro might even begin to wonder if there was a way to snatch the child/ren out from under the Cullen's noses. And if it could be done without being caught, or without the Cullens knowing who did it, or without Alice seeing it coming. He'd weigh all of the pros and cons, and plot and plan, and then come to the conclusion that taking what he wants after destroying the Cullens would be the best option.  So . . . The. Volturi. Are. Coming!

The Volturi are coming for the Cullens once again. When, where, how, why . . . all of these questions will be answered in a future book. And I can't wait. But I will. I waited for Midnight Sun, I can wait for the future books too.

*** And, as always, I give Stephenie Meyer permission to use this info free of charge. I highly doubt you haven't already come up with this theory, but, just in case you didn't . . . here you go. 

[chelsierra-remly]

Why Are Female Hybrids Nonvenomous?

In Breaking Dawn, it is discovered that male hybrids are venomous, but the female hybrids are not. Why? 

 . . . hmm . . .  

Carlisle discovered that Renesmee has the same number of chromosomes as the wolves. (Shape-shifters) So perhaps that has something to do with it? Perhaps male hybrids have a different chromosome count? *shrugs*

Whatever the reason, I'm sure that the true answer might be in a future book. *shrugs*

*** And, as always, I give Stephenie Meyer permission to use this info free of charge. I highly doubt you haven't already come up with this theory, but, just in case you didn't . . . here you go. 

[chelsierra-remly]

What If . . . Twilight / Life and Death Crossovers / Parallel Universes

How freaky would it be to have another Twilight parallel universe that combined both Twilight & Life and Death? 

Where twins are the norm, and single births are rare. Beau & Bella are twins -- Edythe & Edward are twins -- Julie & Jacob are twins. Where all gender-bent characters are twins. (The non-gender-bent characters are single births.) The twins have the same gift, but each gift works a tad bit differently. 

 -- OR -- 

How freaky would it be if there was a vampire with the gift to open up a portal between parallel universes? And what if this vampire opened up a portal between the Twilight universe and the Life and Death universe? 

What would happen when Bella met Beau, and Edward met Edythe, and Jacob met Julie? And how would they prevent anyone from crossing over to the opposite universe? How would they close the portal? And what would Aro do when he learned of this gift? Of what happened to his other self in the other universe? 

[chelsierra-remly]

What If . . . Bella Had Been a Vampire?

A great "What If . . .?" would be: 

What if Bella was already a vampire when she and Edward met? What would be different about their relationship? How differently would Edward have treated a vampire Bella? 

 Edward wouldn't feel the need to be close to Bella 24/7 in order to be there to protect her. 

 Edward wouldn't need to be close to Bella 24/7 to try and desensitize the effect her blood had on him. 

 For the sake of argument, if a vampire Bella and Jacob were best buds, Edward wouldn't try and stop her from going to visit with him. Because if Jacob phased right next to her, he isn't going to cause any damage. 

 Edward wouldn't have left. 

 Edward wouldn't have wasted time pushing Bella to make the choice to live without him. 

 Edward wouldn't have handled Bella with kid gloves. 

Edward is the man he is in the series, because Bella is human. The mistakes and stupid decisions he made in the series, are because Bella is human. The things he did never would have happened had Bella been a vampire. Edward isn't an abuser. He is just overcompensating and overreacting because Bella is a human. *shrugs*

So, how different would Edward have been had Bella been a vampire when they met?

[chelsierra-remly]

Where Do Ideas Come From?

Disaster Date | Cotton TV Commercial

When something piques your interest … start asking questions that could lead to a story.

1. What happened to those Exes? 2. Why did they break up? 3. Who broke up with who? 4. Where are they now? 5. How did this date end? 6. … … …

Continue until you run out of questions, and then ask: What If … 1. ?? ?? ?? 2. ?! ?! ?! 3. !?! !?! !?! 4. ?!? ?!? ?!? 5. … … … Keep going with your questions and “What If” ideas until you have something to work with.

[chelsierra-remly]

If Musicians Make Good Money From Merch, Why Can’t Authors?

I recently learned that Musicians make a lot of money from their Merch, and it got me to wondering if Authors could/would do the same. And I thought it would make for a great topic for discussion. I did a Google Search, and I discovered I’m not the only one thinking it’s a great idea. Susan Spann thinks it’s a great idea as well: 

Merchandising Rights in Publishing Deals

 . . . And . . . 

Protecting Your Merchandising Rights in a Publishing Deal

-

And so does Jessica McCann:

Boost Your Writing Income with Themed Merchandise

It seems like maybe Authors should keep their merchandise rights, or at least work out a joint deal that allows the Author to create and sell their own Merch. *Shrugs* Let’s at least get the discussion on the table, and see what can come of it. Thoughts?

————