Fan fiction

The term, I believe, is fan fiction, and I've been creating it since before I knew what it was called.

One of my favorite things to do is take an already-existing character and interact with him or her. One of the first times I tried this little foray into my imagination came after I'd seen "Star Wars" for the first time. I decided, since Leia and Han were "together," Luke needed someone. So, I invented Han Solo's sister, Holly. She was also a very good pilot, although I don't remember if she was a smuggler or not. Holly wasn't a particularly well-developed character, but she was just my first try.

I've created new characters for other stories, as well. Pirates of the Caribbean and Battlestar Galactica are among the stories that have provided jumping off points. I'm still working on those stories, but I like the characters I've added. By adding people to the story, I can take the story in a different direction so I'm not rehashing what's already been created by someone else.

There are tons of websites devoted to fan fiction based on popular books and movies. I haven't published anything, mainly because my stories aren't quite ready. And by that I mean that I haven't taken them out of my head and put them on paper or computer yet. I like to play through scenes over and over, changing lines and actions, until I have them right. Then I just have to find the time to write them out.

Time - aye, there's the rub. I keep promising myself I'm going to take a week of vacation, go somewhere quiet where I'm not distracted by anything else, and take all the current stories out of my head. Plus, there's a book I started in my college novel writing class that I still need to finish.

Maybe I'll take two weeks.