Gaijin’s Realm closed – again
I might as well formally acknowledge what is common knowledge by now – my involvement in the fan fiction community is pretty much over as far as being an active author is concerned. The Realm is closed and will not be reopened. In addition, I’ve removed my fanfic writings from the net for several reasons:
- Any further creative works of mine will be in the fields of original fiction and animation, and I want any attention given to my efforts to be concentrated in these new endeavors.
- Two years is more than enough time for anyone who wanted to keep a local copy of any of my work to have done so.
- Leaving the stories up simply invites new readers – who then contact me with further pleas to continue the stories.
- It removes the temptation for some of the less ethical readers to repost my work elsewhere under their own byline.
- If the fics aren’t visible, they won’t create the “overhead of guilt” any author feels when they abandon their creations.
For those of you who provide a service to other readers by archiving stories, please don’t. I specifically do not want my incomplete stories to be made available elsewhere. If you have archived any of my stories, please delete them from your site. In addition, I specifically do not want any of my stories to be continued or expanded by another author. Come up with your own ideas and write your own stories, folks.
Many thanks to all the readers who supported my efforts – it was a wonderful learning experience.
Regards, Mark Shurtleff aka Togashi Gaijin