A Little Lightness for Law Day
By Susan Rubinstein, Balkin Information Services, with comments by Ruth Balkin, also of Balkin Information Services
You know who you are. It’s happened to the best of us. You’ve Googled something, ended up somewhere else, found an interesting new site, and now, oops, you’ve found yourself a new hobby. I accidentally discovered fanfiction.net (a site that hosts stories based on movies, TV shows, novels) just this way, back in August or September of 2008. With nothing better to do one evening, I browsed around and thought, “Hey, this is kind of fun.” Next thing I knew, I took the plunge and published my first story, a teeny “one-shot” as they like to call it, that I thought up while walking the dog.*
Well, getting good reviews, especially since I hadn’t written anything remotely creative since the Carter administration, was endorphin-forming. So, I tried again. And again. And again. Well, you get the picture.
So, I decided to try writing my first “serious” entry. And this is where the problems started. I was writing about the Nuremberg trials, and of course, I had to get whatever information I was including in the story, correct. You see, if you have blatant historical errors in your stuff, sometimes you get “flamed.” Well, after hours of wading through multiple internet sites, primary sources, newspaper clippings, etc., I finally found what I was looking for and was properly able to post the appropriate footnotes.**
And the insanity continued. The next serious story I wrote was 6 chapters long. It involved courts-martial, war timelines, various aspects of European history, and other assorted facts. Again, primary sources gathered from the Library of Congress (loc.gov) became a good starting point for information on the Articles of War after I was steered there by a fellow author. I found a PDF file of an actual manual from the 1940’s. I discovered that various veterans’ organizations also provided detailed information and links to other resources. Veterans’ own diaries and recorded histories were also useful. I dutifully stuck to the dot.govs, the dot.orgs, museums, the BBC, the LOC, and PBS. Yes, I was too lazy to venture out to a library, but I was researching as I was writing.***
So, I posted my story and received compliments on the quality of research. I also received messages asking where I found the information. Unfortunately, I did not save a lot of my notes, although I listed sources at the end of the saga.
So to make a long story short, if you are a librarian who enjoys research and who won’t quit until you find the right information, even for a non-paying hobby, be forewarned before you start posting on fanfiction.net. It can be habit-forming.
Oh, in case you are wondering. The television show site that I posted on was “Hogan’s Heroes.” Go figure!
Note: The following footnotes and comments were added by Ruth Balkin, Susan’s sister.
*Remembrance
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4668838/1/Remembrance
**Sole Survivors
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4884573/1/Sole_Survivors
***He Who Saves a Single Life, Saves the Entire World
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4903485/1/He_Who_Saves_a_Single_Life_Saves_the_Entire_World
For a complete listing of Susan’s stories, see her profile at:
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1695456/snooky-9093
For more stories from Hogan’s Heroes, go to http://www.fanfiction.net/. Under “Browse Fanfiction” click on “TV Shows.” Scroll down and click on “Hogan’s Heroes.” Or, just go to: http://www.fanfiction.net/tv/Hogans_Heroes/
And of special interest to law librarians, attorneys and paralegals, see just how nutty my sister can be. Start by reading Fanfic Court. This is what happens when law librarians have too much time on their hands!
The setting: A hearing in Fanfic court. The case: Have we the authors gone too far? What happens when the characters get fed up and bring us to court? Here's one possible scenario. Please read and review.
Fanfic Court Part 2: The Trial»by snooky-9093
You have been subpoenaed to appear as a witness in case # 0876707. The case is now on the docket and awaiting your testimony. This portion is COMPLETE. For the rest of the story head over to Part 2B.
Fanfic Court Part 2B: The Trial Continues »by Bits And Pieces
The Court Reporter has changed, but your duty is the same: You have been subpoenaed to appear as a witness in case #0876707. This portion is now complete. Snooky will handle the closing.
Fanfic Court: The Trial part 2C:The Conclusion»by snooky-9093
Back to the original venue! Here are the concluding chapters of the trial of the century. Stay tuned. It's going to be a bumpy ride!
Our Own Little Mary Sue Project: Sweet Revenge»by konarciq
Sequel to Fanfic Court. Fed up with the ongoing torturing and killing in spite of the trial, Theboysofbarracks2 decide to seek revenge on their own. The problem is that there is no way of touching an author living in a different universe. Or... is there?
Leave reviews of the stories if you can; the authors really appreciate it. You don’t necessarily have to be signed in to the site to do this. If you are a member of AALL, ALLUNY, SLA or AIIP, please let her know.
Warning: When you read the trial stories keep your coffee cup away from the computer.
I really am proud of my sister for all of the writing she has done. Her first story, Remembrance, was over-whelming.
Now, about that M*A*S*H script?...
By the way, Susan, get back to work!
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