A Different Approach: Fan Fiction by KM Rockwood

Do you ever get the temptation to experiment with your writing? To try something new?

My writing can never keep up with the ideas floating around in my mind. Whenever I finish a project, I always wonder what should I tackle next?

I keep running notes for myself, especially in the form of opening pages for a new story, and often with the ending ones, too. I usually have a pretty good idea how the tale begins and finishes. The middle, of course, is where the story really exists, and requires a lot of effort and self-discipline.

When I do tackle one of those projects, the final result can contain surprising changes from the story I thought I was going to write.

Of course, this method of keeping story ideas leads to a confusing array of brief files on my computer. At times I don’t even remember what’s in there. I can be checking through my saved “treasures” and find something I’d completely forgotten, only to have the newly-resurrected characters insist that their time had come and I must work on that story.

I like to respond to themed submission calls for short stories. That provides a structure which makes me focus. And short stories are such fun, both to read and to write.

For one of my most recent projects, I stepped off my usual beaten path.

One submission call I recently saw asked for fan fiction, which was something that had never especially appealed to me. The characters are set. They belong to another writer, and I didn’t see how I could write someone else’s character, much less improve on the existing body of work.

This call, however, was for stories for an anthology to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Kolchak: The Night Stalker releases. There were both movies and a one-year TV series. (This does date me, doesn’t it?)

When my soon-to-be husband and I were first “going out,” we actually stayed in for most dates. I had two little girls who spent workdays in child care. While I was confident that the arrangements worked well for them—my older daughter tells me she can’t even imagine “being a kid stuck home all day with just your mother”—I didn’t like to go out and leave them with a babysitter additional times. Even if money to pay a babysitter hadn’t been an issue.

On the weekends, we’d get the kids to bed, open a bottle of wine, and see what was on TV. Not the most thrilling of dates, maybe. It worked for us. I haven’t watched much television before or after that period of my life, but for a while there, it was a major activity.

One of our favorite shows was The Night Stalker. It did provide some deliciously funky shivers, and I have very fond memories of it.

The idea of writing a story that took Carl Kolchak and extended his adventures fascinated me. And to my delight, when I began contemplating it, Carl himself came alive in my mind and started weaving a story.

I sat down and let Carl dictate what to write. I marveled at his voice, loved every minute of it, and submitted the result to the anthology.

Will it be selected? I have no idea. I’ve not done anything like this before, so I really don’t have a feel for whether it’s any good or not.

I’m not familiar with the press or the editor. I did get an acknowledgment of the submission, so I hope I will hear back on whether the story is accepted.

That doesn’t really matter much to me. Usually if a story isn’t picked up by the intended target, I file it away and keep an eye out for another possible home for it.

But in this case, of course, the characters are not mine. They are copyright protected. So if the story isn’t selected, I can’t try to place it elsewhere.

When the anthology project reaches fruition, I look forward to reading it, whether it includes my submission or not. I’d love to see my story in print, of course, but I’ve had the intriguing sensation of having Carl Kolchak move into my head for a while and guide my writing. That’s an experience for which I will be eternally grateful.

Now, what should I tackle next?