The Connor Wars Writer’s Room 12 – About LG’s Blog Plus Spoilers

No video blog this time. Sorry. I was thinking about it, but at the moment I just don’t have the time (mostly it’s because I want to up the production value a teeny bit and I’m still evaluating inexpensive video editing software). I figured that between getting a new script and getting a vlog, you’d rather get a new script.

Speaking of which, F0308 “Ties and Links” is almost through its first draft, which means that it will probably be released in a few days. This one will, of course, follow the cliffhanger I left you with at the end of F0307 as well as bring in a character mentioned but not seen in the TV series.

The Lanie Grace Blog

Obviously the big news this week was Lanie Grace’s http://www.fmqinc.com/sarah-connor-chronicles/ possible scoop about a return of TSCC, as well as some mentions about the work I have been doing here. I should probably talk about that a wee bit more.

Even though I’m giving Lanie the benefit of the doubt because she’s earned it, I once more want to say that no, so far as I know with certainty, no one actually connected with Terminator has contacted me or even read the scripts. That said, it does seem likely that, by this time, legal would have taken a peek to see if something nefarious was going on.

I did enjoy reading in LG’s blog that 80-85% of my stuff was following their thinking. This sort of echoes what some of y’all mentioned about my predictions in my blogs here when the series was still in production. What can I say…I’ve been writing for a few decades now. I understand how stories are told. I also know how stories are owned.

A Writer’s Reality

See…here’s the reality when it comes to fanfic, one that I understood and accepted before I even started this: according to copyright law, I own none of it. Copyright protects the creator of a work (trans: the corporate entities that force creators to give up their rights in exchange for “fame” and “fortune”) and gives them all rights as to how that work, and derivative works, can be used. WB and Halcyon (and FOX) have been kind enough to allow fanfic authors to have their fun.

However, how much control fanfic authors have of their work is a bit of a gray area. One school of thought says that the copyright owners own all the rights to all derivative works. Another school of thought hold that the copyright owners only have the ability to prevent unauthorized derivative works but have no actual claim to the actual content of said works (i.e., they can make a work disappear, but they can’t take it as their own). If push comes to shove, it’s more likely the courts will side with the first interpretation than the second.

That said…I’ve been at this game a long time and I do know that there are a ton of coincidental, parallel, stories that get developed. It’s creepy. It’s also why legal departments are so careful because so many writers, especially new writers, are quick to shout out the “P” word. Me…I’m a realist.

I appreciate the good thoughts and wishes that y’all have sent my way in connection with Lanie’s story. I won’t lie: it would be cool to have a writer’s fairy-tale ending to all of this. It’s amazingly unlikely, but it breaks up the tedium to think about it. I’d like to think that, with this on-going “resume” that I’m writing that should TSCC go back into production, the TPTB might think that I could quickly produce material that they could use.

See…they are sort of stuck in their options with that. The WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) has pretty strict guidelines of what you can ask of a writer without actually having to pay them. (Not that these rules aren’t circumvented all the time, but that’s a topic for later discussion.) Basically, if someone is known to be able to write, you can’t ask them to do anything without pay. So, the TPTB can’t say something like, “If you come up with something, send it to us and we’ll take a look at it.”

No, I’ve kind of already passed that point. The material is out there and it’s known at what rate it’s being written (fast enough that one of my screenwriter friends immediately went, “Wow!”).  Now, if they want material, the Guild would require them to at least cough up the minimums. And here we enter the realm of so-unlikely-to-happen that I should just stand outside in a thunderstorm holding high a golf club to see if I have better luck with mother nature. It’s more to do with principle than economics, frankly.

And I understand that. After all, I’ve been rejected by some of the best people in Hollywood. Many times. I’ve played the game.

For now, I’m mostly just looking at what I need to do to bring the page count in “Ties and Links” up to where I want them, and have continued thinking about the big story turns yet to come this season and  few new ones that I’d like to squeeze in. See, even though it’s all mapped out, I constantly look at the map and see if maybe I can improve upon it. Writing is never, and should never be, a static by-the-book connect-the-dots endeavor. It’s always morphing to the whims of the Musae.

But what some of you want is spoilers. I’m feeling a bit generous at the moment, so I’m going to cough a few more than usual. I’m going to try redacting the spoilery parts, but I can’t guarantee that it won’t slip through based on how your software or device is set up. So, if you do want to know, scroll down and highlight the text. If you don’t want to know, head for the hills now.

Seriously.

Because spoilers are a comin’

Some you won’t want to know.

Because once you know them, you can’t un-know them.

You’ve been warned.

Spoilers

The first spoiler concerns the person, mentioned but never seen, that I hinted at earlier. That person is Catherine Weaver’s brother. He drops by to see his niece and sister…but his sister isn’t there. Hijinx, as usual, ensue.

People have asked about the “Engineer”. This character has already made appearance(s) in the series and/or in the fanfic.

One location will have growing significance as the season progresses, though perhaps not quite how you might expect: Depot 37.

Expect to see some interesting influences by the Proctors.

Brandi is most definitely going to show up. In fact, I’m considering maybe giving an extended peek into her life with the machines.

Oh, do you want to know who Brandi is? Well, you can guess but I will tell you that she was seen in the television series. Taking a cue from Nymphadora Tonks, Brandi’s big vanity is her changing hair color.

What about Jesse? If she shows up, it will be later in the season. In fact a lot of the minor characters are in a similar limbo mainly because I don’t want the series to be too coincidentally incestuous of its characters. I like the idea that with new Judgment Days you get new pieces on the game board.

Oh, and speaking of which…think Go, not chess.

And that should hold you for a while.