Yes and no. (I was trying to be something in the neighborhood of concise, or I might have addressed this. Maybe I'll put a longer version on my website.) Certainly trying to write someone else's character can teach you a lot, in much the way that taking apart a piece of machinery can teach you about how it works. But I don't think all fanficcers do this, given what I've heard about disagreements between people who try to stay true to characters and people who don't care much about it. And regardless, there's a point at which you have to learn how to build your own compelling character, instead of mimicking someone else's.
Or, to put it in other terms, I believe that it was/is a common teaching technique to have painters copy masterpieces. But that will only get them so far; eventually they have to strike out on their own.
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yati
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Date: 2006-08-25 12:20 am (UTC)Or, to put it in other terms, I believe that it was/is a common teaching technique to have painters copy masterpieces. But that will only get them so far; eventually they have to strike out on their own.