Do you need to get permission before you can write a story about...?

1. 60

   tlmcgaa70posted 13 years ago

   Do you need to get permission before you can write a story about...?
   
   i am writing a story called "my adventures in middle earth"...would I need to get permission from Christopher Tolkein before I could publish it?

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2. 84

   I Am Rosaposted 13 years ago

   If your story is a work of fiction that you've based in the Tolkein world of Middle Earth - YES!
   
   If you're writing non-fiction about your life, using the term "Middle Earth" in an allegorical way and it's not overused, no ... However, I would suggest that you find some term that is original and uniquely YOURS.  Find your own personal voice and identity.  Get your power from that as a writer and blaze a trail that will turn your term into a phrase other writers will want to be associated with :-)

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3. 60

   tlmcgaa70posted 13 years ago

   actually "I Am Rosa" is correct...i went to Tolkiens website and checked out the FAQ's and this is what I found:
   Can I / someone else write / complete / develop my / their own version of one of these unfinished tales ? (or any others)
   The simple answer is NO.
   You are of course free to do whatever you like for your own private enjoyment, but there is no question of any commercial exploitation of this form of "fan-fiction".
   Also, in these days of the Internet, and privately produced collectors’ items for sale on eBay, we must make it as clear as possible that the Tolkien Estate never has, and never will authorize the commercialisation or distribution of any works of this type.
   The Estate exists to defend the integrity of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings. Christopher Tolkien's work as his father’s literary executor has always been to publish as faithfully and honestly as possible his father's completed and uncompleted works, without adaptation or embellishment.
   
   so I contacted the estate requesting to publish my story here on hubpages. i fully expect to be told no, but it never hurts to ask. thank you both for answering my question.

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