Old Friends (Star Wars story)

Fanfiction
Title:	Old Friends
Author(s):	Carol Mularski
Date(s):	1980
Length:	40 pages
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	Star Wars
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Old Friends is a gen Star Wars story by Carol Mularski in the zine Skywalker #4.

It is part of the Desert Seed Series.

From the Author

"Part VIII of 'Desert Seed' entitled 'Old Friends,' was actually the first section written. For some reason, I'd been thinking about Leia's line, 'Uh, we ran into some old friends,' and began to wonder if that was just a casual comment... I decided to give it deeper meaning... At first, he was going to be an old friend of Luke's, but suddenly it occured to me to make him a relative -- and then it was natural to make this relative Owen's and Beru's son. So Wynn was born, before his older sisters. At first, I shied away from creating the Lars offspring, fearful that it would be considered a little corny but then I though why not?... In creating 'Desert Seed,' I learned several important lessons about the creative process of writing... First, don't be afraid to be accused of writing a Mary Sue if you honestly feel you are creating a valid character by writing yourself into a story. Kaili, of course, is most obviously my alter-ego, although Dori, Edie and Wynn are also aspects of myself. Second, don't be afraid of modeling characters after people you know... Owen and Beru are like my own parents, for instance. This helped me to make them more sympathetic and three dimensional -- which I very much wanted to do in view of the abysmal portray and/or neglect with which much of SW fanfic has treated them so far. Third, if you have a message to communicate, don't hesitate to do so. One of my messages was that Luke is NOT just a twerp farmboy. Another was that becoming an Alliance member isn't an idealistic, goshwow joyride... Fourth, and probably the most important, once you've written your magnum opus, ALWAYS get someone you turst to read it with an objective eye and heed an valid suggestions he/she makes.... My editor knows English usage and grammar inside-out, is a ST and SW fan of years-long standing, so knows the conventions of fanfic.

Reactions and Reviews

NOTE: Most fans refer to the eight "chapters" in Skywalker #4 as "Desert Seed," as that was the way it was titled in the zine. This includes "Old Friends." These fans did not distinguish the individual stories therein. For fan comments on these eight stories, see Desert Seed Series.