BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Fan Fiction Addicts General Round Table Discusion

SusiGo · February 26, 2014 7:17 am

clareiow wrote:
Thanks for the explanation!

So where will I find this Nature and nurture one, and Teejay where will I find yours?

I'm in need of a Sherlock hit!

There you are, clare:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/729134

Song · February 26, 2014 8:41 am

TeeJay wrote:
clareiow wrote:
About 5 I reckon! Your imagination is strong! But I wouldn't say it was massively weird!!
LOL! Nah, I'm just an angst queen who's deeply wrapped up in her own head-canon. I've only cried twice while writing something, so this was a little bit special. I eventually wrote out the scene tonight, and while I didn't quite get teary, it still gutted me a little. SHERLOCKNEEDSAHUG!

I've only cried a few times while writing. Except now I can't go back and read my fics because I get very teary that I cant see the screen. Which is annoying because I have to go back and read to make sure I have no plot holes!

clareiow · February 26, 2014 9:45 pm

Oh thanks! I will look at that tomorrow, I have a day off so can sit there and enjoy with a cup of tea

I've started writing my own fan fic actually, no idea where to post it or what to do with it though...

ancientsgate · February 26, 2014 10:23 pm

clareiow wrote:
Oh thanks! I will look at that tomorrow, I have a day off so can sit there and enjoy with a cup of tea I've started writing my own fan fic actually, no idea where to post it or what to do with it though...

I took a stab at writing a Johnlock story, mostly for my own enjoyment, but I found it impossible to get their voices right-- I couldn't adequately capture their British tone of voice, the Britishisms, the British spelling and grammar, or the British attitudes. At all. (frustrating, much? oh, yeah) So no one but me will ever see what I wrote, but it was much fun giving them those few scenes together. lol

I think sometimes our attempts to write fan fic are just-for-us, not for general consumption (not saying whether or not yours is!) but to me, that's why I write to begin with anyway, to allow me to fix it, whatever "it" is at the moment.

I think everyone posts at AO3 these days-- Archive of Our Own. And also to a somewhat lesser extent, fanfiction, net. We have a Johnlock fic rec thread here on the forum that's been tremendously well-visited, so obviously there's a load of interest in Johnlock--- you'd be welcome to announce your fic there, once it goes up. And there's also a Johnlock fan fic masterlist on the forum that I believe wholocked started and maintains, if anyone is looking for an answer to "what shall I read next?"

tonnaree · February 26, 2014 10:24 pm

Started reading Nature and Nurture today at lunch. One chapter and I was totally smitten!
Hated to put it down when my break was over.

ancientsgate · February 26, 2014 10:38 pm

tonnaree wrote:
Started reading Nature and Nurture today at lunch. One chapter and I was totally smitten! Hated to put it down when my break was over.

Some people are squicked by the idea of John and Sherlock as parents, but obviously you don't have that problem, and neither do I, since I've been following that WIP for *months*-- one of the few exceptions to my rule of NEVER EVER EVER get invovled in a WIP, lol.

Anyone who likes the idea of Sherlock and John as parents would undoubtedly enjoy madlori's The Blog of Eugenia Watson, complete in 28 chapters, a fabulous read from the POV of John's teenaged daughter Genie. Lori would like to write a sequel, not sure she ever will, but it's a wonderful read all by itself, for those who are NOT squicked by the idea of Johnlock co-parenting, in this case, along with John's ex-wife. The kid has three parents, and somehow it all works. A lovely, lovingly-written fan fic, for sure.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/210788/chapters/315474

Last edited by ancientsgate (February 26, 2014 10:40 pm)

This Is The Phantom Lady · March 9, 2014 6:12 pm

I am really annoyed with myself right now.

I am going to write a really hard scene (Hard because it's a personal experience I suppose) and I feel horrible for putting the girl in my fic through it. I also feel terrible for having Sherlock doing it to her... I can't help feeling I've become a little too emotionally invested in these characters for my own good. I keep coming up with excuses not to write it... I sort of have written it in my notebook but I just can't seem to add it to my Word file... It was hard to write last night too... when I wrote it in the notebook; it actually made me physically ill...

I am thinking about skipping the scene but it's just too 'good' to pass up.

But does that ever happen to anyone else? Please say it does...

Last edited by This Is The Phantom Lady (March 9, 2014 6:13 pm)

rebeccaholmes · March 9, 2014 6:27 pm

I sometimes get too emotionally connected with fics and certain parts. I was reading a fic the other day, and I had the skip a few chapters because it was really too close to home, and it annoyed me a little because I'd never had to get to that point before; it just physically upset me and I couldn't read those few chapters!

Harriet · March 9, 2014 6:37 pm

This Is The Phantom Lady wrote:
I am thinking about skipping the scene but it's just too 'good' to pass up.

But does that ever happen to anyone else? Please say it does...

I think I would write it down anyway but probably not publish it.
And it might be good to have someone to talk about it

This Is The Phantom Lady · March 9, 2014 6:58 pm

Thanks girls!

I am going to write it; and I am going to publish it... I've written about this thing several times before but this time I atually feel that I got it 'right' Something 'beautiful' from something... you know, wrong... I am actually a little proud. I just need a kick up the backside and get myself together to type it.

And I know... I do need to talk to someone about this; but that's the thing. I can't... That's why I write it... I suppose that's why I started writing in the first place; you know?

Last edited by This Is The Phantom Lady (March 9, 2014 6:58 pm)

Harriet · March 9, 2014 7:13 pm

Writing can be very helpful, I know. To get something out of one's mind and express one's feelings as a first step.
And even more if no one is around for support.

The thing is: Would you want everybody to read it? Including stupid people?

This Is The Phantom Lady · March 9, 2014 7:18 pm

You know I don't think I mind who read it... this is a fictional character and not a diary. Well to be fair the character is very much based on my dark sides... which also made me smile when I got a comment earlier saying "I like this character"... This is what I've strived for, for ten years to think of this as mere fiction... pretend it never actually happened and was just a dream. In a way I feel I've achieved this.

ancientsgate · March 9, 2014 8:03 pm

This Is The Phantom Lady wrote:
I am really annoyed with myself right now. I am going to write a really hard scene (Hard because it's a personal experience I suppose) and I feel horrible for putting the girl in my fic through it. I also feel terrible for having Sherlock doing it to her... I can't help feeling I've become a little too emotionally invested in these characters for my own good. I keep coming up with excuses not to write it... I sort of have written it in my notebook but I just can't seem to add it to my Word file... It was hard to write last night too... when I wrote it in the notebook; it actually made me physically ill... I am thinking about skipping the scene but it's just too 'good' to pass up. But does that ever happen to anyone else? Please say it does...

I think the best fan fic writing is when the author writes what she knows, either through intellectual knowledge or first hand experience. OTOH, it can be a chore to read those stories sometimes, when the author has made no attempt to disguise the fact that it's actually HER life she's writing about, just with different character names. It's good to seek a balance-- IOW, you need to make it read "true", as something that would actually happen to your characters, if their lives were real, but not have it read like a diary of some sort of your own life.

So. To a certain extent, it doesn't matter if that kind of creative process ever happens to anyone else or not. Only you can figure out if it's worth it to you to write whatever it is you're contemplating, as both an exercise in creative writing and (potentially) an interesting read for strangers.

As for "putting the girl through it," well, IMO, only, that doesn't matter a bit. She's not real, after all, so you can't hurt her in any way that matters. Just my take on that.

It's okay to take some time-- as long as it takes-- to be sure if you want to write it or not. In my experience, if a plot bunny will not leave me alone and if I find myself reacting emotionally to the plot bunny, then it's a good one and at least worth the time to try to get it written. Experiement, play, you can always delete it later if you want!

This Is The Phantom Lady · March 9, 2014 8:21 pm

I finally did it! And I'm actually pleased with it... it seems right for this fan fic. I might say that in the story this is only a dream... but it makes sense... Sherlock is a very controlling figure in her life and because of his little understanding of human emotions he doesn't really know where to draw the line... and her addiction to pain and need to be controlled means she's not telling him to stop or putting up boundaries...

It's a very dangerous pitfall to write about yourself; I would like to think I'm being a bit smarter about it this time... She's not exactly me... we share a bit of history but I am in a completely different place today compared to her... She's fiction...

RavenMorganLeigh · March 10, 2014 6:36 am

This Is The Phantom Lady wrote:
I am really annoyed with myself right now.

I am going to write a really hard scene (Hard because it's a personal experience I suppose) and I feel horrible for putting the girl in my fic through it. I also feel terrible for having Sherlock doing it to her... I can't help feeling I've become a little too emotionally invested in these characters for my own good. I keep coming up with excuses not to write it... I sort of have written it in my notebook but I just can't seem to add it to my Word file... It was hard to write last night too... when I wrote it in the notebook; it actually made me physically ill...

I am thinking about skipping the scene but it's just too 'good' to pass up.

But does that ever happen to anyone else? Please say it does...

Honestly, I think you should write what you feel-- and if you publish it, label it appropriately. It's your story, and your creativity-- and I'm a firm believer that the pieces that are hardest for us to do-- the ones we're most resistant to writing-- those are the ones it's most important to do. It's how we grow, creativily. I think you should be fearless. :-)

ancientsgate · March 10, 2014 8:54 am

RavenMorganLeigh wrote:
Honestly, I think you should write what you feel-- and if you publish it, label it appropriately. It's your story, and your creativity-- and I'm a firm believer that the pieces that are hardest for us to do-- the ones we're most resistant to writing-- those are the ones it's most important to do. It's how we grow, creativily. I think you should be fearless. :-)

This is very good advice. And the only thing I'd add would be to ignore your critics. Truth is, no matter what you write, some will love it, some will not (and won't hesitate to tell you they didn't and why). But IMO fan fic is written primarily for the author herself-- certainly not for the actors who play our beloved characters (makes me cringe when people insist on shoving fan fic in their faces, ewwww!) and probably not much for the readers either.

This Is The Phantom Lady · March 10, 2014 9:51 am

Thank you!

I never wrote this fan fic in question for others. I wrote it for myself... perhaps you can call it a form of self therapy. The only thing I, and I think it should be so for others too, think about readers is when I label and categorise when I post it.

I personally don't hope Benedict ever finds that fan fic. Not because of this specific scene... but I would feel that no matter what I had written. Had it been a sappy love story I would feel even worse perhaps!

I'm proud of myself for writing it actually. It's some of my best writing in a while to be honest!

rebeccaholmes · March 10, 2014 10:26 am

I'm so proud of you, Phantom! Xx

ancientsgate · March 10, 2014 6:34 pm

rebeccaholmes wrote:
I'm so proud of you, Phantom! Xx

Me, too. You go girl! It takes a lot of courage to face your own issues, turn them into any kind of written work, fictional or otherwise, and even more courage to publish it.

This Is The Phantom Lady · March 10, 2014 6:57 pm

Thank you so much for your support! I can't wait to post this specific chapter somehow... I'm 3 chapters ahead of my posting!

I even ended up writing a short story inspired by the anger that came from writing the scene. So much creativity has come to me from this!