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

Vhanja · April 12, 2015 3:17 pm

Glad to hear it! I think part 2 is even better.

This Is The Phantom Lady · April 12, 2015 9:22 pm

I have a question and it may be an odd one.

My current fic has lately gotten some very keen readers; which I appreciate a lot! (when I started writing it I thought no one wanted to read a 'femslash' between Irene and an original character...)

But my problem is... these readers are shipping Irene and the young woman. And the relationship is so unhealthy and never meant to be a romantic involvement... it rather has some really creepy undertones of a "mother"/daughter type relationship with some chains, whips etc thrown into the mix.

I have been very against '50 shades' because people are reading it as a love-story and glorifying what is actually domestic abuse...

What do I do? I don't feel like changing my story because it all has a point... and I don't think it's wise to talk directly to these readers... I just don't feel comfortable with people 'shipping' this...

Vhanja · April 12, 2015 9:39 pm

My personal opinion:

It's your story and you should write it as you intended it to be. It's awesome that people like your story and that they read their own thing into it, but that shouldn't affect your original intent. Don't cater to them. If they really want to ship this, they can write their own story that's runs more in tune with what they have in their own heads.

I absolutely agree with you on your thoughts on 50 Shades, and I have the same views on it as you. I do believe, however, that it's only polite for a fic writer to reply to the comments they get. If it was me, I would - as politely as possible - thank them for their comment and appreciation, but add what your opinion of their relationship is. I see no harm in that whatsoever.

It's your story, not theirs. If they want something out of it you are not providing, they can write their own - or go look for some Irene/fem ship that suits them more.

nakahara · April 12, 2015 9:40 pm

I would let them Phantom if I were you - people will always ship unexpected ships, even if you didn´t plan them. It´s human nature.

mrshouse · April 13, 2015 7:12 am

Phantom, you write whatever you want, you paint the relationships you want and write about topics that are important to you. You don't write to please the others. Go on according to your own plan.

This Is The Phantom Lady · April 13, 2015 10:26 am

Thank you for the advice, ladies!

I don't want to judge and decide what people can or can not ship... I just want people to be more 'safe' I guess... but I'll keep writing and I think I'll refrain from commenting on the comments.

I suppose that's the danger of writing about BDSM in this day and age

Vhanja · April 13, 2015 10:58 am

There's also a difference between what you might ship and endorse in a fanfic and what you go for in real life. I know that for me there's a great leap between fantasy and real life, so that might go for others as well.

I have a question: What does "There but for the grace of John Watson" mean? I am unable to really understand what the sentence/phrase means.

SusiGo · April 13, 2015 11:37 am

It might be a reference to this idiom:

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/there_but_for_the_grace_of_God_go_I

Vhanja · April 13, 2015 11:44 am

Ah, probably. Made it even more awesome.

tonnaree · April 16, 2015 6:03 pm

Wanted to tell you guys about something new. Putting it here beacuse I don't think it needs a whole thread and it's kinda about fan fiction.

Roane, author of the Sherlock as rockstar AU "Pull the Stars from the Sky" has taken her story and rewritten it with original characters. She was able to get an agent and get it published as an ebook.

It's available at Amazon for less than $5!

The Further I Fall by Lisa Nicholas
http://www.amazon.com/Farther-I-Fall-Lisa-Nicholas-ebook/dp/B00NUMIGNI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1429207033&sr=1-1&keywords=lisa+nicholas+-+the+farther+i+fall

I have not read it yet but intend to soon. I really enjoyed the original johnlock fic. Thought the success and hard work of a fellow fan was worth celebrating.

Last edited by tonnaree (April 16, 2015 6:04 pm)

Vhanja · April 16, 2015 6:40 pm

Haven't read it, but that is really good news! I love it when a fic author is so good they get the recognition and opportunity he/she deserves.

stoertebeker · April 16, 2015 8:25 pm

Don't know the story either, but it's great to know that talented people get the opportunity to puplish their work. I hope mad_lori will try something like that as well with PIALR one day, would be soooo much better than a certain ex-Twilight fan fiction .

Vhanja · April 16, 2015 8:26 pm

I would want the same for skyfullofstars and TBFTGOJW.

SusiGo · April 16, 2015 8:30 pm

Thanks for posting, tonnaree. It is good to see that the author gets a chance at publishing a non-fanfic e-book. I have not read the fanfic yet but I wonder about one thing: in the fanfic it was about an M/M relationship between Sherlock and John. So why did she change it to a heterosexual relationship in the new story? Just wondering.

tonnaree · April 16, 2015 9:04 pm

Susi, she did admit that with this story she changed it for broader audiance appeal. A little sad that she felt the need to do that but it was her choice.

Also, for those of you who don't know, Mad Lori does have an original published work. I believe she adapted a story she wrote for the Brokeback Mountain fandom.

Zero to the Bone by Jane Seville

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1935192809/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=28TEU107J7XKW&coliid=I3N1MMPGV8P66E

Vhanja · April 19, 2015 8:57 am

I have a question. I see quite a few fics have a tag called "freeform". Do you guys know what that means?

ukaunz · April 19, 2015 10:07 am

I'm new to fanfic and I have wondered this myself, so I googled and found this page http://selenay936.tumblr.com/post/48577961840/questions-have-been-asked-about-freeform-tags-on. Maybe it explains it, or maybe I should just let someone else answer

Vhanja · April 19, 2015 10:13 am

Thanks for the link. So if I understood that correctly, freeform means that the author wrote a unique tag, and not a tag that already exists?

myrindaside · April 29, 2015 3:57 am

SusiGo wrote:
I agree with all of them so far.

So we have:

Fanfic Hall of Fame

Silent Auror
wordstrings
Schmiezi
ivyblossom
Prettyvk
Xistentialangst
Earlgreytea68
Verityburns

And what about Todesfuge?

I hope I didn't miss these guys anywhere but I have a couple recs for this.

Scullyseviltwin - they've been writing Johnlock for 3+ years and has a wide selection of multiple chapter fics as well as one shots. Triage is actually one of my all time fav fics.

Wendymarlowe - especially after the fandom within a fandom that her fic "Dear John" created. Plenty of other great works too.

Prettysailorsolider - because she is essentially the queen of kidlock/teenlock/unilock

These are just the ones that pop in my head right away, I'm sure I'll think of more once I'm at home.

Vhanja · April 30, 2015 10:50 pm

I don't know if you have come across this, but sometimes I come across just a sentence or two in a fic that is so amazingly good, so incredibly well written that it manages to sum up a whole character or theme.

This was a sentence that stood out to me first time I read it:

"John seems to struggle with himself for a bit. Sherlock wonders if John Watson has ever been in a state of not-struggling with himself."

It blew my mind a bit, it just summed up a lot about John so effeciently and so well.

Last edited by Vhanja (April 30, 2015 10:51 pm)