BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Moderation in fiction or fanfiction

**Posted by saturnR** February 3, 2014 3:21 am

Do you intentionally moderate when you write? I'm talking about things like violence, swearing, taboo or uncomfortable topics. Like do you have to adjust your initial idea or do rewrites before your ready for it to be read by others? particularly if the content is shall we say a little controvercial.

**Posted by TeeJay** February 3, 2014 6:57 am

No. I don't see why I would have to censor myself in fan fiction. That's what ratings and summaries are for. If your story has sensitive content, you give it an appropriate rating and slap a warning on the header, so that people who might have a problem with it know to avoid reading it in the first place.

For me, writing fan fiction is a creative outlet where I can explore things that wander around in my brain. Having to censor them kinda defeats the purpose of writing. The only time I adjust my writing that way is when I want the character to say something that would be out of character for him/her.

**Posted by belis** February 3, 2014 11:30 am

I don't think I ever managed to think about something so disturbing or controvercial that it would need to be censored. lol I suppose I write a lot of stuff that can be considered taboo and uncomfortable for some people as I write about mental illness. I don't tone it down but I make sure that the rating is appropriate and that there are clear warnings in place.

I suppose it depends where you publish as well. Some websites are more accepting of adult material than others and some have policies against MA and E rated stories (how strictly this is policed is another matter).

**Posted by Ormond Sacker** February 4, 2014 11:11 am

No I don't, but I do remember to warn about the stuff in advance. The fic I'm currently writing is dark and very much controversial, and turning even darker and more controvertial as I write so I am ending up with more warnings that I ever thought I'd need. Also as belis said I think about the rating of the fic.

The only thing I think about is whether or not a character would speak or act the way they do in the given situation.

**Posted by Wholocked** February 4, 2014 10:51 pm

The joy of fan fiction is you can write pretty much anything you want, and as long as it is properly tagged, people know what they're getting in for. Some will choose not to read your story, but that's okay as those who do read it will probably really enjoy it

**Posted by saturnR** February 8, 2014 11:45 am

I was asking because i am currently working on a piece of original fiction that is way too dark. That was why I was asking the question. It's harder to know where the boundaries are because what I'm writing doesn't follow an established genre. It is my second attempt at a full length novel & it deals with a kind of dystopia thst I never imagined would come from my own mind.

**Posted by SusiGo** February 8, 2014 12:06 pm

As long as it is not too dark for you, i.e. as long as it is what you want/need to write, all is fine. You should not censor yourself because as others said above in fanfic you can go pretty anywhere you like. It may be different if you publish books but fanfic is a sort of closed circle where you can test boundaries - your own and those of others.
Or do you mean that you are a bit shocked about yourself because of the stuff that is coming out of your mind?
(You can put tags for several genres on it and a rating).

**Posted by Willow** February 8, 2014 9:25 pm

saturnR wrote:
I was asking because i am currently working on a piece of original fiction that is way too dark. That was why I was asking the question. It's harder to know where the boundaries are because what I'm writing doesn't follow an established genre. It is my second attempt at a full length novel & it deals with a kind of dystopia thst I never imagined would come from my own mind.

I think that you need to decide whether you are writing for others to read, or writing because it fulfils a need and no one else will ever read it.

You don't specify how it is 'way too dark', so it's difficult to be more precise, but there are conventions for fiction which is intended to be published in some size, shape or form. There are no conventions if you are writing purely for yourself...

**Posted by This Is The Phantom Lady** February 9, 2014 12:31 am

I tend to take up some dark themes when I write; sometimes I do try to steer myself in a brighter direction and not go too much into detail with the violence and abuse...

For me it depends on what I am writing for and where I post it. For my Sherlock fic I don't worry too much; Sherlock is a bit dark on itself. If I was writing Michael Jackson fan fics (haven't done that in a while though) I would be a lot more careful

**Posted by Song** February 9, 2014 4:02 am

I don't think I do. I mean I live in a country were censoring is rare, so I don't think I've ever done it in my fics. I warn readers if something is particular angsty or violent. I've only once ever warned them that there will be swearing because it was a chapter that required a lot of it.

I write for myself first and my readers second. Like I'll add authors notes and I'm touched if they respond or tell me how much they enjoy the story/chapter, but if they dont, it's still my story in the end I don't see why I have to moderate it for them.

**Posted by belis** February 9, 2014 7:25 am

saturnR wrote:
I was asking because i am currently working on a piece of original fiction that is way too dark. That was why I was asking the question. It's harder to know where the boundaries are because what I'm writing doesn't follow an established genre. It is my second attempt at a full length novel & it deals with a kind of dystopia thst I never imagined would come from my own mind.

Even in established genres the boundaries are rather fluid and constantly pushed forward. What was considered outregous 10 years ago is less so today.

**Posted by saturnR** February 12, 2014 12:07 pm

I finished it I won't go into any greater detail about my "way too dark" comment except to say that the content has been explicit (I've never written anything like it before in my life). But I can see now (having finished the story in full) why it needed to be that way.

**Posted by Ormond Sacker** February 12, 2014 3:41 pm

saturnR wrote:
I finished it I won't go into any greater detail about my "way too dark" comment except to say that the content has been explicit (I've never written anything like it before in my life). But I can see now (having finished the story in full) why it needed to be that way.

Are you going to post it and if yes where? I'd love to read it.

**Posted by Wholocked** February 12, 2014 10:40 pm

Ormond Sacker wrote:
saturnR wrote:
I finished it I won't go into any greater detail about my "way too dark" comment except to say that the content has been explicit (I've never written anything like it before in my life). But I can see now (having finished the story in full) why it needed to be that way.
Are you going to post it and if yes where? I'd love to read it.

^^^

**Posted by saturnR** February 13, 2014 2:05 am

It's very long. It's about 20k words & it does not make for light reading. I am still editing it but I can see the whole structure & finally managed to convince myself that I was not insane when I went into it. If I was ever to distribute it online or something, it would need to be watered down a lot thanks for encouraging me though.

**Posted by Ormond Sacker** February 13, 2014 2:39 pm

Saturn since I haven't read it I can't really say whether it should be watered down or not, but please don't do it to make it more acceptabel or because you're afraid of how it will be received, some of the best fics I've read are sad, dark, disturbing or some combination thereof.
And I write those kinds of fics too so I may not be the most impartial of judges, but you're not crazy just for writing it.

I hope I don't overstep by saying this, but if you want a second opinion on it I'd be happy to take a look. I appologise if I come over as pushy, I don't mean to be but as you may be able to tell you have made me seriously curious .