Hubby Read Another Chapter! AND LOVED IT!
The other night, with fear and trembling, I said to my husband, "I'm making a big request. Could you please read my latest chapter? I need another pair of eyes."
Bear in mind, he refers to this story as "the main character", since he can't bring himself to say "House" or "fanfiction". As in, "You spent all of that time working on 'the main character'? What happened to emptying the dishwasher?"
But since Chapter 80 was all about a charitable madhouse in the 1800s, I figured he would catch any clangers. He's a psychotherapist (yes, when I have breakdowns it's like a busman's holiday) and pretty well versed in this stuff. So after putting it off several times, he reluctantly--and I do mean reluctantly--agreed to read all 14 pages.
When he finished, he said, "It's very good. And very sad."
I asked, "Is House in character?"
"Yes, I think so. It's good. But do you have to spend so much time writing this?"
Okay, I could have done without the last comment, but it means a LOT to me that he thinks it's good and that he thinks House is IC. Generally he would rather not know that I'm writing fanfiction/smut/whatever. When my mother asked, I told her I was working on a "historical novel." And when friends ask what I'm doing these days since I closed my Ebay store, I say, "I'm writing a novel."
I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS FUCKING THING TO ACTUALLY TURN OUT TO BE AS LONG AS WAR AND PEACE!!!!
Ahem. I guess I AM writing a novel. I didn't mean to, and when it's finished I'll go back over and probably lop off about a third of it. This would make the fifth or sixth novel I've written. That is sooooo weird.
ETA: This morning, he said, "That was really, really good. I think it would work as a stand-alone short story." He said he couldn't stop thinking about it! Triumph!!!