The Examination: Snark-b8it
Too often, elements of fandom seem to draw lines of demarcation around themselves -- around a specific ‘ship or a lack of a ‘ship, around a specific take on a character, or a specific discussion forum. It’s always good to find fic and writers who can reach across those lines.
snark_b8it gives us glimpses of the characters from a different point of view. Cameron, she said, allows for an unexplored aspect of House, moments when he’s let the mask slip just a bit. snark_b8it has played with time lines, with stories that branch off from canon and with moments we never saw, but know were there, such as Cameron’s interview with House for her fellowship:
She sits and he just knows she’s heard of him just by the way it takes her nearly thirty seconds to decide how she should sit. Cross-legged? Hands on knees? Arms unfolded and open to appear composed? Well it definitely shouldn’t be arms crossed because that says ‘I’m defensive’ but it’s what she nearly does. He suspects she must read those self-help books that advise how to make a good first impression - firm handshake, win people with your smile and keep your head up. Life would be so much easier if people would just be themselves. Interview With A Bastard
You can find Snark_b8it’s fic compiled (or linked) here at snark_fic while Five Years can be found here and the sequel to that, Five Years Later is here.
I've heard more than one person say that your fics are the most believable House/Cameron 'ship fics that they've found. Do you find that within fandom that's a statement that says something about the readers' bias involving Cameron? Or about 'shipping in general? (People backing their favorite 'ship solely?) Or is it something else?
Well it’s very flattering that there are people who think that. I’ve certainly read some very believable, in-character fan fiction within the House/Cam fandom. Teenwitch77 and kj-draft, do fantastically in-character, realistic House/Cam, to name just two writers.
I suppose my stuff is usually less ‘ship centric’. I suppose people who don’t care much for the ship specifically, might favor my stuff because it’s usually plot heavy, with the relationship aspect secondary. I re-edited an old fic recently and Cameron appears briefly at the start then doesn’t appear until about chapter ten. I have no idea how I got away with that at the time. I’ve always felt I’ve sort of been on the fringes of the House/Cam fandom, anyway. So that could also have something to do with it, but I’m not entirely sure what it is. I can imagine that view came from outside of the House/Cam community though.
What do you think are the key attributes to writing Cameron that others miss? What sort of things do you look for in a Cameron-oriented story as a reader?
I’ve read a couple of stories where the author is obviously not a fan of Cameron, where she’s been written as a very cold, selfish bitch. I don’t think that’s true to her character. Cameron can be bitchy and self-centred, but she can also be quite lovely and thoughtful, so I think people need to address both sides of her character, rather than always showing her in her worst light. I’m going to perhaps enrage some people by saying I’m not a big fan of Wilson, for my sins, but I’d like to think I’ve always written him in character because I know how important he is to House. He’s the most important character in House’s world. I try to keep Cameron quite consistent and uncomplicated. House is a very complicated character, and there’s always a lot going on with him. I try and keep Cameron steady, because I often put House in extreme situations. In Five Years she’s a calm port in a stormy sea, throughout, and essentially the same character at the beginning as she is at the end, unlike House, who changes very slowly over the whole piece. I think if you centre on two characters and they both have a lot going on, it can complicate things. That’s not to say Cameron isn’t a complicated character, I’m just more interested in House’s complexities and I always have been. What drew me to the ‘ship’ is what she can draw out of him. I suppose some writers don’t like her and then there are others who like her too much. I’m somewhere in the middle. When it comes to other stories, I like stuff that sheds light on Cameron’s background, because we’ve had so little back-story in canon. And I like stories where she can stand up for herself, has some backbone, and where her whole world doesn’t revolve around House.
What sparks a story idea for you? A specific scene? A plot? A snatch of conversation? Meta discussion online?
Certain scenes can inspire me. A lot of the time, stuff just comes out of nowhere. Five Years came from thinking about what might have happened, had House gone to prison during season three. It also came from my frustration of how some of that arc was played out. House sort of got away with his behaviour - again. He didn’t learn anything - again. I think both he and Wilson behaved horribly to one another and I wanted to address it. I only ever imaged I’d do about four chapters though.
What's the hardest part of writing for you?
My technical execution, how the prose looks and how my words fit together, that’s always a problem for me. It’s something I know that I’ll be working on for the rest of my life. Certain things come naturally to some writers, and certain things don’t, and the way I get a story down on a page is usually quite blunt and clinical, and I then have to really work on getting the words to do justice to what’s going on in my head. It frustrates me, but we all have our strong and weak points as writers. At least it’s something I can work on!
What's the easiest?
I think I probably find plotting the easiest part of writing. I’ve always had a really overactive imagination, and stories tend to just unfold themselves in my head.
When you set about writing a longer fic, like the "Five Years" series, is it all plotted out in advance? Or do you work with a relatively loose structure?
That’s a tricky one. Generally, the important stuff is in my head. I’ll get an idea and just let it form in my mind for a couple of weeks. When I’m ready to write I usually bullet point four or five plot points per chapter to help me to remember, and give it a little bit of structure. I’ll plot a couple of chapters ahead like that, but that’s about as far as I plot. I don’t like to burden myself too much with what is going to happen four chapters down the line. I usually know, but I don’t concentrate too much on that until I get there. I almost always have a general idea where I’m going. Although, one of the biggest plot points in ‘Five Years’ came from listening to a song on the way to work, so nothing is ever set in stone either, but that’s what I love about writing. You never know where you’re going to end up once you start something.
"Five Years" also deals with multiple time lines. How organized do you have to be in planning your story to keep it clear what's happening in the current time period, and what's flashback?
I wrote two stories, really. I knew they had to tie together at several points, and that was tricky at times, but for the most part I thought about two different stories, and kept them separate in my head. I certainly had the odd glitch here and there, but there was always someone with eagle-eyes to point out any slip ups. I was originally going to just do the first chapter with flashback and then have the rest of the story take place after House got out of prison, but once I’d put him in that environment, I couldn’t help but start unfolding it from that past as well as the present. I suppose the fact that House was removed from everyone and everything else that’s familiar to the show in one half of the story, made it much easier to switch from one bit to the next.
Has writing fic changed the way you watch the show?
In some respects it has, but it’s really hard to explain how. I think I just feel like if they do something wildly different with House or the general structure of the show, in the back of my mind I’m thinking about how it’s going to affect my fic!
Addiction issues are often just a means for OMG!ANGST! in fanfic, but not yours. How do you go about dealing with a nuanced look at House's dependence issues in your fic?
The thing that drew me to House right from the first episode, was this sort of childlike vulnerability he let slip very occasionally. And the viewer was usually the only one to see it, or just the viewer and the patient of the week. I love exploring those subtle little weak points he has. I think we’ve seen less and less of it as the series has progressed, he’s shown that side to Cameron on occasion though, in ‘Daddy’s Boy’ for example, although it’s extremely rare. That definitely drew me to the ‘ship’ anyway. The things Cameron draws out of House are the things I’m interested in seeing from him. I love it when he lets his defences slip. There’s so much more to him as a character than just his Vicodin addiction, but I suppose that part of him makes for some great stories. It’s certainly important to keep your eye on how he functions with Vicodin and make sure it’s in there. I suppose by the time I’d got to the fandom, lots of people had already covered his addiction and most of those had done it better than I could have done, so I tried to do something a bit different. I always like to try stuff that’s a bit weird.
You took a break from writing House fanfic for a while. Do you feel differently about what you're doing now? Are there things from your earlier writing that you'd change when you go back and look at it now?
I feel differently in the sense that I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time anymore, which sounds really harsh, but I did spend a heck of a lot of time writing fan fiction before I took a break. I started an English degree last year, and before I started I felt like I was spending too much time writing fanfic, and as much as I loved doing it, I didn’t feel like I was really achieving anything. Now I see it as something I can do in my spare time; that I do to relax and have fun. Are there things I’d change? Yes, I recently rewrote Bad Blood, which is a Vampire!House story I wrote about three years ago. It was great to go back and see what I’d learned in three years. It was good practice as a writer for me to edit something that was novel length from beginning to end, and to see it with very fresh eyes. “Five Years” taught me so many things about myself as a writer and about how to write, it helped me to see some of the things I did wrong on “Bad Blood.” It also made me realise I’ve still got a very long way to go as a writer, and all the things I’ve still got to learn.
How do you overcome writer's block?
Stop completely. If it’s not working on a specific day, these days I stop and come back when I feel ready. I used to get very frustrated if I felt I was having an off day, and I’d push on and just end up loathing everything that I came up with. If I’m stuck longer than a few weeks, I try and look at the piece, and re-evaluate if it’s right for me.
You write in some other genres. What would you say is a common denominator for your writing? (Because the Joker and Cameron are an interesting juxtaposition in terms of characters.)
Screwed up characters are my favorites. I like characters with baggage, history and battle scars. I think Cameron is all kinds of messed up, not as messed up as The Joker perhaps, but I think anyone that nice, or, anyone who wants people to think she’s that nice, has some issues. House is right when he says no one should care that much; humans just aren’t built to care about everyone and everything all of the time, the fact that Cameron is trying to, makes me wonder about her, what she’s hiding and why she cares what other people think.
Thanks. Now let’s open the floor for any other questions folks may have.
snark_b8it gives us glimpses of the characters from a different point of view. Cameron, she said, allows for an unexplored aspect of House, moments when he’s let the mask slip just a bit. snark_b8it has played with time lines, with stories that branch off from canon and with moments we never saw, but know were there, such as Cameron’s interview with House for her fellowship:
She sits and he just knows she’s heard of him just by the way it takes her nearly thirty seconds to decide how she should sit. Cross-legged? Hands on knees? Arms unfolded and open to appear composed? Well it definitely shouldn’t be arms crossed because that says ‘I’m defensive’ but it’s what she nearly does. He suspects she must read those self-help books that advise how to make a good first impression - firm handshake, win people with your smile and keep your head up. Life would be so much easier if people would just be themselves. Interview With A Bastard
You can find Snark_b8it’s fic compiled (or linked) here at snark_fic while Five Years can be found here and the sequel to that, Five Years Later is here.
I've heard more than one person say that your fics are the most believable House/Cameron 'ship fics that they've found. Do you find that within fandom that's a statement that says something about the readers' bias involving Cameron? Or about 'shipping in general? (People backing their favorite 'ship solely?) Or is it something else?
Well it’s very flattering that there are people who think that. I’ve certainly read some very believable, in-character fan fiction within the House/Cam fandom. Teenwitch77 and kj-draft, do fantastically in-character, realistic House/Cam, to name just two writers.
I suppose my stuff is usually less ‘ship centric’. I suppose people who don’t care much for the ship specifically, might favor my stuff because it’s usually plot heavy, with the relationship aspect secondary. I re-edited an old fic recently and Cameron appears briefly at the start then doesn’t appear until about chapter ten. I have no idea how I got away with that at the time. I’ve always felt I’ve sort of been on the fringes of the House/Cam fandom, anyway. So that could also have something to do with it, but I’m not entirely sure what it is. I can imagine that view came from outside of the House/Cam community though.
What do you think are the key attributes to writing Cameron that others miss? What sort of things do you look for in a Cameron-oriented story as a reader?
I’ve read a couple of stories where the author is obviously not a fan of Cameron, where she’s been written as a very cold, selfish bitch. I don’t think that’s true to her character. Cameron can be bitchy and self-centred, but she can also be quite lovely and thoughtful, so I think people need to address both sides of her character, rather than always showing her in her worst light. I’m going to perhaps enrage some people by saying I’m not a big fan of Wilson, for my sins, but I’d like to think I’ve always written him in character because I know how important he is to House. He’s the most important character in House’s world. I try to keep Cameron quite consistent and uncomplicated. House is a very complicated character, and there’s always a lot going on with him. I try and keep Cameron steady, because I often put House in extreme situations. In Five Years she’s a calm port in a stormy sea, throughout, and essentially the same character at the beginning as she is at the end, unlike House, who changes very slowly over the whole piece. I think if you centre on two characters and they both have a lot going on, it can complicate things. That’s not to say Cameron isn’t a complicated character, I’m just more interested in House’s complexities and I always have been. What drew me to the ‘ship’ is what she can draw out of him. I suppose some writers don’t like her and then there are others who like her too much. I’m somewhere in the middle. When it comes to other stories, I like stuff that sheds light on Cameron’s background, because we’ve had so little back-story in canon. And I like stories where she can stand up for herself, has some backbone, and where her whole world doesn’t revolve around House.
What sparks a story idea for you? A specific scene? A plot? A snatch of conversation? Meta discussion online?
Certain scenes can inspire me. A lot of the time, stuff just comes out of nowhere. Five Years came from thinking about what might have happened, had House gone to prison during season three. It also came from my frustration of how some of that arc was played out. House sort of got away with his behaviour - again. He didn’t learn anything - again. I think both he and Wilson behaved horribly to one another and I wanted to address it. I only ever imaged I’d do about four chapters though.
What's the hardest part of writing for you?
My technical execution, how the prose looks and how my words fit together, that’s always a problem for me. It’s something I know that I’ll be working on for the rest of my life. Certain things come naturally to some writers, and certain things don’t, and the way I get a story down on a page is usually quite blunt and clinical, and I then have to really work on getting the words to do justice to what’s going on in my head. It frustrates me, but we all have our strong and weak points as writers. At least it’s something I can work on!
What's the easiest?
I think I probably find plotting the easiest part of writing. I’ve always had a really overactive imagination, and stories tend to just unfold themselves in my head.
When you set about writing a longer fic, like the "Five Years" series, is it all plotted out in advance? Or do you work with a relatively loose structure?
That’s a tricky one. Generally, the important stuff is in my head. I’ll get an idea and just let it form in my mind for a couple of weeks. When I’m ready to write I usually bullet point four or five plot points per chapter to help me to remember, and give it a little bit of structure. I’ll plot a couple of chapters ahead like that, but that’s about as far as I plot. I don’t like to burden myself too much with what is going to happen four chapters down the line. I usually know, but I don’t concentrate too much on that until I get there. I almost always have a general idea where I’m going. Although, one of the biggest plot points in ‘Five Years’ came from listening to a song on the way to work, so nothing is ever set in stone either, but that’s what I love about writing. You never know where you’re going to end up once you start something.
"Five Years" also deals with multiple time lines. How organized do you have to be in planning your story to keep it clear what's happening in the current time period, and what's flashback?
I wrote two stories, really. I knew they had to tie together at several points, and that was tricky at times, but for the most part I thought about two different stories, and kept them separate in my head. I certainly had the odd glitch here and there, but there was always someone with eagle-eyes to point out any slip ups. I was originally going to just do the first chapter with flashback and then have the rest of the story take place after House got out of prison, but once I’d put him in that environment, I couldn’t help but start unfolding it from that past as well as the present. I suppose the fact that House was removed from everyone and everything else that’s familiar to the show in one half of the story, made it much easier to switch from one bit to the next.
Has writing fic changed the way you watch the show?
In some respects it has, but it’s really hard to explain how. I think I just feel like if they do something wildly different with House or the general structure of the show, in the back of my mind I’m thinking about how it’s going to affect my fic!
Addiction issues are often just a means for OMG!ANGST! in fanfic, but not yours. How do you go about dealing with a nuanced look at House's dependence issues in your fic?
The thing that drew me to House right from the first episode, was this sort of childlike vulnerability he let slip very occasionally. And the viewer was usually the only one to see it, or just the viewer and the patient of the week. I love exploring those subtle little weak points he has. I think we’ve seen less and less of it as the series has progressed, he’s shown that side to Cameron on occasion though, in ‘Daddy’s Boy’ for example, although it’s extremely rare. That definitely drew me to the ‘ship’ anyway. The things Cameron draws out of House are the things I’m interested in seeing from him. I love it when he lets his defences slip. There’s so much more to him as a character than just his Vicodin addiction, but I suppose that part of him makes for some great stories. It’s certainly important to keep your eye on how he functions with Vicodin and make sure it’s in there. I suppose by the time I’d got to the fandom, lots of people had already covered his addiction and most of those had done it better than I could have done, so I tried to do something a bit different. I always like to try stuff that’s a bit weird.
You took a break from writing House fanfic for a while. Do you feel differently about what you're doing now? Are there things from your earlier writing that you'd change when you go back and look at it now?
I feel differently in the sense that I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time anymore, which sounds really harsh, but I did spend a heck of a lot of time writing fan fiction before I took a break. I started an English degree last year, and before I started I felt like I was spending too much time writing fanfic, and as much as I loved doing it, I didn’t feel like I was really achieving anything. Now I see it as something I can do in my spare time; that I do to relax and have fun. Are there things I’d change? Yes, I recently rewrote Bad Blood, which is a Vampire!House story I wrote about three years ago. It was great to go back and see what I’d learned in three years. It was good practice as a writer for me to edit something that was novel length from beginning to end, and to see it with very fresh eyes. “Five Years” taught me so many things about myself as a writer and about how to write, it helped me to see some of the things I did wrong on “Bad Blood.” It also made me realise I’ve still got a very long way to go as a writer, and all the things I’ve still got to learn.
How do you overcome writer's block?
Stop completely. If it’s not working on a specific day, these days I stop and come back when I feel ready. I used to get very frustrated if I felt I was having an off day, and I’d push on and just end up loathing everything that I came up with. If I’m stuck longer than a few weeks, I try and look at the piece, and re-evaluate if it’s right for me.
You write in some other genres. What would you say is a common denominator for your writing? (Because the Joker and Cameron are an interesting juxtaposition in terms of characters.)
Screwed up characters are my favorites. I like characters with baggage, history and battle scars. I think Cameron is all kinds of messed up, not as messed up as The Joker perhaps, but I think anyone that nice, or, anyone who wants people to think she’s that nice, has some issues. House is right when he says no one should care that much; humans just aren’t built to care about everyone and everything all of the time, the fact that Cameron is trying to, makes me wonder about her, what she’s hiding and why she cares what other people think.
Thanks. Now let’s open the floor for any other questions folks may have.