Differential Diagnosis People: A Man Should Know

[namasteyoga]

Happy pre-holidays everyone.
Before you break out the egg nog and the Christmas tree (or potato pancakes, if you prefer), let's check in with the final Hall of Fame nominated fic before a holiday break.

We've got a new author this time, which always keeps everything fresh. Enjoy, read, review and prepare to vote.

Title and Link: A Man Should

Comments

[nightdog_barks]

Oh, I'm glad to see this story here!

I think this was the first Foreman-centric fic I ever read that I really liked -- it's a lovely story that unfolds at exactly the right pace, and House's "guest appearance" adds a great little note of snark and levity.

The exhortation to focus ties the beginning and end together beautifully, and the ending itself is actually very quiet and understated, despite the fact we know there are guns firing right and left.

A terrific story.

[perspi]

Thank you!

I mentioned in my comments to this story that this particular one felt very difficult to write; I don't feel like Foreman comes as naturally to me as some of the other characters.

I got some of the inspiration for the story from Hugh Laurie's comments about Gena Davis' archery experience--he talked about how one needs to be very focused and quiet to shoot well, and the idea kind of took off from there. I'm very glad to hear that it works!

[perspi]

Yes, I can see where this particular story might be a bit 'light on the brain' and not stick with you. There aren't many that can do that! I appreciate the feedback; I think many writers are searching for that elusive 'something.'

Thank you for the positive comments. This story gave me fits while I was writing, and I'm glad it came out well.

[pwcorgigirl]

Gen stories have a harder time being memorable, I think, because they deal most often with the small moments of life. This one shows the long reach of something memorable that happened in the past, and it does it very well.

Foreman is quite difficult to write, which may be why there are so few stories about him, and I thought this one handled him very well. There's something very flinty and inaccessible about his demeanor with other people, and it's hard to find the way into his personality.

This passage completely sums it up, though: He had been a tool, a means to an end. At least he figured it out on his own. At least he figured it out in time, before he did something really stupid. A man should know better.This was the turning point, when he realized he didn't have to turn out like everyone else, that he was his own man, and he decides to go with his talent, grit and intelligence

[pwcorgigirl]

I like the differentiation between character-gen and plot-gen, and hadn't looked at it that way before.

In general, it seems the fandom as a whole does care more about pairings. If you put sex or death into a story, you have the world's biggest hinge to swing the plot around. Character development is harder to do well because it's more subtle.

As a character, I once said Foreman was hard to write because he's so normal. He's orderly, hard-working, very much grounded in the "things seen can be believed" approach to life. If those were his only qualities, House would not have been interested in him. He wanted the man who turned his life around, and the examination of that aspect of his life makes this story very satisfying to me as a reader.

[npkedit]

I must have missed this story when it first came out and I'm so happy it was brought up here.

I adore gen character pieces (which aren't exactly a staple of this particular fandom) and this one's a beaut. Even better, it's about Foreman who routinely gets ignored (I find him very hard to write, so I'm even more impressed when someone gets him so right).

The writing's fluid, and though it's short, this story is (for me), pretty memorable. Considering that I can only bring to mind one other Foreman character study off the top of my head, that's a major compliment.

[perspi]

Thank you for the lovely comment!

I too found Foreman difficult to write, and I'm not sure why. He snarks with almost Housian ease, we have gotten some great glimpses into his character and motivations, and yet, I don't hear his voice in my head as naturally as I do some of the other main characters. I think some of it may be a lack of practice: I spend so much more time listening to House, or Wilson, or Cuddy, that I don't pay much attention to Foreman.

[oldblue]

I read this a while back and really enjoyed it then. Reading it again, I find that I still like it and that the little things that bothered me back then still bother me.

They're tiny things, really: I like the idea of Foreman and House at the shooting range and their conversation is a nice parallel to Foreman's conversation with Uncle Joe. However, the dialogue doesn't flow that easily for me, though I'm not sure exactly why. I found myself having to go back and re-read a couple of lines (mostly House's) to figure out what was being said. Not a big deal, really.

[perspi]

Thank you for the feedback! I went back and took a look at the House/Foreman dialogue, and I think I might have an idea as to why it might not have flowed well, especially House's dialogue. There were several points where I interrupted dialogue with action statements in the paragraph, like this:

"Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch," House wheedled. "I know that." He set his elbow on a gun case on the counter. "I'm here for target practice." As the attendant returned, House muttered under his breath, "When I shoot back, I want to be sure to hit the guy."

Could this have been what was bothersome?

[oldblue]

Yep, I think that's it! Sorry I couldn't be more specific - when I read and comment it all tends to come to some sort of vague gestalt-thing. But now that you point it out, I see that that was probably what was tripping me up.

It's a really minor issue anyway, I really like this fic.

[perspi]

Minor or not, it's good to know that this could be problematic for readers, so thanks!