(Untitled)

[impulsereader]

So one of the things whirling around in my had is Pirate!Sherlock, and this has led me to want to set Much Ado on the open sea. I really need to separate that out into its own story, but right now my brain is demanding I watch Pirates of Penzance and try to meld the two stories

Comments

[quarryquest]

Ow! Poor John.

[impulsereader]

Indeed.

[litlover12]

Nicely done! That ending is great.

(What do you mean by Officially Frowned Upon?)

[impulsereader]

Thank you!

Officially Frowned Upon for actual published fiction. Almost a year ago I was challenged to finish - just finish - writing a book, based upon the premise that a lot of published fiction is - well, crap - and I couldn't do much worse. I have subsequently discovered I can do quite well, in fact. Who finishes a book but doesn't try to sell it? :-)

[pargoletta]

Officially Frowned Upon? I'm not sure there is such a thing in the unregulated world of fanfiction. There are some people who don't like it, but there are some people who love it. There's no Fanfiction High Council issuing directives from on high about the matter, much as some people would love for there to be. Write in whichever way feels most natural to you. I'd read it either way.

Ouch. John is definitely not in a good place there. And the worst part of it is that he'll have some 'splaining to do afterwards, which is always harder than having the flashback.

[impulsereader]

Poor John, indeed! Poor Sherlock as well, in fact. He does not take well the fact that he is the reason John is collapsing on the lawn.

[pargoletta]

Oh, I can see Sherlock having a major conniption over that. He, too, will have some 'splaining to do afterwards.

[impulsereader]

Cue the second quartet...I think I'm almost ready to send you some passages for music beta. I have to admit I've based it more upon Carnegie Hall telling me what is going on than what my ears give me from listening to the music. I have to conclude that I am even more inept with music than I imagined. I will admit, though, that I think part of the problem is that I Think while I'm driving, and can't seem to stop myself no matter how unsafe this is, so I end up drifting off. Possibly if I were forced to focus on the music more it would sink in better.

[221b_hound]

Holy shit, those last two sentences! Things went kind of dizzy and grey for me too, for a second there. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GIVE THAT MAN A HUG, STAT!!!!

Re your tense question, I wouldn't say that using present tense is frowned upon. I see it more frequently these days (in professional writing, I mean) although it's associated very strongly with YA fiction, at least in Australian fiction. There's an immediacy to the present tense which can be extremely effective, particularly when engaging young readers. Whatever tells your story most effectively is always the right choice. :)

[impulsereader]

Hm. Interesting. Thought, when one is trying to sell out and basically do whatever is necessary to be paid to write, it seems advisable to go with the flow...

The real appeal of fic, I am discovering all over again as a writer after being a reader, is the fact that all the emotion is already there. The story of John and Sherlock is out there and I can shamelessly abuse poor John by standing Sherlock on a roof, and everyone reading this knows why this is Not Good.

[221b_hound]

well, the flow is sort of ambiguous, and wanting to be paid to write isn't selling out. It's how I make my living after all. :)

The inbuilt emotional context and character history are great elements to use in fanfic. I'm having so much fun using established contexts to explore relationships and ideas, and sometimes concepts I haven't done before. I loved writing the Mary, Not Contrary literal genderswap story, because I wanted to see if I could write John convincingly as a woman, and I was pretty happy with the result. Writing the music fics I'm playing with is an opportunity to try to write in a way that reflects musicality and relationships. Not entirely sure how well I'm achieving that, but it's a great writing exercise anyway.

It's fun creating your own characters and worlds too, of course, but it takes 250 pages (or sometimes three books) before you can achieve the effect you got in those last two sentences.

[djarum99]

Most of the best fic writers I know use present tense fairly often, and effectively. Including you. Go with what works, as others here have said. The people who object...well. I just got a comment (the first) on a fic on AO3 informing me that I need to change my OUAT disclaimer, because fairytales have no copyright. Yeah. Go with what works - you do that beautifully.

John!whump!! More, please ♥

[impulsereader]

What? You have got to be joking - no, you're not, people are crazy.

Who does that? Who reads something and decides that's what they're going to say?

Honestly, the entire lemon project is based upon the thought that anyone who is cool and curious enough to pick up the lemon and check out the website is then cool enough to follow through and send a quick - you guys are nuts message - or join in, but this reminds me that people are nuts and I need to be ready for anything...

Yea! Thank you for all the lovely praise! Now that I've been aware of the difference, I've noticed quite a lot of fic is done in the present, I imagine for some of the same reasons I do it.