Thoughts 1.2: And He Dared To Feel

[verasteine]

A long time ago, when I was much newer to this fandom and LiveJournal was something I'd never even heard of, I read a fic that portrayed Ianto as a cancer survivor. The author stated in their notes that they were working from personal experience, although, once I read the fic, it was painfully obvious this note was unnecessary. The story explained

Comments

[lefaym]

Fascinating stuff; thank you for writing this.

I think I actually write from Jack's POV more than I do Ianto's when writing J/I, and it's quite true that his experiences are vastly different from my own. I've never been the sort to easily form relationships (casual or otherwise), flirtation doesn't come naturally to me, none of that stuff. I've never lost anyone really close to me, much less had it happen time and again -- but I do know what it's like to feel lonely, I know what it's like to be afraid of losing someone, I know what it's like to yearn for someone for far too long, and I know what it's like to want someone to trust me -- and I think that these are the aspects of Jack's character that make me feel drawn to him.

[verasteine]

It's interesting to see that you connect to Jack (and you do it well) while I connect to Ianto. But it proves my point, and I'm slightly gleeful because of it. :P

Thanks for commenting!

[51stcenturyfox]

Don't tell the reader that Jack cries because he's missing Ianto, show them how a memory of Ianto is triggered, by having him stare at the empty coffee mug on his desk and having tears slide down his cheeks that he wipes away abruptly. It allows the reader to fill in their own view of how Jack came to this point, and what emotions he's feeling. It's the exact same thing, remember, that the actors and directors show us on screen.

So much this. So much thiiiiis.

[verasteine]

Hah! You reminded me to put it in there :).

[51stcenturyfox]

I love that you did. :)

I'm just very wary of telling people how to feel; if the circumstances leading to the emotional response are clear, I think readers will fill in the blanks and come up with their own conclusions.

An actor who wants to cry in a scene may not be thinking of the character's sad circumstances, but his or her own emotional triggers and overlaying that onto the experience. That's what I do when I watch shows or read a book in order to relate. It seems to be intuitive but - obviously can't speak for everybody. That's why we all love different sorts of fic. :D

[misswinterhill]

The reader also probably doesn't have those experiences. We build up a shared, vicarious set of experiences. Females reading/writing gay male porn being an example; a female can experience anal sex, sure, but the act of sex from a male POV is something that cannot be experienced unless you're male. So there's this set of experiences that are constructed and reconstructed through narrative until they become a truth of sorts, regardless of their actual veracity

[verasteine]

Yay! thoughts! I agree that 90% of all writing is covering subject matter that you can't or don't have first hand experience with. And I have the same inability to write drabbles :).

When I say, "explain everything they feel, like women", I mean I'm giving them a feminine voice. I'm not saying they'd never discuss their feelings; but I forgot myself and give them a too feminine approach, too feminine than what suits their characters. I've had them talk about feelings plenty of times, but just not like that, if you get what I mean.

[blue_fjords]

"Teeth grinding" huh? I think that is code for "I love you." :) Anyhow, I am looking forward to reading this in a couple of hours! Thanks for posting!

[verasteine]

Of course it is! You're welcome, and I'd love to hear from you!

[caladria]

The first bit reads like "Things Caladria does wrong" *facepalm*

Characters have three dimensions

Do they? Or do they exist in four? (fourth dimension = time) The way that a character reacts, feels, thinks about something will be different depending on what point in canon you're using. For example, if you're using as your "in" with Ianto that he's the quiet, ignored, background one, it may very well be valid at points, but does it still hold true by the end of series 2?

And have you noticed I only talk about Ianto here? That's because finding an 'in' with Jack is like kicking a brick wall

*hugs Gwen, Tosh and Owen, "those other people"*

There's more power in someone's fingers shaking sometimes than there'll be in, "I'm scared." That said, for some characters (oh hai, Jack Harkness), saying it aloud is the harder of the two by far.I... yes and no. Because if you can create the sense that they'll show it far more easily than they'll say it, then having them then say it is extremely powerful. Jack - in Torchwood - doesn't show

[verasteine]

Fourth dimension, yes! Totally hadn't thought about that, but it figures that you'd one-up me. In a good way!

And yes, all right, there's more people to Torchwood :). But I can hardly claim to write much about them, can I?

And, yes. That was what I meant by the second bit. Sometimes, the power is in the showing, and sometimes, it's in understanding when a character not knowing what to do and admitting that can freak others out.

[caladria]

You don't write about Jack generally because you don't have an "in" that you can grasp hold of easily. So, presumably, you don't write about Gwen, Tosh and Owen because you have no "in" with them either (don't throw, "But I'm a romantic!" at me. Tosh has doomed romances, with frozen boys. She even has a non-straight romance to play with. Gwen has a Rhys. Owen... yeah. Gwen has a Rhys). So what is it about them that you can't/won't get your head around enough to write about?

(because sometimes answering "why don't you?" is as interesting as "why do you?")

[verasteine]

Hey, interesting question! Lemme think