Comments | bloodwrites: Writing Brennan Question, and (Spoiler Alert!) Thoughts/Wonderments on Season Five

bloodwrites

Writing Brennan Question, and (Spoiler Alert!) Thoughts/Wonderments on Season Five

Sep 19, 2009 14:00

Okay, so I've been madly writing MitM today, after having spent the past two weeks at this whole new salaried grown up lifestyle. Ugh. Setting policies, writing employee handbooks, running HR seminars, developing marketing plans... I am a workin' fiend, friends. Plus, in another mad-genius move on my part, I decided to completely redecorate my ( Read more... )

bones thoughts, character questions, fanfiction

Comments 10

labsquint September 19 2009, 18:50:50 UTC

Ah, you're late with your writing. Well, I'm late on reviewing MitM, so I know how you feel. Isn't being a grown up wonderful? It has it moments, but really... When I do find time to do it, you'll likely get a whack of reviews all at one time from me...

How do you write Brennan? Do you write her as season one Brennan, or as season four/five Brennan? Or somewhere in between Brennan?I broke off from canon at the end of season two and I've always written Brennan from a S2 POV but WITH progression. The woman is not frozen in time; she's smart and should be growing emotionally. So yes, S2, but then I deviate a bit. I used to say that I was really writing a S4 or S5 Brennan, a woman who was grown and learned to stretch her wings a bit... except starting in the latter half of S3 her character started to backslide in canon, so now I wouldn't say that anymore. Now I'd say that I write what should have happened if S2 Brennan became involved with Booth and actually grew emotionally from the experience. Or maybe there's just too damned ( ... )

bloodwrites September 20 2009, 00:58:01 UTC

I broke off from canon at the end of season two and I've always written Brennan from a S2 POV but WITH progression. The woman is not frozen in time; she's smart and should be growing emotionally.

Maybe you should check in with HH on this one. ;) I've gotta say, I agree - I've been trying to integrate Brennan from season four into what I'm writing now, but... it just doesn't make sense to me. So, I'm writing in canon from mid-season four or so, but I think from here on out I'll go with a season-two-progressive-Brennan POV. Maybe. See, I'm once again thinking about this stuff way too much.

Brennan may have figured out that she has feelings for Booth, but that didn't happen until CitC/EitB with the brain surgery health scare. I'm absolutely Team Booth all the way. Which is why the whole brain scan/'you didn't love her until after the surgery' bit is a crock of sh&t to me.I'm completely with you on this. And I've gotta say, it'll be a little hard to swallow if they turn the whole thing around now and try to pass it off as Bren's known ( ... )

labsquint September 22 2009, 16:47:55 UTC

Maybe you should check in with HH on this one. ;)

I'd LOVE to! You have no idea what I'd give for 15 minutes in a room just with Hart.

I've been trying to integrate Brennan from season four into what I'm writing now, but... it just doesn't make sense to me. So, I'm writing in canon from mid-season four or so, but I think from here on out I'll go with a season-two-progressive-Brennan POV.

Write what makes sense to you. And since S4 Brennan doesn't make sense to me, I don't get anywhere near her. There's being a social misfit and then there's pushing it to the unrealistic nth degree, and that's what they've done sometimes. Like with the 'there's blood in your heart, Booth' line. No way that she's really that clueless.

I think it's a wise move to keep things kind of hush hush. You can never tell who's out there, and the world has become such a small place that sometimes it's smart to keep things close to the vest.For now anyway. There is simply too much riding on this project. I'd love to share more with you guys, but you know ( ... )

bea_tricks September 19 2009, 20:13:56 UTC

re: that review... liz stumbled across it right after she posted hers and we were aghast.

lizook12: someone semi-flamed jen!
lizook12: *Gets out pitchfork*
bea: whaaa?
lizook12: [quotes review at bea]
bea: :O
lizook12: i am aghast.

see? aghast. i call bullshit. your characterization has always been spot on in my mind, and especially so when you consider that your brennan has been through a few of your storylines at this point and has logically diverged from canon. there is always a little wiggle room for her, since she has gone through a personality transplant progression over the course of the series, but amongst all of the writers that i read, you are one of the ones i can count on for in-character brennan ( ... )

bloodwrites September 20 2009, 01:34:02 UTC

see? aghast. i call bullshit. your characterization has always been spot on in my mind, and especially so when you consider that your brennan has been through a few of your storylines at this point and has logically diverged from canon.Aw, is it wrong to love people I've never met merely because they praise my fanfic? Or just sad? I'm with you on the personality transplant/bizarro digression over the past year or so, but it certainly does make writing her an interesting challenge. I swear, I really have no problem with constructive criticism - really. In fact, there are plenty of times when I've gone back and changed things when people have made suggestions that made sense, it was just with this one I was a little uncertain what exactly the problem might be. And because I'm particular (read: nuts), I tend to pick the one negative comment versus the twenty positives, and run to hell and back with that negative. Did I mention I'm nuts ( ... )

bea_tricks September 21 2009, 06:01:16 UTC

Aw, is it wrong to love people I've never met merely because they praise my fanfic? Or just sad?fortunately, we're lovable for many reasons, so it's all good ( ... )

bloodwrites September 22 2009, 23:58:16 UTC

Y'know, you really do amuse the hell out of me. I'm timid about speaking my mind about the whole Bones thing, because it seems a lot of the fans out there are so very touchy on the subject. I will admit, I lowered my expectations about a season and a half ago - lately, I base a lot of my enthusiasm on how few cringe-worthy moments there are in an episode (I still have flashbacks to the DB singing-dancing-funeral debacle). The clown was right up there in the cringe category. Subtlety is a lost art in Bones-dom, it seems. But, again... Love the DB, love the ED. Love them together. And I really do think Boreanaz is turning into quite the actor these days, which pleases me to no end.
As for the hounds... I write articles for a couple of different dawg papers - I had to come up with alternatives to continually calling my own little prodigies mere dogs... Hence, the hounds. It makes them sound ever so much more Holmesian than the mutts they plainly are.

doc_3 September 19 2009, 23:46:12 UTC

In answer to the 'how do you write Brennan' question, I think that she was very one-dimensional in Season 1 and very multi-dimensional at this point, which is why the character seems so inconsistent. Does that make sense? In S1 she was a genius that didn't relate well to others, that had been abandoned by her family, didn't believe in love, hyper-rational, and that was really all there was to her. Now there are so many other parts of her that we have, that it doesn't seem as if the pieces fit anymore. So... I think you write her somewhere in between the two. HH et al., tend to make her somewhat of a caricature at times both as S1 Brennan and S5 Brennan. As a writer that really cares about being true to the character I think you have to find middle ground ( ... )

jillianfish September 20 2009, 14:29:56 UTC

I think HH has changed her and manipulated her from season to season, based on what he needs her to be like for a particular scene. And I also totally agree that she never, ever, should have been stabbed by that doctor. That was totally unbelievable to me. She could have easily kicked his ass and instead she was stabbed so we could get a little "aww" time. Not cool.

As for writing her, I suggest you write her whichever way you prefer her. If you prefer her to be ass kicking but clueless, use S1, if you prefer her to be much more in-tune but not quite as much of an independent hardass then use S4/5. It's up to you. It's your story, it's your Brennan.

Did I miss something? Have you posted the first chapt or MitM here or just on FF?

btw: I know this particular comment is not of my usual caliber. for that I apologize. RL has been bedlam and I'm trying to write a paper for Social Psychology while writing this comment. My brain is fried.

Brennan's characterization dkp_123 September 22 2009, 03:07:42 UTC

Well, when I read that review you received complaining about Brennan's characterization, I did wonder at the sanity and expectations of the author- not that I'm comparing you to the chaff that is out in ffland, but seriously, to complain about *your* characterization when so much out there is wackjob crazy seems...off.

In terms of her personality on the show, though, I do see some of the evolution that a strong, independent woman undergoes when committing to a healthy, long term relationship present in the S1-S5 timespan. For example, now we see that she *can* kick someone's ass, but would be able to accept support from Booth when injured. Kinda like me relying on my husband to schedule to car maintenance....only you know, not sexy like DB with stubble. So when faced with the actual show, I assume that some form of evolution has occurred, and that any day now B&B will wake up to themselves.

write her however you want. :)