The fight scene discussion proved enormously helpful while I was writing my own fight scene between House and Wilson, so thanks to all for that!
And I've got another one: All six of the main characters lend themselves to witty repartee, and I often find myself wondering if my own attempts at it are as funny and interesting as I think they are. So, what are some of the best examples of banter (not necessarily House's) you've come across?
I'd add to that perhaps when dialogue works best. I've seen fics that manage to cover a lot of territory in dialogue alone -- especially between House and Wilson, probably because those two characters riff off of each other so well in canon. But there are other characters and other scenes that do better with little to no dialogue.
Say it's a subject like House and Wilson's friendship. When they're talking to each other, they rarely say how much the other means to them (the canon instance of "maybe I don't want to push this until it breaks" is rare because of that exception, I think.) But can you do that solely in dialogue like they do on the show? Or does the writer have to get inside the characters' minds? Of course I think there are instances when it's too internal and you feel like you're in John Malkovich's head with no outside view.
Just as a possible topic, one that interests me at least, is how much detail is too much? I know I use a lot of it, but I'm also worried that the reader's perspective is that they don't need to know what Wilson's looking at on the other side of the window, or what type of coat House is putting on.
It sometimes seem like a fine line between giving written clues to help set the scene in your mind, and the point when you're saying -- Enough with the thread count of the sheets! No one cares. (I actually have seen fics noting the thread count of the sheets. Scary.)
I've said this before about you, but I personally love the detail you put into your stories. Just the right amount dresses the stage and gives a story an authentic feel. It can go overboard, and instead of a tapestry you wind up with a room overstuffed with Victorian gewgaws, but that doesn't happen with your stories.
One in which I particularly liked what you did was "Declarations of Independence," in which House is putting his motorcycle away for the winter.
I have a tough time naturally working in medical details, particularly in conversation between two of the doctors, because in real life, they speak to each other differently than they address a layperson, yet the vast majority of fic readers aren't going to have a medical background, and yet the story has to be authentic and accessible at the same time.
Thanks. Truth is, though, I continually second guess how much detail to put in. It's like, I give Wilson an orange in a scene, because it has something for him to do other than stand there and talk ... so then he peels the orange, but is it hard to peel? Does he eat it? What does he do with the peels? Should I have given him a tangerine? What about a banana? (OK, now I'm having Monty Python skits running through my thoughts.)
And you're right. The medical issues would also be good. After all, we're writing for a general audience, but one that's more knowledgeable than, say, Pokemon fic readers. I think Auditrix has done a good job with those details. Topaz Eyes' recent fic, dealing with the death of House's mother, has a good case in it.
My own feeling is that the best kind of detail is the kind the reader doesn't notice is there. That can sometimes mean it's absolutely vital to know what Wilson did with the orange peel, because otherwise they're going to come away with an incomplete picture of the scene (I have a similar problem with 'blocking'. who's standing, who's sitting, and when did they start doing it?) I have a tendency to write very closely inside a character's point of view, and so note the details that they'd notice. So, Cameron's probably not going to notice that Wilson's eating a tangerine rather than an orange, but she might notice that he's brought it with him, what he does with it as he talks, things like that
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And I've got another one: All six of the main characters lend themselves to witty repartee, and I often find myself wondering if my own attempts at it are as funny and interesting as I think they are. So, what are some of the best examples of banter (not necessarily House's) you've come across?
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Say it's a subject like House and Wilson's friendship. When they're talking to each other, they rarely say how much the other means to them (the canon instance of "maybe I don't want to push this until it breaks" is rare because of that exception, I think.) But can you do that solely in dialogue like they do on the show? Or does the writer have to get inside the characters' minds? Of course I think there are instances when it's too internal and you feel like you're in John Malkovich's head with no outside view.
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It sometimes seem like a fine line between giving written clues to help set the scene in your mind, and the point when you're saying -- Enough with the thread count of the sheets! No one cares. (I actually have seen fics noting the thread count of the sheets. Scary.)
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One in which I particularly liked what you did was "Declarations of Independence," in which House is putting his motorcycle away for the winter.
And the link, for anyone who hasn't read it:
http://namasteyoga.livejournal.com/1989.html#cutid1
I have a tough time naturally working in medical details, particularly in conversation between two of the doctors, because in real life, they speak to each other differently than they address a layperson, yet the vast majority of fic readers aren't going to have a medical background, and yet the story has to be authentic and accessible at the same time.
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And you're right. The medical issues would also be good. After all, we're writing for a general audience, but one that's more knowledgeable than, say, Pokemon fic readers. I think Auditrix has done a good job with those details. Topaz Eyes' recent fic, dealing with the death of House's mother, has a good case in it.
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