Comments | sheldon_penny: Writing Workshop #2

weasleytook in sheldon_penny

Writing Workshop #2 - How to Write Penny

Feb 25, 2011 11:26

Welcome to the second Paradox Writing Workshop! If you missed our first workshop on writing Sheldon, check that post out here. These threads will be utilized as a tool for you to ask and answer questions with other members of the community - the more you put in to these threads, the more you will get out of them ( Read more... )

community: writer's workshops, discussion: general, discussion: characters

Comments 31

(The comment has been removed)

galletas February 26 2011, 04:44:37 UTC

So much this. I'm no writer, but from a reader's perspective it's much easier to give leeway for stories written from Penny's POV. There's nothing that takes me out of a story more than Sheldon's POV written OOC.

weasleytook February 25 2011, 22:32:02 UTC

I had this long ass comment written up and then my stupid laptop that currently has no battery became accidentally unplugged and I lost it. ASDLFKJALSDKLJL;; SO LET US TRY THIS AGAIN.

First off, I feel like I should preface all of my comments here with a disclaimer that I don’t claim to know everything or be the most awesome writer ever or any of that. In fact, until the last writing workshop I didn’t realize how little I think about my writing when I write. I just kinda write, you know? (That sort of explains way too much about me and my flaws.)

That being said… I LOVE PENNY! ♥

How important is it to you to fill in background details about Penny and her family in your fic?I think it depends on the type of fic that you’re writing. But even in a shorter story it’s fun to come up with tiny details that I feel fit what we already know of Penny. (Like the idea that Penny’s family might have taken road trips to Carhenge as a kid.) If you’re writing something deeper, then you can really take that idea and run with it to help shape her ( ... )

cont'd from above weasleytook February 25 2011, 22:32:22 UTC

Is there truly a "right" way to write Penny in fanfic? Is there a "wrong" way?

It’s all a very subjective. Like I said above, the best written Penny fics are the ones that strike that balance between the different aspects of her personality. If she’s too rough around the edges, it’s not Penny. If she’s too romanticized or airheaded, it’s not Penny. That’s just my opinion though and others may see it differently, but it certainly turns me off to see her written as one extreme or the other.

Re: cont'd from above muir_wolf February 26 2011, 09:36:33 UTC

It’s all a very subjective. Like I said above, the best written Penny fics are the ones that strike that balance between the different aspects of her personality. If she’s too rough around the edges, it’s not Penny. If she’s too romanticized or airheaded, it’s not Penny. That’s just my opinion though and others may see it differently, but it certainly turns me off to see her written as one extreme or the other.

This is precisely what I was trying to say, but much much more coherently. Yes, this, especially the last part about the extremes. Everyone has a different idea of who she is, and often they'll lean more heavily on a certain aspect of her personality than another, but she simply becomes OOC if she's written to any extreme, imo.

allthingsholy February 26 2011, 02:06:30 UTC

1) I have a very specific place I draw Penny's background from. I have huge piles of backstory for her that show themselves differently in a lot of the fic I write for her. Oldest sister (Beth), older sister (Anne), older brother (Tommy), parents (Sarah & Bob). (Though to be honest, my head canon name for Penny's dad is George, and had to consistently correct myself and write Bob, to mesh with canon.) If you've read my BBBB from last year, this is all old news, but I actually had that family in place for months before I even wrote my BBBB, which is why Beth shows up in at least two other fics I've written. For me, it's important to have Penny's roots somewhere, even if they don't come out in the story. I have a strong sense of my version of Penny, even if it's not 100% canon Penny, which stays fairly consistent in all my stories ( ... )

weasleytook February 26 2011, 04:58:02 UTC

I think you were the first person (that I can recall) who has given Penny two sisters, and I just love that. I tend to keep it in my head that she has just the one sister and one brother, but two sisters adds just that extra something to it.

I think it started as a way to put our stamp on a male-dominated show and became a part of Penny's fanon, a part of our conception of her. And I think that's awesome.

Thisssss. So much this. So much that I have nothing to add.

In response to 3, I think I have the opposite issue? I generally come from a place of lightness and funny in my writing, so it's easy for me to whip out little sarcastic quips and what not. It's when I have to dig deeper that I really have to work at things.

I think it's important to have a strong sense of Penny outside of the way she relates to the guys, particularly Sheldon. I know this is a shipping comm, but she's her own person and she's be her own person even in a relationship with someone, especially someone as batshit as Sheldon. I would print this on a T-Shirt ( ... )

jazzfic February 26 2011, 05:09:52 UTC

I think Penny/Career is one of the best things to come out of this fandom. Those who nail it are to be treasured and applauded :)

muir_wolf February 26 2011, 09:34:14 UTC

I agree with this sooo much <3

Thread 5

jazzfic February 26 2011, 04:46:38 UTC

I tend to split my POVs 50/50 between Sheldon and Penny. But I have never found Penny easy to use. I think my not being American tends to seep through the way I write (okay, a lot), and therefore with her voice there's always that fear of this isn't Penny, it's an awkward mashup of custey and frivolous. You need that confidence in her voice, the ability to navigate from a deeply human perspective.

weasleytook February 26 2011, 04:52:16 UTC

I hadn't thought about it from the perspective of a non-American, but I totally see what you're saying. Penny is VERY American in her speech patterns and behaviors. They definitely write her as a mix between the Nebraska farmgirl and the quintessential California girl. I can imagine that being difficult for a non-American to nail down.

Of course, I have the same troubles when I try to write fic with British characters (Hello Doctor Who!). As much of an Anglophile as I am, I still have to tread lightly and stress over every single word.

jazzfic February 26 2011, 05:04:57 UTC

Yeah, it's difficult particularly as TBBT is modern day shenanigans with modern day young adults, and is pretty much grounded in American life, California, etc etc. If I ever have to slightly reference something in that area, which is more or less everything, I have to look it up, or fudge it and hope for the best :)

weasleytook February 26 2011, 05:08:45 UTC

Hey, if you ever need an American to supply you with help, just ask me. I think that's the one advantage I have, because I live about 4 1/2 hours from where the show is set. I even know the area really well because I've spent a fair amount of time there. So I may fail in other areas, but at least I have that.

Of course, that doesn't stop me from getting really nerdy and Googling for really specific things like self-storage place on Fair Oaks. No. Seriously.

Thread 12

muir_wolf February 26 2011, 09:14:28 UTC

1) I like having some background for Penny, although it doesn't necessarily have to be family-specific as long as it gives us some sense of who Penny *is*. I also change Penny's background every single time I write. Like the rest of the characters, I like to reorganize her life. Unlike the rest of the characters, though, it feels like maybe the specific details are a little more malleable, as long as we stay true to her heart ( ... )

notalwaysweak February 26 2011, 11:49:34 UTC

May I just say that the notion of the girl getting herself is the best way to put it that I've ever heard?

allthingsholy February 26 2011, 20:45:56 UTC

I've read a lot of fics and stories and books about how the girl gets her boy, and I love finding out, instead, how the girl gets herself.

I find it really, really sad that I can't think of a single gen. Penny story. I mean, I can't really think of a gen. Sheldon story either (besides, I think, one that Audrey maybe did at bbt_e a long time ago) but for a fandom that was crazy in love with Penny/Career, it still tended to be in the background of a S/P story. There should be more. I'm guilty of this too, obviously, but yeah. We should be writing more about Penny outside of her relationship with Sheldon.

(This is all sort of discounting the awesome Penny stories damalur did, like I Swallow Glass & The Dress Code is Invasion Casual. SO GOOOOOOOOOD.)

I think the thing about Penny that is so enjoyable is that she allows for self-insertion (oh jesus, so dirty) in a non-Mary Sue way but more of a wish fulfillment way? That's maybe not better, but there are a lot of bamfy ladies around here who impose their bamfery on Penny, of which I heartily

muir_wolf February 26 2011, 22:05:22 UTC

Oh, I don't know... There's been some really good Sheldon/Penny, Penny/Career fics where the Sheldon/Penny is in the background, and I love those. I agree that there should be more Penny/Career, though.

I agree with you about the bamfery, especially when people were writing in the early seasons when Leslie and Stephanie were never on, and Penny was the only female character, and it was just so frustrating to not ever see her developed.

Thread 7