I am good with cock as well, provided as in all things it is not overused. If it used in every sentence it is overused then. I don't care if you call it penis, member, schlong, shaft, cock, prick, or Harley Davidson...and yes, I saw a story where a person referred to their member as a Harley, just change it up.

I really must thank you all for sharing all your fanfic pet peeves...because I've turned into a paranoid loon trying to write the smut I've been working on this week. Every other sentence I find myself wondering "Is this a cliche? Is this prose too purple? If this is a badfic will anyone love me enough to tell me?" :shock: It's been rough, y'all. :lol:

Jouse, top = pitcher, bottom = catcher (there is non-penetrative sex 8) )

As far as terminology goes, I think of characterization first and repetitiveness second. For House and Cuddy I like cock, for Wilson and Foreman, dick; Cameron, who I've never written an NC-17 scene for, is the most likely candidate to say member or shaft or length. Same goes for girlbits: clit and cunt are fine for Cuddy or House to think, but Wilson or Cameron are going to think more along the lines of entrance, inside, and so on. I think penis is fine, especially if it's flaccid, and erection is fine if it's not. G-spot and balls I use less, but those are the words I'd choose. Prostate, perineum, and anus are all more clinical doctory words that work for me because a) they get the meaning across and b) they're fine for the characterization of a bunch of doctors. If I'm worried I'm getting repetitive, then probably the sex scene hasn't got enough emotion or sensation in it. I try to balance the three: physical (blocking, action, what's happening), sensation (the way an action feels) and emotion (how one character feels about that sensation/action). Also, dialogue. Dialogue's what really makes a sex scene, if you wanna ask me.

saara_zaara - Of course there's no-penetration sex, but I never fully understood those terms. English isn't my native language, help me out here :) In oral sex, who would be receiving - the pitcher or the catcher?

In oral sex, who would be receiving - the pitcher or the catcher? The catcher

Oh, good times. Time for a little m-m oral sex tutorial. Seeing as I am something of a prude, I'll just point you to this helpful little guide instead of telling you myself: http://www.squidge.org/~minotaur/classic/oral.html *MAJOR WARNING* Not safe for work, easily scarred eyes, virgin ears, or anyone else who is easily disturbed by graphic porn stills. UM. Yeah. Reading porn and seeing it are so very different.

Rite of Passage. Not .Right It's not a Direction to the Wal-Mart of Passage. Rite. Yes, that's what I got out of that. I'm a nerd. A nerd who would rather a comment that said: "LOL" rather than no comment at all.

I don't think this fandom necessarily has "big name fans," though there have been some BNFs from other fandoms who played with House on occasion. (Which was weird, because they seemed to think they'd automatically get the same reception within House fandom that they did from their other area.) And from my perspective, most of the people active in fanfic within the House fandom has been very open to discussions, to helping out others, to joint projects, whatever, even with new fans or new fanfic writers. And as for me, I'd rather have a "Liked it, thanks," than nothing at all. When I get no -- or few -- responses, I start to worry that people didn't like it enough to bother commenting.

Commenting isn't a secret seduction technique: it's the fannish tit for tat. I comment if I enjoy something. If I'm feeling verbose, I'll say a lot; if I'm not, I'll say "I liked this," because it's true. Authors, trust me, love every single comment they get. Most of 'em will even say thank you, especially if you've quoted a line or two that you particularly loved. Ticcy's post on popularity notwithstanding, people commenting on stories usually aren't friending-ninjas, hoping to use their wiles to beguile you. They're just happy to've read a story that worked for them. *is, apparently, an ingenue*

What's a BNF?

BNF= Big Name Fan Generally speaking it's someone who is considered widely respected and well liked (some BNFs in some fandoms are closely associated to the shows in some way). As Wikipedia puts it: Ideally, a BNF is an intelligent, well-spoken individual who earns the respect of other fans. BNFs may have their autographs requested at conventions; they are often invited as Guests of Honor at conventions, and in some fandoms may be paid to speak as guests at commercial shows which pay for appearances. One cannot proclaim oneself to be a BNF, as to do so might invite derision or ridicule. So I don't think anyone in House fandom quite qualifies there. In addition, there's a negative element to some BNFs. Fans report ambivalent feelings towards BNFs. The title BNF also carries a negative connotation of being arrogant and self-important.

RE the top/bottom thing - for me, it depends on the situation. While I see House as more of a bottom and Wilson a top, I don't see them as being primarily those. So, I guess I see them both as a switch, but having affinities to a particular role in the sexual relationship? But like I said: depends on the situation. In terms of reading H/W in a sexual situation, I hate it when Wilson is feminised. I can't stand it when people think that a bottom is automatically the weaker person, or the "female" in the relationship. Being a bottom doesn't make that person weak, just like being a top doesn't make that person stronger than the bottom and more masculine. Which is something I really dislike in a lot of BDSM fics - how misrepresented the BDSM relationship often is. Some people seem to think that BDSM gives the Dominant carte blanche to abuse the submissive, without taking into account the entire trust factor that makes up a BDSM relationship. A submissive is not a punching bag - in fact, without the submissive's trust and consent, there *is* no D/s relationship. And it's even more disturbing when writers cross the line from hard limits to non-consensual acts and still think it's BDSM. Just... aaarrgh. I've come across a fair amount of this kind of thing in House/Chase fics in particular - the whole misrepresented BDSM thing seems to be a cliche in House/Chase fic. And as for 'cock'... I kinda prefer to use 'penis'. (Or love truncheon, or love pickle... j/k. XD)

Ah, very much with the agreement, Ticcy. I think people believe "penis" can't be a sexy word, but I think if you're relying on saying "cock" and "fuck" a lot to make your sex scenes work, then something's gone wrong somewhere. Sometimes, it's the word that's needed.