Water's October, Right?: House Fanfiction Discussion

Everyone knows I write fanfic and spend my time in fandom. My family, the few people I know who aren't in fandom, I've even mentioned fanfic to some of the people at work. Pretty sure they didn't know what I was talking about-but I talked about it. I'll let anyone who's interested read my stuff. It's a hobby like any other hobby. Granted, I have the benefit of working in a field where I have no name and even if I did what I do with my spare time is my business. The only line I draw between life and fandom is that I don't direct family members (or RL friends, anymore) to my LJ. I learned that lesson the hard way (like I learn most things). When it comes to comments, I know that some people find commenting difficult. I certainly do. I appreciate every comment I get but know that a lot of people just don't comment. Either one is all right with me. If someone gets something out of what I wrote, great. That's why I wrote it, because I had a thought that I thought was worth expanding upon. For me, when it comes to fandom, fanfiction, slash or anything else you can think of I don't think it's a good idea to treat those actions with the same seriousness that other parts of life require. People get very worked up about strange things (I know I do) when it comes to a favorite fannish thing. When a hobby ceases to be fun, it ceases to be a hobby and becomes a chore. It shouldn't be a burden. Your mileage, as usual, may vary.

When I was in Italy in April, I met one of the writers for Prison Break (he was there on his honeymoon), and my dad told him that I wrote fanfic. So. That was embarrassing. My family knows! And pretty much everyone I went to college and high school with. One of my best friends likes to mock me gently for it.

Who in your life knows that you write fanfiction? Why did you choose to "come out" to that person/people? And finally, is there anyone who "found you out" as a fanfiction writer that you wish hadn't--and how did they find out? My parents know in that they know I've written fanfic (my sister told them), but it's sort of this amorphous thing to them. My brother actually proofed Mind Over Matter and has read all of my stories--I told him because I value his opinion. My sister's read Mind Over Matter, but hates 2nd-person and couldn't make it past the first page of Playing for Position. In the friendship department, I've met a lot of my online friends through fandoms, so they all know I write and edit fanfic. I don't think any of my offline friends know, but the fanfic world really isn't their speed, so I don't find it surprising. I do write and edit non-fic for a living and I try to keep that separate; none of the friends I've made through work know I write fanfic, but I don't think I'd care if they found out. I've never made it much of a secret even if I don't go out of my way to talk about it (and I originally used my real name for a bunch of fic stuff--I switched because a nick seemed useful for privacy purposes).

If its okay to leave a positive anonymous comment, its got to be okay to also leave a negative anonymous comment without further obligation. You, the author, may wish to engage in dialog, but there may be no such wish on the other party's side, beyond having an outlet to express their reaction. Even that is typically outside of the norm of what most readers express. Do authors understand that when some one reacts negatively anonymously its often because of a sense of disgust and/or anger? What they say may/may not be completely rational, but that's not the point - how they react in the comment is about what your fic has provoked emotionally in them. My experience is that most authors don't consciously understand that, maybe they do subconsciously & that's why they get upset (because, after all, its their work that's provoked this reaction) & they generally don't go the route of a rational response - they get defensive & angry in turn, and that's what causes the impasse on the dialog. I get the disgust and anger - yeah, that was made perfectly clear in the anonymous comment I'm thinking of. But by wrapping up specific, possibly justified critiques in a disgusted, angry "you are an idiot" tone, and doing so anonymously, so there was no sense of give and take, it's as if this person was leaving a flaming bag of poo on my doorstep. Pointing out errors is fine. Even a general "this was not good at all" is fine. But should I respond to a flaming bag of poo with calm understanding and try to put Anonymous' feelings ahead of my own? Sorry but no. Anonymous doesn't want to create an LJ, fine (I can still get their IP, though, not that I'd ever track it). At least type some kind of signature on there ("Signed, DeeSux"). I take responsibility for my fics - Anonymous should take responsibility for his/her comments. PS. If Anonymous ever reads this post, create a fake Yahoo account and email me any time. I'm open to learning more on the topic you ripped me a new one over.

My friends from college who are interested in fandom and folks I met through fandom know about the fanfiction, and several of them read it. My sister knows about it as well (let's face it, I can't be embarrassed when I know she used to write N*Sync fic). However, other friends and the rest of my family don't. It's hard enough explaining DragonCon. On LJ, you can actually dialogue with an anonymous person, provided they come back to see if you responded. But I have to say that if someone anonymously slammed my story, I'd have a difficult time discerning whether they actually had an intellectual/emotional objection, or if they're just a troll or a jerk who isn't worth the response. (I guess the spelling would let me know. :lol:)

Hi everyone! I introduced myself in the introductions thread (or at least I hope that was the introductions thread; forums like these are not my forte) and was pointed in this direction. I have only the vaguest idea of what I'm doing and how this works and what the etiquette is for these kind of discussions, so I hope people will poke me if I'm fucking something up. Anyway, I'm Iggy (ignazwisdom on LiveJournal), I wasn't at TWOP, and I'm trying this thing out because several people have said I should and I'm a big lemming like that. I write a little, read a little, rec a little, and sometimes run ficathons. It's nice to see you all! To make this on topic: Who in your life knows that you write fanfiction? Why did you choose to "come out" to that person/people? And finally, is there anyone who "found you out" as a fanfiction writer that you wish hadn't--and how did they find out? Many of my friends are people I met through fandom, so obviously they're aware. Most of my "real life" friends don't, just because I'm so over the whole "fanfiction 101" spiel (that is, the explanation of what fanfiction is and why we write it, complete with requisite defensiveness and awkwardness, that has to be repeated every few months for each and every friend who knows). I'm not the least bit ashamed of it, but I find it hard and really tiring to have to explain the whole idea to people who don't have some kind of frame of reference already. My SOs have always known; I can't imagine dating someone and hiding such a huge part of my life from her/him. And my mother knows, bless her, although she still hasn't quite made the distinction between fiction and screenplays and wants to know when I'm going to send my "script" to Hollywood.

Nobody in my real life knows I write fan fiction. I don't think there's anyone I'd even want to share that with.

Who in your life knows that you write fanfiction? Why did you choose to "come out" to that person/people? And finally, is there anyone who "found you out" as a fanfiction writer that you wish hadn't--and how did they find out? I think by the time I left most of the people I worked with in Japan knew I wrote fanfiction, they just didn't know under what name I wrote it. My fic name and my Myspace name are the same, so I am sure some probably connected it. Only one of my co-workers ever asked to read my story and I showed it all to her. My So knows I write, but is uninterested in reading anything longer than a comic book, so there is no danger of embarassing myself there. I would like to go back and address the is fanfic literature question? I think that yes it is literature. Granted the characters and universe one works in are already pretty well set out but that challanges the writer to work wihin the confines as well as expand on them. One of the first comments I ever got to my first House fic was "that's disgusting and you're sick." It was then that I realized the power that some of these stories could have. Yes, the universe is already established, but it is what I wrote, what I created that the reader was reacting to and that to me is what make literature.

Man, I disappear for two days and all of a sudden I'm light years behind. You guys are moving too fast! Who in your life knows that you write fanfiction? Why did you choose to "come out" to that person/people? And finally, is there anyone who "found you out" as a fanfiction writer that you wish hadn't--and how did they find out? No one. Not a single soul. My husband is in the same room with me every night, and I sit on the laptop and write and write and write for hours and he has no interest in knowing what I'm doing with my Internet life. I've been doing this for a year and a half now. I've actually written original stuff, including a novel, but not one of my friends or my spouse shows ever showed interest in reading it. I fell into fanfic because I wanted to find people that would actually read my stuff. If it wasn't for fanfic, my audience would be my cat. :) I really hope that doesn't sound pathetic. I like my double life, especially since writing fanfic prevents me from bludgeoning myself from excessive head banging on the desk at work due to boredom. DIY Sheep, you actually know writers that have ventured from fanfic? Who are these people, do they like sharing their stories of inspiration to people who want to get into the business, and how do they feel about fanfic now? Do they still respect it or find it silly? Does anyone here really wish they could take their writing beyond fan fiction, or is this just a fun hobby for everyone? For me personally, I'd love writing to be my full time job. Since I'm catching up, I have a comment about the safe sex thing. I only recently started writing smut, and it's all Chase/Cameron. My very first Chase/Cameron smut scene they used a condom, but ever since they became an established couple I've done away with that. If it wasn't a monogamous relationship though, I'd show safe sex. Okay, one more topic to address. I only recently started posting at livejournal. It's really hard starting at a place like ff.net, where you get tons of comments, to then posting your story on livejournal and hear crickets chirping. I never, ever got feedback at livejournal until I started posting shipper centric material on a shipper centric thread. The gen stuff got nothing.

Does anyone here really wish they could take their writing beyond fan fiction, or is this just a fun hobby for everyone? For me personally, I'd love writing to be my full time job. Well, I don't think I would like to take these particular stories beyond fanfiction. I think I would liek to try and write my hand at writing a novel and had started a BTVS one. I write everyday for work and it is easy to get burned out writing so often. Strangly, writing fiction allows me to blow off stress and it helps me sleep. I think if this was what I was doing for my full time job I would have problems with it.

Well, I don't think I would like to take these particular stories beyond fanfiction. I think I would liek to try and write my hand at writing a novel and had started a BTVS one. I write everyday for work and it is easy to get burned out writing so often. Strangly, writing fiction allows me to blow off stress and it helps me sleep. I think if this was what I was doing for my full time job I would have problems with it. No, I couldn't use my particular fanfic stories beyond the fandom either. I have original stories, but they haven't seen the light of day like my fanfic just because its extremely hard to get an audience. My work isn't good enough for publishing yet, so fanfic is a perfect way for me to hopefully get better. I just am very curious how people are able to break out of one medium into another. It seems the wall in front of me is made of steel. :) I can see you getting burned out if you write everyday at work. Is that true for most people? I always thought most fanfic writers were doing this while holding down an entirely different day job. I could be mistaken.

Who in your life knows that you write fanfiction? Why did you choose to "come out" to that person/people? And finally, is there anyone who "found you out" as a fanfiction writer that you wish hadn't--and how did they find out? My sister knows (but doesn't understand) and my mother, who has told other family, friends and random strangers. My cousin seems to think I write for House instead of about it. In terms of RL friends, only a couple know. One of them occasionally gives me a "guy" beta. He wanted to submit my writing journal to his book club, but I (hope) think he just said that to freak me out. He outed me to some of our good friends the other day - one of whom I really didn't want to know - but nobody really paid attention to the conversation. I keep it separate from work (other than squeeing about House with colleagues who also watch), mostly because I'm not sure how it would be perceived by some of the artists we work with. Technically, I suppose I outed myself in the WSJ, but it's not like anybody I knew in RL read the article :lol:

Who in your life knows that you write fanfiction? Only my sister, and only because I discovered that she wrote first. I would never tell my family, because, when I was in my early teens, I wrote some stories for myself and, when my parents found them, they made no secret in letting me know they did not approve. My husband doesn't know, either. But I enjoy writing as a hobby. Writing fanfic (and academic papers, for that matter) has always been a great way for me to explore ideas. But it's not something I'm willing to share with RL people, unless I know they won't react negatively toward it. I'm glad I'm not the only one who keeps it under wraps.

Hi Fluffy -- I'm not DIY Sheep but I know of several published writers who also write fanfiction. There are plenty who started out writing fanfiction, but those ones tend to interest me less than the ones who are still active in fandom (or the ones who started out as pros and THEN started writing fanfic), because so many of the ex-fans have really negative and I think incorrect views about fanfiction (the old "training wheels" analogy, for example). Jane St. Clair (3jane on LiveJournal) was a great XF fanfic writer who is now a published writer. minisinoo (on LJ) is a pro who writes fic as a hobby. The author Naomi Novik has spoken publicly about writing fanfiction and is still active in fandom. Earlier today a friend of mine recced some Torchwood stories by a woman whose first (?) book is coming out soon, and there are probably hundreds of fan writers who have published short stories. I have a few on my friends list. It's nice work if you can get it! *g*

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