Yeah, the one friend that I told I explained with the reasoning of "I was bored." Same with my parents.

My family know, and a couple of really close friends, but I don't think anyone else does. It's not something I broadcast very often... I'm afraid I might lose friends that way. *g* I started writing for House/seeking fanfiction after I saw most of the episodes. I stumbled across the show by accident (yes, No Reason was the first episode I'd ever seen and I loved it, go figure) and that fall I went to rent all of the House DVDs. My roommates and I would all watch House all day-- have marathons. Sometimes I'd totally overdose because I'd watch the DVDs and then House would actually be on TV. *g* It was after I'd seen all of Season Two and was about halfway through Season One that I started writing fanfic and seeking it out for House, I think.

I wonder if anyone else followed a similar pattern to me to get to this point? For me it was - Discover House and watch all eps - Read recaps & ep reviews to see if I was alone in my opinions - Start reading forums - beginning with episode threads, then discussion, then 'outhouse' stuff - Start looking at creative stuff, beginning with vids on YouTube - Then moving onto reading ff - And finally (having by now developed my own vision of H/W which I wanted to read more of) writing No, I did it all backwards. I wanted to do West Wing fanfiction and was wracking my brain trying to come up with something. Then, I had a crazy House/Wilson dream one evening after watching an episode and wrote it up. I never read a House fanfic before then. I did do some research, posted it, realized it sucked big time, and then I also realized that there was more House/Wilson out there than you could shake a stick at. I got three encouraging reviews though (it being my first fic) and I was hooked. So, every fic since then has been about Chase. Why? I get his character better than anyone and I serve a niche audience that wants to read anything about him (yeah for the Chasers!). I didn't do any heavy research of canon, boards, and episodes until I was into my third fic. Thank you so much ignazwisdom! I never knew pros actually wrote in fandoms. Someday, when I’m an established author (think positive, think positive) I would never turn my back on this medium. It’s been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

My sister knows but doesn't read because reading her sister's porn is apparently disturbing. :) People at work know I'm obssessed with House and like to point out guys who look like Wilson. They don't know that I read and write guy!porn. Without question, I would be fired if they did. It should scare me more than it does that someone could track me down. Small towns have a lot of positives, tolerance is not one of them. :cry:

My husband knows I write fanfic, as does one friend in real life. Sometimes the hubby is even a partner in crime. :D

I have a friend who wrote fan fiction for her own book. She's a great writer and the Internet was the way she could 'expand' on her book in a way she never could for the mainstream press. That's the problem with the printed word. It was only a short story, but it was a lovely treat for fans.

I have one friend who knows I've written a couple Dr. Who stories; my mom is also aware of my Who-ficcing. Nobody knows I write House fic. I don't want my RL folks on my LJ page because ... they know me as a Nice Christian Person and may not understand why I felt compelled to write something like Aftershocks. Never mind that the Bible is full of tales of people doing unspeakably horrible things to one another, and the consequences of those actions. We have this cultural idea that people like me are not supposed to delve into such difficult subject matter. Also, a certain number of my friends would just think I'm (even more of a) nut. I am a rather sensitive Mare and it's easier for me to keep this hobby to myself than to have to try and explain.

It's unfortunate, but totally understandable, that there's this huge burden of shame attached to the fic-writing process. For me, it has more to do with the fact that my friends expect me to be writing professionally, and there are those among them who consider writing fanfic to be a waste of time. But right now fanfic's more fun, so that's what I'm concentrating on. Speaking of that fun aspect, what makes you guys happiest about writing fic? For me it's those moments when I can 'hear' the characters saying the lines I write, when they get off the perfect retort. How 'bout y'all?

Happiest about fic? I'd say it's that moment when I can see exactly where the story should go, or a scene will pop almost fully formed in my head. Sometimes I'm lucky and almost the entire format of the fic will be there when inspiratin strikes. Sometimes I'm struggling with scene, barely able to get a sentence out at a time, and I take a break, and suddenly the answer will come to me, absolutely clear, and I can't wait to get back to the keyboard, to get it down. It's not the writing itself that's the key there, but being open to that moment of inspiration, of being there when it strikes. In a sense, it's creatively similar to the point that O'Neill wrote about in "Long Days' Journey Into Night," when the curtains part and for a moment, you sense everything. To me, to be in that moment, is exciting.

Speaking of that fun aspect, what makes you guys happiest about writing fic? For me it's those moments when I can 'hear' the characters saying the lines I write, when they get off the perfect retort. How 'bout y'all? That's the exact moment for me as well, the moment I live for. Sometimes I'll be struggling with a scene, with the dialogue and dramatic (or comedic) progression, and it all sounds so clunky--then all of a sudden, the characters take over (Move aside, Aenisses, you idiot! This is what we really would say!) All I have to do at that point is scramble to take dictation from the voices bickering back and forth in my head--and that's the one moment when writing feels easy and fun. And now I've made myself sound like a loony. :oops:

I'm happiest about writing fic when: 1. Right before falling asleep, I suddenly figure out how to make plot threads fit together or how to perfectly end the damn story. 2. When something I write makes me laugh out loud, and I feel like the most brilliant person on Earth. 3. When a story returns from beta, and I realize just why all these bits felt wrong, and how to make them better. (Sadly, this part doesn't happen on the fics I'm too eager to post.)

I love it when the characters surprise me -- when they do or say things I would never ever have expected. Sometimes they crack me up, and that's just wonderful. Love it when I get to "take dictation" as has already been mentioned. Love it when House tells me I'm a moron and this is how it really happened. I love the moments when the plot-bunny has bitten and the infectious fever is raging and I'm up far past my bedtime because the story has to get written NOW. And most of all I think I love the collaborative process I've discovered, most notably with Nightdog, Perspi, and Dee. I love it when we're all playing in the same ficverse and there's a strange sort of telepathy about it. The characters will tell us the same things independently; we'll "see" the same stuff happening, or get the same details -- the level of accuracy is astonishing at times. Or the characters will tell one of us something that explains something else they told the other one the day before, that didn't make any sense at the time. Now you want to talk about sounding like we're nuts?!!? Oh my! But it's the most fun I have had in a loooong time.