Water's October, Right?: House Fanfiction Discussion

See, you've taught me something. As I said before I didn't understand it and I only know one Jewish person, so it's something that I've only seen on messageboards. I thought it had to do with the same kind of political ideas as not allowing the greeters at Wal-Mart to say "Merry Christmas."

Me either extra_cat. I knew of the whole "Thou shall not take the Lord's name in vain" concept - as in Catholicism, it is a sin to say "God" as an expletive (eg: God, I can't believe I just did that). Is that where it comes from in Judaism too?

I'm not sure that it's specifically about taking the Lord's name in vain (as in cursing) -- among some Jews (mostly the Conservative and Orthodox) God's very name is holy, and for it to be spoken or written down would be a profanation of the holiness. Roga, is that right? That's always been my understanding, but it's Mr. Nightdog who's the Jewish one in the Nightdog household (and he's not here right now).

Nightdog - yes, that's basically it. Since we're getting off topic, I've answered more fully in the OT thread.

I'm a little late for the party, but I don't understand censoring "God" by writing G-d. To me, that looks like you're actually censoring a swear word that uses God in the first half. And, you know what, I'm not going to NOT write out the word God for the sake of some stupid "political correctness." If someone doesn't believe in God, fine, but expecting me to censor myself or my writing is pushing your beliefs on me. Freedom of speech, you know. It's weird to see God censored on the same forums where swear words are written out. That makes no sense! Resident Jewish Clergy member here weighing in on this. The idea of spelling God G-d comes from the commandment (from the 10 commandments--see entry Charlton Heston < :lol: >) to not take God's name in vain (i.e. use it trivially). It actually applies to rendering of God's name in Hebrew as either the tetragrammaton --the four letter inutterable name of God--or one of six other Hebrew names of God in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). It is actually unnecessary to use the hyphen according to most Jewish religious scholars, however many very religious Jewish people follow this practice. It's not meant to censor but to avoid using a holy name for God respectfully, and only when necessary.

My feeling is if a word goes against your personal religios belifes to the point that you need to censor it, then you need to chose a different word. It's the same way for using Jesus or Allah, Buddha, Vishnu or any other religious word, if it goes against your beliefs, chose an alternative. Most readers wouldn't even notice the substitution. It's not censorship, really TC, it's simply not "completing" the spelling of God's name. Hence leaving the dash in place of the "o". By not completing the spelling of "God" the person hasn't used God's name in vain. It's not that they don't want to use it, or that it's even wrong. It's just not correct to spell it in it's completeness. I know it sounds arcane and complicated, but it's more tradition (doing this when using the English spelling) and comfort. But you will find this (incomplete) spelling of God as G-d in many, many scholarly books, journal articles, etc. written by Orthodox Jewish scholars. Hope this clarifies and doesn't confuse the issue more ;)

Folks, I hate to be a nudge, but could we return to topic please? This is the last question up: OK, how many people like doing prompt challenges more than doing their own thing?

Sorry (blushes sheepishly). I did my first prompt stories over the summer for the CuddyFest. Because there were something like 200 prompts to choose from, I felt that I could pick a prompt that would speak to my fanfic writer's muse. So I actually did two of them. They were no more difficult or easy than my non-prompt one-shot stories. The hardest part for me (since it was CUDDY fest) was to keep the story focused more on Cuddy than House (who is the focus of pretty much all of my stories)

As for challenges and the like, I generally like them. Deadlines help me focus. Even when I'm working on a fic independent of any kind of challenge or fest, I give myself a weekly deadline. I'm goal-oriented and a deadline gives me a weekly goal that doesn't overwhelm me. Prompts, in the case of fic fests, can help me if I'm in a writing rut. They've even helped me generate ideas for future pieces. Challenges, fic fests, etc. seem to be really wonderful exercises for me. The formats work well with my personal writing style already, so I don't find them limiting. I've never participated in any kind of "fic gifting", though, so I can't speak to that.

My deadline is as long as I have the next chapter, of quality of course, out when it's due, I'm good. I do try to finish a story or get it 90% done before I start posting though.

From the Rec Thread: Can smut be tasteful? Well, I've seen stuff that was smut but not squicky smut. I've seen really smutty smut too. So, yeah, I think some smut can be more tasteful than other smut. ETA: I think I could add something to this statement. To me, squicky smut is smut that makes me uncomfortable. For instance, anything that's nonconsensual and written with the intent of being enticing/arousing is squicky. If I'm writing non-con, it better leave the reader feeling like non-con is a horrible thing to go through. I would never want to glorify that kind of situation. I think of PWP as pure smut whereas something with a story behind it softens the smuttiness.

I have a hard time with ficathons, because I'm inclined to write based on a feeling of "flow," and too many things that must be included (or can't be included) can be rough. A prompt-type fest, like the recent Cuddyfest, are easier for me, since I'm choosing the idea to run with, rather than having it thrust upon me, or something. (Seriously, I once had to write a slash fic including "kittens, strawberries, and a sunset." Thank goodness it wasn't in this fandom. :shock: )

Tasteful and smut? I didn't think those words could be in the same sentence except for... "Smut cannot be tasteful." ...was what Jen Butterfly said. This is a common bias in the House fandom, as compared to other fandoms I have known. In fact, as I got deeper into House fandom, I was surprised at the abundance of gen. House fandom, in fact, is something of a first as far as I'm aware--they've either completely invented or at least revitalized the idea of the "friendship fic". Those are stories I personally would call gen, but apparently the writers/fen want some tie to the House/Wilson label (it's usually House/Wilson). Strange. My take? Tasteful smut is not an oxymoron.

I think it depends on the fic, but is smut in itself distasteful? No. Sex is an important and healthy part of a relationship. If you're writing about a romantic pairing, sex is just an extension of that. That said, I think the "porny" aspect becomes more noticeable when the characters sound off. For instance, if I'm reading a happy smut fic with House and Wilson, I'll be happy for the fictional couple. If I'm reading some quality Cuddy/Cameron smut, I'll think it's hot, but I won't think it's in-character, and thus reading it will feel dirtier, because the voices are more anonymous. *not true of all Cuddy/Cameron, not trying to pick on anyone, just an example

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