impulsereader | (no subject)

So one of the things whirling around in my had is Pirate!Sherlock, and this has led me to want to set Much Ado on the open sea. I really need to separate that out into its own story, but right now my brain is demanding I watch Pirates of Penzance and try to meld the two stories...

Right - snippet in which I am horrible after the thinky thoughts.

Writing in the present tense.

I’ve knocked it off because I’m having a serious go at something original and since it’s Officially Frowned Upon I figured I should make the change sooner rather than later, and switching back and forth would be a nightmare because I’d be continually switching within each story. I didn’t really set out to write in the present on purpose; when I started out on that first story I realized pretty quickly that I was mixing tenses and when I went to fix it the present tense was definitely just working better for the flow of this beginning passage that was in my head.

I miss it for fic. It makes me feel, as the writer, more in the character’s head and as a reader it makes me feel like I’m acting the part of each character in my head which helps me visualize the events of the story as if they were on a screen in front of me – which is what fic is all about for me.

Not using it does make it easier to switch perspectives within a scene. I felt pretty locked into each character by sections, and it also made it very important to balance the story between characters, switching off perspective at regular intervals. I didn’t run into any issues of - I need to switch to Sherlock here, but the next section really has to be in John’s head - but this is likely due to the fact that I haven’t written very much yet, and the stories were fairly short compared to what I’m tackling now.

It is extraordinarily easy to slip back into it. I let myself put John’s flashback into present and it took me a long time to stop slipping again. I decided against giving Sherlock the same privilege when he goes into his head over the music.

So, speaking of which, I am a horrible person and I am the only one J&S are running away from instead of trying to catch...

Peter rose from his crouch and gestured out at the grounds. “Rocky and Madge want to site a new garden, a proper walled affair, just beyond that dip,” Peter pointed into the distance. “I told them it may not be possible what with the stream; I’d run into a drainage issue straight away. I suggested they put it next to the maze instead. What do you think?”

Sherlock walked to the west edge of the roof to survey the first spot in question then proceeded to the south west corner to view the second. Without thinking about it, he took a further half step so that his left foot rested on the parapet as he peered into the distance thoughtfully. “Yes, next to the maze would make more sense. Why had they settled on the other spot?”

“Some notion of Madge’s, something about a barbeque pit.”

On the ground, John and Claude were just cresting a hill as they made the final approach to the house. John had just remarked cheerfully that the weather was really very pleasant for December when they came into view of the house and his eyes were drawn up; to the figure of Sherlock, standing on the edge of the roof. His head reeled dizzily and his vision went grey; the bicycle sideswipes him and he drops.

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Ow! Poor John.

Indeed.

Nicely done! That ending is great.

(What do you mean by Officially Frowned Upon?)

Thank you!

Officially Frowned Upon for actual published fiction. Almost a year ago I was challenged to finish - just finish - writing a book, based upon the premise that a lot of published fiction is - well, crap - and I couldn't do much worse. I have subsequently discovered I can do quite well, in fact. Who finishes a book but doesn't try to sell it? :-)

Officially Frowned Upon? I'm not sure there is such a thing in the unregulated world of fanfiction. There are some people who don't like it, but there are some people who love it. There's no Fanfiction High Council issuing directives from on high about the matter, much as some people would love for there to be. Write in whichever way feels most natural to you. I'd read it either way.

Ouch. John is definitely not in a good place there. And the worst part of it is that he'll have some 'splaining to do afterwards, which is always harder than having the flashback.

Poor John, indeed! Poor Sherlock as well, in fact. He does not take well the fact that he is the reason John is collapsing on the lawn.

Oh, I can see Sherlock having a major conniption over that. He, too, will have some 'splaining to do afterwards.

Cue the second quartet...I think I'm almost ready to send you some passages for music beta. I have to admit I've based it more upon Carnegie Hall telling me what is going on than what my ears give me from listening to the music. I have to conclude that I am even more inept with music than I imagined. I will admit, though, that I think part of the problem is that I Think while I'm driving, and can't seem to stop myself no matter how unsafe this is, so I end up drifting off. Possibly if I were forced to focus on the music more it would sink in better.

I look forward to them. I should probably also tell you that I'll be out of town June 17 - July 6, with relatively sporadic Internet access, so keep that in mind when you send stuff.

Noted. Thanks for the notice, and I hope you have a nice trip!

Holy shit, those last two sentences! Things went kind of dizzy and grey for me too, for a second there. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GIVE THAT MAN A HUG, STAT!!!!

Re your tense question, I wouldn't say that using present tense is frowned upon. I see it more frequently these days (in professional writing, I mean) although it's associated very strongly with YA fiction, at least in Australian fiction. There's an immediacy to the present tense which can be extremely effective, particularly when engaging young readers. Whatever tells your story most effectively is always the right choice. :)

Hm. Interesting. Thought, when one is trying to sell out and basically do whatever is necessary to be paid to write, it seems advisable to go with the flow...

The real appeal of fic, I am discovering all over again as a writer after being a reader, is the fact that all the emotion is already there. The story of John and Sherlock is out there and I can shamelessly abuse poor John by standing Sherlock on a roof, and everyone reading this knows why this is Not Good.

well, the flow is sort of ambiguous, and wanting to be paid to write isn't selling out. It's how I make my living after all. :)

The inbuilt emotional context and character history are great elements to use in fanfic. I'm having so much fun using established contexts to explore relationships and ideas, and sometimes concepts I haven't done before. I loved writing the Mary, Not Contrary literal genderswap story, because I wanted to see if I could write John convincingly as a woman, and I was pretty happy with the result. Writing the music fics I'm playing with is an opportunity to try to write in a way that reflects musicality and relationships. Not entirely sure how well I'm achieving that, but it's a great writing exercise anyway.

It's fun creating your own characters and worlds too, of course, but it takes 250 pages (or sometimes three books) before you can achieve the effect you got in those last two sentences.

Most of the best fic writers I know use present tense fairly often, and effectively. Including you. Go with what works, as others here have said. The people who object...well. I just got a comment (the first) on a fic on AO3 informing me that I need to change my OUAT disclaimer, because fairytales have no copyright. Yeah. Go with what works - you do that beautifully.

John!whump!! More, please ♥

What? You have got to be joking - no, you're not, people are crazy.

Who does that? Who reads something and decides that's what they're going to say?

Honestly, the entire lemon project is based upon the thought that anyone who is cool and curious enough to pick up the lemon and check out the website is then cool enough to follow through and send a quick - you guys are nuts message - or join in, but this reminds me that people are nuts and I need to be ready for anything...

Yea! Thank you for all the lovely praise! Now that I've been aware of the difference, I've noticed quite a lot of fic is done in the present, I imagine for some of the same reasons I do it.

Oh good GRIEF!

I'm glad I don't seem to be the only G&S nut in this fandom. Or the only one with weird Piratical ideas for Sherlock. :)

My brain is demanding a version of Pirates (of Penzance) with Sherlock as Pirate King, John as Major General Stanley and Lestrade as the Sergeant of Police.

Molly turns out to be a powerful soprano and plays Mabel. Mrs Hudson is Ruth (though she's a leeetle older than 47). Sally Donovan is Edith or Kate(?).

Fredric and the third sister are still open for casting...

I may have to write this as a University AU with everyone in G&S soc. Or a charity fund-raiser by the Met and Associates?

Charity fundraiser, definitely! And Mrs. Hudson can totally pull it off.

Hm. There is a definite lack of other women and Frederic types lying around Sherlock fandom. Perhaps a crossover would be in order to fill a few key roles?

My Pirate!Sherlock thoughts are primarily focused on crossing over with djarum99's 'just' slightly AU Pirates of the Caribbean world which starts here http://djarum99.livejournal.com/15978.html#cutid2/

I keep threatening her with this, but so far there are just swirling thoughts in my brain and one of the eddies got caught up in the You can imagine world.