pippychick

Thank you so much, dardar1 I’m glad you enjoyed the chapter, and you are welcome!

Chapter Eight

Oh, I agree, reviews are wonderful! When I stop to think about it, I enjoy the process of writing so much and so often that reviews reassure me I’m not being merely self-indulgent. Even though, truth be told, I’d be quite happy to be self-indulgent. But when someone wants to know what happens next, or discusses the story with others, it’s a great feeling. But, I think I’ve said before my favourite reviews are those where I get to see the reader’s reaction, and they tell me how reading made them feel. Maybe it’s silly, but especially the darker fiction I’ve written seems to have a life of its own away from my keyboard. I’ve had reviews (and private emails) for some of my work that make me realise I’ve left an impression on someone forever, and that feels better than good. It feels like the creative process really worked in that instance, for that one person, and it’s bigger than me. Those reviews aren’t left for me, they’re left for the story. If I ever made you frightened, or made you cry. If I broke your heart, or healed it. If I made you laugh, or even take yourself off in private… these are things that have no price. They mean that my stories will probably outlive me, obscure as they are. What happened once will happen again and again. I couldn’t ask for more than that. In these times, creative writing seems more important than ever, especially in a community like this one, where it isn’t done for monetary gain. Maybe it’s just that I’m getting on, but more and more people seem to delight in showing others how ugly their soul is these days. Everyone seems determined not to care about anything or anyone. I don’t need to point at those people. You all know who they are. Even the darkest things you write are never ugly. They might be frightening, monstrous, brutal, violent and painful, but they aren’t ugly like that. They are all part of the same thing, after all. If you can make someone feel something, anything, you’re a success. No matter how many (or how few) reviews you recieve. Like others have said, I’m quite introverted too. I don’t know if that means anything. Certainly, it makes us more inclined to reflection, and I think that is quite important if you want to write well.

Chapter Twenty-one

Oh, surely not…*g* Erotic fiction is a challenge in its own right, fanfiction or original. I’ve seen too many professional authors stumble over their erotic scenes to doubt it. You can almost see the cringe they had while they were writing. Erotica demands a lot from a writer, and you can’t be afraid of exposure. I think you have to put a lot of yourself into it for the characters’ sake, and draw on all of your experience (sexual or otherwise), without being self-conscious in the slightest. As if you were taking your experience and lending it to them without conditions. If there is embarrassment, self-consciousness or giggling, then that had better be coming from the characters, not yourself. You don’t even need to be vastly experienced to do this, since any gaps can be bridged via deductive leaps, but you must do it. Character and sexual writing are all tied up together. If you want to write good erotica, as opposed to generic porn, you need to make the characters drives and motivations as much a part of the sex as the physical act itself. Why do they want it? How long have they wanted it for? How much (or how little) does it mean to them? The easiest way to describe what I mean is to think in terms of RL. Say, if we have a sexual encounter, we don’t draw solid lines around it and section it off from the rest of our life forever. Nor can we, because depending on the circumstances, there may be consequences to face. The same is true of fictional characters. Sometimes, sex just happens. It’s natural. It happens to you, just the same as it will happen to them. To be brutally honest here, I often find the lack of sex drive in characters off-putting in a show. The lines around what is acceptable sexual tension and what they refuse to write/produce/show often makes the characters and their world seem stilted and grey to me.The world is not sterile. If the whole human race danced around each other endlessly like that, we’d never reproduce. As much as I still resent RT Davies for killing my best man off (sniffles), at least he’s never shied away as a writer from creating fully formed characters, complete with normal sex lives/drives. Hell, that he does create such great characters is one of the reasons I’m so annoyed at their sudden death. Once you’ve thought about all those things, then you can consider the technicalities of writing sexually (tension, pacing, rhythm, word choice and so forth). And, if you’re a woman writing m/m slash, that’s a whole other can of worms to pick through and research to be done. Although I do think that if you’ve done the earlier groundwork, as above, then you can still be very convincing, even if you don’t know exactly how the male orgasm feels.

One more thing to thank fanfiction for, because you know how much I love your novels Yes! I knew it would work… *hides away the tube of superglue and makes evil plan for elveses* I have researched some very strange and diverse things for fanfiction. My search history is terrible, and probably makes me look like some kind of serial killer.

I just think you have hit a nail squarely on the head here. Fanfiction is a realm where we can all go on journeys and set off on flights of fancy. It’s a world that has no borders and no limits. Frankly, those of us who are looking for escapism find the ultimate freedom in fanfiction. We can be anyone, do anything we wish. When you play in someone else’s world, you change it just by being there. You could consider each fanfiction a paralell dimension of the original content, kind of like endless copies of a world in minecraft that is shaped and worked on until it becomes something different to all around it. Yes! I have yet to watch your video… I have to take the dogs to the vets to have their claws cut (oh, that sounds so simple, doesn’t it? – looks dubiously at dogs), but I will definitely take a look when I get back in.

Ok, well I’m not sure I completely agree with all your assumptions there about fanfiction in general (forgive me), but I only really read and write adult fanfiction, so maybe.... I do think we should all strive for quality, especially where we are paying homage to something we love, example: Perhaps We May Hear Golden Trumpets by Aspen. And my favourite fanfictions of all time are where the writer (at least for me) does exceed the skill/standard of the original creator, example: Obsession by Ningengirai (read/heed the warnings please!). The fanfictions I’ve quoted there are both beautiful examples of great in-character writing. Every sentence serves the characters and their development as well as the action, and are mindblowingly gorgeous into the bargain. Yes, they are adult, but that is not all they are. I believe those writers have created something that transcends simple glorification of the original authors, great though those people might be. The kind of fanfiction writers I love don’t set out to “outdo” or please the copyright holder, they set out to please the characters. We write fanfiction because the characters tell us to, not because the original author said it is okay (though I am really glad that most of them do allow fanfiction of their worlds and universes). Ok… have I finished growling? Yes, I think I have! Onward! (sorry about that) Well, I am not sure after all of that how to answer your question. For me, I would say that I don’t get into Character A’s head… I let them into mine, and usually they’ll tell me everything without me needing to think about it at all. Where the original media is visual, there is actually a lot more to play with. I often find that most actors have certain tics and idiosyncracies that they can’t help, that become part of each character they play, and I’ll sometimes consciously echo those in fanfiction. Really good actors invent those same tics and idiosyncracies for each character they play. Use them. Where the media is a book, you can always try and flavour your language to create a reminder of the source material, although I think you can go too far with this, so be sparing and don’t lose your own narrative voice. If you spend a lot of time with the souce material (i.e. hours and hours) those things will happen without needing to really think about it too much. A lot of fanfiction is about creating a very subtle kind of echo that the reader doesn’t notice, while still managing to inject something new that you want to put there. Dialogue is a place where a lot of writers fall down for me, and bad dialogue will almost always make me stop reading a story immediately. For instance (to use two of my favourite fandoms), Elrond would never say: “Hi!” Partly because ‘Hi’ is not an acceptable greeting, partly because he’s always more wordy than that, and partly because everything Elrond says must enable him to use up a series of differing facial expressions ranging from mild surprise to intense frowing (I do blame Hugo Weaving for that). Whereas Jack Harkness would never only say: “Hello.” You know, because he’d have to flirt. Even if Character B was a blob of brown goo with a couple of antenna sticking out. In fact, he’d consider that some kind of new and exciting physical challenge. Listen to the characters. They’ve usually got loads of words of their own, all saved up, just waiting for someone to write them down. Sometimes I hear them so clearly I end up with lots of dialogue that I then have to fill in. Not a pleasant writing experience, but at least it means the characters are coming through loud and clear, and it usually means they’re interacting well with each other. Ok… now I sound completely insane. At the same time, never write dialogue exclusively. Always give your characters something to do, or think or feel. Usually when I do this, I find the characters start thinking in adult ways, and before you know it… they’re at it. Admittedily, it’s a lot easier to make Harkness do this than some others. If your character is kind of hard to impress or doesn’t want to misbehave for some other reason, then seduce them into it. Make the story work for you so that the character can’t help but respond. You don’t have to change the character’s personality. You change their environment and their interactions until they have no choice. In one of my stories the Marquis de Sade spends the entire twenty-five or so chapters completely seducing and ruining a priest. All characters have weaknesses you can exploit, no matter who they are. Sometimes you might hit a dead end, so just go back and try something else. I should note that by “seduce” I don’t necessarily mean sex. I mean to seduce as in to develop the character in such a way that adult fiction will be the end result. Characters are not fixed points (well, except for Harkness, but since he’d do anyone at the drop of a hat, he doesn’t strictly count… neither does he count). If you develop the character slowly enough, and believably enough, you can’t fail. And lastly, if you’re still wanting advice and not thinking: why the hell doesn’t this pippychick bird ever shut up?! then I’d say a good way to check if you’re going in the right direction is to imagine the scene(s) you’re writing from the pov of each of the characters. It should work just as seamlessly for them all. Even if Character B will never be the pov character, make sure you know why they do and say the things they do. The reader might not consciously notice, but it will give your story plausibility if the motivations are there for all of the characters. And the reader is who we’re trying to catch at the end of the day. We make the characters think and feel because we want the reader to think and to feel along those same lines. The reader is the one we want to seduce, via the characters. Right. I am finally shutting up.

Hi, and welcome to AFF, hauntedpoem! Thank you! I hope we will see some of your stories here too, especially the Maglor one I liked. Always room for more lotr fanfiction *g*

I tend to read down columns too… and that is throwing my brain a bit. You’ve still got to read though everything, because when it’s left to right before top to bottom it’s easy to miss what you’re looking for. It does look great on mobile though. I just had a look through a Blu Diamond Mini running Opera Everything is in a nice list, and the site is very easy to navigate.

Chapter Twenty

Well, I think those who are reading this story know there is going to be darkness in it, and as you say you have tagged for it. I think you are quite right it has to be done in a sensitive way, and yet the events themselves were anything but “sensitive” so I don’t envy you that quandary at all. And here I’ll just offer my unsolicited advice (again)… sorry. I have written a few torture scenes, and what I’ve learnt from them is that less is more. Go for detail and you will lose the connection to the reader and the emotional resonance. If it’s too harsh, it will shock readers out of the story. Every one of your readers will have a different limit. The best way to approach these kind of scenes, imho, is to be as sketchy as possible, allowing the reader to fill in the gaps with their own imagination. Instead concentrate on the emotional impact of the events. Good luck!

And you are here too, wanderingaddict! Thank you Oh, Tolkien… I love his world. I love to take his perfect elves and let them have a bit of fun with their immortality. Tolkien would hate me, were he alive to see it. I do not apologise… *g* Thank you I’m glad you enjoyed these early chapters too. I’m totally in agreement about gay elves… you should see how Elrond gets on with the mirkwood three, lol. There’s such little canon information about Gildor that I think he needed to grow as the fic went along; sometimes the only way you can get to know a character is to write them (plus it’s much more fun). I thank you for the concrit though, and perhaps we should have gone back and coloured him in a little more at the start, once we knew who he was going to be. lol… you will get what you want eventually, I’m sure. Softly, softly, catchee monkey applies here… Glorfindel thinks he knows what he wants. Of course he doesn’t! But Gildor will show him…

I think I agree with Bronx, but does the confusion stem from LL wanting to indicate that there is more than one Summers involved? Ugh… at first glance you know the answer, then it becomes weirder and weirder... When saying “Snyder’s Summers’ Sexfest” we get the confusion over whose sexfest it is. While “Snyder’s Summers Sexfest” might only involve Joyce, Buffy, Dawn, all three, or any combination. The only proper way to indicate possession by Snyder, while also indicating there is more than one Summers involved would be to say: “Snyder’s Summerses Sexfest” Example here is from grammarbook.com: Wow… what happens when you say: “Snyder’s Summerses’ Sexfest”? It's like Inception or something… (please do not look into the void, as it may look back into you)

I still haven’t caught up with your story, TCR. Hoping to later today after work, but I second Bronx’s recommendation of Schadenfreude by 19. But it is a story you’ll never forget for as long as you live. If/when you read it, make time for it. Make time for the consequence of it, because it will affect you deeply. Hell, it’s dark. I liked it so much I bought the print version.

Hi Anon, If you check this thread, please email me and I’ll add you to a list. I’m starting to realise I should have added this to my Author’s Notes. I will amend them to make it clear, so you should get this message in any case. My email is a.slash.writer@gmail.com

Thank you, ILoveDexter! I will try not to keep you waiting so long. Glad you enjoyed it!

And thank you again! Iason, despite being a machine, is proving very difficult to predict. I half wanted rage from him too, but then when I came to write it, I realised he couldn’t. That paradoxically, Riki’s behaviour will have caused a retreat from all of these new things, like desire, like any emotion at all. It’s that thing you said last time about Riki, that he may as well beg mercy from a kitchen appliance. If Iason was angry, there would be something for Riki to work with and manipulate (or at least attempt to). Honestly, Daryl is coming across to me as a sweet soul, that doesn’t belong in the world of Ai no Kusabi at all. I think in some ways Riki was right in his assessment of Daryl. Iason has him right where he wants him, and it’s too late for him. Daryl has some kind of secret vested interest in seeing Riki succeed in some way. In fact, he’s the opposite of Iason. Iason believes that Riki’s service as a pet makes a perfect circle. Daryl on the other hand, believes that Riki represents hope. He doesn’t want to see Riki broken. And I knew I’d posted a deluge of chapters today – I certainly didn’t expect a deluge of reviews in response, but I am ever so thankful. You’re completely awesome!

Thank you, Bronx! Oh, Erestor is a devious one, though there is no malice in his games. I rather think Elladan will eventually be the “elleth” since he seems to be fascinated by it. Elrohir doesn’t quite enjoy it, which is exactly as Erestor intends. To be honest, I’m not certain the twins have even realised yet that they are being tested. At some point, Erestor is going to mistake one for the other on purpose. But come the moment, they will need to decide whether to be honest with Erestor despite their desires. That will be an interesting dilemma for them, and as of now I have no idea what the outcome will be! I do know that if they’re honest, they’ll get what they want. If they are not… oh, dear, lol. I’m glad you liked this update, even though it’s a short chapter.

Thank you so much, Bronx! I can’t tell you how glad I am that it comes across that way. I fully expected Legolas to be all like: “Crown. Now.” But that isn’t how they wanted to do it. I shouldn’t have been surprised really that Thranduil would make it a job of his to kind of dazzle Legolas. He is more experienced, after all. He kind of surprised me with that fatherly concern beneath it all, though, when he enthuses Legolas so that he’ll go out into the world and live, rather than stay forever at home (no matter how much love is between them). He’s a wily one! I think they’re going to have oodles of fun together in the remaining chapters. And then we will follow Legolas to Imladris, where he can shake up the twins. And Erestor can shake everyone up… *g*