Really need to get my fandom mojo back.

[emmagrant01]

Every time I go anywhere near Tumblr these days, I start to hear about wank, so I back off again. It's summer and I have a kid on my hands full time at the moment, so it's easy to just keep busy doing other things. And between threepatch and tumblr_refuge, I feel like I'm staying reasonably active in the fandom (and having fun while doing it).

But I have a Sherlock fic I really, really need to finish, and I have to figure out how to find the motivation to do it. It's set after HLV, so there is all of that to deal with, and wow. That's just hard right now. I'm not sure what I believe about Mary's backstory and where John's and Sherlock's heads are after that episode. (Not that I think everyone else is sure either, but man, that makes it complicated to work out the plot.)  And when I start to think about the unpleasant comments I am bound to get on it (because no matter what you write, you're going to upset someone who doesn't know how to use the back button these days), it makes me want to forget the whole thing and go do something else.

But I can't, because it's being written for someone who paid a large amount of money for a fic from me in a fandom fundraiser, and this is the fic she wanted. And it's been a year and I really do need to get it done. I actually like the prompt a lot and think that if I can just get myself back to work on it, it will probably turn out to be something I will enjoy writing.  drinkingcocoa has seen a few chapters and has assured me that it's worth writing, and that it will turn out well.

BG will be in a day camp next week from 9-5 every day, and so I will have time to sit down and write. I just need the motivation to actually do it. Got any you can spare? :-P

Comments

[closetofheroes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really wouldn't get too worked up about it. I don't think the act of writing fanfic should be about taking sides or subscribing to theories, and if the canon winds up proving you 'wrong' that's okay. With such ambiguous characters, the best you can do to be faithful to them is make sure their voices are right.

Have faith in your own ability to make the reader believe. It's an ability you've proven yourself to have in spades. What makes your stories feel like they fit in the canon isn't so much about having certain facts tally up - it's just about getting their voices right and staying true to what is essential about them. Even essentials can shift, if the writing shows how they evolve. Capturing the voice of the characters is more important than anything else. Even OOC stuff can usually work as long as the voice is right. If I read a fic and John says things that I can't actually imagine him saying in Martin Freeman's voice, I tend to back-button, but if he sounds like John, I can be convinced of a lot. Really, there's not much you can't have happen. Exploring possibilities is the whole point of fanfic and of the show as well; after series 1, for example, I think many of us would have found the idea of Sherlock standing up and making a speech about how much John has changed his life to be a bit OOC, but they pulled it off. It's all just playing and exploring. :)

I've probably said more than enough, but I'm suddenly reminded of Martin Freeman remarking: 'My job should be a pleasure. It's called playing. It's not called fighting, it's called playing a part... so it should have a certain lightness to it and it should have a joy to it.'