Ship Zone The Shamy Thread! (Season 6 Edition-Spoilers)

[rubyanjel]

Saw a news item that reminded me of Sheldon in the Parking Lot episode, where he warns Howard that if you wear the Ironman mask into a bank that they'll wrestle you to the ground.

Apparently some guy robbed a bank wearing an Ironman mask...

They did not wrestle him to the ground, though (I guess because he had a gun.)

Learned his moves from Sheldon. Great!

[Guest DroneInTheSun]

*spits water* HOLLY CRAP leonard and sheldon is an actual pairing????!!!!!! there are so many fanfics of them??!!!!! what?!!!!!!

 

I don't know what's so far stretched about it? + half the stories in the L/S filter are friendships stories anyway. 

[rachelshamyfan]

There is some romance ones as well which I stumbled across and a bit bizarre!

[Guest DroneInTheSun]

In which Marisol pwns everyone and remind us that she's the best Shamy writer of all.   

[koops]

In which Marisol pwns everyone and remind us that she's the best Shamy writer of all.   

 

This is an AWESOME one shot. While I'm not a fan of her kid-filled Shamyverse, her other stuff is so incredibly good I could see it all happen on the show. The best thing about this story is that it just shows once again why I think Shamy sex being saved for the series finale would be a horrible mistake. You'd miss out on opportunities to do so much with the aftermath, like Mari wrote so beautifully here. Scenes like this could totally happen on the show and be wonderful, maybe even more so than the consummation itself.

[rachelshamyfan]

That's an excellent one! There is a lot of very good well written shamy based stories and I don't mind if they stay in character or veer off character

[Guest DroneInTheSun]

What's the point in having them OOC though? I mean, I think most of us love the Shamy for the uniqueness of their relationship. Writing them OOC takes that away. If Sheldon and Amy don't look like themselves, am I even reading about Sheldon and Amy?

[Sheps88]

I don't think people intentionally write them out of character. It just happens sometimes when authors put them in situations that would most likely never happen on the show. That being the case, it's hard for anyone to say how said characters would act. It's just an author's prerogative at that point, and I give kudos to anyone brave enough to undertake the challenge.

[koops]

I think you can tell when people really take their time and put their effort into trying to keep them IC in completely novel situations, regardless of how successful they are at it, as opposed to when people just want to write their story and don't really care about being true to canon, though. I also think there's a fine line between trying to give a different spin to TBBT (for example, writing it as a drama) and turning it into a completely different show where the only thing that's left of TBBT is the names and the occasional sentence that says "While the boys discussed comic books".

[CaitAmber]

They were superior beans. 

 

That is all. 

[BazingaFan]

I was under the assumption when I started mine that it would be easier to write since the characters are already developed. It's the opposite, however, in my opinion.  You have a story you want to write, but at the same time, you have to try to stay in character to the show and it's very challenging and a tricky balance.  Like sheps88 said, I give kudos to anyone that is able to pull it off, even it's not as consistent as it should be.

 

I haven't read the fanfics in a while though so I don't know of the ones that you guys are speaking of.  So this is just my two cents, lol.

Edited June 23, 2013 by BazingaFan

[Sheps88]

The most frustrating thing about writing fanfics is that by using already developed characters whose backrounds and quirks have already been explored in some depth, one resigns control of the story to these characters. You may have a phenomenal story to tell, but characters like these don't always allow you to explore it fully. Then you are left at a crossroads where you either choose to follow the characters or take a risk a follow your original story concept. It is very difficult to do justice to both.

Edited June 23, 2013 by Sheps88

[Sheps88]

So true, Pearl, about the ratings. Sigh...

[phantagrae]

The most frustrating thing about writing fanfics is that by using already developed characters whose backrounds and quirks have already been explored in some depth, one resigns control of the story to these characters. You may have a phenomenal story to tell, but characters like these don't always allow you to explore it fully. Then you are left at a crossroads where you either choose to follow the characters or take a risk a follow your original story concept. It is very difficult to do justice to both.

I think that if you have a story to tell that is too far outside the lines of what has already been established, then you're not really writing a story in that universe. You'd either have to label it as AU fic, or figure out why your story idea doesn't fit the characters.

I think that sometimes people picture the actors, or the physical look of the characters, but imagine something completely different, almost like imagining a movie starring the same actors, but as different characters who just happen to have the same name.

IMO, if you're writing fan fiction for a show it ought to be because you want to write a story that uses the characters as they are.

While I do think that you can "grow" characters in the course of the story, you have to first have a firm grasp of who they are to begin with so that any character development within the story is organic and not artificial.

I think that watching the show and paying attention to speech patterns and body language and really getting the characters in your head really helps you get the characters right.

JMHO

[rachelshamyfan]

What's the point in having them OOC though? I mean, I think most of us love the Shamy for the uniqueness of their relationship. Writing them OOC takes that away. If Sheldon and Amy don't look like themselves, am I even reading about Sheldon and Amy?

a lot of the fics do keep the uniqueness of the character even when they go ooc, I guess I just don't mind!

[phantagrae]

a lot of the fics do keep the uniqueness of the character even when they go ooc, I guess I just don't mind!

How can one maintain the uniqueness of the character if one goes out of character?

[rachelshamyfan]

I meant that they still have the quirkiness about them that makes them unique, I don't really know how to explain it properly but for me I don't care if its ooc in ic as long as its fun to read

[koops]

Yes, but there are writers who think their "quirkness" is just about putting in a line about "the boys reading comics" or have Sheldon say Bazinga. That's not good writing, IMO. Like I said before, I don't care if people can't stay perfectly IC as long as they are trying, you know? Of course I'd never favor a fanfic where I think Shamy are OOC, but I happily read stuff if it's only mildly OOC and the story is interesting. It's when people just don't make the effort that I can't take them seriously. But then again, the beauty of fanfiction, I guess, is that there's no ratings so people can write as they please and there's an audience for anyone. 

[Lionne]

I was under the assumption when I started mine that it would be easier to write since the characters are already developed. It's the opposite, however, in my opinion.  You have a story you want to write, but at the same time, you have to try to stay in character to the show and it's very challenging and a tricky balance.  Like sheps88 said, I give kudos to anyone that is able to pull it off, even it's not as consistent as it should be.

 

I haven't read the fanfics in a while though so I don't know of the ones that you guys are speaking of.  So this is just my two cents, lol.

 

If this argument is valid, then you are arguing that you're writing a story which isn't character driven, but plot driven, and if that is the case, then you have to ask if Sheldon and Amy are the right characters to carry out your plot. If you have an amazing plot, then perhaps you should create the right characters to carry out those series of events, not try to shoehorn the established TBBT characters into laughably OOC behavior just to serve your story. You then decimate, disrespect and destroy those characters for the sake of your story, and quite frankly, I have yet to see a story with some type of plot which is awesome enough to justify doing that.

 

When a story goes OOC, I stop reading. Sheldon and Amy, heck all of TBBT characters, have plenty of issues and dramatic tension and personalities and such to be explored in a fan fic. If you sat down and thought about the characters, their situation, what drives them, potential conflict, what issues they have to explore and how you want to explore it, there is plenty of fodder there for fics. You are considering the conundrum of the characters themselves and then writing about it - which does lead to a lot of fics on the same subject, true, but those are the ones which are at least IC for the most part.

[BazingaFan]

If this argument is valid, then you are arguing that you're writing a story which isn't character driven, but plot driven, and if that is the case, then you have to ask if Sheldon and Amy are the right characters to carry out your plot. If you have an amazing plot, then perhaps you should create the right characters to carry out those series of events, not try to shoehorn the established TBBT characters into laughably OOC behavior just to serve your story. You then decimate, disrespect and destroy those characters for the sake of your story, and quite frankly, I have yet to see a story with some type of plot which is awesome enough to justify doing that.

 

When a story goes OOC, I stop reading. Sheldon and Amy, heck all of TBBT characters, have plenty of issues and dramatic tension and personalities and such to be explored in a fan fic. If you sat down and thought about the characters, their situation, what drives them, potential conflict, what issues they have to explore and how you want to explore it, there is plenty of fodder there for fics. You are considering the conundrum of the characters themselves and then writing about it - which does lead to a lot of fics on the same subject, true, but those are the ones which are at least IC for the most part.

 

My main point was that when I started writing mine that I thought having the characters already developed would make it easier and that just hasn't been the case.  I haven't read the fanfics that are really out of character that you guys are talking about, so I would probably agree if I read them and realized how far off base they are.  Most of the ones I've read are pretty good, obviously some better than other, and it's just fun to read.

 

The plot of my story is very dramatic and would never happen on the show, but it's fun to try to imagine what the characters would do and how much they would grow in that situation. 

 

Another thing I think that's important is to establish what season your story is set in. I wouldn't throw in a "bazinga" in the story if it was set in season 6. 

 

Anyway, I think the main problem, though, is that many people have their own ideas of the characters... and read a lot into the show sometimes that others may not. Part of that is because the show is sometimes inconsistent, and sheldon is so all over the place sometimes, lol.

Edited June 23, 2013 by BazingaFan

[Guest DroneInTheSun]

If this argument is valid, then you are arguing that you're writing a story which isn't character driven, but plot driven, and if that is the case, then you have to ask if Sheldon and Amy are the right characters to carry out your plot. If you have an amazing plot, then perhaps you should create the right characters to carry out those series of events, not try to shoehorn the established TBBT characters into laughably OOC behavior just to serve your story. You then decimate, disrespect and destroy those characters for the sake of your story, and quite frankly, I have yet to see a story with some type of plot which is awesome enough to justify doing that.

 

Lmao. Koops and I were talking about this the other day because a plot for a Shamy story came to me a couple of months ago and while the idea came to me as a TBBT fanfiction, it appeared very quickly that the plot was too big for the show and that I easily have enough material for an original novel there.

 

But then you're up against the huge problem that is going from fanfiction to original work. It's never easy transitioning from one to the other. I used to write a lot of my own stuff as a kid, and then when I discovered HP fanfictions in 2003 I just got sucked in and have written very little original things ever since. It's really hard going back to original things because I'm just so used to not having to worry about explaining things, and as much as you put some of yourself into fanfictions, it's never as much as what you put of yourself into original work. 

 

So I understand why people still go for fanfiction even when they have enough for original work. Like I said to koops, I'm going to write half of my story as a Shamy story, and if twenty chapters in it appears that the plot is too big for them, I'll change the names and go for original fiction instead.

[rachelshamyfan]

Homeostatic has updated

[phantagrae]

My main point was that when I started writing mine that I thought having the characters already developed would make it easier and that just hasn't been the case.  I haven't read the fanfics that are really out of character that you guys are talking about, so I would probably agree if I read them and realized how far off base they are.  Most of the ones I've read are pretty good, obviously some better than other, and it's just fun to read.

 

The plot of my story is very dramatic and would never happen on the show, but it's fun to try to imagine what the characters would do and how much they would grow in that situation. 

 

Another thing I think that's important is to establish what season your story is set in. I wouldn't throw in a "bazinga" in the story if it was set in season 6. 

 

Anyway, I think the main problem, though, is that many people have their own ideas of the characters... and read a lot into the show sometimes that others may not. Part of that is because the show is sometimes inconsistent, and sheldon is so all over the place sometimes, lol.

 

I don't think it's necessarily bad to tell a dramatic story for the characters, as long as you keep the characters true to themselves as much as possible.  It might be harder because we only get glimpses of their more serious selves--a moment here or there in an episode that will quickly return to humor because that is generally the style of the show.

 

But I think that one can extrapolate a little, if one has a firm grasp of who the characters really are, not who we want them to be.  And to me that means maybe watching certain episodes over and over or watching certain episodes that show how a particular character responds to certain things that might be relevant to the story you're telling.

 

I've often talked about how I love Sheldon interacting with his mother--so if I want to write a story about that, I would sit down and watch all the eps with Mary Cooper or where he mentions his mother or talks to her on the phone, etc., to get how they speak to each other, what their facial expressions and body language are in those scenes, and so forth.

 

As viewers and fans we can often let our interests, like the Shamy or the Lenny or whatever, skew characterization from where it really is as portrayed on the show.  Sometimes it can even help your storytelling process if you go back to the source material and see whether or not your version rings true.

 

It is hard, IMO, because you can't just take a character and go anywhere you want.  If you want to be true to the show, you are constrained by the created reality of the show, including how each character responds in any given situation.

[Misophonia]

Lmao. Koops and I were talking about this the other day because a plot for a Shamy story came to me a couple of months ago and while the idea came to me as a TBBT fanfiction, it appeared very quickly that the plot was too big for the show and that I easily have enough material for an original novel there.

 

But then you're up against the huge problem that is going from fanfiction to original work. It's never easy transitioning from one to the other. I used to write a lot of my own stuff as a kid, and then when I discovered HP fanfictions in 2003 I just got sucked in and have written very little original things ever since. It's really hard going back to original things because I'm just so used to not having to worry about explaining things, and as much as you put some of yourself into fanfictions, it's never as much as what you put of yourself into original work. 

 

So I understand why people still go for fanfiction even when they have enough for original work. Like I said to koops, I'm going to write half of my story as a Shamy story, and if twenty chapters in it appears that the plot is too big for them, I'll change the names and go for original fiction instead.

 

I agree completely.

 

Speaking as someone who started off writing her own original fiction (and who still writes her own original fiction), I find writing fanfiction to be both restrictive and freeing at the same time. It is freeing as I don't have to worry about fleshing out the characters or making the reader fall in love with them. This is done already. (After all, who reads fanfiction for a tv show/movie/book they don't love?) The restrictions are the other side of this complex coin. I have to work within the parameters established by someone else. I have to work within the mistakes/inconsistencies created by someone else. I have to be very careful what I have the characters do, say, think because someone else (the writers of TBBT) have already had them do this. This is what kept me from writing fanfiction for a long, long while (well, that and the fact that it's not something writers like me are supposed to like to do.)

 

Thus, to deal with the restrictions, I am always looking for the little, gray spaces in between. It is these little unexplored facets of character or backstory where I can do what I do best (build character). I can explore those areas where the writers of the show have either not wanted to, not cared to, or feared to tread. When I talk about "answering questions," in my A/Ns, this is what I am talking about. Fanfiction is fantastic way for a fan to try to answer those burning questions they have: How would the Shamy handle their first real kiss as a couple? Sex? How would Sheldon propose? Would marriage even be something he would want? How does this couple handle the ILY issue? Could they have kids (no twins!!) and what would that really look like? I also prefer to look at things that have been raised but then left unexplored on the show.

 

In my original fiction, I have none of these issues. I spend a lot of time "percolating"--which means fleshing out the characters and getting their voices straight in my mind. I also work out the issues of the premise I have put together. Seeing if the characters I have formed will meld with this concept. If they don't, I can decide whether to remold the character or adjust the premise. It is only when these things are completed that I go forth with trying to write the prologue or first chapter. And, it is only after this first chapter is done that I am committed to finish what I started. Up until this point, I can dump the whole thing. You might ultimately have to explain yourself and your characters a little more, but, in the end, you will get more respect from the world for coming up with something completely on your own instead of expounding on what someone else has created. (This is why I regularly get chewed out for writing fanfiction by my author cohorts.)

 

But, for all the tally books and such, I say write what you love and what you know. If this happens to be fanfiction, so be it.

[Sheps88]

Homeostatic has updated

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