Fan Fic Writing Questions and Answers.

[phantagrae]

Nope, the US Air Force. Well, since I was on a  RAF base, yeah I guess there was a connection there.  

 

Interestingly, there are no 24 hour department stores in Pasadena or Glendale.  However, depending on where in Glendale you have her living, there is one in Altadena, just north of Pasadena, easily accessible off the 210 (Glendale is West and Northwest of Pasadena).  She could then take either the Lake Ave or Hill Ave exits of the 210.  Hill ave is the Eastern Boundary of Cal Tech, Lake is near enough to the Western boundary of Cal Tech.  

I don't know that that amount of detail or realism is necessary since we're not talking about real life.  Just as you wouldn't have to specify whether she went to Walmart or some other 24-hr department store or whatever, you wouldn't have to specify whether or not there's really a store in her area or not, or which route would work for her getting to CalTech or whatever.

i just don't think that certain kinds of details are that important unless they actually figure in the story.  Otherwise it can become just so much pedantic clutter.  Being a pedant myself, I know whereof I speak!

 

[Tensor]

I was just doing some research for Stephen.  Whether or not she uses it, what she uses, or how she uses it, is up to her.   Just because she has the information doesn't mean she'll use it.  OTOH, she can't use what she doesn't have.  

[Stephen Hawking]

I'm a HE BTW.

[Tensor]

Sorry.  I must have been thinking of someone else.  We have a couple of male names who are females.  Again, my apologies.  

[hazelra7]

ON this whole Walmart thing, I lived in that area for five years.  There are 3 targets within spitting distance of "Amy's Apartment"  Not one Walmart.  Its in Duarte, 19 miles away.  Also, no one who lives in Pasadena shops at Walmart.  Not cool enough.  LOL

Go with Target, you will have it close and it will be true to the area.

PS, now I live where there are 5 Walmarts and one Target... I miss Glendale....

[Bella Duveen]

Does anyone else post a chapter, and then won't re-read until someone's posted a nice review, or get nervous about what the review is going to say? Haven't had anything nasty myself - in fact, it's lovely to have such amazing support, but I still do it!

[Stephen Hawking]

Does anyone else post a chapter, and then won't re-read until someone's posted a nice review, or get nervous about what the review is going to say?

Actually, when I've posted a chapter, I reread it obsessively, endlessly spotting and correcting mistakes.

[karyshamy]

Actually, when I've posted a chapter, I reread it obsessively, endlessly spotting and correcting mistakes.

Me too!

I get so anxious, and I update it thousands of times until I get tired of looking for mistakes. Then I reread it after a few days, and go back to fixing mistakes... =( it's endless!

[YlvaBorealis89]

I don't correct my chapters after I post them (I proof-read one last time immediately after posting though, and will edit it if I find a mistake), and I've never had any complaints on my writing per se: however I do tend to overanalyze *before* writing and posting. Sometimes I've written scenes only to erase them and rewrite them completely: not always because I've felt they've been OOC or badly written, but because I've been afraid of the reactions I might get. I've written quite a few controversial scenes that I've felt strongly about and wanted as part of the overall story, only to scrap them because I know they won't be well-received. Sometimes I feel like a coward because of that, like I should be more daring than I already am, and that I should be able to post whatever I want and be proud of it, but it's difficult once that pm-box is filled to the brim with complaints after having spent an entire week researching and writing (in my case in a language that's not my native tongue and about a country I've never been to.) 

I think all we can do as writers is to feed on all the positive energy we *do* get from the majority of our readers and be proud that most of us actually do work very hard to write believable, entertaining stories about characters we love and identify with, and seek support amongst each other when we need it. 

 

[SRAM]

I don't correct my chapters after I post them (I proof-read one last time immediately after posting though, and will edit it if I find a mistake), and I've never had any complaints on my writing per se: however I do tend to overanalyze *before* writing and posting. Sometimes I've written scenes only to erase them and rewrite them completely: not always because I've felt they've been OOC or badly written, but because I've been afraid of the reactions I might get. I've written quite a few controversial scenes that I've felt strongly about and wanted as part of the overall story, only to scrap them because I know they won't be well-received. Sometimes I feel like a coward because of that, like I should be more daring than I already am, and that I should be able to post whatever I want and be proud of it, but it's difficult once that pm-box is filled to the brim with complaints after having spent an entire week researching and writing (in my case in a language that's not my native tongue and about a country I've never been to.) 

I think all we can do as writers is to feed on all the positive energy we *do* get from the majority of our readers and be proud that most of us actually do work very hard to write believable, entertaining stories about characters we love and identify with, and seek support amongst each other when we need it. 

 

I have done the same things myself, especially the part of trashing whole scenes because I knew a lot of readers wouldn't like them.  I actually have a file with all my trashed scenes, hoping one day to be able to use them.

[nibbler747]

I have a Leonard question.  My next fanfic is going to be about Leonard and his mother, brother and sister.  I was wondering, is Leonard the oldest or middle child?

I know he has a sister that does diabetes research with gibbons, and his brother (Michael) is a tenured Law professor at Harvard.  It was mentioned that Michael is his younger brother, but I wasn't sure whether his sister is older or younger?  I vaguely remember her being an older sister?  And they didn't give her a name did they?  He had a dog (Mitzy?) that passed away, and a cat (Dr. Boots Hofstadter) right?

Just want to get my info straight before starting to write this one.  Any help would be much appreciated!

[phantagrae]

I have a Leonard question.  My next fanfic is going to be about Leonard and his mother, brother and sister.  I was wondering, is Leonard the oldest or middle child?

I know he has a sister that does diabetes research with gibbons, and his brother (Michael) is a tenured Law professor at Harvard.  It was mentioned that Michael is his younger brother, but I wasn't sure whether his sister is older or younger?  I vaguely remember her being an older sister?  And they didn't give her a name did they?  He had a dog (Mitzy?) that passed away, and a cat (Dr. Boots Hofstadter) right?

Just want to get my info straight before starting to write this one.  Any help would be much appreciated!

I think she is older because when he first started dating Priya and Raj threatened to have sex with Leonard's sister, Leonard said something about her being in her 30s (35?) and being married with kids.  For whatever reason, that made me think of her being older than him.

Otherwise, I don't think they've ever specified.

[phantagrae]

I don't correct my chapters after I post them (I proof-read one last time immediately after posting though, and will edit it if I find a mistake), and I've never had any complaints on my writing per se: however I do tend to overanalyze *before* writing and posting. Sometimes I've written scenes only to erase them and rewrite them completely: not always because I've felt they've been OOC or badly written, but because I've been afraid of the reactions I might get. I've written quite a few controversial scenes that I've felt strongly about and wanted as part of the overall story, only to scrap them because I know they won't be well-received. Sometimes I feel like a coward because of that, like I should be more daring than I already am, and that I should be able to post whatever I want and be proud of it, but it's difficult once that pm-box is filled to the brim with complaints after having spent an entire week researching and writing (in my case in a language that's not my native tongue and about a country I've never been to.)

I think all we can do as writers is to feed on all the positive energy we *do* get from the majority of our readers and be proud that most of us actually do work very hard to write believable, entertaining stories about characters we love and identify with, and seek support amongst each other when we need it.

 

I know that y'all hear me harping on about having a beta reader and that many of you prefer to go it alone, but a beta would be invaluable in this situation, both for spotting simple mistakes before you post them and for getting an idea for how a certain scene might be recieved by the fans.

Just having an objective eye go over your work is invaluable.  When you write a sentence, you know what you intend to say and so it's easy for your brain to simply supply things like missing words or to overlook spelling mistakes.

A good beta will catch those things because he or she does not live in your head and so will be more objective.  And when it comes to some scene that might be controversial, your beta can tell you how it comes across, whether that's what you intended to communicate, and might even suggest a tweak or two in wording to better say what you intended to say.

And I think having a beta can help build your confidence, especially about something you fear might be controversial.  You have to tell the story you want to tell, not just pander to what you think readers want or what the prevailing winds indicate.  If you want to write something, write it.  Bounce it off someone and see how they react.  If they question something, you can talk about it, maybe defend your choices, and if it makes sense in the end, then go for it, no matter what random reviewers might think.

Tell the story you want to tell.  Just tell it well.

Contrary to some opinions, a good beta reader won't step on your toes or dull the reception of your story by others.  Every published author you can name has had their work looked at by an editor before the book goes to print.

[karyshamy]

I have a Leonard question.  My next fanfic is going to be about Leonard and his mother, brother and sister.  I was wondering, is Leonard the oldest or middle child?

I know he has a sister that does diabetes research with gibbons, and his brother (Michael) is a tenured Law professor at Harvard.  It was mentioned that Michael is his younger brother, but I wasn't sure whether his sister is older or younger?  I vaguely remember her being an older sister?  And they didn't give her a name did they?  He had a dog (Mitzy?) that passed away, and a cat (Dr. Boots Hofstadter) right?

Just want to get my info straight before starting to write this one.  Any help would be much appreciated!

When I wrote the Hofstadter Disturbance I did a little research about him, and I followed all I found in the BBT Wikia page. It's not 100% accurate but it helps a lot!

[nibbler747]

I think she is older because when he first started dating Priya and Raj threatened to have sex with Leonard's sister, Leonard said something about her being in her 30s (35?) and being married with kids.  For whatever reason, that made me think of her being older than him.

Otherwise, I don't think they've ever specified.

When I wrote the Hofstadter Disturbance I did a little research about him, and I followed all I found in the BBT Wikia page. It's not 100% accurate but it helps a lot!

Thank you phantagrae and karyshamy.  I looked at the BBT Wikia which had lots of great information.  I also looked up that transcript of that episode, and read what was said about Leonard's older sister.  He said that she was 38 married with kids.  What's interesting on the Wikia, is that at the top it states her name is Hayley.  Then later in the article it states that her name is unknown.  I'm not sure Hayley came from, it wasn't in any of the transcripts.  Oh well, I may just go with it for consistency.

Off to spin my tale about Beverly, Hayley, Leonard and Michael.  Thanks!

[Tensor]

 

Thank you phantagrae and karyshamy.  I looked at the BBT Wikia which had lots of great information.  I also looked up that transcript of that episode, and read what was said about Leonard's older sister.  He said that she was 38 married with kids.  What's interesting on the Wikia, is that at the top it states her name is Hayley.  Then later in the article it states that her name is unknown.  I'm not sure Hayley came from, it wasn't in any of the transcripts.  Oh well, I may just go with it for consistency.

Off to spin my tale about Beverly, Hayley, Leonard and Michael.  Thanks!

Per "The Maternal Capacitance" Leonard's brother is younger than Leonard, making Leonard a middle child.  Although interestingly, his brother won the science fair before Leonard. 

[nibbler747]

Per "The Maternal Capacitance" Leonard's brother is younger than Leonard, making Leonard a middle child.  Although interestingly, his brother won the science fair before Leonard. 

I did notice that!  It was so weird, I was wondering how his younger brother was competing in the science fair before him?  I wanted to set this story to be around Michael's wedding. I know they mentioned he was engaged.  That was a few years ago, but I want to go with that theme.

[Cereal Apist]

Isn't possible there are 4 Hofstadter siblings? Beverly went to the trouble of mentioning Michael by name but not the sister. Perhaps to distinguish him from another unnamed older brother she didn't get around to before she announced her need to urinate? That could solve the science fair conundrum.

Edited August 13, 2015 by Cereal Apist
clarification

[phantagrae]

Isn't possible there are 4 Hofstadter siblings? Beverly went to the trouble of mentioning Michael by name but not the sister. Perhaps to distinguish him from another unnamed brother she didn't get around to before she announced her need to urinate? That could solve the science fair conundrum.

I don't think one needs to make up additional siblings.  Maybe his younger brother entered the science fair before Leonard did the next year.  If his brother is such an overachiever, perhaps he participated a year ahead of Leonard.  We don't really know how old either of them were, and not every child enters a science fair every year.  I don't remember ever doing such a thing.

Or maybe the writers forgot in that moment that his brother was supposed to be younger.

I don't think it's that big a deal.

[Cereal Apist]

I have done the same things myself, especially the part of trashing whole scenes because I knew a lot of readers wouldn't like them.  I actually have a file with all my trashed scenes, hoping one day to be able to use them.

I'm playing around with an idea at the moment about how Penny got cast in the first "Serial Ape-ist" and her experiences on set. Possibly including a Kurt/Penny sex scene. Nervous about how that in particular would be received.

[Tensor]

I'm playing around with an idea at the moment about how Penny got cast in the first "Serial Ape-ist" and her experiences on set. Possibly including a Kurt/Penny sex scene. Nervous about how that in particular would be received.

I'd go ahead and write it.  Just because some people might not like it, there may be others out there who would like it.   I wrote one where Priya actions had some very logical reasons behind her actions at the end of season four.  With the general feelings about Priya, I was a bit nervous about it.  Turned out I didn't need to be worried.   If you feel you have a story, write it. 

[rachelshamyfan]

Having lived in England for a while, it can be a bit jarring to see the English terms in a story set in the Pasadena area. I give you credit for trying to get it right. Most of those type stores are called department stores. You could google "24 hour department stores in Pasadena" and you should get a listing of them, with the location if you need it. 

Rick, where in England did u live?

[Tensor]

Lakenheath for about six months.  I was in the US Air Force and was there at the RAF base for some things.   I was living with a Chief Technician on the outskirts of the town.

[Stephen Hawking]

Is the expression "girding your loins" in normal usage, in America?

[PatsyR]

Stephen,  I don't know how common "girding your loins" is, but I've heard it used many times in conversation.  However, I may run with an older crowd.

Stephen,  one more thing while I am thinking about it in regard to your upcoming story with the Target or Walmart.  I was reading a fanfic the other day (not sure if it was yours or not) that had Shamy shopping together, pushing a "trolley."  The term "trolley" for an American denotes a vehicle that runs on a cable in San Francisco (at least it does for me).  We would call what they are pushing a "shopping cart."  I eagerly await your story.