Cloudy with a Chance of Fanfiction

[dasmims]

I really want to finish the fics I write. I have so many ideas, there are always new ones, I take notes and write some scenes and plot but they never get finished. I took part in a fic exchange that really helped me with it, at least for this one fic. Now I've got my hopes up I might find a way to manage that with my longer projects too. But I really don't know how to work on a long term project consistently. Maybe I should start slowly? And start with shorter fic ideas I have laying around?

Or maybe I'm overthinking it (as usual) and should just do the thing. but how

It's difficult though, or at least I find it difficult, to sit there on my own trying to figure everything out with zero feedback or anyone to discuss my ideas with. I have tried discussing my ideas with friends in the fandoms I try to write for. They are mostly excited about the chance of fanfiction but not exactly helpful in figuring  out plot points, beta reading etc.

The big exception are my Emergency! friends, they are enabling gremlins and they know it. The thing is, E! is one of the less inspiring fandoms for me, and I'd love to know people from other fandoms like I do among the E! folks.

Comments

[sanguinity]

But I really don't know how to work on a long term project consistently.

One tool I've used is the Write Every Day community, a traveling circus that's hosted at a different person's journal each month. (I've hosted it a half-dozen times.) It's meant to encourage you to write consistently (contrary to the community name, it doesn't have to be every day), even if that's only an "alibi sentence" -- opening up your project and adding a sentence, just to say that you did. (Some days a sentence is all you have in you! But other days you think all you have in you is a sentence, and whoops, you tripped and wrote a paragraph.)

Right now it's being hosted at the_siobhan's journal, and you are 100% welcome to join in at any time, no introductions needed. Just go to the latest post, say you wrote, and get a woo-hoo in return.


It's difficult though, or at least I find it difficult, to sit there on my own trying to figure everything out with zero feedback or anyone to discuss my ideas with.

What fandoms?

Have you tried joining a discord or community for the specific fandom?

[dasmims]

I'll take a look at write every day! Thanks for the recommendation.

What fandoms?

That is an incredibly loaded question. But since you asked, here are the fandoms I have started to write fanfiction for and that I can name from the top of my head:

• Harry Potter
• Avatar the Last Airbender (the animated show)
• Shadowhunters (the tv show)
• Star Trek, mostly DS9, TOS and AOS,
• The Old Guard
• Sandman
• Sherlock Holmes
• Elementary (technically speaking, but that's only one crossover with acd Sherlock Holmes)
• Marvel, specifically Loki, Venom, Spiderman and Deadpool

I have tried joining discords and communities, but except for Emergency! it didn't really work out so far. Somehow I keep finding (half) dead communities or I just don't really find my footing.

Edit: Thought of more fandoms

[sanguinity]

Sorry! Didn't mean to put my foot in it; I was only looking for overlaps.

I'm not as active as I used to be in Holmes and Elementary fandoms, but maybe we could talk? I'm trying to get a Holmes longfic out the door, and more Holmesian convos might help me, too.

I'll also rec the holmestice community as a great all-iterations-of-Holmes exchange that runs twice a year; they'll probably open sign-ups for summer during March.

[dasmims]

Sorry! Didn't mean to put my foot in it; I was only looking for overlaps.

You don't have to apologise, I didn't mean to come across like that, sorry about that. I just meant that it's not an easy question to answer, there are more fandoms I have started writing fics for and I can only ever remember the ones I'm currently thinking a lot about.

I'd love to hear about your Holmes longfic. The fic I was referring to is a bit of a crack fic, cause it involves Joan Watson somehow ending up in Victorian London and meeting acd!Holmes, who is currently living alone cause Dr. John Watson has abandoned him for a wife.

The community is already open in a tab on my browser! It looks really nice and could be a great motivator. Thanks for the recommendation.

[sanguinity]

Joan Watson somehow ending up in Victorian London

I have a long-neglected Elementary WIP that goes the other direction! Joan being thrown forward into Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century -- except Robo!Watson is already there, oops.

Also, may I just say, Holmesiana has many adaptations where Holmes gets displaced in time (because Holmes is commonly presumed to be the unique/interesting one, whereas a Watson can be picked up on any street corner), so I love reversing that and making Watson the one that's worth following to another century.

Dr. John Watson has abandoned him for a wife.

So is this late canon / unnamed second wife / Blanched-Soldier era? Or are you going for early canon / Mary Morstan / immediately-post-Sign-of-4?

I'd love to hear about your Holmes longfic.

ACD, retirement era, exploring why Holmes and Watson parted ways in late canon (see abandoned him for a wife + Holmes retired alone), and bringing them back together, only to have Last Bow come along and drop a grenade into their relationship. I've been working on it, off and on, for eleven years now, and I'm at 80K and counting. Currently, I'm doing a beta-requested rewrite of the final two chapters (which kick off the day Last Bow begins, and end with Britain joining the war).

[dasmims]

Joan being thrown forward into Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century

Joan in the future sounds like a lot of fun. And two Watsons working together also sounds like a lot of fun. Holmes is always the genius, but the Watsons can be very different and bring different skills to the table, so that can make for an interesting mix.

To borrow a quote from someone on the Holmes discord I used to frequent "Watson is - god bless him - not normal." or to paraphrase Robert Sean Leonard, Wilson should be studied. Holmes might be the more obvious choice for an interesting character to use for shenanigans out of the two, but Dr. Watson isn't all that normal either. I think it's just that in contrast, Dr. Watson seems better adjusted to society that Sherlock (or Dr. House for that matter).

So is this late canon / unnamed second wife / Blanched-Soldier era? Or are you going for early canon / Mary Morstan / immediately-post-Sign-of-4?

I haven't quite figured that out yet, but I'm leaning towards later canon. This way I could have Holmes and Joan solve the Blanched Soldier together, but of course he can't mention the time traveller once he writes that down. This whole idea is centred around acd!Holmes getting actual help with his drug problem + facing someone (Joan), who is not afraid to call him out on his bullshit.

I'm at 80K and counting. Currently, I'm doing a beta-requested rewrite of the final two chapters

Oh my, that sounds like you have quite the task on your plate. Exploring why they parted and how they can get back together sounds very interesting though. I don't think I've actually read a fic that focused on that before for Holmes/Watson, only similar ones for other pairing from other fandoms. But it's always exciting to see what people do come up with for those situation. If you are comfortable sharing: What is the idea here, for why they grew apart? And would you say it's finished with the re-written chapters?

[sanguinity]

Joan in the future sounds like a lot of fun.

For "pure untrammeled angst" values of fun, sure! The first 8K are here: Persistence of Memory. I have another 10K or more stashed in my WIP folder.

"Watson is - god bless him - not normal."

Absolutely not. As asocial as he is, Holmes wouldn't be inviting Watson into his life and his work unless he was something extraordinary. And of course there's plenty of evidence in the text as to the shape of his extraordinariness...

but of course he can't mention the time traveller once he writes that down.

No wonder he had so much trouble writing that case! And now of course I'm imagining ACD!Watson reading it and being all wtf?? trying to make out the shape of the parts Holmes left out. Somehow, I don't think he's going to come up with "time-traveling doctor from the future". :-D

acd!Holmes getting actual help with his drug problem + facing someone (Joan), who is not afraid to call him out on his bullshit.

Excellent! And what does Joan get out of this encounter?


What is the idea here, for why they grew apart?

Easiest just to excerpt from Ch. 1:

It had never been my selfishness that drove me from him, but his own sudden refusal to permit me to share the risks of his work. In one of our last cases together, I had received a trifling wound when a stray bullet grazed my thigh -- a wound which, out of all proportion with its severity, had unnerved Holmes deeply. During the following months, Holmes barred me from accompanying him on cases, holding to his prohibition even after I had recovered completely. We argued bitterly over that decision, but we may have yet resolved the matter amicably had not my enforced absence from his side left him vulnerable to Baron Gruner's attack.

We both went mad in the aftermath. The gravity of Holmes's injuries should have been all the proof he needed of his folly, and yet he seemed to consider them a vindication of his decision. For myself, I could forgive neither him nor myself for my absence. Our arguments that autumn made those of the summer appear to be mild disagreements. I am ashamed to confess that by the time I was able to think clearly again, I was married. Holmes did not stand up with me for my wedding; indeed by that point we were barely speaking to each other, save for his dismal prediction that the marriage would not last eighteen months. It had required years for us to mend our relations and rebuild the old affection that had once animated us. Years, and a studious avoidance of the issue that had first driven us apart.

And would you say it's finished with the re-written chapters?

Fingers crossed, yes. Although there's a coda that's talking to me, that may need to be written.

Oh! While I'm linking things, this is a Holmes-pov short stand-alone fic set during the later chapters of the story: From Allegany.


I, um, didn't really mean to give you a reading assignment! Only read the linked stories if you're curious; please don't view them as obligatory.

[dasmims]

No wonder he had so much trouble writing that case! And now of course I'm imagining ACD!Watson reading it and being all wtf?? trying to make out the shape of the parts Holmes left out.

The last scene is supposed to be acd!Watson finding the written account of the Blanched Soldier, reading it and asking Holmes about it. Holmes pretends like him writing down his own case is nothing out of the ordinary.

And what does Joan get out of this encounter?

Joan could use a glimpse behind the curtain or at least a different pov, not only on how Sherlock's mind works, but also how she works and her relationships with the people around her. This is the chance to learn about Sherlock Holmes, not only from him in a way that he can curate, by looking at someone, who is very similar to the one she knows but not the same. The same goes for herself and the other people around her.

One of the bigger things for this is Joan disliking the mores and laws of the time, but learning that she's equally hung up on the mores and laws of her time and the society she was raised in. It's been a long time since I watched Elementary, but I could never shake the feeling that Joan would profit a lot from a bit of introspection and understanding her socialisation better.

a wound which, out of all proportion with its severity, had unnerved Holmes deeply.

Seems like Dr. Watson isn't aware how serious Holmes was, when he said that he doesn't know what he would do, should something happen to his Watson.

These first two paragraphs remind me of a Star Trek fic I read a while back, with a very similar theme. Taking very common elements of a certain relationship and amplifying it to the point of catastrophe - Holmes trying to keep Watson safe, unspoken feelings, Holmes acting on what he's thinking instead of talking about it and Watson reacting to what's happening instead of talking about it - and then trying to resolve it again, which requires them to work through those points, is always fascinating. And it's never done in a short form.

Although there's a coda that's talking to me, that may need to be written.

Good luck with the coda. Those can be tricky to include, but it's wonderful when everything works out. I tend to write several versions of scenes, cause I have certain phrases in mind, and then I have to delete most of what I've written, cause I can't use them all in one combined scene.

I'll read your recs, once I've got the time for it. They look interesting for sure!