A thought inspired by the Feedback Exchange

[unfeathered]

Something that dynapink said in her feedback on Lessons Learned for the Feedback Exchange got me thinking. She said ’ I was somewhat less convinced by some of Nine's characterisation [ ] I have a hard time buying Nine gruffly ordering Jack into his bedroom (in front of Rose, especially) to "punish" him for irresponsible behaviour. The first half of the story almost seems more kink than characterisation, although oddly enough the second half, where most of the actual sex is, seems much closer to the actual characters.’

This made me realise that, because I move in a fairly limited circle on LJ, I actually write for a fairly specific audience. I expected most people who read Lessons Learned to be familiar with the work of other people who write kinky, D/s Jack/Nine. (Especially as most of my friends are also friends of a certain becky_writing who somewhat specialises in that genre! *g*)

And yet, I’d like my stories to be accessible to readers coming to the idea for the first time. So now I’m wondering if I need to put a bit more setting-up stuff into stories like that.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[chatona.livejournal.com]

Hm. Well. I can't say that I am (or was, 'cause by now I think I've read at least some fics) familiar with kinky D/s Jack/Nine and Lesson Learnt worked for me anyway.

That's all I can say to that *nods*

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

Disclaimer: I went to lie down, and instead got violently sick at my stomach with what is apparently sudden onset stomach-flu. I'm also groggy. The combination is probably giong to make me sound stranger than normal.

In short: Maybe.

With more detail: I've been thinking about this issue lately, and while I think it's perfectly fine to write 'established relationship' sex/PWP, where it's not the character's first time together, and the dynamic's shaken out before, there does need to be some indication that they've gotten to that point (inside the fic and in the header) and how they got there. ESPECIALLY with Kink, and if you're assuming it's not something that's not generally familiar to the character.

But I'm not sure set-up's the right word for it, either, since you don't really have to 'get them together' every single time on the page, either. Just. Weave it through. Even a line to indicate what's going on, in narrative or dialogue, is often enough to pull the reader through, to the place the character's you're writing are, and to give them something to suspend their disbelief from.

Also, honestly, and this is only slightly on topic: Definitely, definitely, writing BDSM fic, familiar with my stuff or not, will limit the hell out of your audience.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

hmm... here's my uncaffeinated lackadonutitis affected take on this-

Everyone views characters differently. Yes, the group of us that tend to live on each others journals probably have more of a similar look/intrepretation than others might but that's immaterial. Even if you spend 3 paragraphs setting up the scene and characters to behave in the way you wanted there are some people who still would have problems with it.

I tend to have radically different ideas on the characters than most, yet I can happily read any good fic no matter how differently the author intreprets the character than I do.

[dune-drd.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's about 'accessible', more of a thing about taste. Some people find plotholes where you never expected one, it's just another point of view, I guess.

[itsarift-thing.livejournal.com]

It's too early in the morning for me to be coherent *poke me* later on? Like say in about 12hours...