Let’s Gather ‘Round the Campfire (#4)

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

7/10 ETA: Help! I've fallen behind on replying and can't get up!

Sorry campers, RL intruded, and I was out most of the day. As a rule, I'm incoherent after 5pm, so I'm not going to attempt responding this evening. Your great comments deserve more than gibberish. Bear with me, I'll be back tomorrow. You guys are the best! *hugs* The mod is in.

Hi Campers!

Have you brought your flashlights? We've had wonderful discussions over the last few weeks, but do you have the fortitude to discuss today's topic, ghost stories? You know what I'm talking about... dun dunn dunnn... the deathfic. Is it a guilty pleasure or does it squick you out? Do you have to be in the mood (bookmark them for later)? Why?

Food for thought:
Is a good cry enough for you, or after you finish the story, do you mentally write a different ending, like House coming to Wilson's rescue with a last minute diagnosis and cure.

What about the causes? Illness or Accident? Anyone want to discuss the irony of the oncologist getting cancer?

Going a bit afield: Does your interest or disinterest about characters dying extend to watching movies, (randomly chosen titles: Dead Poets Society, In the Gloaming) and reading novels, or is that a different experience for you?

For writers: can you write and read them? Do you prefer one or the other?

Alright, I've used up my quota of questions marks so let's hear from you. And as always, please talk amongst yourselves, and don’t be shy about asking questions and chatting with your neighbors.

Comments

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

There's two wonderful experiences (though sometimes overwhelming) that you can absorb from reading. Get under the skin of the character. Learn what they are thinking and feeling and let it resonate with our experiences. Also, since the subconscious can't separate fact from fiction. A character's death is more strongly felt than for a screen character.

Your deathfics come from a writing gusher! Very cool! Just curious, did you note in the summary or header that your story was an afterlife fic? Sometimes it takes a corporate attorney or diplomat to figure out the best way to approach "truth in advertising" for a fanfic. I wrote one that was difficult to describe. I spent almost as much time on the summary and header as the fic.

[alternatealto.livejournal.com]

Actually, the closest I got to a warning on that one was my author's note, which reads, "A story in dialogue-only format. I'll leave it to you to figure out who's speaking when, and what's going on here. Slightly angsty, slightly fluffy." Putting up any more of a warning would have been giving too much away, since part of the point of the story was for readers to gradually work out for themselves that all this was happening after House and Wilson had "died". (Here's the link, if you're curious: http://alternatealto.livejournal.com/15326.html )

[alternatealto.livejournal.com]

Although now I look, you did read this one already -- or, if you didn't, you commented on a story you hadn't read! =)

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

Yes! I remember it! *sniff* As you said, fluffy and angsty. Still a lovely read. *sniff*

You made a good choice not to say more.