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

[mashfanficchick.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness I didn't know about the spoiler you whited out.

Huh? I mean, how could you know that you didn't know it, unless you read it? Or do you mean that the whiting out didn't work? *really, REALLY hopes that isn't the case* Or, do you mean that you're glad you didn't know about it before you saw the movie?

too many movies shamefully employ the death trope. You know what to expect from a movie that claims it's, "Five Hankies!."

Not only do I know what to expect, I know to expect a film where I probably won't care that much about the death. There are, of course, exceptions; tear-jerkers where I am invested in the characters, or where it's a situation where the separation of the characters saddens me, or where the death just seems so unfair that it makes me hurt. (Or, on rare occasions, some combination of the above. *has one particular movie in mind*)

The fact that several of my death stories have been, IMHO, some of my best work makes me really enjoy writing them a bit more.
--Such an intriguing statement. And yet you probably won't be posting anything soon. You are EVIL.

Okay, the encouragement I'm getting from you is helpful. If nothing else, I WILL try to finish the fic I just started, though more than likely not in time for the end of Camp. But I'll be honest: to my recollection, I've only ever completed any death stories in one fandom (Starsky & Hutch), and I don't know that I'd necessarily be nearly as good at it in a fandom where I had (IMO) a much less good handle on the characters. (In fact, one of my stories that I consider a death story in Starsky and Hutch was written almost entirely via my Hutch!muse standing on my shoulder, dictating the story word for word. I've never experienced that before or since.)

alternatealto and I touched upon the auto-pilot fic in discussion #3. An absolutely wondrous feeling.

I'll have to go back and reread that. It really is an awesome feeling, and I've had so many versions of it, too.

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

Kind of left that spoiler remark dangling, didn't I? My apologies. I meant that I was glad not to know about the spoiler before I watched the movie. If I had known, I might have skipped it. I loved that character.

I hate when character death is the main focus of the movie. I'll never forgive Erich Segal for writing Love Story, and bringing "shallow" and "manipulative" to the genre. I'll stick needles in my eyes before succumbing to tears watching that movie or its offshoots. For a good example, Out of Africa may be my all time favorite.

We need stories after camp ends, so don't be concerned about the deadline. And all kidding aside, please write what brings you pleasure--whether it's an intriguing plot or your love for the characters. Then again, writing will help you tap into your House and Wilson muses.