Do You Have To Be Sexually Attracted to a Character to write about her/him in a fic involving sex??

[karadinart]

Um, well, for me yes? Maybe that's really shallow of me.

Case in point - SHERLOCK. Would I ever have written slashy fic about Sherlock Holmes and John Watson before this series? No.

I adore Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, I adore Jeremy Brett's Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which had I been into writing fic at the time I would have done so ... but not slash. I've even seen and enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert and Jude, whom I like, but I would never have written slash about it. (honestly, it's not Sherlock Holmes to me, that movie)

Just Ben's Sherlock and Martin's John. It's the chemistry they have as a pair.

Because if it was just Benedict's Sherlock, no. And only Martin's John Watson, no. It's what they have together. I guess I can't explain it better than that, because I have seen Benedict in other roles and Martin too, and they are great but no 'ding ding' *sporfle* sorry, that's the noise it makes in my head.

And I think in many Sherlock fics, you can see the author's attraction is the physical beauty of Benedict, but for me, it's equal parts John's complex character as Sherlock's brilliance and quirks.

Now, in anime fandoms, I get the pairing too, and that's on a purely abstract level, as say, in BLEACH the contrast of Byakuya, tall regal, aristocratic, black and white, and Renji, impulsive, dangerous, caring red haired maniac as he is - or even L and Light in Death Note, the contrasts and trying to fit them together.

And I should note, I canon pair like a canon pair whore. To me it's about what's been done and taking it on a tangent, what if, but not too far, cos if I go too far, well, they are not them anymore, it's something else. And yeah, I see everything in my head like a movie when I write, I wish I could just suck it out and throw it up on YouTube.

Okay long thing is long.

Comments

[ashkitty.livejournal.com]

I find it really hard to 'cast' characters, though I know a lot of people do it. I'm not that visual, I think--I have pictures in my head, but they almost tend to be more pictures of the words describing the person than the person themself. (That is a strange way to put it and probably not clear at all, but oh well, I do my best!)

I totally know what you mean about being able to read anything Sherlock now you have the characters in your head! I hadn't written any at all, but I had watched the Downey/Law film and the BBC series (and read Doyle of course), and so then when I got a chance to write steampunk Holmes erotica, that was all in my head and informing the characters I ended up with--even though I wasn't writing about them, exactly, but really enjoying making my own versions of them.

I do tend to have a 'type', though, I confess. Other than my Harry/Draco days I almost always go for the 'best friends are more than friends' tropes, where the characters balance each other out (and usually one is dark and one is fair...).

[ashura-oh.livejournal.com]

Oh my! A fellow Ashura! =D

[ashkitty.livejournal.com]

Well, we are a remarkable sort. ;)

[karadin.livejournal.com]

I agree.

[karadin.livejournal.com]

I think it's so interesting to see how other authors 'visualize' when they write, and sometimes to me, the words are something I try to get through to get to a picture of the character, yet, I think in my early writing days I got too descriptive, and pared it down, now it's going a big the other way, I think you needn't be so specific, to let the reader come up with their ideals to a degree ...

I like the Harry/Draco dynamic as being antagonists, to begin with, and they both have to get over their upbringing to come to an understanding, but I never want Draco to stop being arrogant, which could sort of be Sherlock as well ...

[unovis.livejournal.com]

An advantage to writing fic, for me, is in not having to introduce the character with a physical description. I can describe as much or as little as I like as I go along, or use a kind of synecdoche by focusing on hands or lips. It can work with OCs to an extent, though you have to give the reader a little more to work with. Mainly, I just want a physical reference in fanfic when it means something or serves some purpose in the whole.

As I've gone on, my sex scenes are less and less physically descriptive? choreographed? too.

[karadin.livejournal.com]

yes physical reference when it serves a purpose. It's a little peeve of mine in stories to constantly see one character referred to as 'the brunet' or 'blonde' over and over! I think sometimes some authors are afraid to use a name, that the name itself would become too repetitive.

It's tricky with sex scenes that are too involved, they can go too long, or there is an element which throws the reader off.