#sherlollyselfinterview21

[writingwife-83]

My Sherlolly Self Interview 2021

Hello there! First of all, thank you to @sherlollyappreciationweek for organizing this event! I’ll do a quick intro and then get down to business and answer some questions.

I’m a wife and mom in my late 30s and live in the New England area of the USA. I’ve always loved to write fiction as a hobby, but for most of my life it was original fiction. I’ve been a BBC Sherlock fan since 2014, and that was really what introduced me to the world of fandom and fanfic. I shipped sherlolly since the very first moment they were on screen together and once I discovered the world of fanfic for them, I think it was only a matter of days or weeks until I decided I wanted to try writing for them as well. The rest is history!

I’ll put the questions under the cut since this is going to get loooong lol!

Ok so first up, @mizjoely asked- Sherlolly was your first fandom that you started writing for. How does it compare to the Reylo fandom? What are the best/worst parts of writing for each?

An interesting question lol! This is something I’ve definitely thought a lot about since, like you said, sherlolly was my first fandom and it was all I knew until I stepped over into reylo as well. To compare, I think I’ll just jump into listing the best and worst about each, because that’ll sum it up.

I’ll start with Reylo. The best part is 1- the ship itself, because I absolutely flipping love them to pieces and Idc what anyone has to say about it lol. 2- my little “fandom of three,” as Lexie and darthsydious and I tend to call it. And 3- the fan works for that pair are so incredibly varied and it opens up a heck of a lot of options for creating. I think the less there is in canon, the more opportunities for exploration among the fandom, so that’s pretty fun. As for the worst, 1- The frequent low response to fics. I get that I started creating very late, it’s an enormous fandom where you can get lost in the shuffle, and there’s also a high demand for the kind of fics that I don’t write. But no matter the reasons…it just sucks. 2- there seems to be a bit more squabbling among the shippers about details of the characters and how they’re portrayed in canon. Seems a waste of time to me when we could just be having fun enjoying the same ship. And 3- again, the ship is just so BIG lol. I absolutely prefer the small fandom experience. That said, let’s talk about sherlolly…

The best things are 1- sherlolly of course, because they’re freaking amazing and I love them. 2- the relatively small size of the fandom, particularly when it’s down to the small bunch of us who are somehow still invested nearly 5 yrs later lol. And that allows us to be so incredibly organized too! *cough* sherlollilists *cough* 😉 3- the way I was so warmly welcomed and appreciated right from the start. It didn’t matter that I started writing when we were 3 series into a 4 series show. I got feedback and validation that I never could have imagined. And 4- the way we tend to rally around negativity or someone is being mistreated. I’ve seen this ship turn negativity around in the best sort of way imo, which is by canceling it out with positivity. As for the worst things? Those are harder to come up with so…I don’t think I’ll list anything. 🥰

Next up I have a bunch of questions from @miniherodesktales and I’ll answer them divided up by the two asks- I hope it's okay if I ask several questions. 1.) What's your favourite fic that you've written? 2.) Are you a fan of the canon or is it just Sherlock for you? - I've noticed that you seem to like period fics, so wondering if you blend elements from original canon with BBC Sherlock? Plus, I'm always hoping more Sherllolians will join me in enjoying some of the older Holmes adaptations as there is a lot of fun ones out there I think people would love.

As for my fave fic, I think it might be too tough to choose just one lol. I think my top 3 would have to be I Told You So, Zephyr, and maybe also my newer one For the Best. All for their own reasons, but I’m just generally happy with how those turned out and really enjoyed the writing process.

I’m definitely a big fan of the BBC canon, yes! In fact, for close to my first year in the sherlolly fandom, I wasn’t interested in AUs at all lol. But you’re right, now I do enjoy period AUs a lot. I think it’s just a fun way to enjoy new things for the ship. Sadly, I admit I have very limited exposure to the original ACD canon. I’m not against the original canon, it’s just that for me BBC Sherlock is my Sherlock. That’s basically how I was exposed to the character. I might explore more here and there, but for the most part I enjoy BBC Sherlock and I’m kinda happy to stick to that.

And- A second ask - sorry!  1) Do you feel a need to shape your interpretations of Molly and Sherlock so that they are unique to you and differ from the show and other Sherlolly writers? Same for your Star Wars fics. 2.) Is it something that just happens naturally and not something to worry about? 3.) How do your craft your stories and plots? 4.) How important is writing to you?

This is an excellent question, and for me the answer is no. Imo, good fanfic is about the characters feeling like the characters in canon, in whatever situation they’re in. So I have no desire to create a Molly or Sherlock that is nothing like the ones we see on screen. And the same would definitely apply to my Star Wars writing. My clause to this is that people interpret characters differently. So what feels in character to me might not feel so to someone else.

It has come more naturally over time I feel, but I am still definitely very conscious of my characterization. When I write I try my best to hear the dialogue in my head and decide whether it feels believable for those characters’ canon voices. So in a way, yes it’s something I worry about. Because I’d hate to have someone read my fic and feel like they’re pulled out of the moment due to a wording or tone that doesn’t feel right.

My honest answer to how I craft my stories is that when I either get or am given an idea, I pretty much immediately consult my fandom and real life besties @thisisartbylexie and “darthsydious” and I share with them what I’m thinking and/or ask for their input. It’s rare that I concoct a fic 100% on my own. It usually involves a lot of squealing and plotting with them lol.

Writing is moderately important to me. It’s certainly not in my top list of priorities, but I also consider it a healthy hobby and creative outlet, and I think we all need something like that. When I have free time, I do think it’s a nice thing to use my time for.

@englandsgray asked- Hey hey 👋 Is there a moment or line somewhere in the canon which you think is underrated? Have you already written about it, if so? Or is it something you’re yet to explore? Thanks! Enjoy the self interview ❤️

That’s a really interesting question and I had to give it some thought! I’m going to go with the line in ASiB where Molly says of John going to visit his sister- “Sherlock was complaining- saying.” It’s not like this has never been talked about, but perhaps not quite as much as some other line. I do find it interesting because this is canon evidence that Sherlock is with Molly behind the scenes and without John present. That could be at Bart’s, but it could also be elsewhere. It’s just another little tidbit that reminds us of something that I believe Louise Brealey said after s4, which was that there’s clearly so much “off screen” between those two that we don’t get to see. I guess I haven’t explored that line specifically, so who knows, maybe someday!

And finally, I got this ask from @dlrconlicense- Are there any characters that you don't like writing or feel the most difficulty with when including them in your works? (Could be from any fandom)

Boy, this is a tough one. Tbh I feel pretty comfortable with the main characters I write at this point. But I think some characters take a little more work to write than others. John Watson, for instance. Martin Freeman is such an awesome actor, but his facial expressions are a big part of that. There’s a lot of subtle things he conveys and it’s sometimes hard to translate that perfectly into words. That’s just one example of how it can take a little extra thought to write certain characters.

Thank you so much to the four who asked me questions and I hope it was enjoyable for you guys and others to read. And to anyone who has read this far and gotten through all my ramblings, you get a really big 🍪 lol!

[keeptheotherone]

This is a placeholder for my Sherlolly Self Interview because I said I wanted to do it, and I randomly saw my notification about it a couple days ago despite not putting it on my calendar like a sensible person, and I was going to do it yesterday but it was really late and today I’ve just felt like Crap (yes, with a capital C) all day. So tomorrow :)

[keeptheotherone]

Sherlolly Self-Interview

I am, as usual, late to the party and unfortunately I don’t have a lot of time, so I’m relying on the suggested framework and doing my best not to be too perfectionistic. I’ll be discussing my most popular fic, The One Where Sherlock Sleeps With Molly.

What inspired this fic? Did you do an outline or any kind of brain storming OR did you just start writing? 

Like most of my best ideas, this one started with a simple “what if”/missing moment: what if, on his last night in England, Sherlock does have "dinner" with Molly? What if he indulged because he thought it would be his last meal? … What if it isn't? I wrote this seven years ago, so I don’t remember if I created any kind of outline for it, but I’m thinking not; I think this was one of my fics where I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to happen and just sat down and wrote it. 

Did you use a beta and if so, how did that go? Do you wish you had used a beta if you didn’t?

I am privileged to have two real-life friends who are talented betas with different skill sets and worked with both of them on this fic. I don’t remember any particular discussions, but I’m sure we had a lot of fun with this one!

Where did you write – what kind of setting? Anything specific to your writing process that you ALWAYS have to do? Listen to music? Make a playlist?

I write on my Macbook laptop in Scrivener (LOVE that program!!); this fic was probably done in my office between triage calls while working from home in the late evening and early am hours. I never listen to music when I write; it distracts me. I’m not much of a ritual writer either, with the exception of rereading the previous session’s work. I usually make minor edits/corrections, then pick up where I left off. Usually ;) 

Wait, I remembered! I started this fic while I was on one of my personal writing retreats/Mecations. At the time I had a three-day weekend every two weeks, and I’d taken an extra day off to make it four. I drove to a state park in the Appalachian Mountains and wrote at a picnic table beside a river. It was beautiful and peaceful and I loved it. There was no internet or cell service at the bottom of the gorge, so there were none of the usual distractions.

Did you post each chapter as you finished it or did you wait until you had several chapters/the entire story done?

At this point in my life I think I was still holding fics until I’d finished writing them. I can’t remember now for which fic I broke that rule; one of my HP epics, maybe?

What is your favorite part of the story?

My favorite part of this fic is the end of chapter three and the beginning of chapter four, when Molly dissects a heart. I got to show off some of my A&P (I’m a cardiac nurse at heart (pun intended), although I wasn’t then) as well as Molly’s skills--it’s more than her agreeable personality that drew Sherlock to working with her; she’s a skilled and talented pathologist. It’s delicious symbolism for heartbreak--“she was literally cutting heartstrings,” it gives the opportunity to emphasize Molly’s professional capability by having John (a trauma surgeon) admire her work, it allows for Sherlock’s obliviousness, and it’s funny. I’m a sucker for anything funny--nearly all of my fic, even the serious/sad/angsty stuff, has humor in it, even if it’s only dark humor.

Easiest to write? Hardest to write? Favorite to write?

Surprisingly, the easiest and my favorite character to write in this fic was Mycroft. I enjoyed describing his pretentiousness and the energy of the push/pull of his and Sherlock’s relationship.

Did you feel satisfied with the creation when you were done?

I was mostly satisfied; I still think the ending could be better, but I knew they were going to get together not in this fic, but the next one. I always intended for this to have a sequel, which leads me to ask … 

How interested are y’all in The One Where Mary Gets Involved? Like, a general “more Sherlolly, yay” feeling or “ohhh, I’ve been hoping she would update this” or *gasp* *drops everything* “Ktoo updated her WIP Sherlolly fic!!!”?? I’ve never left a fic unfinished before, and I’m trying to weigh my negative feelings about abandoning a fic against my negative feelings about pushing forward with a fic I’m stuck on and don’t have much motivation for. 

[writingwife-83]

Hi, guys! I nearly forgot, but was reminded this morning that I do need to write my sherlolly self interview post at some point this weekend. I got one question so far, but I just wanted to remind everyone that if there’s something you want me to chat about or explain regarding my writing process of a specific fic, I’d love to hear from you. Please submit in an ask! And anon is available if you prefer. 😘

[sherlollyappreciationweek]

Self-Interviews

Hey all! Today is the day of the Sherlolly Self-Interviews! If you have forgotten, no worries, just post it later! Feel free to tag me in the post as well.