Out of Ambit - Latest Comments

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/23158596165

dianeduane — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:21:41 -0000

(chuckle)

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/23158596165

Ra-chan — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:09:33 -0000

Oh lord, this killed me. My husband looked at me strangely.

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22968788275

John C. Welch — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:40:39 -0000

I was honestly suprised it took this long. Her fans are somewhat narrow in view.

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

Kethry Chlurain — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:55:47 -0000

Bookmarked! I'm guilty of some of those balloon-words, gotta watch out for that. I might go grab that book, too, though if I publish anything it's more likely to be the memoirs of my alter ego than anything fiction-related. Interestingly I've been fighting a losing battle vs. nauseous/nauseated for YEARS.

Just one bit though - I've used "huffed" as in "in a huff", ie, being pissy, saying something not quite *poutingly*, but not quite angrily, either. I guess I'll have to go looking for a new word if it's generally assumed to be something to do with breathing...

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/23024493227

Sol Yellow Sun — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:10:43 -0000

Fantastic! Saw it for the second time today! Still awesome!

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

Constance — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:44:21 -0000

You left out the constant fisting of hands -- wot?, and the punching in the face, particularly beloved of YA fic writers, fannish and, gods save us, pros too.

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/18671591473

Gsv_novel_identities — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:37:39 -0000

Always interesting to see other's rec lists. I find it intriguing in light of your other comment that you started by coloring inside the lines in your fanfic, since (and I realize I am a minority on most of your recs which are considered fandom classics) in my opinon, many of the ones listed are very OOC.

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

NM — Sun, 13 May 2012 02:15:08 -0000

Not a JohnLock writer, but I know a few. They aren't happy about your condescending tone here, and I think that's a valid complaint.

And I strongly disagree with your choice of style guide. CMoS ("Chicago Manual of Style") or nothing (my editor agrees, as do most pros).

But you get lofty praise for your choice of dictionary. For anyone who bothers to read this: GET A "NEW ELIZABETHAN REFERENCE DICTIONARY"! It ain't new, and that's the whole point.

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

Sholio — Sun, 13 May 2012 01:59:44 -0000

Hmmm ... really? I've seen this particular usage of carding (not in Sherlock since it isn't my fandom, but in various other places) and I had always assumed that it was a reference to carding wool. The thought had never occurred to me that it might mean anything different! Personally, I don't think that wool carding is a particularly inaccurate metaphor (at least, no more so than brushing or combing would be) -- and I'm saying that as someone who's done it -- but it seems that the phrase is prone to misinterpretation at the very least.

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

Lanningck — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:54:46 -0000

*laughing* Some of us will be professional writers some day? What makes you think some of us aren't? Your presumption runneth over, Ms. Duane. The errors you describe are, unfortunately, as common to professional fiction as they are to fan fiction. But thank you for condescending to hobnob with the riffraff.

P.S. Thank you ever so much for the photo of TEOS; I'd never have been able to identify it otherwise.

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

Argyle4eva — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:25:18 -0000

I'm guilty as charged of some of the above Johnlock balloon words . . . and the terrifying thing is *I didn't realize what terrible fandom cliches they were when I wrote them*! It's amazing how stuff like this can dig into your subconscious and hide there, undetected, until someone shines a light on them from outside, as it were. Thanks for being the person to do so in this instance. :)

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22911599816

Les — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:57:55 -0000

Also, impeccable taste in music. ;)

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22855786223

feels-like-fire — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:22:09 -0000

Whoops, I don't know how I got the timeline wrong. Thanks for taking the time to answer! :)

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

Nksyncsister357 — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:14:20 -0000

I heartily agree with most of what you say above; I myself have noticed the stereotyped, almost ritualized language used in many stories (eyes blown, shoes toed off, John huffed...) but I thought perhaps they were Briticisms. I highly recommend the writings of stardust_made, she writes and Sherlock and John in a non-cliched way, with an almost dreamy tone...
http://stardust-made.livejourn...

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

madrona_8 — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:00:02 -0000

Of all the things that has ever bothered me in the writing for this genre it is the idea that a 35+ aged man can't be randy more than once a hour...or even a night. Experience says otherwise.

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

dianeduane — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:57:54 -0000

I've never heard of card weaving, didn't have a clue what it was until I saw the video (for which thanks! That's really interesting). Which suggests to me that some other more accessible word might still work better.

Also: granted it's been many years since I scrubbed in, but it seems unlikely to me that the ozone scent would linger long after you'd left work and had made your way home in the (fresh?) London air. And if we're assuming that John is doing locum clinic work, as in the BBC!canonical material, he won't usually be in the OR in any case. Anyway, I'll inquire among some colleagues to get a sense about what might go on with the lights. And thanks for the note!

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

Eldritchhorrors — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:44:04 -0000

http://youtu.be/Zvohefehwpw

Cards are used to separate the warp threads. So it is a perfectly appropriate metaphor despite its overuse.

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

Eldritchhorrors — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:24:51 -0000

Carding in this sense refers to card weaving, not the carding of sheep hair. And if John has come from the surgery he could smell like ozone. Ozone is a biproduct of certain medical electrical devices, including antibacterial cleansing lights.

Re: DD.tumblr, Ask me anything

dianeduane — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:32:18 -0000

By and large it creeps me out, and when I stumble across it, I immediately drop it and go read something else.

Re: DD.tumblr, Ask me anything

2Shy — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:14:56 -0000

I see that you are fine with fanfic of an adult nature so long as all parties involved are of a legal age, but how do you feel about stuff like RPS?

Re: DD.tumblr, Ask me anything

dianeduane — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:02:37 -0000

"Probably young people"? ...None of the people whom I have had to deal with in this particular regard have ever been under 18. I reserve the right to defend my literary property against those adults who attempt to misuse it for their own purposes. If this is a problem for you, then you should by all means shelve me where you please.

Re: DD.tumblr, Ask me anything

anonymous — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:49:38 -0000

wrt your most recent post: I'd like to know how you're defining "underage sex," actually. Respect, as you say, gets you respect, and threatening to use the legal system to attack people (probably young people) who are trying to tell stories strikes me as a) terrifying and b) deeply disrespectful.

When I tell other people to engage in piracy and avoid giving an author money, it's almost always for that author's out-of-text interactions with people. I shall answer your threat with a threat: do I need to mentally shelve you with Orson Scott Card?

Re: DD.tumblr, Ask me anything

Wiwaxia — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:09:24 -0000

With regards to Strunk and White and slash fiction:
http://xkcd.com/923/.
:)

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22789538610

Merri-Todd Webster — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:14:23 -0000

Sad to say, I have seen every one of your balloon words, plus epithets, plus grammar mistakes, plus other balloon words, in Merlin/Arthur slash in the BBC's Merlin fandom. My personal pet peeve is Arthur thinking of Merlin as "the boy" when they're supposed to be about the same age; what it really means is that Merlin is The Girl, since he's skinny and clumsy and pale. (Still voting for Colin Morgan to play Ronan....)

Re: http://dduane.tumblr.com/post/22785451030

Blame My Muses — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:23:52 -0000

One of the many reasons my created universe has no time travel! :D

...and also why my timeline was one of the first "background details" documents I tried to get organized and structured... NIGHTMARE, that thing!