Goodfic Guide; Slash
Dec. 20th, 2005 08:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rc45First of all; this article is about NC-17 slash. Don't like, don't read. Please.
NC-17 Slash and Slash Biology
by Trojanhorse
Slash is, bluntly and simply put, homosexual interaction between characters. It may never get further than a few blushing glances, or conversational innuendo, or it may be full on sweatiness between the sheets. ‘Slash’ as a rule refers to male/male pairings, with ‘femmeslash’ being female/female, and ‘twincest’ being that which occasionally gets written about twins having naughty thoughts about each other.
NC-17 is the genre with the sweatiness. It refers to graphic, nothing-left-to-the-imagination, why-don’t-you-give-us-a-diagram sex scenes. It shouldn’t be read by those under seventeen, hence the title ‘NC-17’, and is the genre of slash most frequently produced as evidence of the awfulness of fanfic in general, and most hated by authors etc. BUT! It *doesn’t* always have to be pornographic and plotless.
Slash in general, like any kind of writing, has its problems and difficulties. Chief amongst these is actually setting up, realistically, two characters who in canon might not have displayed the slightest hint of homosexuality. This takes time, careful exposition of inner-most thoughts, and, above all, a deep understanding of how the characters work. The fact that you, as an author, have a deep and abiding lust for both Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen is *not* a good reason to set up Legolas and Aragorn.
Other problems in slash include working out how the other characters would react to such a relationship, how this relationship would tie in with the rest of the canon, and if you’ve broken up existing pairings to establish your slashy one, then how did that happen, and why, and how did the spurned partner deal? Remember, it all has to be plausible. Just saying ‘this is fanfic so I can do what I want’ is not acceptable. By writing fanfic you tie yourself to someone else’s already-established rules, which you *must* follow. If you want to write your own rules then write your own original fiction.
There are several basic slash-establishing plotlines.
The ‘we’re together, deal with it’; where the author gives no explanation at all and starts their fic right slap bang in the middle of an established slashy relationship, thus neatly avoiding having to write any of the difficult bits. This displays no skill on the part of the author and is to be avoided.
The ‘I love him, I love him not, I love him, I love him not’; where the two characters spend most of their time dancing around each other in angsty agonies over their true feelings. Probably the most realistic when the two characters aren’t gay in canon, but often ends up clumsy. Takes care and finesse.
The ‘I will have him, no matter what’; often involves rape, and if not sensibly handled will incur PPCing with extra wrath. Rape should never, ever be used as a ‘by-the-way’ or a trivial plot point. It is a highly serious issue, and MUST be handled with delicacy.
The ‘we shagged when we were drunk and now I don’t know what to do,’; ‘drunk’ may be substituted with any other plausible (or sometimes implausible) reason for not being in your right mind. Can be an interesting take on the subject.
The ‘Fate threw them together against their will’; tends to get cheesy, but can work if handled gently.
The ‘arranged marriage’; for some reason some writers literally have to crowbar their characters together. Most common in LotR, for Elves, but has even been seen in the Potter-verse, which is hugely unlikely. To be avoided like the plague.
Now, to the bit you are all reading this for anyway. Sex scenes. *obligatory moment for people to blush and snigger in*. They are, in fact, what NC-17 slash is all about. And there is definitely a right and a wrong way to go about writing them.
First off, *why* are you writing a sex scene? Does it have a purpose? By ‘purpose’, I mean ‘does it tell us anything we didn’t already know about the characters?’ ‘Will it create a situation later in the fic that will be useful i.e. tension, uncertainty?’ If it’s just going to be a somewhat pornographic spacefiller, then don’t do it.
Be tasteful. You can be graphic, and still be tasteful, remember this. You don’t have to be blunt and clinical, either. A little bit of creative phrasing, simile, euphemism, goes a long way. And try not to be crude. Most slashfic is romance. Go with it.
The Big (no pun intended) Question: Now that I’ve got my characters in a state of undress, in each other’s company, with no distractions, what the hell do I call their . . . um . . . bits?
As a general rule, there are a number of euphemisms for . . . um . . . bits. What you call them depends on the style you write in, and the general tone of the fic.
There’s the universally acceptable ‘member’, which is suitably euphemistic but hugely overused. There’s the technically correct ‘penis’ which tends to be jarring in a more romantic fic, and should probably be avoided in Middle Earth. Slang and derogative terms like ‘dick’ are to be avoided unless they form part of the usual dialogue of the characters you’re writing about. ‘Willy’ just sounds juvenile.
The rule of thumb is to go with whatever it would be suitable for your character to say.
The Other Big Question: What do I call the, um, other end?
Well, that’s up to you. A lot of people tend to cut their sex scenes just before that becomes an issue. The technical term, anus, kills all semblances of romance and must be avoided at all costs. ‘Entrance’ is popular but a bit . . . tacky. You don’t even have to refer to it directly, really. It’s not like you’re writing a set of instructions. If you concentrate on writing about the thoughts/feelings of your characters, then the exact details of what’s going on can be a bit fuzzy.
Inevitably, in any writing, you will want to dispense with always referring to your characters by their names in every sentence, and will want to use pronouns instead. This is natural and commendable; overuse of names gets repetitive and boring, and after all, this is *why* we have pronouns. When it comes to slashy sex scenes, however, this can be confusing, because you have two ‘he’s. To minimise the confusion, write from one point of view only during a sex scene. Switching POVs mid-scene is to be avoided anyway.
The mechanics of slash are not well understood by many slash writers, especially the younger ones. Without wishing to provide a set of instructions, suffice it to say that due to the various angles and placings of various parts of the male anatomy, ventroventral sex (literally ‘belly to belly’, or the normal position for heterosexual coupling), while possible if they’re both flexible guys, is difficult. Dorsoventral (‘back to belly’, or, all right, fine ‘the doggy position’) is more do-able.
Creative foreplay I leave up to your imaginations. There is almost nothing that is physically possible that isn’t done somewhere or other by someone at some time.
And the last thing, and my pet peeve in graphic slashfiction; males were not really made for having sex with each other. It can be difficult, and painful. This is why lubricant is used. And it’s almost mandatory; without it, things get damaged and painful. USE IT in your fic. Apart from anything else, if you don’t, your fic may sound as if it were written by someone without a clue. Just a hint ^_^
Now, it often falls out, especially in fantasy continuua, that you want to slash characters who aren’t human. The facts of life for various commonly slashed species are as follows.
Tolkien Elves
Tolkien’s Elves had a specific set of rules for their romantic liaisons.
Number One; Sex is marriage.
Number Two; Elves were not promiscuous, bed-hoppers, or village bicycles. Sex was hugely important and sacred to them.
Number Three; Elves did NOT EVER rape. EVER. Elves who raped other people died of shame. Elves who were raped died. Writing rape stories involving Elves is a death sentence for any Elves involved. It will almost definitely get you PPCd.
Number Four; Elves and Humans did not just leap into bed with each other. Romances between Elves and Humans were rare and unusual.
Number Five; In case you get flamed for writing Elf slash, remember, Tolkien never ruled out slash pairings for his Elves.
Hobbits
Hobbits in their romantic lives, from the writings of Tolkien, come across as rather old-fashioned, in the ‘asking Father for her hand in marriage’ kind of way. Living together, casual sex, one-night-stands, anything gossip-worthy, is unlikely. Even if your characters are Tooks. Being a Took is not a license for a Hobbit to be dangerously un-Hobbit-like. Slashy liaisons for Hobbits are likely to be surreptitious, have an element of the characters feeling ashamed, and probably involve some angst.
Werewolves in Discworld
Follow basic human rules, but remember to give your characters the three nights of the full moon off from shagging ^_^
Other than that, there is a vague concept that in bed, a werewolf is more in touch with their animal side (although this has been explored better in the HP universe so far, see below). If you want to play with this, feel free.
Oh, try to avoid having your werewolf character bite his partner in bed.
Werewolves in Harry Potter
One of the most popular pairings in the Potter-verse, and one that has the advantage of involving adults, unlike a lot of HP slash, is Remus Lupin/Sirius Black. Remus, as we all know, is a werewolf (apologies to those who haven’t read the Prisoner of Azkaban yet). It is general slasher fanon that Remus is a bit of a wildcat in the sack, also. Just generally follow human rules, as for Disc werewolves, but remember that HP werewolves have a few minutes of changing shape and growing hair when they change, as opposed to Disc werewolves almost instantaneous change. This gives your other character time to escape should this happen while they’re in a clinch.
Other Stuff
Disclaimers and Age Ratings are VITAL. If you’re going to write NC-17, then it is essential that you label it as such, clearly and obviously. If your slash is getting to the graphic but you’re not sure it’s NC-17, label it as such anyway. When in doubt, ALWAYS go up a rating level. And in a disclaimer, don’t forget to tell us that you don’t own the canon you’re writing in. Jokes about authors turning in their graves have pretty much all been done, but feel free to try ^_^
Flames. Ah, flames. If someone doesn’t like your story, and if you’re writing slash that’s entirely possible, then they may flame you. Don’t take them seriously. If someone reviews with constructive crit, take that seriously. But if someone has abused you, your story and your parentage in caps lock with a lot of exclamation marks, then they are not worth listening to. Those who can, write fanfic, Those who can’t, flame those who can.
Postscript; the ‘morals’ of slash, A.K.A ‘Why you might get flamed even if your story is perfect in every way.’
OK, it has to be said. There’s a large faction of people who think homosexuality is wrong. And some of them seem to trawl for slashfic for the simple purpose of flaming it. Homosexuality is a fact. It occurs, and whether or not you accept it is your own choice. If you’ve labelled your story clearly as a slash pairing, then anyone who reads further does so at their own risk. If they don’t like homosexuality, then why did they read? In the end, don’t be put down by the bigots and the flamers. Keep writing.
NC-17 Slash and Slash Biology
by Trojanhorse
Slash is, bluntly and simply put, homosexual interaction between characters. It may never get further than a few blushing glances, or conversational innuendo, or it may be full on sweatiness between the sheets. ‘Slash’ as a rule refers to male/male pairings, with ‘femmeslash’ being female/female, and ‘twincest’ being that which occasionally gets written about twins having naughty thoughts about each other.
NC-17 is the genre with the sweatiness. It refers to graphic, nothing-left-to-the-imagination, why-don’t-you-give-us-a-diagram sex scenes. It shouldn’t be read by those under seventeen, hence the title ‘NC-17’, and is the genre of slash most frequently produced as evidence of the awfulness of fanfic in general, and most hated by authors etc. BUT! It *doesn’t* always have to be pornographic and plotless.
Slash in general, like any kind of writing, has its problems and difficulties. Chief amongst these is actually setting up, realistically, two characters who in canon might not have displayed the slightest hint of homosexuality. This takes time, careful exposition of inner-most thoughts, and, above all, a deep understanding of how the characters work. The fact that you, as an author, have a deep and abiding lust for both Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen is *not* a good reason to set up Legolas and Aragorn.
Other problems in slash include working out how the other characters would react to such a relationship, how this relationship would tie in with the rest of the canon, and if you’ve broken up existing pairings to establish your slashy one, then how did that happen, and why, and how did the spurned partner deal? Remember, it all has to be plausible. Just saying ‘this is fanfic so I can do what I want’ is not acceptable. By writing fanfic you tie yourself to someone else’s already-established rules, which you *must* follow. If you want to write your own rules then write your own original fiction.
There are several basic slash-establishing plotlines.
The ‘we’re together, deal with it’; where the author gives no explanation at all and starts their fic right slap bang in the middle of an established slashy relationship, thus neatly avoiding having to write any of the difficult bits. This displays no skill on the part of the author and is to be avoided.
The ‘I love him, I love him not, I love him, I love him not’; where the two characters spend most of their time dancing around each other in angsty agonies over their true feelings. Probably the most realistic when the two characters aren’t gay in canon, but often ends up clumsy. Takes care and finesse.
The ‘I will have him, no matter what’; often involves rape, and if not sensibly handled will incur PPCing with extra wrath. Rape should never, ever be used as a ‘by-the-way’ or a trivial plot point. It is a highly serious issue, and MUST be handled with delicacy.
The ‘we shagged when we were drunk and now I don’t know what to do,’; ‘drunk’ may be substituted with any other plausible (or sometimes implausible) reason for not being in your right mind. Can be an interesting take on the subject.
The ‘Fate threw them together against their will’; tends to get cheesy, but can work if handled gently.
The ‘arranged marriage’; for some reason some writers literally have to crowbar their characters together. Most common in LotR, for Elves, but has even been seen in the Potter-verse, which is hugely unlikely. To be avoided like the plague.
Now, to the bit you are all reading this for anyway. Sex scenes. *obligatory moment for people to blush and snigger in*. They are, in fact, what NC-17 slash is all about. And there is definitely a right and a wrong way to go about writing them.
First off, *why* are you writing a sex scene? Does it have a purpose? By ‘purpose’, I mean ‘does it tell us anything we didn’t already know about the characters?’ ‘Will it create a situation later in the fic that will be useful i.e. tension, uncertainty?’ If it’s just going to be a somewhat pornographic spacefiller, then don’t do it.
Be tasteful. You can be graphic, and still be tasteful, remember this. You don’t have to be blunt and clinical, either. A little bit of creative phrasing, simile, euphemism, goes a long way. And try not to be crude. Most slashfic is romance. Go with it.
The Big (no pun intended) Question: Now that I’ve got my characters in a state of undress, in each other’s company, with no distractions, what the hell do I call their . . . um . . . bits?
As a general rule, there are a number of euphemisms for . . . um . . . bits. What you call them depends on the style you write in, and the general tone of the fic.
There’s the universally acceptable ‘member’, which is suitably euphemistic but hugely overused. There’s the technically correct ‘penis’ which tends to be jarring in a more romantic fic, and should probably be avoided in Middle Earth. Slang and derogative terms like ‘dick’ are to be avoided unless they form part of the usual dialogue of the characters you’re writing about. ‘Willy’ just sounds juvenile.
The rule of thumb is to go with whatever it would be suitable for your character to say.
The Other Big Question: What do I call the, um, other end?
Well, that’s up to you. A lot of people tend to cut their sex scenes just before that becomes an issue. The technical term, anus, kills all semblances of romance and must be avoided at all costs. ‘Entrance’ is popular but a bit . . . tacky. You don’t even have to refer to it directly, really. It’s not like you’re writing a set of instructions. If you concentrate on writing about the thoughts/feelings of your characters, then the exact details of what’s going on can be a bit fuzzy.
Inevitably, in any writing, you will want to dispense with always referring to your characters by their names in every sentence, and will want to use pronouns instead. This is natural and commendable; overuse of names gets repetitive and boring, and after all, this is *why* we have pronouns. When it comes to slashy sex scenes, however, this can be confusing, because you have two ‘he’s. To minimise the confusion, write from one point of view only during a sex scene. Switching POVs mid-scene is to be avoided anyway.
The mechanics of slash are not well understood by many slash writers, especially the younger ones. Without wishing to provide a set of instructions, suffice it to say that due to the various angles and placings of various parts of the male anatomy, ventroventral sex (literally ‘belly to belly’, or the normal position for heterosexual coupling), while possible if they’re both flexible guys, is difficult. Dorsoventral (‘back to belly’, or, all right, fine ‘the doggy position’) is more do-able.
Creative foreplay I leave up to your imaginations. There is almost nothing that is physically possible that isn’t done somewhere or other by someone at some time.
And the last thing, and my pet peeve in graphic slashfiction; males were not really made for having sex with each other. It can be difficult, and painful. This is why lubricant is used. And it’s almost mandatory; without it, things get damaged and painful. USE IT in your fic. Apart from anything else, if you don’t, your fic may sound as if it were written by someone without a clue. Just a hint ^_^
Now, it often falls out, especially in fantasy continuua, that you want to slash characters who aren’t human. The facts of life for various commonly slashed species are as follows.
Tolkien Elves
Tolkien’s Elves had a specific set of rules for their romantic liaisons.
Number One; Sex is marriage.
Number Two; Elves were not promiscuous, bed-hoppers, or village bicycles. Sex was hugely important and sacred to them.
Number Three; Elves did NOT EVER rape. EVER. Elves who raped other people died of shame. Elves who were raped died. Writing rape stories involving Elves is a death sentence for any Elves involved. It will almost definitely get you PPCd.
Number Four; Elves and Humans did not just leap into bed with each other. Romances between Elves and Humans were rare and unusual.
Number Five; In case you get flamed for writing Elf slash, remember, Tolkien never ruled out slash pairings for his Elves.
Hobbits
Hobbits in their romantic lives, from the writings of Tolkien, come across as rather old-fashioned, in the ‘asking Father for her hand in marriage’ kind of way. Living together, casual sex, one-night-stands, anything gossip-worthy, is unlikely. Even if your characters are Tooks. Being a Took is not a license for a Hobbit to be dangerously un-Hobbit-like. Slashy liaisons for Hobbits are likely to be surreptitious, have an element of the characters feeling ashamed, and probably involve some angst.
Werewolves in Discworld
Follow basic human rules, but remember to give your characters the three nights of the full moon off from shagging ^_^
Other than that, there is a vague concept that in bed, a werewolf is more in touch with their animal side (although this has been explored better in the HP universe so far, see below). If you want to play with this, feel free.
Oh, try to avoid having your werewolf character bite his partner in bed.
Werewolves in Harry Potter
One of the most popular pairings in the Potter-verse, and one that has the advantage of involving adults, unlike a lot of HP slash, is Remus Lupin/Sirius Black. Remus, as we all know, is a werewolf (apologies to those who haven’t read the Prisoner of Azkaban yet). It is general slasher fanon that Remus is a bit of a wildcat in the sack, also. Just generally follow human rules, as for Disc werewolves, but remember that HP werewolves have a few minutes of changing shape and growing hair when they change, as opposed to Disc werewolves almost instantaneous change. This gives your other character time to escape should this happen while they’re in a clinch.
Other Stuff
Disclaimers and Age Ratings are VITAL. If you’re going to write NC-17, then it is essential that you label it as such, clearly and obviously. If your slash is getting to the graphic but you’re not sure it’s NC-17, label it as such anyway. When in doubt, ALWAYS go up a rating level. And in a disclaimer, don’t forget to tell us that you don’t own the canon you’re writing in. Jokes about authors turning in their graves have pretty much all been done, but feel free to try ^_^
Flames. Ah, flames. If someone doesn’t like your story, and if you’re writing slash that’s entirely possible, then they may flame you. Don’t take them seriously. If someone reviews with constructive crit, take that seriously. But if someone has abused you, your story and your parentage in caps lock with a lot of exclamation marks, then they are not worth listening to. Those who can, write fanfic, Those who can’t, flame those who can.
Postscript; the ‘morals’ of slash, A.K.A ‘Why you might get flamed even if your story is perfect in every way.’
OK, it has to be said. There’s a large faction of people who think homosexuality is wrong. And some of them seem to trawl for slashfic for the simple purpose of flaming it. Homosexuality is a fact. It occurs, and whether or not you accept it is your own choice. If you’ve labelled your story clearly as a slash pairing, then anyone who reads further does so at their own risk. If they don’t like homosexuality, then why did they read? In the end, don’t be put down by the bigots and the flamers. Keep writing.
