aria: 0; fraser: 1

[aria]

Two bits of conversation:

aria: I am PANTS at writing fraser
oliviacirce: I bet you are not as pants at it as you think
oliviacirce: but it is sort of a trial by fire, yeah
oliviacirce: I mean, I've never tried, I am too scared to try
aria: well, see, he ... wants to say everything! he is bad at just implying things because he doesn't really pay that much attention to his internal state
aria: so if I make him do so, then he starts paragraphing it
aria: and I am sitting here going "oh my god, you incompetent man! MAYBE I SHOULD LET RAY DRIVE"
aria: it's not that he has a difficult voice, he just has a terrible time saying anything.

oliviacirce: how are you aside from fighting fraser tooth and claw?
oliviacirce: (that is a great image, btw)
oliviacirce: (I am really into it)
oliviacirce: (I am imagining you actually fighting fraser, now.)
aria: (ahaha oh my god you are cracking me the hell up)
aria: (FRASER WINS)

Re: conversational snippet #1: those of you who do write Fraser's POV, how in hell do you do it? It's not a matter of not having his voice; it's a matter of coaxing him into actually telling a story about himself, and then making him do it with subtlety.

Comments

[wintercreek]

Judging by china_shop's writing Fraser discussion, you are far from alone.

In answer to your question: I just realized that I've only finished a Fraser-POV piece once, and it was a short one - so apparently I do it by eliding his inner monologue into descriptions rather than letting all the nuances out. But also I am probably not the most helpful person to talk to about this.

[aria]

Yes, I saw that! It does make me feel some solidarity, at least, although it also means there is probably no secret formula.

And yes, writing short Fraser-POV things seems doable. I finished the one also, but as well as being short, I was half-delirious with fever, and ... unfortunately I do not want "brain not functioning on all cylinders" to be the secret formula for writing Fraser.

[wintercreek]

unfortunately I do not want "brain not functioning on all cylinders" to be the secret formula for writing Fraser.

Of course, if you're going to write that crazy!Fraser piece, maybe it should be ...

[aria]

...okay, yes, that is one fic that is probably going to be written almost entirely in installments at 3AM, I have already made peace with this.

[labellementeuse]

I think you would actually probably beat up Fraser because criminals have to do quite serious things wrong for Fraser to actually hit them. And I see you vs. Fraser being contextualised in, like, a petty misdemeanour of some kind.

[aria]

But on the other hand, if I were to sneak up on Ray or something, Fraser would probably knock me out cold with one punch. So in the grand scheme of things, he would kick my ass. XD

[labellementeuse]

... hmm, yeah, OK, if your misdemeanour is Ray-related, Fraser definitely wins :P

[luzula]

Writing Fraser is what comes most naturally to me. Which means I can't give much advice on it, because I do it without thinking too much about it. Hmm, I think I kind of...identify really closely with Fraser, and that's what makes it easy.

Ray K, OTOH, is hard, and I think it's because he's more colloquial and English is not my native language. I'm writing a Ray POV fic right now, and arrgh.

Hmm, and you're writing an unreliable narrator fic, right? That is hard no matter what the POV, I think.

[aria]

That makes sense! I understand Ray's rhythm of speaking really easily, and writing him is almost entirely painless. Fraser on the other hand -- interestingly enough I identify with him a lot also, and in some ways that's why it's difficult for me to write him; if I allow myself to, I'll spend far too long trying to think of exactly the right word, and Fraser kind of brings that out in me (which is not the primary reason I identify with him by any means, but does complicate trying to write him).

And actually the Fraser-POV fic I'm attempting right now isn't an unreliable narrator fic -- I thought I'd try reasonably sane Fraser before I attempted anything more complicated.

[arrow00]

I thought you did an excellent job in the Fraser POV piece of yours I read. (Sorry, I'm just now starting to read your stuff. I've been Away.)

I don't mind writing Fraser; or, at least I didn't once I got my hook, which was how amazingly unreliable a narrator he often is despite being quite logical-thinking. He's unreliable through the sheer weight of Byzantine thought he puts into things. At least the way I work him. I think. I could be wrong. I very often am. :)

I love Fraser's vocabulary, and find it a challenge to use without making him too dense, formal or unapproachable, which he isn't in canon. He's actually kinda dry and witty, which is harder to impart without tone of voice.

[aria]

Thank you! I find that writing him is still kind of hit-or-miss for me, though; either he is very cooperative (and often unreliable -- you're absolutely right about that, and it's one of the fun things about writing him) or he just becomes entirely vocabulary and completely unwriteable. So I think I pretty much agree with you on all counts here. :)