Immersion exercises

A forum for discussing fan fiction related to Let The Right One In
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metoo
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Immersion exercises

Post by metoo » Sat Jul 09, 2011 7:02 pm

Dear fellow ff writers!

I started writing ff when reading no longer would set me in the world of LTROI, I needed new stuff. So I started writing as a means to yet again become immersed in that world, and it worked very well. Reading is quick, but writing is slow, so I can actually stay immersed for longer when writing than when reading (or watching a film).

I believe it might be interesting to learn what experiences and motivations other ff writers have for writing. So, the topic is opened, the thread is yours!
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist

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PeteMork
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Re: Immersion exercises

Post by PeteMork » Sat Jul 09, 2011 10:28 pm

I began writing my first story, because I felt a strong urge to take them under my wing and keep them from harm. I wanted to provide the two of them with a happy ending, one way or another. But I quickly realized, as you have, that it also gave me a special way to stay in the world of Eli and Oskar; a world, moreover, in which I could change and mold their future to explore all the facets of their personalities that JAL had hinted at in his multi-layered, beautifully-written novel.

At the end of the day, I found that I needed my ‘Eli and Oskar’ fix and writing about them was the best way to satisfy the addiction. I feel kind of like the legendary Mrs. Winchester, who purportedly kept adding on to her home, fearing that, once she stopped, she would die. Similarly, I feel that, if I stop writing about them, I may loose that special feeling I have for them, and I may never be able to get it back.
We never stop reading, although every book comes to an end, just as we never stop living, although death is certain. (Roberto Bolaño)

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a_contemplative_life
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Re: Immersion exercises

Post by a_contemplative_life » Sat Jul 09, 2011 10:50 pm

LTROI kind of 'took me by storm' in mid-2009. I watched the film many times and then read the book. I found my thoughts continuing to return to mysterious Eli, and at some point I decided that it would be fun to try and piece together what Eli might have been thinking about her situation and about Oskar during the course of the film. After I wrote about that, like you I wanted more, and in particular wanted to explore a story about what could have happened after the train ride. That story involved an Oskar who was not turned and who ended up helping Eli find release from her disease. Then I thought it would be fun to write a story what could happen if Eli accidentally turned Oskar, because so much had been written by then involving a deliberate choice to turn Oskar. After that, I wanted to write about what could happen if Eli came to the U.S. and met a man who was the opposite of Hakan. So, yes, I think that writing stories, and reading the stories of others (I read virtually all of the fan fiction that is published on this site, even if I cannot find the time to comment on everything), has helped keep Oskar and Eli alive in my imagination. And so here I am, two years later, and I am still interested. :D
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sauvin
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Re: Immersion exercises

Post by sauvin » Sun Jul 10, 2011 12:01 am

My own meagre and rare contributions to the fanfic base have also been immersive, deliberately so.

I was initially fascinated with the kids' relationship and more with Eli herself, I suspect, because I had been fascinated by vampires and vampiric existence for a few decades beginning with the original Dark Shadows series on American afternoon TV. This vampire/human romance, however, is the first I can remember ever touching me at levels I can't name - it is, in fact, the first vampire/human romance I can remember at all.

Unlike other FF authors, however, I wasn't particularly interested in taking the kids to places the original story (the movie, that is) doesn't really support, or taking them through adventures that presuppose or introduce elements not wholly provided for in it. It wasn't even until I'd read a review some weeks or months after having seen the movie that pointed out that the whole movie was [CENSORED] grim, that its ending was no ending at all. It was a beginning.

But a beginning of what?

The kids leaving Blackeberg on a train are in an impossible position because Eli herseif is impossiblly placed. Not really a vampire, and not really human, her relationship with Oskar and their lives together didn't seem to promise much in the way of well-defined shape or homogeneous consistency throughout. I saw the beautiful beginning of something, well... not totally hideous, but also certainly not the unblemished garden path "happily ever after" that I think we'd all loved to have believed possible for the kids without some kind of incredible deus ex machina.

My handful of inner monologues were an attempt at understanding what was going through the kids' heads as their relationship developed, and my Oskar at 40 was an attempt at extrapolation into the present. In this, I failed; it seems I understand them no better than when my infection took root roughly two years ago.

Still, it's fun to think about, and it still sometimes seems important to try to identify exactly what it was about the movie that captivated me so. I find it necessary to read the posts on this forum and much of the fanfic for precisely this reason.

With Abby now to help things along (almost as a discriminant), the process may not be any more "productive", but she certainly adds to the enjoyment, and crmfireflies is doing a great job of keeping me honest. :lol:

Latest kink in my unwritten thinking: who was it who wrote the fanfic where Eli says "Funny, I don't know you"? Just when I thought I had a handle on things, somebody points out there's a whole face to her that virtually none of us have yet explored.
Fais tomber les barrières entre nous qui sommes tous des frères

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EEA
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Re: Immersion exercises

Post by EEA » Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:10 am

I am also writing a story about Eli and Oskar but its a hard process. Even though I like to write I prefer to read. I enjoy reading the ff that you guys write because I am able to learn more about Eli and Oskar.

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moonvibe34
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Re: Immersion exercises

Post by moonvibe34 » Sun Jul 10, 2011 3:41 pm

I began writing fanfiction when the film, novel and wonderful fanfiction here inspired me to try my hand at spinning a tale with Oskar and Eli. Having never written fiction before I was unprepared for how immersed I became. It was as if when I was writing I got to spend time with two characters I felt deeply for, two characters I could never get enough of. Writing about Oskar and Eli was fun, exciting and even therapuetic at times.

Though I haven't written any fanfiction in a long while my experience here has led me to begin my own fictional tale (which of course pays homage to LTROI with subtle traces) and also write several poems. Writing has become my passion. I never knew the creative joy and blissful immersion of writing fiction before LTROI and We,The Infected so as always, I am grateful to both. JAL's creation, in print and film, has changed my life and will, I believe, continue to inspire me for a long, long time. :D
"But dreams come through stone walls, light up dark rooms, or darken light ones, and their persons make their exits and their entrances as they please, and laugh at locksmiths."
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

TigerEyes
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Re: Immersion exercises

Post by TigerEyes » Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:59 pm

well, like with Wolfchild's fanfic with Eli's thought, i thought of an idea of writing the fanfic with the novel version. That was far the easiest for me. I personally feel that the whole Eli and Oskar thing was like "My personal brand of Heroin." :lol: Sorry, please don't hurt me. Anyway, i'm writing the "Human again." because i wanted to create the idea of how it would be like for Eli and Oskar to both be cured from their disease together years later after the train while thinking up a story of how they progressed as vampires and what happened to Eli after he was turned. It's fascinating for me because as i see it, Eli's life is a mystery, even JAL consider Eli a mystery to him. I also decided to introduce my own character crossing into LTROI world, Orin a vampire who suffered. My novel story i'm working on is an inspiration to LTROI, which is keeping my infection fed as well as reading stories others have written. Of course, my novel is a lot sadder than LTROI and has a stronger theme for suicide, thought only one person committed suicide in the end. But it has both a happy and a sad ending mixed together. This "Human again" fanfic will have a good ending, but i will never finish my story because... :twisted: I never wanted it to end! Muwahahaha!
Run, and you might live.
Stay, and you might die.
However, nothing is certain.

Come visit my blog where i write stuff of Vampires, including Let the right one in, http://godlessvampire.blogspot.com/

DMt.

Re: Immersion exercises

Post by DMt. » Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:35 pm

moonvibe34 wrote:I began writing fanfiction when the film, novel and wonderful fanfiction here inspired me to try my hand at spinning a tale with Oskar and Eli. Having never written fiction before I was unprepared for how immersed I became. It was as if when I was writing I got to spend time with two characters I felt deeply for, two characters I could never get enough of. Writing about Oskar and Eli was fun, exciting and even therapuetic at times.

Though I haven't written any fanfiction in a long while my experience here has led me to begin my own fictional tale (which of course pays homage to LTROI with subtle traces) and also write several poems. Writing has become my passion. I never knew the creative joy and blissful immersion of writing fiction before LTROI and We,The Infected so as always, I am grateful to both. JAL's creation, in print and film, has changed my life and will, I believe, continue to inspire me for a long, long time. :D

I don't think I could be any happier for you, and I want to read some, please.

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moonvibe34
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Re: Immersion exercises

Post by moonvibe34 » Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:03 am

DMt. wrote: I don't think I could be any happier for you, and I want to read some, please.
Thanks DMt. I would be honored to present something before your discerning eyes.
Just PM me when you're in the mood and I'll send you a few words.
"But dreams come through stone walls, light up dark rooms, or darken light ones, and their persons make their exits and their entrances as they please, and laugh at locksmiths."
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

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EEA
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Re: Immersion exercises

Post by EEA » Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:48 am

I have like 4 chapters of a ff that I am writing and would like some feedback. Can I post the first chapter here?

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