10 replies to this topic

[bleary_25]

"Only So Much Pain" is a follow-up to my well-received Young James Bond short "A Whisper of Love, A Whisper of Hate"

Hope you ejoy it.

I have also planned further adventures and with each story, Bond will get older by about a year. And closer to Fleming's Bond - using more and more of his backstory.

Discuss.

Edited by Qwerty, 09 February 2005 - 04:37 PM.

[Lazenby880]

Granted I'd have liked it to be longer, you really have taken what could have been a controversial experiment and written with poignant phraseology and plenty of interesting development of Bond's character. No Harry Potter stuff here, Only So Much Pain is excellently written and does appear to be in keeping with the character Fleming created, which could have been difficult given the time of Bond's life your story deals with.

The fight sequences, which make up the bulk of the story, are tense and McTernan's development is done mostly subtly with insightful moments particularly of Bond's feelings of envy towards him.

All in all, superbly written, structured and sentenced, if a little too brief.

[Xenobia]

I have no qualms with the length of this piece. Unless one wants to go the Casino Royale route, which isn't appropriate for Bond at this point in his life, the physicality, and its after effects are just right.

But yes, we are getting that bit of Bond that Shelley called "the sneer of cold command." He is learning how to fight and how to kill -- spiritually at first, because physically is much easier to learn.

-- Xenobia

[Lazenby880]

I have no qualms with the length of this piece.  Unless one wants to go the Casino Royale route, which isn't appropriate for Bond at this point in his life, the physicality, and its after effects are just right.

But yes, we are getting that bit of Bond that Shelley called "the sneer of cold command." He is learning how to fight and how to kill -- spiritually at first, because physically is much easier to learn.

-- Xenobia

Maybe it is just me about the length of the story, but I was just getting into the flow of things and it ends. But, this is the only complaint I have of Only So Much Pain, as I really am enjoying reading the author's take on how Bond learned to be the secret agent as we know him in his adulthood.

Edited by Lazenby, 27 April 2004 - 07:55 PM.

[bleary_25]

Maybe it is just me about the length of the story, but I was just getting into the flow of things and it ends. But, this is the only complaint I have of Only So Much Pain, as I really am enjoying reading the author's take on how Bond learned to be the secret agent as we know him in his adulthood.

Well, I'm going to take the comment on length as a compliment. If you liked it enough to want it to keep going, then I'm glad.

I did wonder how much introspection I should really go into. Bond isn't a terribly introspective character - even thought most of the novels are told from his point of view.

Even now, at a time where he might think about himself more, I didn't want to indulge in that. So once I got to the end of the story, I wanted to get out quickly.

That said, the next story I'm going to write will be very close in tone to this one. Bond, still at Eton, will be rebelling more... leading to the incident that Fleming alludes to in "You Only Live Twice" when Bond gets kicked out.

Glad you liked this one so much, though.

[bleary_25]

Unless one wants to go the Casino Royale route, which isn't appropriate for Bond at this point in his life, the physicality, and its after effects are just right.

But yes, we are getting that bit of Bond that Shelley called "the sneer of cold command." He is learning how to fight and how to kill -- spiritually at first, because physically is much easier to learn.

-- Xenobia

I'm glad you think the piece works - this is what I was aiming for. A little bit more of the Bond we know.

I was a bit worried about casting the character as a snitch here, but I figure he's got more maturing to do - and he's not quite as used to physical punishment as he will be.

My plan for further short stories is here - but keep in mind, everything is subject to change. Titles, descriptions, plots, the number of stories I write in this series...

But currently, it's an itch that I want to scratch.

[Jim]

Enjoyed that, thanks.

[Tanger]

I have to agree these stories are excellenty written and will definitely get a look in from the Fan Fiction Reader's Club.
Tell me, how many do you plan on writing? Are you considering putting them together in one anthology when they are complete?

[bleary_25]

I have to agree these stories are excellenty written and will definitely get a look in from the Fan Fiction Reader's Club.
Tell me, how many do you plan on writing? Are you considering putting them together in one anthology when they are complete?

My current plan is for ten short stories, although that might be revised down to about eight. It's just something I'll get a feel for as I go. I want to try to hit on as many points in Bond's development as I can without going overboard or repeating myself.

I also don't want to take away some of the mystery - which is my greatest concern with the official Young James Bond books, too. Even if we all agreed that James Bond might have had some noteworthy adventures as a teenager or between high school and joining the Navy (and later the secret service), I think too many stories will spoil the overall nature of the character.

I mean, if you know absolutely *everything* about a character it's unrealistic. You don't know *everything* about your real best friend, so why expect that of a fictional character?

As for what I'm going to do with them once they're complete - I'm open to suggestions

I'm not new to writing, but I am very new to writing fan fic and particularly this forum.

And what exactly is the Fan Fiction Reader's Club? I've seen it mentioned here, but I don't quite understand what it is you do - other than read and comment on Bond fan fic, which is basically the point of this part of CBn's forum anyway

Glad you enjoyed the two stories I've posted so far.

[Tanger]

The FFRC is a group of fans who love fan fiction. Every week or so we read a piece of fan fiction and then discuss it. We cover not only the fan fics on this site but many from other places aswell. Our discussions help to sort out the best from the rest and then we can recommend the best ones to other fans.
You could say that what we do is similar to what the forum is for, but then isn't the Book Club? This gives people the chance to all look at it at the same time and often we get a spirited debate going.

As to what you should do when you've finished your stories, my best suggestion would be to get some cover art done and put them in a single volume PDF. file. I'm sure that Mr. * or somebody else will be more than happy to help you.

[bleary_25]

The FFRC is a group of fans who love fan fiction. Every week or so we read a piece of fan fiction and then discuss it. We cover not only the fan fics on this site but many from other places aswell. Our discussions help to sort out the best from the rest and then we can recommend the best ones to other fans.
You could say that what we do is similar to what the forum is for, but then isn't the Book Club? This gives people the chance to all look at it at the same time and often we get a spirited debate going.

As to what you should do when you've finished your stories, my best suggestion would be to get some cover art done and put them in a single volume PDF. file. I'm sure that Mr. * or somebody else will be more than happy to help you.

Thanks for the explanation of the FFRC. That makes a lot of sense.

Your suggestion of the PDF file and cover art is noted - particularly if someone else can help me with it

Thanks again for your help and glad you've enjoyed the stories so far.