I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but it seems as good a place as any .

Something that recently happened in RL got me wondering if people usually see fanfic as something to be shared only with friends in an internet forum, most of whom you've never met in real life, or whether people usually share it with friends and relatives outside the forum-world too. Or does the situation not arise because they wouldn't be interested in anything relating to that particular fandom? I get the impression that a lot of people see internet writing as something which is apart from RL, especially as people often write about issues which have affected them as well as their characters, but maybe I'm wrong. Just wondering.

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We really must stop eating like this ...

Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open.

I would only share my fiction with family/RL friends if they asked to see it - regardless of whether they had an interest in CS books or not. Not every fan wants to read fan fiction and I wouldn't feel comfortable in shoving my work under someone's nose unless I knew they wanted to see it - and anyone not interested in the books wouldn't know who the characters were so would just end up confused.

I tend to share my writing with my best friend, who knows nothing much about the CS but enjoys it anyway (who knows why, with my writing ) but I won't share with anyone else unless they ask to see it.

I write about issues which have affected me in non-fanfic as well, though, so that's less of an issue for me than it is for some other people, maybe.

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"His distinguished air, his handsome dark face, his composed attitude - for he stood perfectly still with one hand at his side - gave singular effect to the circumstance of his being without a hat." - 'Tales of Angria'

I'm fairly closeted with it, mainly as I don't want it emphasised at work as I try to keep my personal life separate from the patients, though don't lie if asked. Close friends and family know but they mostly wouldn't want to read. If you don't know the characters the stories often don't make any great sense (not that mine necessarily do when you DO know the characters either!)

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"Go on, you old Beecharmer, tell me a good tall tale" Ruth to Idgie, Fried Green Tomatoes

I don't keep it secret that I write fanfic, but I don't expect any of my non-fandom friends or family to read it. I figure, if they were interested in the fandom, they'd have found the fanfic anyway; and if they're not interested, then they're unlikely to want to read fanfic just because I wrote it

My family know I write fanfic and have been reading it. My sister has appointed herself my unofficial script consultant and sometimes texts me plot bunnies. She came up with quite a few for my Dad's Army crossover with Allo Allo. My friend, who has never read a CS book, also helps with plot bunnies and provides an audience for me to try out chapters before posting them.