This question comes as a result of a dinner conversation with a friend I haven't seen for a long time. We got around to talking about my budding interest in writing and WWI history and for all that I shared, I only mentioned DA in passing and never admitted that my writing was fanfic. This got me to wondering, do you tell your real life friends of your love for DA? Do you try to convert them to the show? And if you write fic, do your RL friends or family know you're a fanfic author?

My friends know about my love for Downton Abbey, I think, but I don't really mention it because none of them watch it and it's not really their taste, so I don't try and convert them. They know full well that I write fanfiction, and several of them have joined FF.net as well.

My family watch Downton Abbey with me, but they're not in love with it like me. :L And they know about fanfiction, although I forbid them from reading any of mine, and they're glad I have a 'creative hobby.' Although, they do keep trying to persuade me to write more original fic. Which I do. *rolls eyes*

So basically, my family and friends know about my interests, but they're not as interested and I don't really discuss it with them. :D

None of my friends or family know I write fan fiction, I have never told them. When asked what I do on the laptop all day I just shrug and say I watch films and talk to mates, I guess I'm just worried about what they'll think or say. When I tried to get my mother into she got very, very confused. I can't watch it with her without being asked a thousand questions such as "There were a war in South Africa?" and "Is the footman the posh man's boyfriend?". It just gets tiresome. My dad is not interested in the slightest, he ruined the last episode for me by loudly announcing that he knew that Cora was going to loose the baby moments after she told Robert she was pregnant. <_<

I have made progress with my friends though, I borrowed my box set to my mate yesterday (well, kind of forced it upon her) and she came into school today like THIS IS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD. So there is hope!

My mum and sister both like watching Downton Abbey (my mum ships Anna/Bates! Or she would, if she knew what a ship was). My dad pretends not to like it, but he's always conveniently in the front room 'doing the ironing' when it's on. No one in my family is as obsessed as I am, though, and my sister’s completely sick of me flailing about season 2. None of my friends watch it, although they know I like it, and I haven’t been able to convert any of them yet.

As for fanfiction, none of my family or friends know about it. My parents would just ask me why I don’t do ‘proper writing’ (well, it is proper writing. Duh) and everyone else would think I’m insane. I suppose inwardly I’m actually quite embarrassed about doing it – I’d probably deny it if anyone asked me if I did write fanfic – but I think that’s my terrible self-esteem talking and not the fact that it’s Downton related.

Anyway, in conclusion, my family and friends know I like Downton Abbey, but nobody knows about my fanfiction because I don’t tell them.

I don't tell my parents and brother about fanfiction, but I reckon they know. My sister's a worse fangirl than I am, which is kind of my fault, so I share plots occasionally. Some of my friends know I write fanfiction. I have one friend who's rather a well-known fanvidder, and two or three who read fanfiction occasionally. I win in obsessiveness, though, lol.

I've tried a couple of conversions, but not got very far. Yet... Today I found out a friend of mine has a crush on Brendan Coyle but hasn't watched Downton yet. I'm completely planning to fix that one... ;)

My hubby is my beta reader :) But he only watched Downton Abbey because he loves me.

Most people here in my country don't even know DA exists, so I'm pretty much living in my own bubble.
My mom knows about the show but as it hasn't been aired here yet, she only knows what it's about in general.

My family knows that I sometimes write, but they don't know it's fanfiction - or in some cases - original poems. (I can see their reaction though "You're writing for free? At least you should get money out of it.") So I don't plan to share this with them anytime soon.

My sister knows that I write and thinks that I'm a weirdo artsy type person. LOL

My mother's been aware of my fandom habits for a while now. She gave up being concerned a long time ago and actually asked for the link to the epik because she liked the concept. Suffice to say I never gave this link to her, because the rating of the epik is M++++++++++++ and as open minded as she pretends to be about these things, she's not ready for the Corah lovin'.

My friends found out recently and there was some mocking, until I explained what I get from writing fanfiction and why I started. Then they just felt bad, and one friend bought me a glass of wine. He's coming along to watch Downton with Scarlet and I on the 18th so we'll see how that goes!

My brothers both know I write the occasional fanfic, because they STALKED me online. My littlest brother also read through the RP threads on the old ff.net RP because he was looking for my account and he knew I was the admin.

I talk to quite a few people about Downton, even if they don't really know what it is. My friends just humour me. My mum thinks I'm bonkers, but she indulges my fangirlyness and buys me magazines so I can obsess quietly and leave her in peace. I'm not sure how much she knows about my online fandom habits, but I do know she checks up on my tumblr on a regular basis, and the stuff on there is not fit for her consumption. She never mentions it though, which I'm inordinately thankful for.

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of folks to discuss DA with because most of my friends still haven't even heard of it here in the States. I know it did get huge ratings for PBS when it aired, but it is still. . .PBS. . .Not exactly one of the most watched stations in America. I usually only watch it for Masterpiece Classic or during the fund drives (when their pull out all their good stuff out of storage--lol)!

But I did gush enough about DA that my husband did agree to watch. And he loved it--not to my level of addiction--but he wants to see the next season. Other than that I've only have one other friend that watched it. I do suggest it here and there whenever the topic of tv shows comes up in conversation, but a British period piece is not always an easy sell.

The show has not aired in my country yet, so it's not really known here except from uk shows fans.

I have shared thoughts and fandom with a few friends anyway, because they also love anything that is period drama!
I plan to educate my mother on DA fandom though! :lol: She usually likes anything I show her!

Oh heck, it's my mum's fault I write fanfic in the first place! (Holiday in France when I was 12: "Can you shut up and stop being so annoying - write the sequel to Harry Potter or something!" I did.)

She was my beta reader for all of my HP stuff though she hasn't read any of my DA stuff yet. (The average rating of my stories has gone up so yeah...) She wants to read them though. My dad knows too but doesn't really understand it or care. I think they're... ambivalent. My mum wants me to write original stuff though so I think she's a bit frustrated with my current fanfic focus. I discuss fandom with them sometimes - that is, issues related to communities and interaction on the internet, and it's useful to get a totally different perspective on it.

Most of my friends know I write fanfic. Several are fans as well, I've converted several, some write fanfic, have LJs etc. in different fandoms and it's lovely being able to talk to them about it. I'm pretty open about it really. I refuse to be ashamed of it! :)

As for being mocked for it, well, I mock myself so it's fine!

As far as the show/love goes, pretty much everyone who knows me knows that I'm obsessed. My parents now roll their eyes when I mention it and texted me from their holiday in Belgium to brag that they were seeing Dan Stevens on BBC Breakfast and were they making me jealous? YES. Husband is very considerate of it, he really enjoys the show but affectionately mocks my obsession.

As for fanfic, I've become a LOT more open about it. I used to hide it completely, even from the hubby, but now he knows and though he doesn't read it, thinks it's great that I have something to be so passionate about. My family and most of my friends know I write fanfic, a couple know I've written M-rated fic, and one has actually read some of them (which SLIGHTLY KILLED ME).

I used to think it was.. IDK, sad? Geeky? I guess it is, in some ways. But you know what, I've realised I don't care. It's something I enjoy doing, it's actually developing a skill, and I'm quite happy to tell people I write it now (without necessarily going into details!!).

I'm with the rest of the folks from the States...not a lot of people have seen Downton Abbey, so most of my friends are clueless. A fair number of my extended family are regular PBS/Masterpiece viewers, so some of them watched it and....liked...it. Nothing close to my little obsession, of which they know little. Well, perhaps my sister figured it out when she saw the background on my laptop: *muddy Matthew!*

My husband likes DA and watches it with me. He's also the only person who knows I write fanfic - he's very supportive of my writing and happy that I'm enjoying it. However, I've never shown him my writing...yeah, no. :) Otherwise, no one else knows - I guess there is a part of me that thinks it would probably seem strange that a busy working mom of two in her late thirties would write fanfic.

I have two very different, very distinct answers to this.

The first is: absolutely not. My parents and every member of my family but one know nothing about my fanfic and I'd never tell them in a million years.

The second is: absolutely! My sister is my beta reader, and we were in the fandom together (but separately) once upon a time. I can freely discuss my fandom with her, and she reads not only my fics, but others I recommend to her (as I read fics from whatever fandom she's in at the moment).

My husband is fully aware of my fanfic writing, as well -- we first got into the show by watching it together (I obviously became much more into it than he was) but he reads all my fics except the "inappropriate ones." I've even gotten him reading some fanfic that isn't mine (all "appropriate" of course -- though he's far too shy to leave reviews).

I kind of love it -- I've been in a lot of fandoms, but this is the first one I feel like we can share together and bond over. I love that I can discuss fanfic with either my sister or my husband and neither will look at me like I'm crazy. It's a huge part of my life, and I'm grateful they're a part of it.

(And whenever I have a clip of DA playing on the computer, my toddler calls it "Mama's advertisement." So, in some small way, he's a part of my fandom, too!)

My mother and I watched Downton together when it aired on PBS--we have the same weakness for costume dramas. I only recently told my husband about it since he's the technical one and there was no way I was going to make it through Sunday without seeing it somehow.

I don't know anyone else personally who watched it or is following it, but I've never really asked either.

As for fanfic, that is strictly on the DL. I would never admit to anyone that I write it, and the idea of them reading anything I've written gives me the vapors. Thank goodness for the relative anonymity of the internet!

My dad's totally against online forums/everything, so he doesn't know I write fic. My sister does but she's never read it - she's not really a fandom person - and so does one other friend, who's read one piece of fic. To be honest, I'm happier that way - I like to keep my online stuff separate from RL.

All my family know I watch Downton though, and my mum and sister watch it with me. Don't think they've grasped quite how much I love the show though... :P