Fic Talk > General Discussion

Five questions at a time....

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starbeamz:
Wow, all the questions took me an hour to answer! But they were fabulous!

1) Do you go by a pen name when you write? If so why did you choose it?
Absolutely, even though a lot of people know my real name’s Sarah, anyway. Way back when Xanga first came out, starbeamz2 was my username for that and it just kinda stuck even when xanga (thankfully) did not.


2) Name a story you wish you had written and why (meaning a fanfic that already exists)
I think Julie used this one, too, but Finding Brotherhood by Mersey was one of the first stories I stumbled across, and I couldn’t leave the computer until I’d finished it. It was so emotionally compelling and beautifully written—I was sobbing by the end of it (which is very, very rare for me to do). So, while I think Mersey has incredible talent, I wish I had the creativity that she does, too!


3) What is the most creative idea you have ever had for a story?
Haha. Creative, I don’t think I am. I guess I just started writing one about Brian being a murderer or something. But I don’t think that’s very creative LOL. My creativity has kinda been on vacation since I was born.


4) What is the most cliched story you have written?
I guess “Second Chances” and “All At Once” because they’re the same old same old Boy meets girl, Boy falls in love, crazy drama ensues and keeps them separate until they realize that they’re really in love and then…TA-DA, they get married and have tons of babies. The End.


5) What is the most overused plot line out there in fanfic today?
The answer to number 4. And, sorry for piggy-backing off of Julie’s ideas, but the whole abusive past for the female lead.  Oh, and how the Boy will beat up the bad guy and make the world round again for her and yadda-yadda. I know I’m guilty of having a female with an abusive past in “Then Again” but I couldn’t help it! I didn’t know any better LOL.


6 ) What started you on writing fan fiction?
A long, long time ago, my best friend and I orally “wrote” the world’s longest fan fiction full of all the teenybopper favorite plot lines and all. We spent a year and a half’s worth of time on the school bus, trips to New York and amusement parks, on the phone, etc. and came up with it. I think I eventually wrote out a couple parts but those were the crazy elaborate ones with their kids' lives, so yeah. I think they’ve disappeared into the abyss. Then, I forgot all about it and had never actually realized that fanfiction did exist until summer 2005. I read and read until January ’06, when I decided I wanted to try my hand at it and here I am.


7 ) Is fan fiction more of a hobby or is it a stepping stone to something you want to persue realistically?
Definitely hobby, though I wouldn’t mind if, one day, I was as lucky as Mare and had something published. Then again, I’d have to work on my confidence enough to try to have it published in the first place.


8 ) If your fan fiction career ended tomorrow, what would you regret?
All the ideas in my head that would have nowhere to go. They’d slowly fester and die painfully. It would not be pretty. I’d regret not being able to write as a stress reliever.


9 ) Is there anything that turns you off about fan fiction readers as a whole?
Silence. Absolute silence. 


10 ) What are your thoughts on including Kevin in a piece of fan fiction these days, assuming the piece is not an AU?
Um, I actually started a story solely based on him and Kristin set after he left the group, so  I see no problem in doing it. In our hearts, I’m pretty sure we all think he’s a part of the group anyway. It would be weird excluding him at this point.


11) What's one genre you'd never write about & why?
Visuals/slash. It just squicks me out, so no. I couldn’t do it. Too much graphic-ness is not attractive to me. 


12) Did you ever write a story not because you wanted too, but because you felt you HAD too [like, you were forced to write it]?
Like the demons of writing were standing behind me poking me with a giant pitchfork and saying, “WRITE! WRITE!”. Yes. Yes, I have.


13) What's one story you've written that most people would be shocked to find?
I’m fairly new. Having only begun writing a year ago, I think there’s not much people could find that would shock them about my stories.


14) Do you have a story you've written & posted online, but will never post on absolutechaos because you're afraid of what people night think?
Yes, but they aren’t fanfic, and they're nowhere online. I don’t really think anyone would want to read non-BSB or fandom stories.

15) Do you have a favourite absolutechaos author? If so, who is it & why?
I think it’s a tie between Mare, Julilly, Chaos, and Julie. I love Mare because she makes me giggle with her humor. Julilly’s AU’s are wonderful to read and a nice break from the ones set in this reality. Chaos has such talent, and his stories are so intriguing that I can’t break away until I’m done. Julie is just super dedicated and her work is incredible. Plus, she's awesome with feedback and it got me all excited to write "Then Again" when she would give me such enthusiastic feedback. All four of these authors keep me wanting more!


16) What story pulled you out of your writing comfort zone and why?
“Then Again” because it was the second story I’d written and I didn’t really know my suspense and police procedure too well. Hence, the awkwardness of it all.  But it turned out longer than I wanted initially and I’d feel compelled to write until I was as emotionally exhausted as I tried to make the characters be.


17) Name a relatively unknown writer who you feel needs to be recognized, one of her/his fics and why.
Erin. She’s written three stories that are up on AC (Relentless, In Your Hands, and Perfect Fallacy). She’s got a terrific writing style and has used Brian in all three of her tales, which are AU’s. She’s got another one on her site that’s just begun and I don’t think she updates it anymore which makes me sad because it looked like it was gonna be fabulous. But, yes, Erin would be my choice.


18.) Has a music video inspired one of your stories? How?
Um. No.  I guess it’s probably because I haven’t really paid attention to music videos since I was 14.


19.) What skill do you feel you need to work on as a writer?
Emotion, plot, and the depth of my characters. Also, I’d like to be a better suspense author because I love reading suspense. I’m gonna try to get it right this time on my new fic, Hensley, but we’ll see what happens.


20.) What do you feel is your best skill as a writer?
Uhhh…I honestly don’t know. Ideas? I’m good at ideas. I have tons of them. It’s the following through that’s a problem.


21) If someone started professionally publishing Backstreet novels (multi-genre; anything from suspense to action to romance), would you be likely buy them?
First of all, that’d be pretty awesome if it ever happened. And, second, probably. As long as I liked the stories, then definitely.
 

22) On which TV show would you most want to see the BSB guest star--either as themselves or as characters on the show? (Can have them all on the same show, or if prefer they’re each guest staring on different shows--which one stars on which show?)
I think Kevin would be fabulous as another steamy, dreamy doctor on Grey’s Anatomy. I wonder what his nickname could be…
But,  I think any of those hospital/police dramas would work for the guys.


23) If you tired of writing BSB, do you think you would continue to write fanfiction for another fandom, or would it likely be the end of your fanfic “career”?
I really can’t write about anyone else, except maybe JC from *N Sync (I know, crazy, right?!) But, other than that, I’ve already started writing other original fiction that I’m not sure I want to put up on AC because it probably wouldn’t be read, but yeah…original fiction would be next.


24) What Alternate Universe would you most want to see a story about? (examples: BSB as doctors, as firefighters, as police officers, as squirrels (hmm actually I challenge anyone to write that one!)
Squeak, squeakity, squeak squeakin’. Does anyone remember the end of The Emperor’s New Groove with the evil witch as a squirrel? Somehow, the squirrel thing reminded me of that LOL.
Um,  I guess it would be interesting if they were all the desperate housewives in reverse. If their wives went off to work and left them with the kids. That would be interesting…Brian in an apron has…erm…appeal in a…I can’t write that thought. *walks away whistling*


25) Going back to question# 11. What would it take for you to reconsider writing a fic of that dreaded genre? (i.e. Would you if challenged? Would you for money? For a best friend’s birthday? Under absolutely no circumstances?)
I’d squirm as I wrote it but I guess I’d write if asked to do so.


26) What influences you to continue writing? Is it reader support, number of reviews, your own determination, or something else? Why does it influence you?
My writing demons make me do it! And, if people really want to read something, I write faster. I think it’s both self-gratification in a PG way and making other people happy, too.


27) Was there ever a time you felt that you could no longer write fan fiction and took a "hiatus"? What did you do during that time?
Well, 5 years ago I sorta started, but I don’t think little bits here and there really counts. I’ve officially been writing for 1 year and 1 month. So, nope. No hiatus yet.


28) If for some reason, due to circumstances beyond your control, you were forced to give up your fan fiction career, who would you want to finish your incompleted works?
I think my brain is just too whacky for anyone to really be on the same page as me, but I think I’d want Julie or Louise (“The Garden”). Julie because she’s the first fanfic author I really talked to a lot (how come we don’t do it anymore, Julie?), and could tell a lot of things about my stories to. Louise is a phenomenal writer and I doubt she’d want to finish my works because they’re so inferior to hers, but it’s worth a shot, right?


29) If you could no longer write fan fiction, what is the one thing you would like to be remembered for?
I don’t really know.  If people think I’m a good writer, then that’s what I’d like to be remembered for.


30) What is your main goal in your writing? Do other people influence this goal, or is it more of a singular thing?
To get the ideas out of my head and onto the computer where they’ll be fun for others, and myself, to eventually read. Other people and their interest does influence that but really, it just makes me write faster. So thanks!


31) Do you share your fan fiction with the people you know outside of the internet? Or is it a secret part of you that only us special people get to see?
Only two of my friends know. No one else. Starbeamz2 exists online and that’s it. Shhh…Not that I’m embarrassed, but my writing’s for me.  Plus, I’d be absolutely crushed if people I grew up with hated my stuff and laughed at me (not that they would, but still…) So, to be on the safe side, no one but those two really know.

32) Kind of relating to #29, if you were asked to select one of your fanfics to be put in a time capsule and preserved, which one would you choose and why?
“Proving Them Wrong” once I finish it. Or maybe “Then Again”. I’m proud of both and they’re the longest of all of my stories. I really put a lot of time and effort into them, so either of those two would be my pick.

33) Name a story you read the summary of or heard a synopsis of and scoffed, thinking it sounded like a terrible idea, and then read, only to be pleasantly surprised by how good it was.
Initially, “Cover Me With Dreams” sounded just like every other Nick romance, but, afterwards, I was very, very glad I read it. Fabulous story!

34) If one of the Backstreet Boys emailed you and said that he had stumbled onto your site/fanfics, what would your reaction be? (Let's say you know for sure that it's the real him, not a poser.) Oh, Julie, I thought of why you’d ask this LOL. I guess I’d be shocked that a BSB-er had a) started reading fanfiction, b) took the time to email me, and, c) I’d write back and say thank you and find out what he liked about it or didn’t like or whatever. Hopefully, we’d have a nice long email exchange process. And, of course, I’d love to meet him/them, so if that could be inadvertently arranged, that’d be a sweet deal.

35) As a follow-up to #34, if you had the chance (or were forced) to give one of your stories to the Boys to read, which one would it be and why? Ohhhh…no. None. Absolutely not. Well…maybe. “The Coffee Shop” or “The One” because there’s absolutely no romance in them which would surely be uncomfortable for the Boys to read. I mean, really, can you imagine reading a story about yourself where you were boffing some random person and dealing with all sorts of crazy drama? I know it sounds hypocritical coming from someone who writes those sorts of stories, but I’d rather the Boys never read those stories.

36) Name a story that you think would make an excellent book (as in a published novel) or movie, and tell us why you think so.
Ooh. Hard one. If it were ever edited and finished, I think East Water Convergence would make a fantastic series of books because the concept of the story is really intriguing and I’m sad that Kid Sinclair stopped writing it because I wanted to know how it ended. Symbolism is a great favorite of mine, and that tale was chock full of them. It was suspenseful, dramatic, fantastic, supernatural, and eerie. I loved it!

mare:
32)  Kind of relating to #29, if you were asked to select one of your fanfics to be put in a time capsule and preserved, which one would you choose and why?

Hrmmm...for a fanfic I would have to say Either The Importance of Fly Fishing or It Stays With You. Fly Fishing because it's just a story i'm proud of. I like the way it turned out and the way the characters developed in it. It Stays because I think i'm known first and foremost as a suspense writer and I think that's probably the best suspense I have written.

33)  Name a story you read the summary of or heard a synopsis of and scoffed, thinking it sounded like a terrible idea, and then read, only to be pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

To be completely honest I don't think that's happened, the opposite has though. I've gotten really excited about a synopsis and hype of a few stories and then when I went to read it I was really disappointed after a few chapters in.

34)  If one of the Backstreet Boys emailed you and said that he had stumbled onto your site/fanfics, what would your reaction be?  (Let's say you know for sure that it's the real him, not a poser.) LMAO!!!!!! ;) I would probably squee like a little girl and then think there's something seriously wrong with them for liking my stuff! lol

35)  As a follow-up to #34, if you had the chance (or were forced) to give one of your stories to the Boys to read, which one would it be and why?

Probably Fly Fishing because it's nice and innocent and none of them get tortured lol Although I doubt AJ, Brian or Howie would be inerested.  

36)  Name a story that you think would make an excellent book (as in a published novel) or movie, and tell us why you think so.

Seven Days by Refuse because it's so visually stunning. I always felt like it read like a mive more so than a story. I could even hear a film score!

starbeamz:
37) Is there any story that you think could make a great screenplay for a movie (if it were made into non-BSB or if it’s an AU)? If so, which one?

38) What is one thing (plotline, scenario, whatever) that shows up in stories that bothers you (for example, Nick falls in love *author's name* or teeny plots, etc)?

39) When you read a synopsis for a story, what would make you not want to read the story (i.e. what about the story idea would turn you away from it)? Why?

mare:
You guys are coming up with awesome questions :) *pats everyone on the head*

37) Is there any story that you think could make a great screenplay for a movie (if it were made into non-BSB or if it’s an AU)? If so, which one?

I'll say it again lol Seven Days by Refuse 2 Lose. It would work as a BSB fic and a non BSB fic.

38) Going off of #9, what is one thing that annoys you most about fanfic authors? Why? (I figure, we’re all authors, so why not? I critique myself all the time!)

I'm not really sure if there's anything that bothers me about fanfic authors. I think it's an awesome thing we do and I can't down someone for doing it. I may not always agree with the way some people act, but it's all part of life I guess, right? lol

39) When you read a synopsis for a story, what would make you not want to read the story (i.e. what about the story idea would turn you away from it)? Why?

I have to admit the second I read a girl's name in the summary I am turned off. It just tells me this girl is important enough to be a main character and that's not what i'm looking for when I read a BSB fanfic.

mers:
here're my contributions :D *off to read everyone's posts*

40) If you could make a trailer for one of your fics, which one would that be? Describe a little how this trailer would look like.

41) Relating to #37 here…which actors/actresses would you like to act out the main characters in this movie?

(LOL i just been on a movie site, so maybe that's what inspired these questions)

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