Fic Talk > General Discussion
The romantic debate
Rose:
Have you read your stuff and thought you could easily make it an OF? Because if you only use one of the guys why not just make it a random pop star? What is it about the guys or guy that has you keep them as the main character? Is it because you feel very comfortable writing as one of the BSB? I'm just curious because I honestly tried to write a story where it was just Nick as a main character and having the guys barely in it and there was actually a female as a lead and I got about a chapter in and thought, this isn't a BSB fanfic. I'm making this a random pop star and changing it to an OF.
Only a time or two. An old sci-fi of mine, and now, with Undead, I think it'd be okay as an OF. But I use all five of the guys in both (well in the case of Undead...it's We do lol) as well as their personalities. I don't write a story where it's JUST Nick, or JUST Brian. There's always at least one of the others as a main somewhere, if not more.
Sometimes it's a case of I want the Boys, I see them in that character role. And if it's an AU, it's usually because it's not realistic to have them be a famous music group. (It would be weird to have the Boys as BSB and have them happen to survive an apocalypse...o r happen to be secret agents, etc.) I do think it's odd to have one Boy and virtually no sight of the other 4. They should be in there somewhere, even if one is the main focus.
Mellz Bellz:
--- Quote from: mare on July 07, 2011, 09:58:59 PM ---Romance alone without anything else is kind of like watching a Lifetime movie. You either love Lifetime movies or you hate Lifetime movies lol
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Ha well I love Lifetime movies, so I guess that makes me a big sap? lol
It's kind of sad to see all the hating on romance, but I guess you agree to disagree sometimes. To asnswer Mare's question about why not just write OF, I'm not sure. I don't know if sticking to a BSB member is like a security blanket, but let's be real here. If I wrote OF would anyone on AC read it? No offense but the OF that does get posted here definitely gets overlooked. I don't consider that just because I predominantly write about Nick that I don't write "fan fiction," because he's not the MAIN character. I do enjoy writing about the guys even if they are just supporting cast. I mean really at the end of the day this is a hobby. I'm not looking to publish anything I'm writing on here. Are they really strict guidelines to determine what is fan fiction? I think at the end of the day, you like what you like, and if you don't like it don't read it. I think it's really hard for romance writers to be taken seriously in this particular community which can be discouraging at times, but as Karah stated the numbers don't lie. People definitely do read it and that is their perogative.
I also still see no harm in putting your own experiences in your writing. Yes, I see Julie's point in it being more challenging to write as someone completely different from you and some people do REALLY well with that. I just feel for me personally it would not be genuine. This is my creative outlet and as I mentioned before writing is a form of therapy for me. I just prefer it that way. *shrugs*
myconfession:
--- Quote from: Rose on July 07, 2011, 07:18:05 PM ---Then I gotta ask, why do it? I mean me, I'd go out of my way to not have it be similar to my own name, in that case. I mean, Tara...Karah, it's easy, very easy, to assume it's a Mary Sue. Why not just dismiss that easy misconception by switching up the name?
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For me, it had nothing to do with her name rhyming with mine. It was about her character, her parents. She was named after the house on "Gone With the Wind." It fit her personality. She was a southern belle but quirky at the same time. I honestly didn't even think about the similarity in our names until later in the story. Like, if you read "IWBB," you would see the only thing the character and I have in common is our lust for Nick Carter. She comes from a family of doctors, going to medical school, etc. She's the youngest in her group of friends... I'm always the oldest.
myconfession:
--- Quote from: Mellz Bellz on July 07, 2011, 12:38:18 PM ---Yea learned that one the hard way LOL
As someone mentioned about the sequels and endless spin offs... It's a tough call for me because I am guilty of not letting go of characters and writing story after story about the same relationship. It's easy to get suckered into that especially when there is a demmand from your readers. I feel like with me personally as much as I go back and reread Under My Skin and cringe at some parts, it was very popular and because of the way it ended and my reader's reactions I needed to go back and rectify it with a sequel. A Little Taste of Sin was definitely better written overall, but I feel like I definitely went for the shock value and over the top drama just to compete with other Nick romance series at the time. When it came to the next story and actusally had to deal with the fall out of all the drama I realized that I'd really backed myself into a corner which is why I stopped writing for a while.
Of course now what do I do? I go right back to Alyssa and Nick because it's comfortable for me and I am doing some rewriting, a prequel story, and basically just changing a lot of the things that make me cringe. I've come to turns with the fact that I'm going to write what I want to write and not worry so much about catering to readers. Whether that be writing an entire series of stories about one couple or leaving iff one story on a sad note it's what I like writing about.
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See I made a post not long ago asking about whether not stories needed a sequel. I was completely torn on making a sequel to a popular story that I had. Now, I'm on the third and last story in the series. Sometimes it really is hard to let go of characters that you grow to love. It's almost like losing a friend or something because you become so comfortable with them.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: Mellz Bellz on July 07, 2011, 10:58:40 PM ---To asnswer Mare's question about why not just write OF, I'm not sure. I don't know if sticking to a BSB member is like a security blanket, but let's be real here. If I wrote OF would anyone on AC read it? No offense but the OF that does get posted here definitely gets overlooked. I don't consider that just because I predominantly write about Nick that I don't write "fan fiction," because he's not the MAIN character. I do enjoy writing about the guys even if they are just supporting cast. I mean really at the end of the day this is a hobby. I'm not looking to publish anything I'm writing on here. Are they really strict guidelines to determine what is fan fiction? I think at the end of the day, you like what you like, and if you don't like it don't read it.
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I totally agree with this, Mel. I think this is a big part of why I'm still content to write fanfic instead of OF. I enjoy writing about the guys, and I enjoy getting reviews from people who have read my stuff. You're right that OF doesn't get much of a reaction around here, which makes sense, considering it's a fanfic community. People don't come here looking to read OF. I know there are similar sites for OF, like FictionPress, but I love the community we've established here. So I'll stick with fanfic as long as I'm inspired to keep writing it. And for me, as long as it's about at least one of the guys, and he's himself, with the same personality if not the same job (AU), it's fanfic.
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