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[RokofAges75]

Do you think stories you might avoid as a BSB fanfic, you would read if it was just an OF? and what are those deciding factors for you?

Maybe.  As I was telling Tracy the other day, I've never been a huge fan of AUs because when I read fanfic, I like for the the guys to be "The Backstreet Boys."  I have read really good AUs in which the characters were SO well-written that it didn't matter that they weren't a boyband, but I've also skipped over plenty of AUs because I just couldn't suspend my belief and get past the whole BSB thing.  If those same stories were listed as original fiction with the characters' names changed so I wasn't trying to picture the Boys in those roles, I would probably be more likely to read and enjoy them.

Also, the kind of books I read in real life are different from the kind of fanfics I like best.  I love drama and angst in my fanfics, but I really don't read those types of published books all that often, mostly because it's hard to find them!  I've read much better medical drama in fanfic form than I have in published adult fiction.  I read a lot more horror and thrillers in real life than I do online.  I do love a good suspense fanfic, but, with the exception of Song for the Undead, I've never been a big fan of the horror/supernatural stuff when it comes to fanfic.  If some of the same stories about ghosts and aliens and vampires and stuff were written as original fiction, not BSB fanfic, I might be more tempted to check them out.

I think a lot of it has to do with realism and what roles make sense for the Backstreet Boys to take on in a story.  I don't like to read about them as vampires or police detectives or whatever because I prefer them to be musicians; that's reality, and that's how I like it LOL.  Now if they're a group of singers who just (plausibly) happen to be thrown into a situation where they're confronted with ghosts or murderers or whatever, that's a different story.  That's the kind of story I'd rather read as a fanfic.

[mare]

Now or Never, is that the one you were writing with Bianca and involved a robbery of some kind and one of the boys was shot? I really was so sad when you stopped updating that one! And your asteroid story sounds like an epic idea! LOL

I didn't even think about sites but I guess keeping this going for as long as we (juliily and I) have, is a pretty big success as well. Not even talking about the AC site as much as this forum. When we started this thing, we wanted people to have a place to come and talk mostly about fanfic and a lot of other forums have popped up trying to imitate us but none of them have really kept active. I think we've done a pretty good job staying on top of things here, keeping a discussion going etc... and even though posting has waned over the years, we still have a lot of active members of this community. I'm also proud of the featured story which we have hit #77! That's 77 consecutive months of keeping that baby up and running! I plan on getting to at least 100 before retiring that one!

I love that the challenge forces me to read stories I would probably never read in the first place. I sometimes miss the old days when I would just spend my summers looking for great fanfics to read. I think for me, I get frustrated because the actual type of story I enjoy, barely exists anymore. All my fellow bromance writers have flown the coop! I know I make it sound like slash, but you know what I mean? Just stories that focus on the boys and their relationship's with one another whether it be set in action/adventure, suspense, or drama. They really are hard to find! So one day I just stopped looking until Jess showed up with her story, but she has disappeared now too! LOL

[mare]

Do you think stories you might avoid as a BSB fanfic, you would read if it was just an OF? and what are those deciding factors for you?

Yes! Ironically enough, when it comes to novels I tend to go for stories with a really strong female as the lead character and I don't mind some romance thrown in the mix at all. I love reading in general and am really not that picky when it comes to books but when I go for a BSB fanfic, I really want it to center around BSB. A lot of stuff I read labeled BSB fanfic in my mind isn't really BSB fanfic at all, but that's just under my interpretation of what BSB fanfic should be. If the story is centered around an original character who happens to be dating one of the boys, it would be about that character and not a BSB fanfic. More like "The Quinn Story" with special guest star Nick Carter as himself lol

Stories where they alternate importance, the girl and then one of the BSB, It's really easy for me to get through because I just OF it in my mind or sometimes change the characters completely to fit with what I would enjoy. For instance, if it's about Nick and his best friend Katie, I just turn Katie into Brian lol Until they start kissing anyway.

[mare]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Dreamer's Sanctuary is a big accomplishment! Your site rocks and without it, I don't think I would have really honed in as a fanfic writer. You gave me a place to put my stories and I'm sure many other writers can say the same! So thank you for that!

[RokofAges75]

Yep, that was Now or Never.  And the asteroid story is Blood Red Moon: http://www.dreamers-sanctuary.com/vault/blood.html  At first glance, it looks promising - it has a decent banner for being made way before I had a good graphics program, it has an apocalyptic Bible quote LOL... and then you click on the actual story.  It has multiple first person points of view that are labeled... "Nick's POV"... "Brian's POV." *face palm*  We made ourselves characters. *head desk*  It has all the things that make me roll my eyes as a reader nowadays.  And of course, it's unfinished.  Epic fail. LOL

AC, both the site and the forum, is definitely a big success!  This is the absolute best place to post, read, and discuss BSB fanfic.  You can't beat that!  Others have tried and failed along the way, but AC's still going strong, and that's definitely because of all the effort you and Julilly put into keeping it active and relevant.

I know what you mean about the type of stories you like, too.  It's kind of the same way for me.  I don't require bromance, although I do like it, but for me there's just been a lack of well-written medical drama and suspense, which are my favorite genres.  Take a look at the Most Recent page - most of it is romance.  I didn't read much romance even back in the day when I read all the time; a lot of the stories I read did include romance, but it was always in the context of drama, suspense, and the life-or-death situations I love.  Some of these romances probably have that stuff, but if they do, they need to start out strong with it or advertise it better in their summaries so I'll click! LOL  You can almost always reel me in with a good car accident or something.

[RokofAges75]

For instance, if it's about Nick and his best friend Katie, I just turn Katie into Brian lol Until they start kissing anyway.

LMFAO!!!  Love this.

[mare]

LMAO *face palm* *head desk*

I feel the same way, I want to see a summary about a car crash, plane crash, kidnapping, whatever that does NOT involve a girl telling the tale! LOL

[RokofAges75]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Dreamer's Sanctuary is a big accomplishment! Your site rocks and without it, I don't think I would have really honed in as a fanfic writer. You gave me a place to put my stories and I'm sure many other writers can say the same! So thank you for that!

Thanks!  I meant to tell you this the other day, but I can track "exit links" in my site stats, which are the links people are clicking on to leave my site, and the top two are Absolute Chaos and It Stays With You (on AC).  Your old Brain Candy website is actually number 5!  And when I check my search engine keywords, I've seen searches for "bsb fanfic mare" and similar phrases before.  So I think that goes both ways; I've definitely gotten a boost from hosting and promoting your stuff too!

[mare]

aww that makes me warm and fuzzy feeling!

[RokofAges75]

LOL The Blood Red Moon talk gave me another question:

What are some fanfic faux pas you've committed?

These would be things you've done in your stories that are apt to be criticized or not considered great writing by this site's standards.  An example might be making your female lead a Mary Sue (a female character who's perfect in every way) and naming her after yourself.

[RokofAges75]

aww that makes me warm and fuzzy feeling!

[RokofAges75]

My Fanfic Faux Pas list:

I have...

• named characters after myself
• used celebrity pictures in banners
• labeled points of view with "POV"
• used song lyrics in stories
• posted soundtracks for stories
• written a girl band story
• written lyrics for the girl band to sing and posted them on my site
• written a story about an abused girl who wins a contest, meets a Backstreet Boy, and learns to love again
• written 'NSYNC crossovers (note the plural - more than one!)
• written 'NSYNC crossovers in which 'NSYNC are the villains
• written a story in script format
• written cheesy epilogues that take place in stereotypical versions of Heaven
• written an epic near-death/"go to the light!" scene interspersed with Nickelback lyrics
• written stories with multiple sequels
• had the Backstreet Boys sing someone out of a coma
• written stories about topics I knew nothing about without researching
• ended a story with the "It was all a dream" twist
• written a story purely because a reader asked me to
• collaborated on a story purely because another writer asked me to
• written scenes or whole storylines based off a joke
• had characters act in ways that were out of character to better suit the plot
• borrowed storylines from movies, books, or other stories
• posted beginnings of stories and then stopped updating them
• discontinued stories that were already posted online

Whew!  That's all I've got right now, but I'm sure I'll think of more as other people post theirs LOL.

[FrickingKaos]

Wow, lots of questions to answer lol. Well to start off, I think my greatest success as a fanfic writer would have to be Figured You Out. That was the first time I'd gotten any kind of recognition as a writer in the BSB community, my first Felix Award, my first Featured Month as well. My failure would have to be Forces Of Nature because I completely abandoned that story after eight chatpers. I might rework it and try again eventually, but for now I'm focusing on finishing two stories that I've been working on for over a year.


Fanfic fau pax? hmmm. I've done so many though....


Self insertion..... I got killed in the next story in the series though, so I suppose that helps? lmao

Girl goes on tour with boy

Girl is kinda one dimensional, not a mary sue but not much is known about her, I didn't even give her a last name.

cheesy coma scene where patient is woken by singing

Unnecessary sequels (fixed this by compacting all into one story eventually)

I will add some more when I think of them.

[mare]

I'm going to have to think on this one but it should be fun. We need a master list to go off. It would make things so much easier. LOL

[RokofAges75]

Yeah, like a checklist.  Feel free to take any off my list!