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[RokofAges75]

First of all, Julie, that video was EPIC! I burst out laughing at the end where his heart grew three sizes... due to cardiomyopathy brought on by drugs. Bahaha.

Hehe, thanks!  (That's my favorite part too.)

I don't like to get stuck and have to look something up while I'm writing, because as soon as I leave the word processor and go to chrome, my productivity will die.

This happens to me ALL THE TIME!  It almost makes me miss the old days when I was in high school and lived with my parents and didn't have (dial-up) internet in my room, so I'd have to actually plan ahead and sneak on my mom's computer to do any research, save it to a floppy disk, and take it back to the computer in my room, where I would then write without getting distracted.  It was a much bigger hassle, but I was so much more productive! LOL

[usako]

How much thought do you put into your summaries before you actually post them and how much does a summary play into whether or not you will click on it?

I've to admit, the summary is always the last thing I've think about. Usually, if I can't come up with something interesting, I'll just use some sentences of the story (especially if it's a one short) or the lyrics of the song that has inspired me. I'm very bad with them. lol

What is your editing process like before you actually post your chapters? Do you have someone else read it before you post or do you self edit?

I read, read, read them thousand times before posting. Sometimes I let my best friend read them, mostly to know if the story flows well and it's understable but she tells me if I miss some mistakes here and there.

How much research do you tend to do before posting a story?

A lot. My google bookmars are full of links about diseases, hospitals, ways to injury someone... lol For "Love Story", I went and bought a tourist guide of New York and I was like shocked when I discovered that it really exist a museum called "Frick". 

[FrickingKaos]

So here is me reading "How Nick Carter Killed Fanfic":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCeX9vDNrJQ

OMG Julie that was so amazing...love d your pictures that you used in the video, they went perfect with the story. Loved your voice as well, very nice. You did an awesome job on that.

[RokofAges75]

Thanks!  I had fun making it.

[mare]

Nice job on the video, Julie! Incredibly disturbing but I can tell you put a lot of work into it. I could never do anything like that. I can still barely get a handle on the Instagram 15 second video making! LOL You do not sound like you are from Illinois at all! Although I know I'm probably thinking more Chicago dialect then just mid western.

How much thought do you put into your summaries before you actually post them and how much does a summary play into whether or not you will click on it?
The summary is actually the hardest part of the whole story for me. I really try to come up with the right thing to say to make someone click on the story because I do not use banners as a way to entice people to read. I put a whole lot of thought into it before I'll post it on the site when it comes to my longer novels. The short ones, I usually just give the literal description of what to expect. lol

As far as reading, the summary is a pretty important factor for me in deciding whether or not to click. I am more prone to click on a story with no banner and a great summary than one with a banner and barely any summary. If your summary is loaded with typos and grammar errors, I run away!

What is your editing process like before you actually post your chapters? Do you have someone else read it before you post or do you self edit?
I am constantly editing as I write. I'll write about a page and then stop and go reread it, etc... very similar to how Julie said she does it, so that by the time I am ready to post it's pretty much ready to go but I usually wait a day or at least a half a day before I post so this way I can catch things I maybe missed the first ten million times I read through it, even then there are ALWAYS typos and mistakes I miss. Awhile ago, I used to send chapters to people to read before posting but that kind of stopped and now I just rely on me!

How much research do you tend to do before posting a story?
I probably do not do as much as I should. In fact, I'm going to call this one of my weaknesses. I mean it really depends on the story though. When I know nothing about what I'm writing, I do research to get a grip. I made sure I went online and learned about fly fishing before I centered my entire story around it, and before giving Brian PTSD I made sure I read a lot about that and for Whatever the Night, I did a lot of research about the science behind alternate universes (yup it's out there lol) But for simple things, like the boys tours, albums, relatives etc... I admit I am kind of lax with that stuff. LOL

[Carter-Orange]

How much thought do you put into your summaries before you actually post them and how much does a summary play into whether or not you will click on it? I do like to put some thought into my summaries and make them interesting enough to click on, but without giving away everything that will happen.

I don't like paragraphs of summary, or "summary coming soon because I suck" type of things.  Just a few lines which make me want to see what it's all about.

What is your editing process like before you actually post your chapters? Do you have someone else read it before you post or do you self edit? I read it through once I've finished typing, make any changes I need to and then post.  I've never had anyone read my stuff before posting (apart from Lore in our collab).

How much research do you tend to do before posting a story? Depends on the story really.  For my current one which is unfinished, I've had to do some because obviously I wasn't around during World War 2, so I want to make it as believable as I can. 

[RokofAges75]

Nice job on the video, Julie! Incredibly disturbing but I can tell you put a lot of work into it. I could never do anything like that. I can still barely get a handle on the Instagram 15 second video making! LOL You do not sound like you are from Illinois at all! Although I know I'm probably thinking more Chicago dialect then just mid western.

LOL Thanks!  I actually thought I sounded super midwestern in that, but not Chicagoland midwestern - that's a whole different accent.  Illinois is a weird state; there's like three different accents, depending on where you live.  Up north, they talk like the Chicago dialect you're thinking of.  Down south, you get more of the Kentucky southern accents.  And in central IL, where I live, most people talk like me, although you've got some random southern accents from people whose families are from down south and random "Fargo" accents from people whose families are from up north.

[mare]

That's how it is in Pennsylvania too. Philly has it's own accent as does Pittesburgh and up here they have more of a weird, Amish meets jersey thing going on. They say certain words really strangely here that just irk me. The word "mine" they pronounce it as if you're saying "mayan." I HATE that!!  lol

[mare]

Besides challenge stories, what are you currently reading and what made you start reading it? (If it's not a fanfic but a book, that's okay too lol)

[emilo]

Well, the question-asker already knows this, but I am a little less than halfway through Mare's "To Protect and Serve."  I got intrigued by reading Steph's reader's survey and Mare's responses on the challenge board.  It is very different from what I usually like to read, but it is such a well-developed story, and I am loving it!  It's very CSI meets Hannibal, except without the cannibalism... well, so far, anyway.

[mare]

lmao at the so, far, anyway!

Thanks, Emily!

[mare]

I'm actually not reading any fanfics at the moment because the ones I have been reading haven't been updated in ages. I am however reading Inferno by Dan Brown and am having a hard time getting into it for some reason! All the other Robert Langdon stories sucked me in right away but this one is dragging, which is weird because it had a really fast paced start!

[julilly]

I'm actually reading my own fic right now. Not for enjoyment but because I want to finish the damn thing already! (H&H 2.0)

[RokofAges75]

Besides challenge stories, what are you currently reading and what made you start reading it? (If it's not a fanfic but a book, that's okay too lol)

I'm not reading any fanfics except for the same ones I've been following forever (see my favorites if you care to know which ones), but I've been reading a lot of books this summer. 

I just finished one called "If I Stay" that was recommended on Amazon; it's about a girl who has an out of body experience while she's in a coma and has to decide whether to live or die.  I just love these light-hearted beach reads!

Now I'm reading a young adult book called "Out of My Mind."  One of my students read it this past year and highly recommended it to me, so I bought a copy for my classroom library and am finally getting around to reading it.  It's great so far.  It's about a girl who has severe cerebral palsy and can't walk or talk, so almost everyone assumes she's mentally handicapped too, but she's not; she's actually very intelligent and has a photographic memory.  Reading it from a teacher's perspective is very interesting!

With the exception of the Jim Gaffigan book I mentioned on the book club board, every book I've read so far this summer has revolved around a character with some kind of physical disability or severe brain damage - apparently that's the theme of the summer LOL.  Whatever keeps me going on Guilty Roads, I guess!

[RokofAges75]

Along the lines of what I just posted, here's a related question:

Do you ever read books or watch movies/shows specifically because they relate to what you're writing about?  It could be for the purpose or researching or just to inspire you.