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Hi AC/FICTALKers. If you see this (11/12/2024) please see new post in General Discussions about Open Doors OTW Organization for Transformative Works) offering to help preserve the AC archive and let me know your thoughts:

https://absolutechaos.net/fictalk/index.php/topic,3415.msg125627.html#new

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Author Topic: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)  (Read 135436 times)

mare

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #480 on: July 12, 2013, 09:16:54 PM »

This is true!  Now to attempt to branch out and write about something I don't know so much about!

Hey if I can do romance and Julie can do slash, surely you can do whatever it is you're about to do! LOL Go for it!
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RokofAges75

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #481 on: July 12, 2013, 09:45:19 PM »

How do you feel about sequels and series in general? Do you write them and or read them? Do you know ahead of time that you will be writing a bunch of stories or do you make that decision later on?

As a reader, I tend to like sequels/series better with published fiction than fanfic, but it all depends on the story and how much thought the author put into the decision to turn it into a series.  J.K. Rowling, for example, always knew that the Harry Potter series was going to be seven novels long, and although each one tells its own story, they go together to tell a bigger story.  You can see evidence of her thorough planning in the way that it's structured.

When I decide whether or not to read a sequel of a story I liked, there are two questions I ask myself:

1. Do I care about these characters enough to want to read more of their story?
2. Is there really more story to tell?

If I'm left hanging after the first story and do care about the characters, I'll almost always read the sequel.  If the first story stands alone and wraps up nicely, I really need to be able to answer "yes" to both of those questions.  I think one of the mistakes authors make with sequels is writing them for no reason other than that they want to or because they can't let go of their characters.  But sometimes there just isn't another story to tell that's going to be interesting without going over the top.  There have been several sequels to stories I love that I haven't bothered to read or started to read and stopped because of just that.

As a writer, I wrote way more sequels in my first two years of writing fanfic than I have in the last decade.  Some of those series really could have just been combined into one story, and some of them have sequels that were completely unnecessary and over the top.  I learned that just because I have an idea for a sequel doesn't mean I should use it!

My only notable sequel in the last ten years has been By My Side, which is the sequel to Broken.  When I was writing Broken, I did not intend to write a sequel to it, and so it wraps up with a nice, neat ending and can stand alone as a story about Nick being knocked down by an illness and finding a way to get back on his feet (or foot LOL).  That said, I saw the potential to further explore the romantic relationship he forms, which was really just a subplot in Broken, so I decided to write a sequel that continued his and Claire's story with their relationship as the main storyline and the aftermath of going through cancer as more of a subplot.  Was it necessary?  No, but I do think there was definitely more story to tell there, so in my mind, it was worth writing, and I think the readers who cared about those two characters and their relationship in the first story found it worth reading.
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~Julie

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RokofAges75

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #482 on: July 12, 2013, 09:48:42 PM »

Hey if I can do romance and Julie can do slash, surely you can do whatever it is you're about to do! LOL Go for it!

LOL Too true!  I love that this thread is getting us to branch out and write outside of our comfort zones.
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RokofAges75

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #483 on: July 12, 2013, 09:54:25 PM »

Ooh, another good published example for the whole series question is the Kissed by an Angel series by Elizabeth Chandler, which, sort of like Star Wars, started out as a trilogy of three novels back in the 90s and is now six novels long because she wrote another trilogy just over the last few years.

The original three novels told one story and went together so well that I don't think you can even buy them as separate novels anymore.  When I bought them back in 1998, it was one thick book with all three stories inside, so I tend to think of it as just one, three-part novel.  But all three parts are definitely necessary to tell the whole story.

The original trilogy wraps up nicely, so I was surprised when I found out she had written another sequel 10+ years later.  I bought it right away, though, because I had loved the original series so much.  I read it, and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't nearly as good as the original and definitely had the feel of being stretched... like she was really "reaching" by writing it.  Then she released two more books to complete the new trilogy, which I also bought and read.  They did go together to tell a new and different story that still related to the one told in the original trilogy, but it wasn't as good, and the ending of the last book pissed me off so much that I'd like to pretend they don't exist.  Much like how some of the hardcore Star Wars fans feel about the prequel trilogy, I guess.  (I don't mind the prequel trilogy, but the original is better.)

I dunno, it's just another example to show that while series can be a great idea, they can also go wrong if they're stretched past their limit.

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~Julie

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mare

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #484 on: July 12, 2013, 10:18:05 PM »

Get back on his foot! lmao I love you!

You pretty much answered my question exactly how I would have, Julie. I feel the same about sequels and series and tend to ask myself those very same questions before I read the next story. I believe I have only ever read one full series and that was the Swollen Issues one because I needed to find out what happened to Nick in the end. I do feel like most of the time, sequels exist mainly because it is hard to give up characters after investing so much time into them, but unless those characters grip me to the point that I NEED to know what happens next, I tend to bid them farewell at the end of the first story.

I do enjoy series when it comes to books but aside from the Harry Potter books which I felt like got better and better with each one, most of the others to me tend to go the other way. Hunger Games is an example of that. By the third book I kept saying "Oh she wrote this one because she was commissioned for three books!" LOL and those Flowers in the Attic books and the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. I've never read the Angel Series, but it sounds like the same idea.

I usually never watch a sequel to a movie for that same reason.
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RokofAges75

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #485 on: July 12, 2013, 10:19:22 PM »

When you're trying to stick to writing one story, and you get an idea for another that you can't get out of your head, what do you do?  How do you stay focused on one project at a time?
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RokofAges75

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #486 on: July 12, 2013, 10:24:51 PM »

Get back on his foot! lmao I love you!

You pretty much answered my question exactly how I would have, Julie. I feel the same about sequels and series and tend to ask myself those very same questions before I read the next story. I believe I have only ever read one full series and that was the Swollen Issues one because I needed to find out what happened to Nick in the end. I do feel like most of the time, sequels exist mainly because it is hard to give up characters after investing so much time into them, but unless those characters grip me to the point that I NEED to know what happens next, I tend to bid them farewell at the end of the first story.

I do enjoy series when it comes to books but aside from the Harry Potter books which I felt like got better and better with each one, most of the others to me tend to go the other way. Hunger Games is an example of that. By the third book I kept saying "Oh she wrote this one because she was commissioned for three books!" LOL and those Flowers in the Attic books and the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. I've never read the Angel Series, but it sounds like the same idea.

I usually never watch a sequel to a movie for that same reason.

;)

I agree with you on the series you mentioned, at least Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.  I haven't read the other ones.  But yeah, while I thought the first two Hunger Games were really good, the third one totally jumped the shark.  It was just too much.

I was the same way with Swollen Issues, and while I love that series, even it was a little too much.  Some fanfic series are more like soap operas, in that they just keep going and going and going and get SO ridiculous.  And yet, as long as you don't care about reality LOL, they can still be really entertaining.  That's why people watch soap operas, right?  I watched Days of Our Lives for about a year, and it was so ridiculous, it WAS entertaining!
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mare

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #487 on: July 12, 2013, 10:27:47 PM »

Yup, I felt the same way about Swollen Issues as well. LOL

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mare

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #488 on: July 13, 2013, 05:44:30 AM »

What are some of your secrets when it comes to reading/writing fanfic? Or about the boys or any other fandom in general?

Think of this question as a Backstreet confessional of sorts? lol

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mare

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #489 on: July 13, 2013, 05:48:54 AM »

When you're trying to stick to writing one story, and you get an idea for another that you can't get out of your head, what do you do?  How do you stay focused on one project at a time?

When that happens to me and the idea won't go away, I just tend to go ahead and write the first chapter of that story without posting it though. Also there have been times that I have used the idea in one of my current stories instead of writing another one. Some of my biggest twists and turns have come about because I took a story idea and made it into a plot twist instead.
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mare

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #490 on: July 13, 2013, 05:50:44 AM »

I love how we're coming up with all these questions now in the summer since usually the rest of the year this thread is completely dead! lol

So, here's another question!

Do you tend to post your chapters right after you write them or do you sit on a few and then post sporadically so you stay ahead of yourself? Or do you wait until you are completely done with the story before you start to post?

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #491 on: July 13, 2013, 11:28:05 AM »

 :D I'm so behind with all of those questions! 

Do you incorporate songs into your stories, and if you do, how so?  BSB songs or songs by other artists?  What's your opinion on doing this?  Is it corny?  Appropriate in some instances? Both?


It depends. I'm always inspired by songs, I can't listen to one song without imagine how it can be turned into a story. Usually, I tend to use only one verse or the chorus at the beginning of the story or at end. I think that I've used some lyrics of a song only for one story, it was "Tonight" by Enrique Iglesias and the explicit version. It was approriate having Nick singing it, given the situation  :D :D :D I do find it corny when the songs are used randomly or that so loved scene to sing someone in coma. Never done it.

Do you ever imagine songs while you're reading a fanfic, even if there isn't a mention of the song in the story itself?
Yes, I do. Especially if there is a certain word that made me think about a song.

What do you do in real life, and what impact does it have on your writing?  Do you tend to include things you know a lot about from your job and/or hobbies in your stories?  Are you an expert at anything that comes in handy when writing fiction?

I'm currently jobless but I do work at home, doing all the houseworks and the cooking since I'm still living with my parents. Especially when I'm writing Brian and Nick set in domestic scene, I do tend to use this in the writing (and usually it's Brian the one that ends up with the works lol). My hobbies are, aside writing, listening to music (I've played the piano for years) and cooking and the last one is always something that appears in my works.
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RokofAges75

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #492 on: July 13, 2013, 02:13:42 PM »

When that happens to me and the idea won't go away, I just tend to go ahead and write the first chapter of that story without posting it though. Also there have been times that I have used the idea in one of my current stories instead of writing another one. Some of my biggest twists and turns have come about because I took a story idea and made it into a plot twist instead.

I feel like I would totally jump the shark if I tried that with mine, but that's interesting!
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julilly

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #493 on: July 13, 2013, 02:19:42 PM »


Do you tend to post your chapters right after you write them or do you sit on a few and then post sporadically so you stay ahead of yourself? Or do you wait until you are completely done with the story before you start to post?



I've never written a sequel So I skipped the last question.

As far as posting goes and wait until I'm completely done so that I can go back and edit and make any changes I need to do before i start posting. That way I know to whether or not the story is actually going to be finished, too.
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RokofAges75

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Re: Question of the day part 9 (even though days go by lol)
« Reply #494 on: July 13, 2013, 02:22:54 PM »

Do you tend to post your chapters right after you write them or do you sit on a few and then post sporadically so you stay ahead of yourself? Or do you wait until you are completely done with the story before you start to post?

I usually wait at least a day (or until morning, since I often finish chapters late at night) to post.  That gives me a chance to walk away from my writing for at least a few hours so that I can proofread it with fresh eyes.  If I post right away, when I'm in that giddy, I-just-finished-a-chapter-YAY! mode, I'm worried I'll overlook something and end up wishing I hadn't.  I need to let it marinate for a bit first to make sure it's right.

On stories that I'm able to update consistently (it's been awhile since I've had one of those, but Curtain Call was one), I just post chapters as I finish them, but if I'm worried about writer's block setting in, I'll try to stay ahead of myself so I have some chapters on reserve in case I stop writing for awhile, so I can still update.  I'm three chapters ahead in Guilty Roads right now and have been trying to update once a week or whenever I finish another chapter, but I'm falling behind on that... stupid slash story threw me off schedule! LOL

I have never waited to post a whole novel until it was finished, although I wish I had done that with my Harry Potter crossover.  Instead, I started posting it after I'd worked on it consistently for a week and thought I was good to go... and then school started again, and I haven't updated it since.  I'm three or four chapters ahead of myself there, too, but I don't want to post any more until I know I'm going to be able to keep writing it consistently.  With that in mind, I have this ER crossover I've been working on here and there, and I think I'm going to hold on to that one until it's at least half done, if not completely finished, just because I don't want to make the same mistake again!
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling
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