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[Purpura Lipstick]

What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?

The biggest obstacle was probably being heard in the collaboration 00Carter.  I know I left the story briefly but then realized I missed it so much I wanted back but that was after working years with the girls and after I'd become heard.  Back in the early years I almost left before it really took off because there were so many of us and I was busy with Jackson that I didn't feel part of the group.  The only way I really overcame it was just sticking around and continuing on.  Now that it's a smaller group it feels more like everyone's opinions and ideas are heard and we all can decide together instead of just the loudest voice.  

[RokofAges75]

00Carter, what's that?  LOL

[Purpura Lipstick]

I know, such slackers!

[RokofAges75]

Fail!

[Rose]

What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?

Getting back into writing on a regular basis ever since my mom. Like I thought I'd beat that hurdle but then I found myself incredibly blocked. Now I'm working on it again and hoping to kick it down completely.

[Rose]

The biggest obstacle was probably being heard in the collaboration 00Carter.  I know I left the story briefly but then realized I missed it so much I wanted back but that was after working years with the girls and after I'd become heard.  Back in the early years I almost left before it really took off because there were so many of us and I was busy with Jackson that I didn't feel part of the group.  The only way I really overcame it was just sticking around and continuing on.  Now that it's a smaller group it feels more like everyone's opinions and ideas are heard and we all can decide together instead of just the loudest voice.  

That's the thing about big collabs, you have to go with the majority. Otherwise nothing's ever decided on lol.

[usako]

We may have had a question like this before, but just to give us all a boost...

What's the best plot you've come up with, one that's so good you can't even believe you came up with it yourself?  We've all got them - time to get past the insecurities and brag a little about what we do best!

Mh... I think "Forces Of Nature". It's a suspence/thriller and I spent days just plotting carefully every little twist and leaving hints in the chapters for the ending (although I don't know if I will ever be able to finish it. LOL). And everytime one of the reader would review and say "wow, I didn't expect this" I was glowing like a kid on Christmas day.

[usako]

What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?

Keep writing? 

Seriously, I think my biggest obstacles will always be trying not to stop writing just because of my insecurities.

[Sakabelle]

We may have had a question like this before, but just to give us all a boost...

What's the best plot you've come up with, one that's so good you can't even believe you came up with it yourself?  We've all got them - time to get past the insecurities and brag a little about what we do best!

Probably Where You Are. People seemed to think the plot of that (though mainly slash/ romance) was really unique and it helped that it was very tightly written with very few filler chapters, I think.

What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?

Uh... writing more Backstreet stuff? LOL. I am a serious fail in that department lately!! I have tried by starting new stories, writing one-shots... but I just don't get ideas for that involve them anymore. I am really hoping that I'll be inspired by their new album and either be able to finish something I've already started, or at least write something new that I can follow through on.

[RokofAges75]

What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?

I think I'm stuck on my biggest obstacle right now, and that would be a story called Guilty Roads!  This story is the bane of my fanfic writer existence.  I don't enjoy writing it, but others seem to enjoy reading it (or did back in the day, when I was updating it regularly) and have been hinting and begging for updates for the past three years that I've been blocked on it, so I feel pressured to keep going.  I don't like to give up on projects, and I do still like the story, and those are the only reasons I keep trying.  I just hate writing it.  I hardly ever feel that sense of excitement and inspiration that I feel for other stories with Guilty Roads, so writing it usually feels like homework.  I either have to force myself to do it, or it doesn't get done.  I was hoping if I just forced myself to do it for awhile and got back into it, I would be fine, but that has not been the case.  And since I still have no actual outline for it, there is no end in sight, so I can't even use that as motivation.  It affects my other projects, too, because I don't feel free to work on anything that's not posted without feeling guilty, and god forbid I post another story before finishing one of my posted works in progress first.  Ugh, Guilty Roads!!!

The good news is that the biggest obstacle I've actually overcome would probably be Secrets of the Heart, which I was in the same boat with last summer, and I DID finish that one, and I think it's a pretty good story!  So there is still hope for Guilty Roads.

[mare]

What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?

I think I'm stuck on my biggest obstacle right now, and that would be a story called Guilty Roads!  This story is the bane of my fanfic writer existence.  I don't enjoy writing it, but others seem to enjoy reading it (or did back in the day, when I was updating it regularly) and have been hinting and begging for updates for the past three years that I've been blocked on it, so I feel pressured to keep going.  I don't like to give up on projects, and I do still like the story, and those are the only reasons I keep trying.  I just hate writing it.  I hardly ever feel that sense of excitement and inspiration that I feel for other stories with Guilty Roads, so writing it usually feels like homework.  I either have to force myself to do it, or it doesn't get done.  I was hoping if I just forced myself to do it for awhile and got back into it, I would be fine, but that has not been the case.  And since I still have no actual outline for it, there is no end in sight, so I can't even use that as motivation.  It affects my other projects, too, because I don't feel free to work on anything that's not posted without feeling guilty, and god forbid I post another story before finishing one of my posted works in progress first.  Ugh, Guilty Roads!!!

The good news is that the biggest obstacle I've actually overcome would probably be Secrets of the Heart, which I was in the same boat with last summer, and I DID finish that one, and I think it's a pretty good story!  So there is still hope for Guilty Roads.

It sucks when that happens. What is it exactly about that story that you aren't enjoying? Is it the plot or the direction? or is it because you want to write on something else? Is it too late to try to make an outline for it?

I know when you get to the point where it feels like homework and isn't fun to write, maybe it is best to just put it on hiatus because when that happens, sometimes it does come across in the writing. I know I'm a fan of that story and would hate to see it go, but I also don't want you writing something you are hating. Maybe if you just leave it alone, one day you'll have the sudden desire to finish it. When the pressure is off and everyone stops asking about it. As long as you let your reader's know. I hate when people just flat out leave a story behind with no explanation. LOL

[mare]

What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?

Mine was probably finishing Scars Run Deep and Wide. It's the only story I have ever come close to completely abandoning and the only reason I didn't was because of the random emails I would get asking me for an update. I let a full two years go in-between updates on that one and it was hard as hell to try to re-channel that story but after I was done, I felt such an amazing sense of accomplishment and I really did owe it to those people that never let me forget I had left it unfinished in the first place. Ironically enough though, they all stopped reviewing towards the end, so I'm not even sure if they read the entire thing or not. LOL 

[RokofAges75]

It sucks when that happens. What is it exactly about that story that you aren't enjoying? Is it the plot or the direction? or is it because you want to write on something else? Is it too late to try to make an outline for it?

I know when you get to the point where it feels like homework and isn't fun to write, maybe it is best to just put it on hiatus because when that happens, sometimes it does come across in the writing. I know I'm a fan of that story and would hate to see it go, but I also don't want you writing something you are hating. Maybe if you just leave it alone, one day you'll have the sudden desire to finish it. When the pressure is off and everyone stops asking about it. As long as you let your reader's know. I hate when people just flat out leave a story behind with no explanation. LOL

Thanks for the input, Mare!  I think it's a little bit of everything.  I do like the story so far, and I like the storyline in theory, but I don't actually enjoy writing it, especially Nick's part, which is basically the whole premise of the story LOL.  But I don't want to abandon that and try to change the direction of the story just because I'm bored with it.  I think it deserves to be written the right way, and that's what I'm struggling with.  I have a rough outline in my head, but I haven't been able to put it down on paper - every time I try, I just end up getting overwhelmed by it.  So I just try to stay one step ahead of myself and have some idea of where I'm going with the next few scenes.

It may not be a bad idea to officially put it on hiatus to take the pressure off me, but then I'd be worried I would never come back to it.  The word "hiatus" is like the kiss of death to me - the only stories I've officially put "on hiatus" are the same ones I've eventually just "discontinued," and I really don't want to do that to Guilty Roads.  It has too much going for it to give up on.

How many of you have put a story on hiatus for a long time and then eventually finished it?  How long was it on hiatus?  How were you able to get going on it again?

[RokofAges75]

Mine was probably finishing Scars Run Deep and Wide. It's the only story I have ever come close to completely abandoning and the only reason I didn't was because of the random emails I would get asking me for an update. I let a full two years go in-between updates on that one and it was hard as hell to try to re-channel that story but after I was done, I felt such an amazing sense of accomplishment and I really did owe it to those people that never let me forget I had left it unfinished in the first place. Ironically enough though, they all stopped reviewing towards the end, so I'm not even sure if they read the entire thing or not. LOL 

That's exactly what happened to me with Secrets of the Heart.  I would get those random reviews every once in awhile that would re-inspire me, until I finally made myself focus on it and only it last summer and wrote until it was finished... but like what happened with you and Scars, by then, some of those people had disappeared and didn't even read the ending LOL.  That's okay, though.  The sense of accomplishment you feel when you finish a story that you struggled with for so long makes up for the lack of reviews!

[usako]

Thanks for the input, Mare!  I think it's a little bit of everything.  I do like the story so far, and I like the storyline in theory, but I don't actually enjoy writing it, especially Nick's part, which is basically the whole premise of the story LOL.  But I don't want to abandon that and try to change the direction of the story just because I'm bored with it.  I think it deserves to be written the right way, and that's what I'm struggling with.  I have a rough outline in my head, but I haven't been able to put it down on paper - every time I try, I just end up getting overwhelmed by it.  So I just try to stay one step ahead of myself and have some idea of where I'm going with the next few scenes.

It may not be a bad idea to officially put it on hiatus to take the pressure off me, but then I'd be worried I would never come back to it.  The word "hiatus" is like the kiss of death to me - the only stories I've officially put "on hiatus" are the same ones I've eventually just "discontinued," and I really don't want to do that to Guilty Roads.  It has too much going for it to give up on.

You can just close it for summer holiday. lol That's how I prefer to call those stories that I haven't written in a long time. As you said, "hiatus" sounds so much like death.