Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[RokofAges75]

Does anyone have any ideas brewing around in their heads for their next story to write? Of course, if you wanna keep it a secret you don't have to share it, lol.

And while we're on the topic of story ideas, and I'm sure this was probably asked but I hadn't seen it since I've been back, how do you guys normally come up with your story ideas? Is it inspired, based off an experience? Do you normally like to take current events and just throw the boys in them? Do you stick with our "old school fanfic method" and just do twists on them? If you have an idea, and notice a writer wrote/is currently writing a story similar to your idea, do you continue on with it?

I have a BSB/ER crossover started that I haven't worked on in awhile, but will probably come back to at some point.  I also have a Kevin/Nick idea inspired by the song Take Care.  One of these might end up being my next main story once Sick as My Secrets is done.

I tend to be inspired by other stories/books, movies, and shows more than real life and current events, although I do like to work those elements into my stories too.  I definitely do twists on older fanfic ideas, too.  Lately I've been feeling like all I write is new takes on old ideas (that I have written before), but as long as they're better written, that doesn't really bother me.

Your last question is a really good one.  I have stopped planning ideas before because I've noticed people posting similar stories, but I've never stopped writing one that was already started.  I had just started writing Curtain Call when Hannah started posting Something Beautiful back in 2010, and even though it didn't say it right off the bat, my cancer story radar started pinging when I read it, and I was like, "Really??"  But SB and CC ended up being about people reacting to a cancer diagnosis in opposite ways, so they turned out really different, and that's usually the case - even if writers have similar ideas, they're probably not going to write them the exact same way unless they are blatantly copying each other.

[RokofAges75]

well now that I am feeling better and like 10 pages later i will jsut answer this one lol...

Quite a few of my stories take some will power esp if I feel like no one is reading it. It can take me a while to put out chapters. Sometimes reviews will do that too. Id say "Happily Never After" probably took me the longest to really get going. I knew waht i wanted to have happen but I dont know if I really had it in me to finish it since for the most part had bad grammar etc. its finished now though...took me almost a year.

That's a good point; readers and reviews can definitely have a powerful impact on motivation.

I think the story that took the most willpower for me to finish (that is actually finished) is Secrets of the Heart.  It's only 25 chapters long, but it took me almost 4 years to write.  I started it as a side project and really didn't get into it until the summer I finished it, but even when I was writing on it regularly that summer, I really had to make myself stay focused on it.  I loved the idea of that story when I first thought of it, and I love it even more now that it's done, but I did not love writing it.  I don't know why.  Now I wonder if maybe part of it was what you said about reviews and feeling like no one is reading it.  I definitely did not have the readership for Secrets that I was used to having for other stories, maybe because it was AU, maybe because it wasn't a Nick story, or maybe because I just didn't update it regularly in the beginning, but I really did feel like I was writing it mainly for myself.  Which is not a bad thing, but it does make it more fun when you know other people are enjoying your story too.

[RokofAges75]

How did you guys first feel about fanfic? Were you weirded out about the concept of creating/writing stories about real life people? How did you first stumble upon it? Being that we're older, what are your thoughts about writing fanfic now, has it changed from when you first discovered/wrote/read?

Sorry for my slew of questions, lol.

I love your slew of questions; thanks for livening this place up! LOL

When I first stumbled onto fanfic, I didn't even know what it was.  I was just looking for BSB fan sites and found this one that had stories on it.  I had never heard of fan fiction before, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I got sucked into reading this Brian story, and he died in the end after being in a car accident, and it was so sad, and as I cried, I thought, "This is amazing!  I wonder if there are more of these??"  Sure enough... once I started searching, I found that there were LOTS more!!!  I thought the whole idea of writing stories about the Backstreet Boys was a little weird and couldn't imagine myself ever doing that, but I sure enjoyed reading them!  It was only a matter of months before I got an idea for a story and decided try my hand at writing one, and I've been doing it for almost 15 years now!

While I would still never advertise the fact that I write fan fiction because I know other people would find it weird, realizing how long fanfic has been around (since way before the internet was) and how many different fandoms people write in has made it seem more socially acceptable than I used to think it was.  A girl in my master's class even mentioned fanfic in class one time, and I thought, "Wow... so other people do know about this."  It is just not something that tends to come up in conversation in real life, at least not among people I know.  I wonder if the success of books like Fifty Shades of Grey (a former fanfic) and Fangirl (about a girl who writes fanfic) will make it more mainstream.

[RokofAges75]

My first fanfic exposure was when my sister and her friend would write NKOTB fics and I would record them on my Fisher Price tape recorder (complete with voices) - I was 8/9 so my acceptance level was pretty high for that kind of thing lol with BSB fic online I was 14 so it was basically the best thing ever!

As an adult, I don't tell people that I write unless we are really close because there's a lot of judgement for things that can be considered "childish" and I don't want to invite it. I'm definitely not nearly as into it as I was because I have other hobbies to fill my time so it definitely has changed for me personally. The fandom has also changed in that fanfic just isn't as popular now so there's fewer authors, but the stories are generally better adults, many of whom are college grads, writing them not high school students. It's definitely a different landscape now!

My friends and I used to love recording ourselves doing different voices too!  We didn't write stories, though; we usually either did radio shows or played news.  My Talk Girl was probably my favorite toy ever!

I think you have a great point about the quality of BSB fics going up as the quantity has gone down.  Most of us who are still writing in this fandom are adults, so the stories are generally a lot more mature than most of the ones we read back in the day.  I was 14 when I discovered fanfic too, so yes - best thing ever!!! LOL

[Carter]

Before BSB i was really into Hanson...i just happened to be lurking online for some pictures or something and stumbled upon it. I got really into it but never wrote one. Once i heard about BSB though it was like forget them Hanson boys lol i ended up writing my first fan fic i think in 2003 or 2004 called internet love i think its super old and god aweful lol. After that i have written tons. I am sure i havr more stories somewhere but i threw most of them out after i went on a mental tangent lol

[mare]

How did you guys first feel about fanfic? Were you weirded out about the concept of creating/writing stories about real life people? How did you first stumble upon it? Being that we're older, what are your thoughts about writing fanfic now, has it changed from when you first discovered/wrote/read?

Sorry for my slew of questions, lol.

I love all your questions. That's what this thread is for so no need to apologize! Come up with as many questions as you like.

I didn't really understand what it was when I first found it. I came across a visual very first thing and I didn't really get that it was just a story at first. I thought it had actually happened and I was like OMG what is wrong with these people! lmao Then things started making more sense when I ventured onto more sites and started to read all these different stories. I wasn't really weirded out by it, more like intrigued. The fact that they are real people never really bothered me but it is one of the reasons why I don't kill them in my stories. Too much bad ju-ju.

Writing fanfic now I sometimes get into my "Should I still be doing this?" Kind of moods but then I say "Why not?" Because it's something I still enjoy doing. The quality of writing has gone up as we have all gotten older and even though I wouldn't really classify BSB fanfic as mainstream, I think the stigma of writing fanfic has been diminished and more people know and accept it's existence. Kind of like online dating. LOL

[mare]

Since I have been on a big everyone must leave reviews for what they read tear lately, I'll ask this one

As Julie and carter both mentioned in their replies, reviews either have played a part in their possible updating and writing processes.

How much or little do reviews affect you and your writing? Do you find yourself excited to work on something after receiving a ton of feedback or not when it doesn't?

[FrickingKaos]

This will sound kind of dumb but I think a big part of me
wanting to write and being motivated comes from people wanting to read. So if nobody is interested chances are I won't be either. I should write for myself of course but I like sharing my work. So if it is not getting any reads or reviews, I am not going to be inclined to write it.

[mare]

It doesn't sound dumb at all. We all write for ourselves but let's face it, if that were completely true, none of us would feel the need to post out stories on the net for all to read. Instead we'd be perfectly happy just leaving them on our computers to read at our own leisure. We all want that approval when it comes to our writing. Some kind of awknowledgemen t that at least someone likes what they're reading. So it makes sense to not want to bother if you think no one cares.

[Sakabelle]

How much or little do reviews affect you and your writing? Do you find yourself excited to work on something after receiving a ton of feedback or not when it doesn't?

Reviews never really affected how much I wrote, but more the way I felt about what I was writing. When I first got back into writing BSB fanfic my stuff didn't get much of a response at all. And of course I wanted comments and I wanted people to love my stuff, but I also wanted to keep writing. So while I was sort of bummed about the lack of response and wondered if I was actually any good, it never stopped me from writing. In fact I always had the mindset of "well, if I want to be regarded as good the only way to get there is to keep writing." so I did.

It's a little different now because I write the entire story before I start posting. Part of the reason is so that I can write it at my own pace and not feel pressure to update by readers and then churn out something not good just to get something up. It's also so I don't get demotivated by a lack of response. The one I'm posting now isn't getting a huge response, and there are some chapters with no comments at all. But I've finished writing it already and I loved it when I was writing it so I'm not bothered. There was a girl who flat out told me she was going to stop reading and while that might have demotivated me while I was writing it, because I've finished it I just told her that if she didn't want to keep reading and wasn't enjoying it anymore of course she should stop. I think that this approach also helps in that I can read and enjoy people's theories on what's going to happen, and not feel like I should change what I already have planned. It makes the review process a lot more enjoyable, actually.

[FrickingKaos]

It doesn't sound dumb at all. We all write for ourselves but let's face it, if that were completely true, none of us would feel the need to post out stories on the net for all to read. Instead we'd be perfectly happy just leaving them on our computers to read at our own leisure. We all want that approval when it comes to our writing. Some kind of awknowledgemen t that at least someone likes what they're reading. So it makes sense to not want to bother if you think no one cares.

I think that is a big part of me not being able to write right now and why I abandoned some of my stuff. I hate
That it happens but it has. There are many ideas I have but no motivation whatsoever to actually execute them. I have tried almost everything to get inspired and then realized recently that inspiration isn't my problem.

[RokofAges75]

I'm gonna come back and answer the question about reviews, but I thought of another question that I wanna post before I forget.

Several of us said that when we first stumbled onto fanfic, we didn't know what it was and maybe didn't even necessarily realize we were reading a fictional story at first.  This may apply more to those of us who have posted stories off of AC before, but have you ever gotten feedback from someone who didn't realize they were reading fanfic?

To give you a couple of examples...

I wrote a one-shot way back in 2000 about Brian's experience in the hospital when he was 5, and I wrote it from the point of view of his mother.  I used to get emails - more than once this happened - from people asking me if I was Brian's mom LOL.  I guess I could have easily become a poser and messed with people, but I didn't take advantage of that opportunity.

The craziest one was this email I got from an old lady who had stumbled onto Curtain Call by googling her medical symptoms (which happens a lot, actually) and read whole thing, not realizing it was fanfic and not true.  This is what she sent me:

Subject: Your story

It took me days to read it and I thought it was true. I wasn't disappointed it was fiction, I was upset I didn't know it from the start. I found the story accidentally and thought he was writing about actually having it. But when I got to part where he chooses not to go thru treatment second time I suspected something. I can't believe he agreed to let someone write such a real story and he wasn't sick. Too sad when we make up stories about people when there are real people dying no one rights about.[/i]


I had to do some inferring to figure out she was talking about Curtain Call, so I emailed her back and explained that it was fan fiction.  Apparently I need to put a giant disclaimer at the top of every page of my site saying that the content is just fiction LOL.

[mare]

That's a really good point you made about waiting until your stories are complete before you post them, Steph. I give you lots of credit for doing that. I don't think I would have the patience to sit on a story until it was done. I bet that would help with the overall feelings of doubt though.

Since I have pretty much limited myself to writing one fanfic a year, by the time I post it I Have at least five or more chapters done. Maybe as an experiment I'll try to wait until a story is complete before I post it. Try being the operative word there lol

[mare]

I think that is a big part of me not being able to write right now and why I abandoned some of my stuff. I hate
That it happens but it has. There are many ideas I have but no motivation whatsoever to actually execute them. I have tried almost everything to get inspired and then realized recently that inspiration isn't my problem.

That stinks. So, if at least one person is reviewing and seems to care does it make a difference? Or do you need more than that to
Feel motivated?

That could also be a general question for everybody.

[mare]

Lmao that is equal parts hilarious & sad!

I have had more than one person ask me if I was Nick back in the day and while I was writing Why Id Do it All Again, I received quite a few emails from people asking me if I worked for the boys lol it was flattering that the story seemed that realistic to think I was just journaling a day in the life of lol