Fic Talk > General Discussion
2 Writing 2 Thread
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on February 07, 2021, 01:44:25 PM ---LOL Thank you for listing all these! I did not know any of the rules besides #34. I guess the fetish thing would fall within that one then.
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I had to look them up again, but had a similar discussion with some of my friends this past summer. I think it does because the assumption is that if it's someone's fetish, they will inevitably seek out porn of it (and/or create it). The other rules are less funny, that's why I think we remember them less.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on February 07, 2021, 01:50:40 PM ---I assumed BMS would be about the same length as Broken (150 chapters), so I should have realized that was at least 1/3 of the way through. I had no idea how long it was actually going to be.
I think I just sent the link to it out through the Yahoo Group.
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You've gotta stop guessing how many chapters your story will be and just write or write in a way that it can stop at whatever number of chapters you planned, haha. If I was at 50 chapters and thought it would only be 1/3 of the way through an individual story, I would still feel really nervous. That's a lot of story to get through.
How did you stay so motivated?
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on February 07, 2021, 01:50:40 PM ---I know! I have figured that out about myself - if I make coffee and sit down with my computer first thing in the morning, I'm much more likely to get something written. I wasn't feeling it yesterday, so I didn't force myself to do that.
I did make coffee today and have been on the computer all day and have written nothing LOL. But I have been researching. My Brother's Keeper is heavy on the research. Thankfully I did a bunch of it before I started writing the story 3 years ago, organized all my bookmarks, and made some notes in my outline, so I had something to go off of and didn't have to start from scratch. I am probably not going to get anything written today, but at least I'm thinking about it LOL.
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I just can't function without my coffee, so it's a regular part of my day whether I plan on writing or not.
Research counts as writing work though. It's better to spend time researching before writing (even if it's just for the chapter you need it in) than starting to write and realizing that you don't know something, then researching it and realizing that whatever you had written was completely wrong, forcing you to start over.
I might be productive today. My stomach's been kind of wonky, so I decided it's better to stay home to watch the Super Bowl so I can lay on the couch if I want rather than going somewhere with my husband and wanting to leave. So I'll probably just sit here with my computer cheering on the fighting Nick Carters in my red pants and Now or Never shirt, haha. No Bucs gear.
OMG, I'm watching Super Bowl coverage right now and they're just letting Gronk talk... He sounds so ridiculous all the time.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on February 07, 2021, 03:55:49 PM ---I might be productive today.
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I wrote 738 words during the game when the clock was stopped and took a tiny nap during halftime coverage (but not the performance, which was great). Going to call that pretty productive.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on February 07, 2021, 03:55:49 PM ---You've gotta stop guessing how many chapters your story will be and just write or write in a way that it can stop at whatever number of chapters you planned, haha. If I was at 50 chapters and thought it would only be 1/3 of the way through an individual story, I would still feel really nervous. That's a lot of story to get through.
How did you stay so motivated?
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Motivation was never a problem for me with those two stories. I guess it was the perfect combination of a plot I found compelling and characters I loved writing about.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on February 07, 2021, 03:55:49 PM ---
Research counts as writing work though. It's better to spend time researching before writing (even if it's just for the chapter you need it in) than starting to write and realizing that you don't know something, then researching it and realizing that whatever you had written was completely wrong, forcing you to start over.
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Great point! Very true.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on February 07, 2021, 09:21:44 PM ---I wrote 738 words during the game when the clock was stopped and took a tiny nap during halftime coverage (but not the performance, which was great). Going to call that pretty productive.
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That's definitely productive in my book! I'm impressed. I spent most of the game trying to decide on a name for a character I created for later in the story. Names are the worst!!
nicksgal:
1. Beginnings, Middles, or Endings: What is your favorite part to write in a story and why?
When I used to write in order, I think my answer would have been endings just like Julie. But now that I write whatever is interesting, I often find myself writing bits in the middle before I get there. So team middles!
2. Same question, but least favorite?
I could go either way between beginnings and endings. Sometimes it's hard to start, but once the inspiration gets rolling, it's fairly easy. If you end up getting to an ending and not wanting to write something you'd been building to, it can be so difficult to get that inspiration back. But I don't know, maybe now that I write whatever's interesting when I feel like it, maybe the end isn't so bad anymore.
3. When you're writing a beginning, how much time do you like to devote to backstory or do you intersperse it throughout the story?
I think most of your major plot backstory has to be within the first ten chapters at bare minimum, earlier is better. Whatever the driving force is behind the events of the story, readers need to know without an info dump, because those are boring. Character backstories can and should be interspersed throughout when it's the most interesting and knife-twisting.
4. What are backstory elements you know, but don't include? Are these conscious choices or more along the lines of "We're BSB fans reading BSB fanfics"?
For the characters? Lots. For the plot? Nothing. That's over-simplifying it. If the readers need to know a part of a character's backstory, it will appear at the right time. Like our buddy Nick, I've known his origin story in full since probably ch. 14 and had all the details solidified by ch. 24. But we're into our second story and y'all don't quite know yet. I hope it blows everyone's minds! Or doesn't if you've paid attention to all my clues. For the plot, I tell everything that needs to be known as soon as possible. But in PBox, for instance, I have a lot more information in my head about their warring states era history than a reader probably needs to know unless it directly impacts the characters.
And like I said before, writing BSB's entire history until reaching the current point in the novel would be awful and time consuming.
5. Do you always know your main character's (or characters') motivation when you start a story or does it come up later? and 6. "I won't start the beginning of the story until I know: ____________."
Always. I won't start a story until I know at least the main character's motivation and how it might change during the story.
7. What's the easiest thing about beginnings and the most challenging?
The easiest is probably figuring out what all the characters are up to. The most challenging is trying to decide the exact point to start.
After all my years with PBox, for instance, I feel like I actually should have started with chapter two. But here we are.
8. "In the middle of the story, I often: ______________ ."
Should be writing something other than the middle! Middles are fun. You get to have all of your fun little arcs in full swing and you get to focus on characters instead of set up or climaxes. Middles are just fun.
9. What's something overrated about middles? What's something underrated about middles?
This is a bad question, I'm sorry I asked it. Middles are awesome if done correctly, but if they're rushed through they feel kind of bleh. So I guess, middles themselves can be both overrated and underrated.
11. What's the easiest thing about middles and the most challenging?
Character development! The best time for it. The most challenging is making sure there's not too many things that will need to be tied up once you get to the end.
12. What's the easiest thing about endings and the most challenging?
When inspiration is good, it's exciting to get to the end. Most challenging is probably if you're not sure about your ending, but it's too late to change it.
13. "I won't end the story until I know: ____________."
That all the character arcs are over and the plot has reached its complete end.
14. Do you always know the end of a story when you start it? If not, when's the last possible point you must decide the ending?
Nope! I've given up on deciding at the beginning, but I have to know by the half-way point so I can build to it properly.
15. Do your stories always have an ending or do you leave them open-ended just in case?
They always have an ending even if it's meant to have an opening for a sequel. The opening will be so tiny that it still feels satisfying without it.
16. What types of endings leave you feeling most satisfied with your story? (Interpret that as you will.)
When the characters got to wherever I wanted them to go, even if that means the ending was sad.
17. Do you ever leave noodle incidents in your story without a resolution for fun?
Depends on the story. I can't think of any now, but I usually try to resolve even tiny things -- like the candles in the holiday story.
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