Fic Talk > General Discussion
2 Writing 2 Thread
nicksgal:
Sending good writing vibes to everyone today! I think I figured out why Kevin was feeling so grumpy (finally) and it's 3* outside, so it feels like a good day for writing (and then I took a stupidly long time recapping the questions in the thread).
I'm trying to ponder on a topic for this weekend. We've chatted characters, beginnings/middles/endings... I know we've discussed genres many times over the years, but that feels like it may be the next place to take our discussions since these broader ones or the "just for fun" ones seem to get more people involved in chatting.
nicksgal:
I decided I wanted to listen to a couple more songs at a blaring volume, so here are some genre questions:
1. What genre do you consider your wheelhouse?
2. Do you find that you utilize common tropes from that genre a lot in your writing? Any particular favorites? (If you're feeling brave, give us a list to reference from tvtropes.org!)
3. What other genres do you tend to include in your writing (as sub-plots, for character development, etcetera)? Would any of these seem surprising to other people?
4. Outside of your "wheelhouse" genre, which others do you write most often?
5. What is easy about your "wheelhouse" genre? What is difficult or challenging?
6. Which genre(s) do you write the least or not at all? Is that because they don't interest you personally or because you find them challenging to write? (Feel free to answer both if you have a different answer for both of those reasons.)
7. Are there genres that you thought you wouldn't like that ended up surprising you?
8. Do you feel like there are genres BSB lend themselves better to than others?
9. Are there genres that used to be more prevalent than they are now or vice versa?
10. Have you ever tried to write a main plot in a genre because that genre was trendy?
11. Do you feel like genre determines the readership of your work?
12. Give a compliment to your "wheelhouse" genre and to your least written or never written genre.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on February 13, 2021, 03:28:31 PM ---Sending good writing vibes to everyone today! I think I figured out why Kevin was feeling so grumpy (finally) and it's 3* outside, so it feels like a good day for writing (and then I took a stupidly long time recapping the questions in the thread).
I'm trying to ponder on a topic for this weekend. We've chatted characters, beginnings/middles/endings... I know we've discussed genres many times over the years, but that feels like it may be the next place to take our discussions since these broader ones or the "just for fun" ones seem to get more people involved in chatting.
--- End quote ---
Thanks! It's gonna be a good weekend to write here too, weather-wise. I will be hibernating in my house all weekend! Sending good writing vibes your way too.
I wrote a little bit last night. Then I got back to my weekend routine of getting up first thing this, making coffee, and going back to bed to write. It sort of worked, in that I spent a few hours working on my story. Only some of that was actual writing, and the rest was researching, but hey, I'll take it if it keeps me inspired.
I keep going back and forth on whether I need to revise my last two chapters of My Brother's Keeper. As of this morning, I thought I was good to go keeping it as is, and now I'm back to thinking I need to change it. I probably just need to make myself rewrite some of it and see which version I like best. This story is going to take forever LOL.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on February 13, 2021, 05:38:11 PM ---Thanks! It's gonna be a good weekend to write here too, weather-wise. I will be hibernating in my house all weekend! Sending good writing vibes your way too.
--- End quote ---
I showered when I got up this morning and asked my husband how sexy my Backstreet Boys shirt (perfect clothing to inspire some super productive fanfic writing) and messy bun were; he told me "You look like a sexy conehead hermit." So... that's where we're at! I wrote 695 words so far, did a tiny bit of research as I settled on a "plant used for medicine that grows at sea level," and did a little rereading inspiration to get back into this chapter and not the upcoming chapters. I think I'll finish it today (and possibly in the next hour as I already have parts of the next scene written).
Also a fun game. I wrote this line, who is "you": “You and Nick are really similar sometimes. Really stubborn, but really devoted to everyone you care about.”
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on February 13, 2021, 05:38:11 PM ---I wrote a little bit last night. Then I got back to my weekend routine of getting up first thing this, making coffee, and going back to bed to write. It sort of worked, in that I spent a few hours working on my story. Only some of that was actual writing, and the rest was researching, but hey, I'll take it if it keeps me inspired.
I keep going back and forth on whether I need to revise my last two chapters of My Brother's Keeper. As of this morning, I thought I was good to go keeping it as is, and now I'm back to thinking I need to change it. I probably just need to make myself rewrite some of it and see which version I like best. This story is going to take forever LOL.
--- End quote ---
I still say as long as your research is productive and inspiring, keep researching! If I'm really going back and forth on something, I will write two different versions and compare them. If there's too many varying ideas, I'll try to narrow it down without multiple drafts, but just two it's almost better to get both of them out of your head and onto paper so you can really see the difference. Stay motivated! Length of time spent doesn't matter.
RokofAges75:
1. What genre do you consider your wheelhouse?
Medical drama!
2. Do you find that you utilize common tropes from that genre a lot in your writing? Any particular favorites? (If you're feeling brave, give us a list to reference from tvtropes.org!)
I'm looking at the list of medical drama tropes: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MedicalDrama I have definitely used some of these multiple times. My favorites...
"Billy Needs an Organ" - Replace "Billy" with any Backstreet Boy's name. I find the whole concept of transplants fascinating, so I have used that quite a few times in fanfics. I've done heart transplants, liver transplants, bone marrow transplants, and stem cell transplants.
"CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable"/"Flatline"/"Magical Defibrillator" - I'm lumping these three together for obvious reasons. I would like to think I am better than these tropes because I have researched this and tried to make my resuscitation scenes more realistic than "clean, pretty, and reliable." No shocking flatlines in my stories! My overall success rate is still much higher than reality, but I have also written stories where the resuscitation efforts don't work, even though the characters spent more than two minutes trying.
"Convenient Coma" - Can you even call yourself a medical drama writer if you've never put a character in a coma? And yes, mine usually do wake up from their coma and go on to make a full recovery, but not always. And yes, I have had the Boys sing one out of a coma too. LOL
"Definitely Just a Cold"/"Incurable Cough of Death"/"Radiograph of Doom" - Definitely used these in my cancer/disease stories LOL.
"Dream-Crushing Handicap" - I've used this one several times (a couple times recently), but my boys usually either overcome said handicap or at least figure out how to keep performing anyway, which is probably a trope in itself.
3. What other genres do you tend to include in your writing (as sub-plots, for character development, etcetera)? Would any of these seem surprising to other people?
Usually romance and/or suspense/horror. I don't think these would seem surprising to people who have read several of my stories, but sometimes I do like to make stories seem like one main genre and then twist them into another genre. Romance into medical drama... medical drama into horror... I don't think I've done horror into romance, but maybe someday! LOL
4. Outside of your "wheelhouse" genre, which others do you write most often?
I guess it would be the same genres I mentioned in the last question. I used to write more romance, and now I'm more into the horror/suspense realm. I also enjoy writing comedy on occasion.
5. What is easy about your "wheelhouse" genre? What is difficult or challenging?
The easiest thing is staying inspired because it's always been my favorite genre. The hardest thing is coming up with new ideas and finding ways to keep it fresh. I had fun with The Road to Bethlehem because it was kind of a medical drama set outside a hospital, which was nice because I get sick of writing hospital scenes. It became less fun once they finally made it to the hospital LOL.
6. Which genre(s) do you write the least or not at all? Is that because they don't interest you personally or because you find them challenging to write? (Feel free to answer both if you have a different answer for both of those reasons.)
Fantasy and sci-fi. I have written both before and enjoyed the experience, but they will never be my favorite genres to read or write. From a reading perspective, I have always preferred realistic fiction. (Harry Potter and horror that also contain elements of fantasy or sci-fi are the exceptions.) From a writing perspective, I'm not creative enough to come up with many traditional fantasy or sci-fi ideas, let alone pull off writing them, even if I wanted to. Kudos to those of you who do!
7. Are there genres that you thought you wouldn't like that ended up surprising you?
Slash! As I've said here before, I wrote Unsuspecting Sunday and Sick as My Secrets as a challenge to myself to see if I could write a slash and take it seriously, and I loved the experience! I may never write another because I feel like I put everything I had into those stories, but I wouldn't say no if I had a good enough (and different enough) idea.
AU is another one I never used to like but have since enjoyed writing. 00Carter and Song for the Undead were both really fun to write. I enjoyed writing a solo AU with Secrets of the Heart as well.
8. Do you feel like there are genres BSB lend themselves better to than others?
Not really. I think they work well in any genre with the right idea. Romance is harder now than it used to be if you like to stick to canon/reality just because they're all married, but there are plenty of ways around that.
9. Are there genres that used to be more prevalent than they are now or vice versa?
Judging by AO3, slash seems to be more mainstream than it used to be, whereas het romance has gotten less popular. There used to be a lot more supernatural vampire/ghost/angel stories back in the day than there are now. I also don't see as many accident/illness stories, although I'm doing my best to keep the medical drama alive!
10. Have you ever tried to write a main plot in a genre because that genre was trendy?
My desire to write a relationship-based sequel to Broken was probably based in part on how popular Nick romance was at the time. I would never have made that decision or dedicated that much time to writing it solely based on what was trendy, but I read a really good Nick romance around that time ("Cover Me With Dreams," which is still one of my all-time favorite fanfics) that inspired me to want to write a story with romance as the main plot rather than just a subplot. Making it a sequel to a cancer story that came with two characters I already loved and a bunch of built-in drama was probably the best way for me to pull that off. I think I would have gotten bored writing romance otherwise.
I don't know if this counts, but the idea for My Brother's Keeper actually came from a mini trend that popped up in the summer of 2013 (I think) here on AC and then promptly went away. I won't say what it was, but there were two stories with a specific premise posted here by different authors that summer, and I was like, "Huh... I've never written one of those before. Maybe I should." Eight years later, I still haven't, but it's in progress and no longer "trendy" LOL.
11. Do you feel like genre determines the readership of your work?
To an extent, yes. I'm known for writing medical drama, so my work tends to attract readers who like that kind of thing too. But I also have a small base of loyal readers who will try just about anything I post, even if it's outside my wheelhouse.
12. Give a compliment to your "wheelhouse" genre and to your least written or never written genre.
Medical drama is compelling and offers a lot of opportunities for sweet, brotherly moments between the boys.
Fantasy is creative and can put the boys in cool, unique places and situations.
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