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[RokofAges75]

I figured it was something like that. Glad that 2003 is the cutoff because you couldn't not move Broken over.

LOL Nah, I would never banish Broken to the archive.  There's a big difference in quality between Broken (at least by the choppage portion) and everything that came before it.  You can see my transformation from teenybopper to adult writer within those 150 chapters, so that's my cutoff.

LMAO, Angstaholics Anonymous. I'm guessing you relapsed and never made it to step nine. I think "Crashing your car for a fifth time" and "giving you a sixth TBI for..." were my favorite parts so far. I do not have headphones, but I will watch the video soon. It looks promising.

But a jellyfish sting... So simple. I'll just keep suggesting simple and mundane things to you and find a bunch you haven't done yet, apparently.

Oh, I probably fell off the wagon on April 2!  A Heart That Isn't Mine, Heroic Measures, and The Road to Bethlehem alone would have added quite a bit to those lists LOL.  I did not realize just how many accidents and TBIs I had written until I started skimming through old stories and making lists LOL.  Maybe I do need to add to the database.

My problem is I don't like mundane.  A jellyfish sting makes total sense, but a platypus sting is more interesting.  Just like a cold is okay for some fluffy hurt-comfort, but bubonic plague is way more fun.

Definitely then, if not earlier. Doesn't something like 80% of the population have it? Am I over-inflating this statistic?

LOL I looked it up.  About 67% of the population has herpes simplex virus type 1, which is the cold sore kind.  Only 13.2% of the population (aged 15-49) has type 2, which is genital herpes.  (Source: https://www.who.int/news/item/01-05-2020-massive-proportion-world-population-living-with-herpes-infection)  I was thinking genital herpes is what he would have gotten from Paris, but he definitely could have already had the other kind.

[RokofAges75]

And I'm sure it's easier if you're all getting paid to only think about those character and plot arcs. I think this goes back to our "getting paid to write fanfic would be the dream" conversation.

I always used to say I wanted to become an M.D. so I could serve as a medical consultant for a show like ER.  That would be my dream job!

Right? That's several marathons! Makes me want to rewatch Gilmore Girls or How I Met Your Mother. My DVDs need more love in the streaming world we live in.

I must confess that I subscribed to Hulu again last spring as a pandemic gift to myself and started watching ER on there instead just because I was too lazy to switch the DVDs every four episodes LOL.  Streaming is much more convenient.

[nicksgal]

LOL Nah, I would never banish Broken to the archive.  There's a big difference in quality between Broken (at least by the choppage portion) and everything that came before it.  You can see my transformation from teenybopper to adult writer within those 150 chapters, so that's my cutoff.

Good. I don't think you can; it's so quintessential ly you!

I don't think there's anything from me that really shows my growth as a progression because I made the life choice to adjust it out of PBox. And I don't even think PBox was that teenybopperish, even in its more teenybopper parts. That is why I left my earliest things up on AC, I guess. So you could see how much of a teenybopper I used to be. I miss teenybopper Dee's brevity; she really got to the point. Adult writer Dee likes to spend too much time on what a panic attack feels like for a POV character or thousands of words about Nick's smile. At least teenybopper Dee only had hundreds of words to say about his smile (and several high pitched squees that did not translate well into a written narrative).

I won't lie to you, I really did want to make that "The Sequel to Pandora's Box" tag on PNecklace say "The Squeequel to Pandora's Box" and triumphed over that urge.

Oh, I probably fell off the wagon on April 2!  A Heart That Isn't Mine, Heroic Measures, and The Road to Bethlehem alone would have added quite a bit to those lists LOL.  I did not realize just how many accidents and TBIs I had written until I started skimming through old stories and making lists LOL.  Maybe I do need to add to the database.

My problem is I don't like mundane.  A jellyfish sting makes total sense, but a platypus sting is more interesting.  Just like a cold is okay for some fluffy hurt-comfort, but bubonic plague is way more fun.

Impressive that you made it up to step eight in one day! Gotta get Howie and Kevin's counts up. They're a little low!

I mean, a TBI seems like a logical conclusion if you have enough minor head injuries coupled with a major one. I'm willing to bet they've all fallen off a stage at least once, if not at least ten times.

Oh I know, this is just my challenge to you. Mundane once. Just make a Murphy's Law story of only mundane things. When they all add up, they get interesting. Like Nick gets a cold and then falls in a man hole because he sneezes. LMAO

LOL I looked it up.  About 67% of the population has herpes simplex virus type 1, which is the cold sore kind.  Only 13.2% of the population (aged 15-49) has type 2, which is genital herpes.  (Source: https://www.who.int/news/item/01-05-2020-massive-proportion-world-population-living-with-herpes-infection)  I was thinking genital herpes is what he would have gotten from Paris, but he definitely could have already had the other kind.

I've had many conversations about why so many people have HSV1, the current conclusion is adults kissing children on the lips. I meant genital as well (so I was grossly over-inflating the statistic...). He for sure some kind of STD from Paris; poor Nick. If he has HSV1, he's very good at hiding it.

I always used to say I wanted to become an M.D. so I could serve as a medical consultant for a show like ER.  That would be my dream job!

I must confess that I subscribed to Hulu again last spring as a pandemic gift to myself and started watching ER on there instead just because I was too lazy to switch the DVDs every four episodes LOL.  Streaming is much more convenient.

That would be a fun job! Any kind of consultant for a tv show would be great. I wonder if Ken Jeong does any of that.

Streaming is more convenient. That's part of why I've been fighting the urge to fall into HBO Max. I'd never get anything done again. Whenever they offered Hulu with Spotify, I got it again. Plus Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, HBO Max, ESPN... All in addition to cable; we have a real streaming problem in this house, haha.

[RokofAges75]

Good. I don't think you can; it's so quintessential ly you!

I don't think there's anything from me that really shows my growth as a progression because I made the life choice to adjust it out of PBox. And I don't even think PBox was that teenybopperish, even in its more teenybopper parts. That is why I left my earliest things up on AC, I guess. So you could see how much of a teenybopper I used to be. I miss teenybopper Dee's brevity; she really got to the point. Adult writer Dee likes to spend too much time on what a panic attack feels like for a POV character or thousands of words about Nick's smile. At least teenybopper Dee only had hundreds of words to say about his smile (and several high pitched squees that did not translate well into a written narrative).

I won't lie to you, I really did want to make that "The Sequel to Pandora's Box" tag on PNecklace say "The Squeequel to Pandora's Box" and triumphed over that urge.

I think it's good to leave old stuff up for that reason, but I can understand you wanting to edit your magnum opus to reflect yourself as a writer now.  There are definitely parts of Broken that make me cringe.

LOL The Squeequel!  That reminds me of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Impressive that you made it up to step eight in one day! Gotta get Howie and Kevin's counts up. They're a little low!

I know!  And like half of Howie's are from one story LOL.  My Brother's Keeper will up my Kevin count.  Sorry, Kevin.

I mean, a TBI seems like a logical conclusion if you have enough minor head injuries coupled with a major one. I'm willing to bet they've all fallen off a stage at least once, if not at least ten times.

Oh I know, this is just my challenge to you. Mundane once. Just make a Murphy's Law story of only mundane things. When they all add up, they get interesting. Like Nick gets a cold and then falls in a man hole because he sneezes. LMAO

Very true!

LMAO That sounds like another good idea for 1000 Ways to Kill Nick Carter.

I've had many conversations about why so many people have HSV1, the current conclusion is adults kissing children on the lips. I meant genital as well (so I was grossly over-inflating the statistic...). He for sure some kind of STD from Paris; poor Nick. If he has HSV1, he's very good at hiding it.

Ewww.  LOL Poor Nick nothing; he should have known what he was getting into!  Let's hope it was a curable STD and not the herp.

That would be a fun job! Any kind of consultant for a tv show would be great. I wonder if Ken Jeong does any of that.

Streaming is more convenient. That's part of why I've been fighting the urge to fall into HBO Max. I'd never get anything done again. Whenever they offered Hulu with Spotify, I got it again. Plus Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, HBO Max, ESPN... All in addition to cable; we have a real streaming problem in this house, haha.

That would be a good thing for Ken Jeong to do!

Ugh, I still have cable too, in addition to most of the streaming services.  I pay too much for it, but besides my internet addition, watching TV is something I do a lot.  I just can't cut the cord; I like being able to flip channels, and I love my DVR.  I have not caved to HBO Max yet though.  They pissed me off for getting rid of their free trial right before Christmas.  I was going to sign up, binge-watch what I wanted to watch over break, and then cancel before they charged me, but no such luck.

[nicksgal]

I think it's good to leave old stuff up for that reason, but I can understand you wanting to edit your magnum opus to reflect yourself as a writer now.  There are definitely parts of Broken that make me cringe.

LOL The Squeequel!  That reminds me of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Oh the cringe. Chapter 10, you were the last remnant of "how a high school teenybopper thinks a romance works." Or most of the last remnant. I've also gotten better at writing about amnesiacs with PTSD over the years than I was back then. However, at least I could look at PBox and cringe. The older things, I hated every second of looking at it when I went to find something for you all because we were all pulling out old things.

A crossover where the Boys are the Chipmunks! Except their movie was a "Squeakquel," this is a "Teeny SQUEEEEEEEEEEq uel," but you're right, I do love puns as much as the Chipmunks.

I know!  And like half of Howie's are from one story LOL.  My Brother's Keeper will up my Kevin count.  Sorry, Kevin.

LMAO That sounds like another good idea for 1000 Ways to Kill Nick Carter.

Ewww.  LOL Poor Nick nothing; he should have known what he was getting into!  Let's hope it was a curable STD and not the herp.

At least you were making up for lost Howie time with that one story. And good, Kevin needs some angst in his life too. He's got it way too easy.

I said he fell in it. I didn't say he died from it. Obviously he cuts his hand on a rusty nail while he's in the sewer system, duh.

SEX! He knew. I'll still sympathize with him. But we can probably add this to our list of things not to talk to Nick about because I can't imagine that conversation would go over well... "So we've been having a discussion about STDs you got from Paris. Care to confirm or deny any?"

Ugh, I still have cable too, in addition to most of the streaming services.  I pay too much for it, but besides my internet addition, watching TV is something I do a lot.  I just can't cut the cord; I like being able to flip channels, and I love my DVR.  I have not caved to HBO Max yet though.  They pissed me off for getting rid of their free trial right before Christmas.  I was going to sign up, binge-watch what I wanted to watch over break, and then cancel before they charged me, but no such luck.

I think we just have it because we subscribe to HBO already? We have the bigger cable package for all the obscure sports channels. And I brought the streaming services into our lives. Aw, it's like how they take all the Halloween movies off of Netflix for October. Sorry you couldn't get it to work in your favor.

[RokofAges75]

Oh the cringe. Chapter 10, you were the last remnant of "how a high school teenybopper thinks a romance works." Or most of the last remnant. I've also gotten better at writing about amnesiacs with PTSD over the years than I was back then. However, at least I could look at PBox and cringe. The older things, I hated every second of looking at it when I went to find something for you all because we were all pulling out old things.

Yep, that's exactly how I feel about Broken compared to most of the stories that came before it.  But we all had to get those cringey teenybopper fanfics under our belt before we could write anything better.  Would you ever consider going back to one of those older stories and rewrite or revise it the way you did Pbox?

I said he fell in it. I didn't say he died from it. Obviously he cuts his hand on a rusty nail while he's in the sewer system, duh.

Then he'll get tetanus, oh noes!!

[nicksgal]

Yep, that's exactly how I feel about Broken compared to most of the stories that came before it.  But we all had to get those cringey teenybopper fanfics under our belt before we could write anything better.  Would you ever consider going back to one of those older stories and rewrite or revise it the way you did Pbox?

It's true. Cringey teenybopper fanfics were good practice for developing all the things we would need to become better writers in the future. Thank goodness I learned how to do good character development! LMAO

Honestly, probably not! I know I could definitely write any of them better now than I did back then, but I think I'm lacking the desire to do so. And while I would say seeing how I could improve an early story with all my years of knowledge would be a good editing exercise, I think care is a big aspect of it. I care about PBox, so I was willing to sit through the cringey parts, figure out what needed to be better, then hack and slash them as needed. Those other ones, I would just sit and scream at, haha. But as you know, I never say never, so if I suddenly had an idea for a decent rewrite of an early fanfic, then I would do it. But I can't say that I have any desire to revisit Backstreet is Romeo & Juliet with battles of the bands or whatever the plots of any of those other things were.

Then he'll get tetanus, oh noes!!

Hope he's up on his boosters! 

[nicksgal]

How's everyone's writing going this weekend? I sat down to write around 10ish and wrote pretty solidly until 2pm when I realized I hadn't showered or eaten yet today, oops.

It's also only February and I completed my new year's writing goal of attempting to write a sex scene, but I think I hate it and I'm pretty sure I can tell the story as planned without physically including it in the narrative. I'd say I spent a good chunk of my time laughing and googling synonyms when I hated what was visually on the page. There's only one part I think would be funny to keep and it's more for the "funny demon biology" than anything substantial. Ugh, I don't know. I have a long time to decide what to do with it, I suppose. Oh, Julie, that article you resurfaced when we discussed this late last week (or early this week) was right: "cock" is just more appealing than "dick." I think it's all the /c/ sounds.

I did also write an intentionally funny scene where Nick is horrible at pretending clouds are shaped like things, so that was fun.

What's my next writing goal and/or challenge for this year? Other than to write something that's not PBox related?

[RokofAges75]

It's true. Cringey teenybopper fanfics were good practice for developing all the things we would need to become better writers in the future. Thank goodness I learned how to do good character development! LMAO

Honestly, probably not! I know I could definitely write any of them better now than I did back then, but I think I'm lacking the desire to do so. And while I would say seeing how I could improve an early story with all my years of knowledge would be a good editing exercise, I think care is a big aspect of it. I care about PBox, so I was willing to sit through the cringey parts, figure out what needed to be better, then hack and slash them as needed. Those other ones, I would just sit and scream at, haha. But as you know, I never say never, so if I suddenly had an idea for a decent rewrite of an early fanfic, then I would do it. But I can't say that I have any desire to revisit Backstreet is Romeo & Juliet with battles of the bands or whatever the plots of any of those other things were.

Makes sense!  I don't think I would be able to go back and revise or rewrite any of my old stories either.  What I've found myself subconsciously doing instead of recycling old storylines.  This has not happened intentionally and may just be the result of my lack of creativity LOL, but I've realized that almost every novel I've written in the last ten years or so has elements in common with a story I wrote as a teenybopper.  That's how I've ended up with multiple stories with similar premises, at least in terms of whatever misfortune I curse my characters with.  I always twist it or take it in a new direction so it's never the same plot, but it's still a way to resurrect ideas that had potential, but were poorly executed because of how young and inexperienced I was when I wrote them.

[nicksgal]

Makes sense!  I don't think I would be able to go back and revise or rewrite any of my old stories either.  What I've found myself subconsciously doing instead of recycling old storylines.  This has not happened intentionally and may just be the result of my lack of creativity LOL, but I've realized that almost every novel I've written in the last ten years or so has elements in common with a story I wrote as a teenybopper.  That's how I've ended up with multiple stories with similar premises, at least in terms of whatever misfortune I curse my characters with.  I always twist it or take it in a new direction so it's never the same plot, but it's still a way to resurrect ideas that had potential, but were poorly executed because of how young and inexperienced I was when I wrote them.

I say that you're allowed to recycle your own plots! I think you're subconsciously trying to improve on them without outright rewriting something that's over and done with. You just want to present the best body of work that you can.

An even better reason to get your malady spreadsheet going. If the malady is in something pre-2003, then it's fair game to inflict on the same Boy again!

[nicksgal]

The little birthday bar at the bottom says that it's also happy birthday to our fearless leader! Happy birthday, Ash! Thanks for putting up with us all these years and keeping our musings safe.

[RokofAges75]

How's everyone's writing going this weekend? I sat down to write around 10ish and wrote pretty solidly until 2pm when I realized I hadn't showered or eaten yet today, oops.

LOL I "wrote" for about the same hours.  I put that in quotations because although I did start Chapter 5 and spent four hours staring at my computer, I only wrote 309 words.  But hey, it's something, and now that the chapter is started, hopefully I'll add more to it later.  I got distracted.

It's also only February and I completed my new year's writing goal of attempting to write a sex scene, but I think I hate it and I'm pretty sure I can tell the story as planned without physically including it in the narrative. I'd say I spent a good chunk of my time laughing and googling synonyms when I hated what was visually on the page. There's only one part I think would be funny to keep and it's more for the "funny demon biology" than anything substantial. Ugh, I don't know. I have a long time to decide what to do with it, I suppose. Oh, Julie, that article you resurfaced when we discussed this late last week (or early this week) was right: "cock" is just more appealing than "dick." I think it's all the /c/ sounds.

I did also write an intentionally funny scene where Nick is horrible at pretending clouds are shaped like things, so that was fun.

What's my next writing goal and/or challenge for this year? Other than to write something that's not PBox related?

Hey, way to go accomplishing your goal!  Even if you don't end up including your sex scene, at least you can say you wrote one.  I'm sure it's not as bad as you think though.  Spending a good chunk of it giggling and googling synonyms sounds exactly like me with the few sex scenes I've written LOL.  I still haven't figured out my favorite synonym for penis, at least from a fiction-writing perspective.  I think I prefer "dick" to "cock," but I've mostly managed to avoid using any of them unless it's in dialogue.

Hm, goals for you...  Definitely write that death-by-snail story!  And the guardian angel story.

[RokofAges75]

I say that you're allowed to recycle your own plots! I think you're subconsciously trying to improve on them without outright rewriting something that's over and done with. You just want to present the best body of work that you can.

An even better reason to get your malady spreadsheet going. If the malady is in something pre-2003, then it's fair game to inflict on the same Boy again!

That's my thought too.  It's a fresh take on ideas that I liked without feeling like I'm just rewriting something old.  They were all pre-2003, so I guess they were fair game!

[RokofAges75]

The little birthday bar at the bottom says that it's also happy birthday to our fearless leader! Happy birthday, Ash! Thanks for putting up with us all these years and keeping our musings safe.

Happy birthday, Ash!  February 20 is a great day to have a birthday!

[nicksgal]

LOL I "wrote" for about the same hours.  I put that in quotations because although I did start Chapter 5 and spent four hours staring at my computer, I only wrote 309 words.  But hey, it's something, and now that the chapter is started, hopefully I'll add more to it later.  I got distracted.

You're on chapter five already! Way to go! There's always time to write, especially if you feel like you probably wouldn't post it until summer anyway.

Hey, way to go accomplishing your goal!  Even if you don't end up including your sex scene, at least you can say you wrote one.  I'm sure it's not as bad as you think though.  Spending a good chunk of it giggling and googling synonyms sounds exactly like me with the few sex scenes I've written LOL.  I still haven't figured out my favorite synonym for penis, at least from a fiction-writing perspective.  I think I prefer "dick" to "cock," but I've mostly managed to avoid using any of them unless it's in dialogue.

Hm, goals for you...  Definitely write that death-by-snail story!  And the guardian angel story.

Now there's nothing left for me to try and hate it after I try it, haha. I've tried everything at least once... unless there's something I'm not thinking of. I'll take your word for it, but I think I'm firmly back in my fade to black camp. I spent most of the time thinking "Do people actually want to read this? I know Tracy said she doesn't care for them and she's the only person I know that's reading." and laughing and googling. It wasn't even racy synonyms, it was mostly verbs and adjectives, haha. As long as they're not impaling anyone, I say everyone use whatever synonym you like.

Death by snail is on my immediate list after this little chunk of chapters. Possibly after the next one, depending on if it smooths into the next interesting bit I have or not. Guardian angel... there's more research to be done.