Fic Talk > General Discussion
The Writing Thread: Orlando Passaggio (aka The Writing Thread 3)
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on April 10, 2021, 09:41:30 PM ---This is so exciting that you're almost done with all of your SAMS WADD stories! A kudos for you.
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Thanks! It has been nice to actually use the ideas I've come up with instead of letting them sit around in a folder as a vague outline or beginning with no ending forever.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on April 10, 2021, 09:41:30 PM ---I'm glad you got the first scene out of your system so that you have something for the next time it strikes you.
LMAO at "torturing." I love this whole list. Appreciation for the little things is a great thing to find. :) Is this a theme in the novel or just something that has stood out to you?
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Yeah, it's a start at least - something I can come back to when I feel like it.
That appreciation of the little things is more just my own outsider perspective right now. I haven't planned it as a major theme of the story, but it may come through in my writing.
The pandemic has also been a good reminder not to take things for granted. I was mourning the fact that I have to go back to work on Monday, but then I reminded myself that last year, we did not get to go back after spring break, and I felt glad that things are going back to normal. And of course I am incredibly thankful that I haven't lost any family or friends to COVID, though I know people who have.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on April 10, 2021, 09:55:42 PM ---This has been my twenty minutes of furiously catching up on the forum post-dinner, lol. I wrote until I got so hungry that I couldn't think anymore because it was going so well. It's been a day! I've basically been going non-stop since 12 or 12:30 until about 7.
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Wow, you go girl! I love days like that, when I just can't seem to tear myself away from the computer. Especially on Saturdays because then I know I still have another day before I have to act like a functional adult again. LOL
--- Quote from: nicksgal on April 10, 2021, 09:55:42 PM ---And I got to penning that little note to the narrative and stared off into space for a while, like "Oh jeeze, this is dark and really depressing. Why is this so dark and depressing?" On a whole, PNecklace hasn't felt too dark and depressing, maybe because Nick's like "F-it! I'm going to keep going no matter what!" But it's not like it wasn't going to be dark; PBox is hopeful, but still pretty grim after all. And then it got worse because one of the characters is a secret-keeper and writing their reaction to the dark and depressing thing, I thought "Oh no, this is exactly how the readers might feel, isn't it?" And I know it's not going to be that bad, but it sure makes that dark and depressing thing feel even more dark and depressing when I think of it without my wealth of context and plans.
Anyone else ever feel this way?
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I have definitely felt that way. Hell, I feel that way about the story I'm writing right now. But just remember, most of our readers are also Team Dark, or they wouldn't want to read our stuff. Don't underestimate their tolerance for dark and depressing content. I don't think I have ever thought, "This is just too depressing; I can't read it" and clicked out of a story. As long as you have some lighter moments along the way to contrast the darkness, it's fine.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on April 10, 2021, 10:31:58 PM ---Yes to all of that! It is an interesting dynamic. I think the difference between how Nick and Brian handle themselves in that fight is at least partly a reflection of how they were raised. Nick doesn't seem to know how to disagree without getting heated and shouting and cursing, probably because his parents didn't set a good example of that when he was a kid. I imagine there was a lot of screaming, fighting, and cursing in his house growing up. Brian can stay calm in an argument because he grew up in a stable home with loving parents who probably modeled that for him. I think Brian can be stubborn, but Nick clearly has the bigger temper.
My sister is two years younger than me, and we shared a room until I was 14. We had lot of screaming fights and did horrible, hurtful things to each other. I once whipped her with a belt. She once threw a hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in my face and almost broke my nose. We still love each other. LOL Once I thought of it that way, the Frick and Frack fight seemed less of a big deal and more of a normal thing to me.
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It's definitely a difference in how they were raised. I've found that anyone who resorts to screaming to win arguments often had a lot of screaming matches happening in their homes growing up. It's a hard thing to deal with. Plus, you definitely have to reframe the way you're trying to disagree and solve a problem with them or it just never gets solved and feels exhausting.
Some of my friends say things exactly like that, but it wasn't until my husband and his younger sister talked about their death matches casually while laughing that I was really like "Okay... this is totally normal apparently?" Glad they're so well-adjusted now, lol!
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on April 10, 2021, 10:31:58 PM ---That's a good idea. And I don't know what we're so afraid of. That's the worst thing that could happen if your next project doesn't go well? You'll stop writing forever? Doubtful. If it doesn't go the way we want it to, we'll either change the plan or start a different project.
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I have no idea! It's not like not knowing what will happen next is going to cause mass casualties or anything. I guess you could stop writing forever, that's always in the realm of possibility, but it's unlikely. I think it's just a human thing, to fear what's unknown, whether that's big or small.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on April 10, 2021, 10:31:58 PM ---LOL I don't feel any guilt over it whatsoever. It is what it is. However many words or chapters it takes me to tell the story I want to tell is how long it will be. I don't see myself ever writing another 200-chapter epic, but 50 is realistic.
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Never say never. There's a 200-chapter epic on your horizon somewhere.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on April 10, 2021, 10:31:58 PM ---Good for you! I love sleeping in. When I say I write in the morning, that could mean I start anywhere between 9 and 11:59 a.m. LOL. I am not a morning person. Today I slept in until about 11, and then I wrote until like 1 or 2. I finished Chapter 12 during my "morning" session, which is great, but I find that finishing a chapter early in the day makes it harder to write again later that same day because I have such a hard time switching gears and starting a new chapter. It is definitely easier if I leave myself off in the middle of a scene, especially if I know where it's going. I love the advice of leaving yourself on a cliffhanger. Rose always used to laugh at me because I would sometimes leave off in mid-sentence, but it's easier to finish a sentence than start a new one.
Plan-free days are my favorite! Prior to the pandemic, I always thought I sounded so lame when people would ask what I was doing over the weekend and I would say "I dunno" or "Nothing," but those are my favorite kind of weekends. "Nothing" actually means "writing."
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Oh, 11:59am means morning now? Cool, lol! Great work finishing your twelfth chapter!
I know, I always wonder if I should just leave the chapter unfinished so that I can come back to it and then maybe keep going afterward. Well, Rose can laugh at me too, because I often leave off mid-sentence.
"Nothing" meaning "writing" is way better than "watching tv until I nap on the couch." I usually say "just some stuff around the house," lol.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on April 10, 2021, 10:39:45 PM ---Thanks! It has been nice to actually use the ideas I've come up with instead of letting them sit around in a folder as a vague outline or beginning with no ending forever.
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It's this reason that I'm glad I don't have an idea folder, lol. Or that I only have two ideas that aren't PBox&Co or Gobosei, lol. I hope you get a chance to use all of your ideas and feel great about them.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on April 10, 2021, 10:39:45 PM ---Yeah, it's a start at least - something I can come back to when I feel like it.
That appreciation of the little things is more just my own outsider perspective right now. I haven't planned it as a major theme of the story, but it may come through in my writing.
The pandemic has also been a good reminder not to take things for granted. I was mourning the fact that I have to go back to work on Monday, but then I reminded myself that last year, we did not get to go back after spring break, and I felt glad that things are going back to normal. And of course I am incredibly thankful that I haven't lost any family or friends to COVID, though I know people who have.
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Every time I feel bummed about work, I also remind myself that I didn't get the last three months of the school year with my class and it helps put things back in perspective.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on April 10, 2021, 10:36:54 PM ---Media marketing is wild, no? You can probably lose so much of yourself when you're portrayed a certain way, especially if it's a certain way in the context of other people, whether that's good things or bad things. I mean, I believe Nick if he says "like everyone knows you are." I'm sure they all have moments where they've been huge dicks to each other. Haven't we all? I would also love to know what he's talking about. Do the other Boys know or just Brian? These are the things we wanted in your autobiography, Nick! lol
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Very true. The whole boyband marketing thing really wasn't fair to any of them. AJ wasn't really a "bad boy" either, but it's easier to embrace a so-called "bad boy" who's actually a huge softie with a heart of gold, even if he's also an addict, than the "boy next door" who sticks a Trump sign in his yard.
Maybe it's better that we not know what Nick was talking about LOL. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on April 10, 2021, 10:36:54 PM ---Kevin tries to kick in doors! If that isn't tough love, I don't know what is.
So now the question is, do we ever have Nick being the "tough love" person? Or does he get absolved from that to his frequent status as main character?
Good for AJ being a prominent supporting character. :)
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While it's not fanfic, I think the Frick & Frack fight was a great example of Nick showing tough love when he confronted Brian about his voice. No one else wanted to talk about it, but it needed to be addressed, and Nick wasn't afraid to go there, even though he knew it would be hard for Brian to hear. The love part comes around at the end when he goes into the Michael Jordan analogy, which I adore.
So yes, I think Nick can be the tough love person in the right situation, especially now that he's got his own shit together. He's on the receiving end of AJ's tough love in my story because AJ is the "sober" one (allegedly), and Nick is not. (And Kevin is currently not capable of kicking doors down.)
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