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The Writing Thread: Orlando Passaggio (aka The Writing Thread 3)

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RokofAges75:

--- Quote from: nicksgal on May 11, 2021, 10:00:59 PM ---Four digits! Glad it's going better; I knew it would eventually. :) Ah, SMTMOBL is always fantastic. I was thinking that in my car today that if IGBY didn't break up Millennium 1-3 and 5-8, that would be seven of the best songs in a row. Not that I don't like IGBY, but you know. Maybe the whole tour video is your reward when you finish the chapter. Unless you need it for inspiration, of course.

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Totally agree about Millennium and IGBY!  I don't dislike IGBY, but it's not one of my favorites either.  On a random but semi-related note, I've been listening to my playlist of all BSB songs on shuffle in my car, and today on the way to work, Don't Want You Back came on.  As it was ending, I automatically started humming the beginning of Don't Wanna Lose You Now, which is my favorite BSB song, because I'm so used to hearing it after DWYB... and miraculously, it played next on shuffle!  That's when I knew it was going to be a good day LOL.

Maybe Unbreakable will end up being my reward for finishing this chapter LOL.  I've already looked up videos of the specific parts I'm writing about on YouTube and just watched those.



--- Quote from: nicksgal on May 11, 2021, 10:00:59 PM ---I see you still sending your love to Nowie in steerage, lol. Unless Brian is Rose and Nick is Jack, lol. I mean, I can't blame Leighanne for enjoying nice things; nice things are awesome! I say that as I sit here in the same little pink desk chair I've had since college that couldn't have been more than $100 if even that. I can't imagine that they wouldn't have existed because I feel like the center part of the venn diagram for "likes Titanic" and "likes the Backstreet Boys" would include a lot of people. Plus whatever the "and writes fanfic about it" chunk looks like. I think historical fiction is awesome and I love history, but "names and dates" were always the hardest part of history for me and I feel like that's a big part of historical fiction.

On a Titanic side note, the amount of times I've been to Molly Brown's house is astronomical.

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LOL A slash twist on Titanic would be interesting, especially given they would probably feel the need to hide it from everyone in 1912.  Now that I think about it, I think Nick and Brian were a couple in that Titanic humor story I mentioned.  It totally makes sense that girls in our age group would love both BSB and Titanic.  I became a BSB fan around the same time I was going to see Titanic in the theater at least every other weekend (I saw it 7 times in its initial run LOL).

Add Molly Brown's house to the list of places I need to visit when I come to Colorado someday!  I would love that.  I usually do a Titanic unit with my class for one of our nonfiction reading units, and they always get so into it.  I'm doing a mini version of it this year.  I was reading a picture book to them about the Titanic, and when it got to the part about Molly trying to rally the people in her lifeboat to go back and pick up more passengers, my kids called her a Karen! LOL  I got defensive on her behalf and argued that she was NOT a Karen; she was a strong woman who was trying to do the right thing.  They were not convinced, and I was finally like, "You need to watch the movie.  You'll like Molly Brown!"



--- Quote from: nicksgal on May 11, 2021, 10:00:59 PM ---LMFAO! Of course Nick hand sanitizer would be first. That picture was hilarious.

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Thanks!  Someone (Tracy?) shared a picture of it with Lauren on Twitter once, and she said it was hilarious too!



--- Quote from: nicksgal on May 11, 2021, 10:00:59 PM ---I don't think I try, I think my threshold for dark and depressing has expanded over the years. I think I mentioned that I preemptively added my PBox warnings to PNecklace, just so everyone knew it wasn't lighter and fluffier and I still haven't used any of them. It makes me miss my fantastical graphic violence a little bit... Because my one part that would have had graphic violence already was my "nope, kids" line. Oh well.

On the plus side, I feel like Broken Nick was pretty shaken up about having his leg chopped off, so he still thought it was dark and depressing then and probably would now if you asked him, lol.

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I think that's my deal too.  I don't deliberately try to out-do myself, but what may have felt like crossing a line to me 10-20 years ago doesn't anymore.  Other than killing the real kids, I'll write just about anything now.

Losing a limb is definitely a big deal, and his angst over it was justified.  But there are also far worse things that can happen to a person.

nicksgal:

--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 09:50:32 PM ---Oh noes!  Come back, rain!
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It's my fault, lol. I finished a scene and didn't know how to start the second scene in the chapter, so I skipped around to a scene I thought I wanted to write based on an out of order scene I wrote yesterday, but still not much of anything has come of it. So I figured it was a good time to be a supreme time water for a minute instead.



--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 09:50:32 PM ---I imagine most of the posters on the Fanfiction section of Reddit are teenagers.  They sound really young.  It does seem like one-shots/short stories are the big thing now instead of "longfics"/novels.  I've noticed that on AO3 too.  I think a lot of that has to do with the emphasis on pairings/ships and smut over actual plot and character development, but to each their own.  Personally, I started the same way you did - with multi-chapter "novels" (which were really more novellas, some of which were the same length as short stories I would write today LOL).  I wrote the occasional one-shot too, but I've always preferred writing longer stories.  They just have more substance and depth.
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Ah, to be a teenage fanfic writer again... I mostly say this because then it would be peak BSB time and that would be fun. I think I opened maybe an eighth of the stuff I scrolled through? I did think that those "I'll read your (type of story) and give them some love" threads were nice. There was one I saw that specifically listed RPF and it reminded me that there's probably much more fanfic out there for fictional works than there are for musicians or actors or what have you, even though we always felt big; regardless, I've still always adored our little corner of the fanfic world.

I'm glad I started writing fanfic before it felt like who was in it was more important than what happens (outside of Backstreet Boys being main characters in Backstreet Boys fanfics). That's not to say that romances weren't huge back in the day, but I still feel like it was more about what the characters did, what happened to them, and how they reacted more than it was "I'll read anything if it's about Nick/original female characters."

I did look at the words counts on my two oldest stories I added to AC (and didn't read, because so cringey), but one of them is about 24,000 words. That's like eight chapters of PBox, lol. So same, by today's standards, that's novella length, not novel length for sure.

I think I'll only write a one-shot if I have an idea and it's clearly not multiple chapters. But those are like "death by snail" and "BSB secret santa," not "Nick/Brian on a coffee shop date." I guess I don't think of cute romances when I think of coffee shops... I think of coffee, lol. For the most part, my ideas are lengthy if not epic, and provide ample time for character development, my favorite.



--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 09:50:32 PM ---10k does seem long, although I'm like you - a chapter ends when a chapter ends.  I have written 10k-word chapters when there's one long scene that doesn't have a natural breaking point, but that is definitely not my norm.  I'm usually in the 2500-5000 word range.  As a reader, I don't really pay attention to the word count of chapters unless it feels really long.  Then I'm like, "When is this going to end??"  So if it's a super long chapter, it better be a good one!  Personally, the chapters of mine that get that long tend to be the intense, dramatic ones, so hopefully they feel exciting instead of long-winded and boring LOL.

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I hunt for the natural breaking point or make a spot where I can leave it on a cliffhanger and then pick right back up, lol. I really get anxious when they start getting that long. I think I have two chapters right now that are a little over 5,000 words and I just want to chop them in half so bad, but I have nothing else to say and there's not a good spot to snip them, so... I guess they stay that way. 3,000 to 4,000 is probably my happy place.

I don't really pay attention either when reading, I suppose. I figure if it's long, it was meant to be long. And it's not like a book in the bookstore is going to say "this chapter is 5,000 words, yikes!" lol My longer ones usually end up being heavy character development or intense battle scenes. It's a toss up. So I hope they're enjoyable and not boring and verbose for no reason as well, lol!

nicksgal:

--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 10:10:34 PM ---I definitely have had "The Scene" for most, if not all of my stories.  Is it bad that I can't think of what that scene would be for my current story? LOL  There are definitely scenes I'm looking forward to, but not really one big one in particular.  The drama starts right at the end of Chapter 1, though, so there's not the same build-up to a big reveal or pivotal moment like I'm used to writing.
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I'd say no! Especially if it's already drama-filled and not building to drama/pivotal moments. And it could be that you've been so focused on your montage chapters that you've been avoiding thinking of what's coming down the line as entities in themselves, especially if they don't have seeds you'd need to plant right now.



--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 10:10:34 PM ---Hm, that's an interesting epiphany!  That makes sense that it would feel more "porny" if you focus more on their actions than feelings.  I am definitely not an expert on writing sex scenes.  I'm like you in that I don't hate the ones I've written, but I also don't know if any of them are good.  I would need someone who is more prolific at writing them to critique mine and let me know LOL.  I'm glad you don't hate either version of yours and were able to revise it to make it even better.  Keep it!
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Okay, let's just both post on reddit and ask people to critique our sex scene writing, lol. It's definitely less porny and I like it better, but I'm not prolific at all in the sex scene department, so I still have no idea if it's any good either. :shrug: I tried something new this year in my writing, so I guess that makes it a good effort if nothing else.



--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 10:10:34 PM ---I love those scenes that you dream about the whole time you're writing the story, whether they become a signature scene for readers or not.
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Same! It might be the one thing I miss about strictly writing in order, but it's also nice to get their bones out and then revise them until they're perfect when the time comes.



--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 10:10:34 PM ---I don't know if there's an official term for it, but yes!  "The Scene" tends to be a big moment in the story, but there are also those little moments that become hidden gems.  For me, those scenes tend to be the ones with great conversations between the boys.  Nothing big necessarily happens, but they flow well and are just sweet/cute/funny/touching.  I had that happen with my ER crossover, Heroic Measures.  "The Scene" for me was always going to be Chapter 5, which is a big dramatic resuscitation scene.  But my favorite scene in that story end up being a conversation between AJ and Nick in Chapter 9.  It's one of the least dramatic/action-packed scenes in the whole story, but I love their banter and the way the tone shifts over the course of the chapter.

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"Hidden Gems" is probably it and if it's not, I approve it for use from now on (because I am the authority on official vocabulary in our fandom, clearly). I think that's it, they're just great moments between the Boys. I think it reminds me of why I enjoy their bond and I feel like it's spot on if I think "aww, love this one." I love that AJ and Nick banter ended up being your favorite even if it wasn't action packed; they're very good for banter anyway and it's nice that the hidden gem came after "The Scene".

My favorite thing about that hidden gem I mentioned was that when it came time to edit before posting, I think I changed maybe ten words or less in it from when I'd first written it down. It was never a scene I agonized over, it just was. Plus it featured some Howie and we all know that Howie is my favorite original challenge from PBox, which was to give him an important role. Clearly, I need to get on the Kevin train because that's another challenge I need to give myself is to focus on Kevin as Kevin and not mostly Kevin as big brother to the others, lol.

nicksgal:

--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 10:28:37 PM ---Totally agree about Millennium and IGBY!  I don't dislike IGBY, but it's not one of my favorites either.  On a random but semi-related note, I've been listening to my playlist of all BSB songs on shuffle in my car, and today on the way to work, Don't Want You Back came on.  As it was ending, I automatically started humming the beginning of Don't Wanna Lose You Now, which is my favorite BSB song, because I'm so used to hearing it after DWYB... and miraculously, it played next on shuffle!  That's when I knew it was going to be a good day LOL.

Maybe Unbreakable will end up being my reward for finishing this chapter LOL.  I've already looked up videos of the specific parts I'm writing about on YouTube and just watched those.
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Aw, love that. I listened to DWLYN four times today while driving. I felt like I kept missing the parts I wanted to enjoy, lol. They don't usually play one after the other for me on shuffle, but I'll sometimes skip the live versions from the deluxe In A World Like This (don't want to listen to fan noise on my drive) and sometimes the album versions will come on right afterward, so I'm always like "Alright, listening to this I suppose, the universe has spoken," lol

How are you liking splitting the concert up? I've been thinking about it as you've been talking and I don't think I ever liked writing concert scenes either. Maybe because it's not quite the same...



--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 10:28:37 PM ---LOL A slash twist on Titanic would be interesting, especially given they would probably feel the need to hide it from everyone in 1912.  Now that I think about it, I think Nick and Brian were a couple in that Titanic humor story I mentioned.  It totally makes sense that girls in our age group would love both BSB and Titanic.  I became a BSB fan around the same time I was going to see Titanic in the theater at least every other weekend (I saw it 7 times in its initial run LOL).
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And then Nick licks Brian's face in public and ruins the facade, lol. I think we all fall somewhere on the Frick&Frack to Frick/Frack scale... Except for maybe Mare? I know you're not Team Brian, Mare, but what about Frick&Frack? Are you "just Frack no &" instead?

Nice, 7 times! My mom wouldn't let me. I was also ten and it's not her thing, so that may have been more of the issue, lol. I saw it at a friend's house during a sleepover at some point in the next year or so... and then, history.



--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 10:28:37 PM ---Add Molly Brown's house to the list of places I need to visit when I come to Colorado someday!  I would love that.  I usually do a Titanic unit with my class for one of our nonfiction reading units, and they always get so into it.  I'm doing a mini version of it this year.  I was reading a picture book to them about the Titanic, and when it got to the part about Molly trying to rally the people in her lifeboat to go back and pick up more passengers, my kids called her a Karen! LOL  I got defensive on her behalf and argued that she was NOT a Karen; she was a strong woman who was trying to do the right thing.  They were not convinced, and I was finally like, "You need to watch the movie.  You'll like Molly Brown!"
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It's smaller than you would expect, but it's really neat. One of my students is doing a research project on her right now for a "famous Coloradoans study" type thing and watching them be fascinated about her is awesome. Although, they said something to the effect of "she's such a badass (my words not theirs), she's probably still alive and well!" And I was like... uhh... no, that's not how aging works at all. She would be long dead no matter what. But you're right, she was a badass into her old age.

OMG, they called Molly a Karen! The youths! I'm glad you defended her, but sad you couldn't convince them. Kathy Bates was the perfect choice for Molly, but you should probably not show Titanic in school to prove a point, lol. Maybe a clip of Molly being awesome would be fine.



--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 10:28:37 PM ---Thanks!  Someone (Tracy?) shared a picture of it with Lauren on Twitter once, and she said it was hilarious too!
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Good, at least she knows that he's gross and can laugh about it, lol.



--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on May 11, 2021, 10:28:37 PM ---I think that's my deal too.  I don't deliberately try to out-do myself, but what may have felt like crossing a line to me 10-20 years ago doesn't anymore.  Other than killing the real kids, I'll write just about anything now.

Losing a limb is definitely a big deal, and his angst over it was justified.  But there are also far worse things that can happen to a person.

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Oh how we've grown. So proud of us.

And have happened to Nick in your fanfics! If only he knew, maybe he would pick going back to losing a limb.

FrickingKaos:
Yes, I was the one who sent Lauren the picture of the hand sanitizer lol.

When I was writing If I Knew Then I was thoroughly inspired by Titanic. Julie and I had conversations about it for a while. Brian was Rose and Nick was Jack and Leighanne was Cal. It was such a great love triangle. I'd love someone to do a historical bsb story involving Titanic lol. Just for fun. I literally watched that movie every day for a few weeks when I wrote If I Knew Then because it would inapire me. I don't know if it was the music or the dialogue but I was heavily inspired.

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