Fic Talk > General Discussion
The Writing Thread: Orlando Passaggio (aka The Writing Thread 3)
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:08:24 AM ---Oh no! I wondered what was up with you. I hope you get some answers - fingers crossed that they are the kind of answers you want to hear! No wonder you haven't been on as much. I always get a headache when I don't drink enough water too. I hope you rehydrated and are feeling better today! Glad you were able to keep the streak alive!
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Here's to hoping! :) These are the last two tests for me and the news has all been trending in the right direction so far, albeit without the desired end results as of yet, of course. I took a nap and that usually solves the dehydration headaches, but it just didn't. Then I remember that I lost some blood yesterday too, and I was like, oh now it all makes sense, haha. Yup! Doing better today on hydration and was able to finish editing my chapter for update day. I changed a lot more and wanted to track it to compare to last week, but I opted to just send the chapter into the world when it hit 9pm or so (rather than doing edits and deep analytics). Not having Masked Singer to distract me definitely made it easier.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:08:24 AM ---Today was busy, so I didn't write anything until I got home tonight and wrote a sentence just to keep the streak alive. I may try to add more before I go to bed; we'll see. But yesterday was the first really good writing day I've had in a while - definitely since my summer started. I wrote over 2000 words, which is what I need to do more of if I want to make my goal by the end of the month.
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Sometimes we've just gotta keep the streak alive. Hopefully today was fun busy the entire time! 2000 words yesterday is awesome! It sounds like you're getting into the summer writing groove; I hope you have several 2000 plus word days coming up! I believe in you making your goal!
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:08:24 AM ---Most them are similar to the fanfic banner, but not exactly the same. The dimensions are different (more like a real book cover), so what works on a banner doesn't always work with the book cover. I actually just started making new, more minimalistic covers that don't include pictures of the Boys - that way, if people do want to download them to read on Kindle or whatever, they don't look like fanfic. Once I finish grammar-checking all these old stories on Google Docs, I'll remake and repost the ebooks.
I think I had turned on the grammar check by the end of Bethlehem, so hopefully Google caught most of them too.
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That makes sense. I love all these neat extra things you do for your readers. It's probably nice to be able to read on an e-reader as opposed to a phone or computer screen. I love the idea for more minimalist covers. I feel like most book covers are pretty minimalist too.
And don't forget Text-to-speech! I'm sure that helped too. :)
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:08:24 AM ---Better than for Unsuspecting Sunday, its short story predecessor. It has a few kudos, and one person has commented so far. She had an awesome reaction to the first shocking moment of the story, which was fun to read. It's been so long since I started that story, I forgot how much I looked forward to reactions like that. It's fun having people read it for the first time.
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That's awesome! I always love when readers share their reactions to specific parts, especially when they're meant to be shocking/tear-jerking/angering/etcetera. I'm happy you're finding new readers with this repost.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:00:32 AM ---What made you decide to get an account on AO3 back then? Exposure in a different place? Seemed busier? I guess this is a question for everyone who cross posts, what was the appeal of moving back to the ff.net-esque websites?
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I don't know how long AO3 has been around, but that must have been when I discovered it. I went ahead and got an account so I'd have it in case I wanted to post my stories there, and then I guess I just forgot about it. That was during my semi-hiatus while I was getting my master's, so I probably didn't have the time to post stories there then.
While I will always love having my own site, it seems like fandom has moved away from individual sites in favor of big archives. I do like the archives for the variety and amount of stories there. The reader/writer interaction is nice, too. I still have a handful of readers who leave comments on my site, but since I've started posting on AO3, the majority of my feedback comes from there, just as it used to come from reviews on AC. I guess that's what it comes down to - I cross-post so I can reach a wider audience than just the people who visit my website.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:00:32 AM ---I think so too! I'm not a big fan of "Dead Dove. Don't Eat." stories, but as I said, I'll still read them. (A reference to a scene from Arrested Development that essentially means "this is horrifying from start to finish with really dark content. I have warned you, don't complain if you hate it.")
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I'm trying to think if I have ever read a fanfic that would qualify as that. (And thank you for explaining what that means because I've never come across that phrase before.) Maybe a short story, but I can't think of a novel that was truly dark from start to finish. Even the darkest suspense stories I've read had happy endings. I have read published novels that would probably qualify though, and I've enjoyed those, even though they were depressing and/or horrifying. So I guess there's an audience for everything. I always feel the need to give disclaimers for my stories that I worry may be too dark for some readers, but I have yet to have someone tell me they're too dark. But even those stories weren't dark all the way through.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:00:32 AM ---I didn't used to track it so meticulously either. I would just count the total time I spent staring at the computer, which was often hours. I typically go to NaNo and open a "update stats" pop up, then set the time I start writing and then if I focus fail, I'll write down when the top says "x minutes since last change" and adjust the start time later (or right then if I'm on top of it.)
You do say you're always looking for boredom projects though, lol.
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That's a good way to do it. Maybe I'll have to try it that way tomorrow.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:00:32 AM ---Oh easily! Sometimes there's an idea you can't let go of and you just gotta write it right then, but then once it's on paper... Poof! I wish I felt more inclined to finish my unfinished things. I'm also not happy to be seen as someone who doesn't finish things, but I also disappeared for several years, so maybe there's no expectations for me. Which is honestly freeing! Maybe everyone's new opinion of me is "cared enough to come back." I'll take that, lol.
So I hear you saying that the path to finish Guilty Roads may be your own guilty road. Hopefully it leads to endless love and you have some control. ;) I'll see myself out.
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LOL That's very true. I don't think any of us expected you to come back to fanfic, so anything you post at this point is just an added bonus. The readers who weren't around when you were writing before won't have any preconceived notions about you, and those who remember you as someone who disappeared without finishing projects will be impressed by your regular posting schedule and ability to finish stories. I certainly am! I'm glad you cared enough to come back.
LOL Love it! It is a guilty road, for sure.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:00:32 AM ---Same! I'm glad we got a little more prolific, though how nice to read an entire novel in like twenty minutes, lol.
LMAO at "the BSB of late 90s free website hosting sites." I remember nothing! Just that it existed. But as you know, I save everything, so it's possible when I go back to cleaning the house, I'll find it. I vaguely remember writing down my usernames and passwords on a piece of paper at some point and obviously saved that because how could it not be important!
I'm so unoriginal, lol. No, that's not my story. You'd probably be better off googling the first line or something if you want to deep dive into Angelfire. I cringe so hard at this story and my terrible spelling, oh to be eleven again and have a Romeo and Juliet-esque story about Nick in my heart, lol:
I was sitting in my room doing nothing at all and being very bored. My mom and dad occasionally went past, but that was it. I would have been eating dinner if it weren't for my brother and Benevolant.
You're totally right and that's very admirable of you.
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Aww! I googled your first line and couldn't find it. I'm glad you still have the story saved though. Aww, a Romeo and Juliet story. Did Nick and the girl both die at the end? I wrote a Romeo and Juliet-esque story back in the day too. It was very silly. I had read the real Romeo and Juliet by that point in my life, but I'm sure it was the Leo movie that inspired me more LOL.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:00:32 AM ---Elves makes sense. LMAO! It was the weirdest video, what do all those things have to do with Christmas?! I'm starting to wonder if I should have done drugs before I watched it. Would it have made sense then? lol
When do I have? Until 2022? I can figure that out by then probably. I still owe you some word chickens. They're almost done, just not quite up to my vision.
LMFAO! I love these banners so much. Is this series better at Christmas time?
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I've always said whoever came up with the concept must have been high, and I bet the experience of watching it is better if you're high too LOL.
Whenever you want! We already have shirts from the 2019 DNA tour, so I don't know if we'll make new ones for next year.
Thanks! They all take place at Christmas time, and I have tried to write them at Christmas time, but the last two got so long, I ended up starting them before Christmas and not finishing them until February in one case and April in the other. If I was smart, I would start writing them in the summer so they'd be ready by Christmas, but I've always gotten ideas at the last minute.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:00:32 AM ---Also true! Maybe we need a panel of high schoolers to tell us what they think of their novel. Do high schoolers still text each other? Do they have gym class? Would they jump at the chance to hang out with demons in a mythical world? Would they love our favorite PTSD amnesiac with a hair-trigger temper like I do? What if they hate the boyband vibes of our protagonists? Maybe I've made a mistake getting back into this story ten years later, lol.
Ooh, yeah, I think the medical advancements would be the harder thing to update than the "high schooler vibe." At least it's there if you want to revisit it.
Thank goodness we have old footage to remind us! But then I get sucked into the nostalgia instead of focusing on Nick's behaviors and speech patterns, lol. Alas. Now I want to read stories about 41-year-old Nick's married with children life written by a 14-year-old! This sounds judgy, but I just want to appreciate the naivety. I wonder what types of problems he would have... I just know how much I struggled with making Kevin a full dimensional character at that age and he was only in his late twenties/early thirties.
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LOL We need a "Teens react to... BSB fanfic!" Or "BSB fanfic turned original fiction!"
A teenybopper story about the Boys today would be entertaining for sure. I know, I was so naive too, and I was mostly writing about Brian, who is only ten years older than me. But there's a big difference in life experience from 15 to 25. In my first story, I originally had Brian fall in love with a 16-year-old (because I was 14, so 16 sounded, like, so mature). Then I realized that was technically illegal, so I aged her up to 18. She and her twin sister both drove brand new VW Beetles in different colors because that was my dream car as a 14-year-old, and I had unrealistic expectations of what kind of cars teenagers would get to drive LOL.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:00:32 AM ---I don't want to judge your body burying techniques, but I'm inclined to say that if it involves a lawn mower, you might be doing it wrong? lol
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Clearly the lawnmower is to cut the body into smaller pieces so it's easier to bury! The bones would probably mess up the blade though.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:22:50 AM ---Here's to hoping! :) These are the last two tests for me and the news has all been trending in the right direction so far, albeit without the desired end results as of yet, of course. I took a nap and that usually solves the dehydration headaches, but it just didn't. Then I remember that I lost some blood yesterday too, and I was like, oh now it all makes sense, haha. Yup! Doing better today on hydration and was able to finish editing my chapter for update day. I changed a lot more and wanted to track it to compare to last week, but I opted to just send the chapter into the world when it hit 9pm or so (rather than doing edits and deep analytics). Not having Masked Singer to distract me definitely made it easier.
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Good! I hope it continues to go in the right direction. I am definitely not an expert, but I've heard it can take a lot of time and a lot of tries to get pregnant even when there is no fertility issue. Hang in there! Glad you're doing better today and were able to get your update done, even if you didn't get to edit and analyze it as deeply as you wanted to.
I agree about Masked Singer. I love having TV shows to look forward to during the school year, but in summer when I'm off my schedule anyway, I don't really care. I still have shows on Tuesday nights, and I haven't watched any of them yet.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:22:50 AM ---Sometimes we've just gotta keep the streak alive. Hopefully today was fun busy the entire time! 2000 words yesterday is awesome! It sounds like you're getting into the summer writing groove; I hope you have several 2000 plus word days coming up! I believe in you making your goal!
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Tonight was fun busy; we went out to dinner and played trivia at a bar and won third place! The rest of the day was spent running errands and getting my car serviced, so not so fun. But now that I've gotten my adulting out of the way, I can retreat back into my fanfic bubble. I'm in the middle of this Kevin chapter now and don't have to go anywhere tomorrow, so it should be more productive writing-wise.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:22:50 AM ---That makes sense. I love all these neat extra things you do for your readers. It's probably nice to be able to read on an e-reader as opposed to a phone or computer screen. I love the idea for more minimalist covers. I feel like most book covers are pretty minimalist too.
And don't forget Text-to-speech! I'm sure that helped too. :)
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Thanks! A lot of it stems from summer boredom and wanting to work on something fanfic-related without actually writing LOL. Making banners and book covers is fun and requires a lot less mental effort. I started making the ebooks sometime after getting my first Kindle Fire and before getting a smartphone. It's a lot easier to read on a phone nowadays because most websites have mobile versions, but it wasn't back then. I still prefer the ebook versions for when I'm wanting to read a whole novel. I made them for a bunch of my old favorite stories by other authors too, and I've read my own too... and highlighted all the mistakes I found to edit later... ugh. LOL
I am proud of my minimalist covers because I am not a minimalistic person by nature. They look more mature than my banners.
You're right; text to speech did help!
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 03, 2021, 12:22:50 AM ---That's awesome! I always love when readers share their reactions to specific parts, especially when they're meant to be shocking/tear-jerking/angering/etcetera. I'm happy you're finding new readers with this repost.
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Same! I'm surprised because she's one of the kinky ones, and my story is not kinky. But it's nice to see a slash writer enjoying my slash story, even though it's not full of sex scenes.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 02, 2021, 11:00:11 PM ---Can't wait to hear Mare's contributions, lol.
I feel like I always used lame normal names like Victoria or Jessica or something like that. Maybe Minako is the most fanfictiony name I have? And it's only "weird" because I (and likely most of my readers) are English-speaking. I literally can't think of a fanfictiony name I've ever used.
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LOL! Mare comes up with the best ones!
I don't think Minako is that fanfictiony either. It's different, but only because it's not a common name here.
I haven't used many fanfictiony names either. I wrote a girl band story back in the day with characters named Ashalyn and Elyssa, which were more on the fanficcy side for me. I also wrote a short story with a vampire character named Nastassia. But otherwise, my female characters mostly have normal names.
I did write a parody back in the day called "Not Another Teenybopper Fanfic," and the girls in that story were named Nikki Cartier, Taylor, Ali, Praline, and Safyre. It's a toss-up between Safyre and Nikki Cartier as the most fanfictiony name I have ever used.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:57:13 AM ---I don't know how long AO3 has been around, but that must have been when I discovered it. I went ahead and got an account so I'd have it in case I wanted to post my stories there, and then I guess I just forgot about it. That was during my semi-hiatus while I was getting my master's, so I probably didn't have the time to post stories there then.
While I will always love having my own site, it seems like fandom has moved away from individual sites in favor of big archives. I do like the archives for the variety and amount of stories there. The reader/writer interaction is nice, too. I still have a handful of readers who leave comments on my site, but since I've started posting on AO3, the majority of my feedback comes from there, just as it used to come from reviews on AC. I guess that's what it comes down to - I cross-post so I can reach a wider audience than just the people who visit my website.
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That kind of thing happens to me all the time! Where I do something and forget about it.
I wonder if it's due to the variety, but also that it's a lot harder to lose things in general. Like all those abandoned Angelfire sites from way back when. I enjoyed AC because it brought a lot of people together, more than just an individual site would, but I also enjoy that authors have control over the way their work looks more with their own sites, so you get the full experience of their vision.
I think it's the community of AC that I miss. It's very different when it's quiet. Maybe some day someone will review something I post on AO3 and it'll feel like a community again, lol. At least this forum is still here. :)
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:57:13 AM ---I'm trying to think if I have ever read a fanfic that would qualify as that. (And thank you for explaining what that means because I've never come across that phrase before.) Maybe a short story, but I can't think of a novel that was truly dark from start to finish. Even the darkest suspense stories I've read had happy endings. I have read published novels that would probably qualify though, and I've enjoyed those, even though they were depressing and/or horrifying. So I guess there's an audience for everything. I always feel the need to give disclaimers for my stories that I worry may be too dark for some readers, but I have yet to have someone tell me they're too dark. But even those stories weren't dark all the way through.
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As promised, I will explain random tropes and fanfic things I know of when I mention them, lol! I think it's harder to make a novel dark throughout than it is to make a short story dark throughout. But you're right, there are definitely published novels that qualify better, though I can't think of one off hand at the moment.
Lately I've been worrying that I haven't given enough disclaimers. Like should I go back and add specific warnings to chapters? I just hate spoilers, but I don't know if people would prefer having them if they're willing to risk a spoiler. I like that "chose not to warn" exists.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:57:13 AM ---That's a good way to do it. Maybe I'll have to try it that way tomorrow.
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Did it work?
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:57:13 AM ---LOL That's very true. I don't think any of us expected you to come back to fanfic, so anything you post at this point is just an added bonus. The readers who weren't around when you were writing before won't have any preconceived notions about you, and those who remember you as someone who disappeared without finishing projects will be impressed by your regular posting schedule and ability to finish stories. I certainly am! I'm glad you cared enough to come back.
LOL Love it! It is a guilty road, for sure.
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I didn't expect to either, and yet, here we are. It's probably heavy in the nostalgia and leaning into things that made sense. We can't say I'll finish anything yet, there's still five chapters, lol. Let's reserve that judgement for when I finish something that's not related to PBox. ;) Kidding, I'll probably finish it. I think it helps that like eleven-year-old Dee, I once again have stories in my heart that want to come out. And once it was enough of a thing, it's just not the same writing without the community. Not readers necessarily (though readers are nice too), but talking to other writers. :) As always, I'm happy to be back! :)
Do people often come back? I feel like it's usually more of a "once they're gone, they're gone" type thing.
Thanks for always enjoying my jokes. Backstreet jokes were something I didn't know I missed making until there were appreciative people to tell them to around again, lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:57:13 AM ---Aww! I googled your first line and couldn't find it. I'm glad you still have the story saved though. Aww, a Romeo and Juliet story. Did Nick and the girl both die at the end? I wrote a Romeo and Juliet-esque story back in the day too. It was very silly. I had read the real Romeo and Juliet by that point in my life, but I'm sure it was the Leo movie that inspired me more LOL.
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I kind of have it saved? I think I got thirteen chapters of it on AC before something died. I might have it somewhere, but that would require a lot more effort.
They did not die! It was less a tragedy and more inspired by the rival "families" aspect. I feel like at the end of the story, the Boys won the battle of the bands competition and Nick got the girl. lol That sounds accurate based on my vague memory of it. The only other things that sticks out is Nick climbing in her window to see her like in Clarissa Explains It All, lmao.
Obviously the Leo movie! I don't think it's the worst adaptation of the play, but I also enjoy Baz Luhrman contrasting the ancient with the modern. He did it in Gatsby too and people hated it! But I always defended his choice.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:57:13 AM ---I've always said whoever came up with the concept must have been high, and I bet the experience of watching it is better if you're high too LOL.
Whenever you want! We already have shirts from the 2019 DNA tour, so I don't know if we'll make new ones for next year.
Thanks! They all take place at Christmas time, and I have tried to write them at Christmas time, but the last two got so long, I ended up starting them before Christmas and not finishing them until February in one case and April in the other. If I was smart, I would start writing them in the summer so they'd be ready by Christmas, but I've always gotten ideas at the last minute.
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Absolutely! Not about to test that theory, but I agree completely.
Hmmm... I have ideas. I'll get back to you.
Aww, I feel like a holiday story works better when you're in a holiday mood. Maybe channel the Boys in Bethlehem and decorate your house with Christmas decorations, lol. I can see why they would take a while though.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:57:13 AM ---LOL We need a "Teens react to... BSB fanfic!" Or "BSB fanfic turned original fiction!"
A teenybopper story about the Boys today would be entertaining for sure. I know, I was so naive too, and I was mostly writing about Brian, who is only ten years older than me. But there's a big difference in life experience from 15 to 25. In my first story, I originally had Brian fall in love with a 16-year-old (because I was 14, so 16 sounded, like, so mature). Then I realized that was technically illegal, so I aged her up to 18. She and her twin sister both drove brand new VW Beetles in different colors because that was my dream car as a 14-year-old, and I had unrealistic expectations of what kind of cars teenagers would get to drive LOL.
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YES! lol Please teens, tell me what I've done wrong! I just don't want to turn Minako into a VSCO girl or anything!
It was only 7/8 years for me (I relished the time between our birthdays when it was only seven years, lol), but I just didn't have a clue on what a nineteen-year-old was doing with their life! Hence why I posted my old stories and laughed and said they were terribly naive as a college student (who then understood what a nineteen-year-old was doing with their life, which was... being a mess).
I get it! 16 is mature when you're 14. Sixteen-year-olds can drive, they have some level of responsibility, they seem so cool. And then you reach 16 and you're like "What was I thinking?" Aw, brand new VW beetles, so 90s! I also had unrealistic car expectations. I wanted a BMW Z3 so badly and not only could I have ever gotten one of those as a lower middle class student, but no one at my high school had one (or a Z4 by that point). Heck, I have an adult job now and still can't afford a BMW, lol.
You know, I had originally made Minako 17 in PBox because I was 17 when Never Gone came out and I... just didn't care about the legality that she was 17 and Nick was 25, supposedly. Again, the whole thing was less squicky when Nick reads 18 and in the big edit, I took out any clear definite age references (even though Minako and Renee are clearly still in high school). Then PNecklace starts with a reference to college, so that's my way of saying "we're all legal age here, don't @me about my questionable life choices in 2005," lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 03, 2021, 12:57:13 AM ---Clearly the lawnmower is to cut the body into smaller pieces so it's easier to bury! The bones would probably mess up the blade though.
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See, I foresaw this argument in response, but not only would the bones mess up the blades, but you would also spray blood everywhere. It would not be subtle. I stand by my judgement of your choice of tools to assist in the body burying.
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