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[RokofAges75]

Did you splice either of those other two versions into the final version or did you delete them once the third one stuck? I'm glad that the third version finally stuck!

I think you're right on that. If Curtain Call is the only truly pushy one, which ones have been lingering pushy besides AHTIM?

You know, the pushy ones are fun because it just feels like they leap to life. And if a break for life is necessary, they still breathe and leap to life. I guess the lingering ones are nice because I know they're always there if I want to come back to them. What's interesting, actually, is that Gobosei was a pushy idea when it started, but then it quietly sat aside for PBox, not sure why.

I may have used bits and pieces of dialogue from the first two versions, but most of it was rewritten from scratch.  I think I kept the old versions until I got through the first few chapters of the third one and then deleted them.  I'm glad the third one stuck too!

As for lingering ideas, Guilty Roads was one of those.  I'd had that idea in one form or another for like eight years before I finally wrote it.  Same with Heroic Measures.  The two I've been working on this year, My Brother's Keeper and Fallen Angel, are both lingering ideas I've been hanging onto for years too.

I agree, both kinds of ideas are nice in different ways.  I guess PBox was just pushier than Gobosei!

That's probably true about them always being older than us. I'm sure if BSB existed now like they did then (same ages as in 1999, but in 2021 I mean), I probably wouldn't think twice about it. Maybe I'd be team Kevin, lol. Thank goodness they did ​not because my life would not be the same if I was an NSYNC fan.

Same!  They would probably just be like another One Direction to me - some good songs, but not a group I care about any more than any other pop group.  Thank goodness they were born when they were.

I think I did remember that, actually, but you've gotta support Illinois teams, right? They've both moved on, so we're a happy household! Funny story, my bracket's doing pretty well and it has a little fire emoji by it on the app. I was telling my husband about it and he said "You're my fire." And this is at like 11pm last night and I just couldn't help it, so I said "But am I your one desire?" And he laughed quietly and whispered "Damnit." So I responded, "Well, believe when I say that I want it that way." And I laughed so hard that I was no longer tired and he was not amused at all, lol.

Yep!

LOL That is cute.  Hubby walked right into that one LOL.

Oh, I know. You've gotta keep the streak alive! But I suppose you'll never know if anyone would mention it unless you don't do something?

Alright, Nick and Kevin. Hear that? Continue being as dramatic as possible!

Good news on the April Fool's front.  I got a new idea that required less writing than my original idea and spent my day working on that.  I'm saving the other idea for another year or maybe even a real story - it actually could be a cute one if I ever felt like taking a break from Team Dark and writing something light and fluffy.

I have not written anything for MBK yet today, but I'm hoping now that I got this April Fool's stuff out of my way, I'll be able to refocus on that.

How's the writing going for the rest of you?

[nicksgal]

I may have used bits and pieces of dialogue from the first two versions, but most of it was rewritten from scratch.  I think I kept the old versions until I got through the first few chapters of the third one and then deleted them.  I'm glad the third one stuck too!

As for lingering ideas, Guilty Roads was one of those.  I'd had that idea in one form or another for like eight years before I finally wrote it.  Same with Heroic Measures.  The two I've been working on this year, My Brother's Keeper and Fallen Angel, are both lingering ideas I've been hanging onto for years too.

I agree, both kinds of ideas are nice in different ways.  I guess PBox was just pushier than Gobosei!

You really hate having multiple versions of the same story, haha.

It's nice that you have so many patiently waiting to possibly be chosen. Good for MBK that it's finally getting its turn! I can't remember if I already asked this, when you go through ideas in progress/stored ideas when you're starting something new, how often do you go with one of those and how often do you go with a completely new idea?

The pushiest, really, lol.

Same!  They would probably just be like another One Direction to me - some good songs, but not a group I care about any more than any other pop group.  Thank goodness they were born when they were.

Definitely! Like how I feel about that BTS song in the galaxy commercials. It's pretty boppy, but I could care less about them. I also found out they call their fans an army? And I was like, uhh... the original boy band army existed when y'all were born. Respect your elders BTS fans! lol

LOL That is cute.  Hubby walked right into that one LOL.

He knew it, he accepted it begrudgingly. And I laughed a lot.

Good news on the April Fool's front.  I got a new idea that required less writing than my original idea and spent my day working on that.  I'm saving the other idea for another year or maybe even a real story - it actually could be a cute one if I ever felt like taking a break from Team Dark and writing something light and fluffy.

I have not written anything for MBK yet today, but I'm hoping now that I got this April Fool's stuff out of my way, I'll be able to refocus on that.

Glad to hear it didn't require too much writing! Gasp! Taking a break from Team Dark? But we have cookies, kidnapping, stabbings, and death! lmao Stories that start as jokes are my favorites.

Sending you good vibes!

How's the writing going for the rest of you?

I actually ventured out of the house and watched our basketball game at a sports bar with hubby and a friend who was in town to visit. I'm exhausted!

I wrote two words though, haha.

[RokofAges75]

You really hate having multiple versions of the same story, haha.

It's nice that you have so many patiently waiting to possibly be chosen. Good for MBK that it's finally getting its turn! I can't remember if I already asked this, when you go through ideas in progress/stored ideas when you're starting something new, how often do you go with one of those and how often do you go with a completely new idea?

I really do! LOL

It's about half and half.  I take so long to finish stories, I tend to accumulate a lot of ideas during that time.  My plan is always to use one of them for my next project, but sometimes a new idea will pop up at the perfect time.  Bethlehem and Sick as My Secrets were both brand new ideas when I started writing them.

Definitely! Like how I feel about that BTS song in the galaxy commercials. It's pretty boppy, but I could care less about them. I also found out they call their fans an army? And I was like, uhh... the original boy band army existed when y'all were born. Respect your elders BTS fans! lol

Damn right!  Also, they have seven members, which is too many for a boyband.

I wrote two words though, haha.

Congrats on your two words LOL.  I wrote a sentence on MBK last night at 11:45 when I realized if I didn't add something, I would break my week-long writing streak.  So the streak is still alive LOL.

I'm glad you got to get out of the house and do something though.  I didn't write yesterday morning because I met my parents for lunch, which was also nice.

[RokofAges75]

So I've been scouring for new questions and stumbled on someone's answer to their first story they ever wrote:

"I think my first was a fanfic about Backstreet Boys that I wrote when I was about 14. It was so horribly written and I was given so much praise for it in the fandom that I thought I was a fantastic author. Yeah, it gave me a big head for a short period of time and thank whatever high power there is that I ended up losing it in one of the moves that I did since then!"

My first question is: Well what was this fanfic about? I definitely think certain characters and genres would garner more praise in general. But then it also makes me curious, think anyone who use to write fanfic around here has moved on to other fandoms or only to original fiction?

I know some former BSB authors who have moved on to writing about other boybands, like One Direction and BTS.  I wouldn't be surprised if some wrote for completely different, not real person fandoms as well.

I also found a "question" that was: Send me assumptions you have about me based on my writing. Which is interesting, but I feel like we're all familiar enough with each other that assumptions need not be made?

Yeah, I think we've all discussed our writing enough here that there's not a lot left to assume.  But it would be interesting to hear the assumptions of readers who have never actually talked to me or seen my posts here.

I'm gonna save the list of questions for a separate post!

[nicksgal]

It's about half and half.  I take so long to finish stories, I tend to accumulate a lot of ideas during that time.  My plan is always to use one of them for my next project, but sometimes a new idea will pop up at the perfect time.  Bethlehem and Sick as My Secrets were both brand new ideas when I started writing them.

Especially if you're not typically writing much during the school year, that's a long time to accumulate story ideas! Would you say those two were pushy or just "right time, right place."

Damn right!  Also, they have seven members, which is too many for a boyband.

lol! I mean, in the countries that do more of the "boy band factory" model, they seem less stringent on the five boys in a boy band rule. But what are the stereotypes of the last two? What needs to be added to "the cute young one," "the heartthrob," "the bad boy," "the shy one," and "the older brother"? "The sick one?" "The brooding one?" "The smart one?" "The angsty one?" I have no idea!

Congrats on your two words LOL.  I wrote a sentence on MBK last night at 11:45 when I realized if I didn't add something, I would break my week-long writing streak.  So the streak is still alive LOL.

I'm glad you got to get out of the house and do something though.  I didn't write yesterday morning because I met my parents for lunch, which was also nice.

I also sat down to write so that I didn't break my streak since last Saturday, haha. My very important two words were "I can," I'm basically a literary genius! Glad your streak is still alive as well!

Me too. It definitely reminded me of my life in pre-COVID days. Don't remember being completed exhausted afterward though, lol! Glad you got lunch with your parents! That sounds like a fun way to get out of the house too.

[nicksgal]

I know some former BSB authors who have moved on to writing about other boybands, like One Direction and BTS.  I wouldn't be surprised if some wrote for completely different, not real person fandoms as well.

Are the ones writing about other boybands mostly younger or is it a mixed bag? I suppose just because I can't see myself really caring about another boyband doesn't mean that other people around our age wouldn't. There's other things I've enjoyed, but not enough to write stories about them. I dabbled a bit in the 2005-2007 days, but nothing really gave me as much enjoyment as writing about the Boys (or just not fanfic). While characters are more important to me than plot, I wonder if that's because there's never been a plot that stuck out to me for other characters I've enjoyed.

Yeah, I think we've all discussed our writing enough here that there's not a lot left to assume.  But it would be interesting to hear the assumptions of readers who have never actually talked to me or seen my posts here.

I'm gonna save the list of questions for a separate post!

Writing and just lives in general. No secrets!

"Julie's an apocalypse-prepper with a medicine-related degree of some sort." "Dee's a scientologist with a demon fetish." lol

[RokofAges75]

1.  Summarize your work-in-progress in 10 words or less.

I ruin Kevin's life.


2.  Post a line from your work-in-progress with no context.

"It’s a good thing I have such expressive eyebrows."


3.  Does your work-in-progress have a title? If so, explain its significance. If not, what are you calling it for now?

I was originally going to call it "Take Care" after the song that inspired it, but when I actually started writing it, I changed it to my "My Brother's Keeper."  This is a Bible reference that means brothers should take care of one another and have each other's back, which is the theme of this story.


4.  Describe the setting of your work-in-progress.

It's set in early 2008 in L.A.


5.  Search for the word "knife" in your work-in-progress. If you find it, paste the line and explain the significance.

I have not used the word "knife" in this story.


6.  Search for the word "dream" in your work-in-progress. If you find it, paste the line and explain the significance.

I've used "dream" eight times already!  Here is the first occurrence:  "It had been a dream come true… until it wasn’t."  This is Kevin reflecting on why he left the Backstreet Boys.  He goes on to say, "When I realized I was no longer living the dream, but dreading the next tour, I knew my time with the group needed to come to an end."


7.  What are you most proud of?

I'm proud of the time and effort I've put into researching and "world-building" for this one.  Once again, I've found myself writing about a situation I have no firsthand experience with, so I've tried to immerse myself in stories of people who do.  I read an entire memoir three or four years ago when I was first working on this idea, and since coming back to it, I've been listening to podcasts and watching YouTube channels about the issues I'm writing about in this story.


8.  What is your biggest challenge?

Going along with my answer to the last question, I think it's going to be writing about something I've never experienced in a realistic, sensitive way that will make for a compelling story without getting too melodramatic.


9.  How would you describe your writing style for your work-in-progress?
10.  How would you describe your work-in-progress' narrative style?

I feel like these questions go together.  I'm writing this one in first person, alternating between Kevin and Nick's point of view.  Because it's in first person, there's more emphasis on the characters' thoughts and feelings than flowery descriptions of the setting and whatnot.  I'm trying to only describe what the character who's telling the story would notice.


11.  Which character do you have the most in common with?
12.  Which character do you have the least in common with?

I don't really have anything in common with any of them LOL.  I guess that's the fun of writing fiction, though, trying to put myself in their shoes.


13.  Your characters are stranded on a deserted island? What happens?

Nick would probably flourish on a deserted island, away from all the temptations of society, but Kevin would be screwed.


14.  Have you chosen birthdays for any of your characters? If so, what are they? (Exclude any Boys, because I assume their birthdays in your stories are their birthdays.)

Not for this story.  It doesn't have any original main characters, and those are the only ones I would go as far as choosing birthdays for.


15.  Do you know your characters' MBTI personalities?

I took a test at https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test for Nick and Kevin in my story.

According to that, Nick is a Campaigner, ENFP-T.  Extraverted, intuitive, feeling, prospecting, turbulent.  

"The Campaigner personality is a true free spirit. They are often the life of the party, but unlike types in the Explorer Role group, Campaigners are less interested in the sheer excitement and pleasure of the moment than they are in enjoying the social and emotional connections they make with others. Charming, independent, energetic and compassionate, the 7% of the population that they comprise can certainly be felt in any crowd."
(https://www.16personalities.com/enfp-personality)


Kevin is an Advocate, INFJ-A.  Introverted, intuitive, feeling, judging, assertive.

"Advocates are the rarest personality types of all. Still, Advocates leave their mark on the world. They have a deep sense of idealism and integrity, but they aren’t idle dreamers – they take concrete steps to realize their goals and make a lasting impact.

Advocates’ unique combination of personality traits makes them complex and quite versatile. For example, Advocates can speak with great passion and conviction, especially when standing up for their ideals. At other times, however, they may choose to be soft-spoken and understated, preferring to keep the peace rather than challenge others."
(https://www.16personalities.com/infj-personality)

It would be interesting to see if others got the same or similar results for the Boys.


16.  What would your characters be for Halloween?

Kevin would probably be something cute for his son Mason, who would have been a year old on Halloween 2008.  Maybe Thomas the Tank Engine... Train as a train LOL.

Nick had a show on Halloween 2008 and apparently dressed up as a gecko. Geico Gecko, perhaps?  https://youtu.be/l9ZyY5XpScI  This was in Montclair, NJ.  Were you at this show, Tracy?


17.  Does your work-in-progress have any themes or motifs?

Role reversal, dependability vs. dependency, brotherhood, and change are going to be the big themes of this one.  The only motif I can think of that has come up so far is dancing.


18.  What's easier, dialogue or description?

Dialogue


19.  Post a picture or gif that describes your work-in-progress.

Here's the banner: https://i2.wp.com/dreamers-sanctuary.com/fanfic/wp-content/uploads/brotherbanner.png


20.  Post a brief excerpt.

As the other guys returned to their own rooms to get ready to go, AJ and I picked up around mine.  He grabbed every piece of clothing I’d left laying around and tossed it to me to put in my luggage.

“You need to invest in a laundry bag, dude,” he said, giving me a look of disgust as he lifted a pair of my dirty underwear with his thumb and forefinger, trying to touch as little of the fabric as possible.  “Since when do you even wear undies?  What happened to going commando?”

“Chafing.  Chafing happened,” I said, ducking out of the way as he whipped them at my head.

Chuckling, AJ went into the bathroom.

“Wait!” I called, suddenly remembering what I’d left on the counter.  “I’ll clean up in there!”

AJ didn’t say anything until he walked back out a few seconds later.  “Too late, Prick,” he replied, holding up a plastic baggie in each of his hands.  One contained a small amount of white powder; the other, an array of colorful pills.  “I already found your stash.”

My heart sank as I heard the disappointment in his voice and saw the look of defeat on his face.  I hung my head, ashamed, as he continued, “Damn it, Nick, I thought you quit this shit!”

“I did!” I cried.  “It’s not like I do it all the time, just… you know, sometimes, when I’m out partying.  It’s like how some people only smoke when they drink.”  I hesitated.  “You’re not gonna tell the other guys, are you?  Please, AJ…  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?”  I knew I sounded pathetic, but I didn’t care.  As far as Brian and Howie knew, I had cleaned up my act over the past few months.  They had enough to worry about without finding out I was still using.  I didn’t want them to see what a mess I was.

AJ shook his head.  “Now’s not the time for that.”  At least we agreed on that much.  “We’ll talk about it later.”

He flushed my drugs down the toilet while I finished packing my bag.  Neither of us spoke again until we were out in the hall with the others.

[RokofAges75]

Especially if you're not typically writing much during the school year, that's a long time to accumulate story ideas! Would you say those two were pushy or just "right time, right place."

I have gotten better at writing during the school year the last few years.  It was really just when I was in my master's program that I hardly wrote during the school year because I didn't have time, since I spent most weekends doing homework.  Since I came back from my little hiatus with AHTIM, I've been able to at least write pretty consistently on the weekends.

Bethlehem was definitely "right place, right time," since it took place during the pandemic.  But I had been wanting to write a survival story for a while, so I guess it wasn't an entirely new idea - the car accident and Kevin's injury were elements I was planning for a survival story that would have taken place in the desert outside Vegas during the residency.  Everything else I came up with shortly before I started writing it.

SAMS was a little pushier.  It came at a time when I had other stories in progress - Undead, Guilty Roads, and my Harry Potter crossover - but none that I was actually updating regularly.  So I followed my inspiration and started writing it in the summer of 2013, but didn't post any of it until February 2014.

lol! I mean, in the countries that do more of the "boy band factory" model, they seem less stringent on the five boys in a boy band rule. But what are the stereotypes of the last two? What needs to be added to "the cute young one," "the heartthrob," "the bad boy," "the shy one," and "the older brother"? "The sick one?" "The brooding one?" "The smart one?" "The angsty one?" I have no idea!

"The sick one!"  LMAO!  Dead.  I dunno about boyband archetypes, but the sick one, the brooding one, and the angsty one would all be great for fanfic.

I also sat down to write so that I didn't break my streak since last Saturday, haha. My very important two words were "I can," I'm basically a literary genius! Glad your streak is still alive as well!

Me too. It definitely reminded me of my life in pre-COVID days. Don't remember being completed exhausted afterward though, lol! Glad you got lunch with your parents! That sounds like a fun way to get out of the house too.

Those are very inspiring words!  "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."  Better than "I can't." LOL

It is definitely weird going out to places again after a year of quarantining.  I've pretty much only gone to work, the grocery store, and occasionally my parents' house in the past year.  The monthly Google Maps timeline emails I get are so pathetic because they only show the same three places every month.

Are the ones writing about other boybands mostly younger or is it a mixed bag? I suppose just because I can't see myself really caring about another boyband doesn't mean that other people around our age wouldn't. There's other things I've enjoyed, but not enough to write stories about them. I dabbled a bit in the 2005-2007 days, but nothing really gave me as much enjoyment as writing about the Boys (or just not fanfic). While characters are more important to me than plot, I wonder if that's because there's never been a plot that stuck out to me for other characters I've enjoyed.

The two I'm thinking of are around my age.  I can't see myself ever caring enough about another boyband to write about them either, but I also don't write or read fanfic for other fandoms that I do really love, like Harry Potter or The Walking Dead.  I have shrines to both HP and TWD in my house, but fanfic?  Not interested.  There's just something uniquely special about BSB.

"Julie's an apocalypse-prepper with a medicine-related degree of some sort." "Dee's a scientologist with a demon fetish." lol

LOL Pretty much!  And then they find out you're a sorority girl and we're both elementary school teachers.

[nicksgal]

1.  Summarize your work-in-progress in 10 words or less.

I ruin Kevin's life.


2.  Post a line from your work-in-progress with no context.

"It’s a good thing I have such expressive eyebrows."

LMFAO!

3.  Does your work-in-progress have a title? If so, explain its significance. If not, what are you calling it for now?

I was originally going to call it "Take Care" after the song that inspired it, but when I actually started writing it, I changed it to my "My Brother's Keeper."  This is a Bible reference that means brothers should take care of one another and have each other's back, which is the theme of this story.

Ooh themes! Do you plan out your themes and motifs ahead of time or do they just kind of happen?

6.  Search for the word "dream" in your work-in-progress. If you find it, paste the line and explain the significance.

I've used "dream" eight times already!  Here is the first occurrence:  "It had been a dream come true… until it wasn’t."  This is Kevin reflecting on why he left the Backstreet Boys.  He goes on to say, "When I realized I was no longer living the dream, but dreading the next tour, I knew my time with the group needed to come to an end."

Aww. Glad it became living the dream again. I missed Kevin and I bet hot mess Nick did too! I look back on some of the things he said in regards to Kevin back then with the wisdom of age and say, "Ah, yes, there's a scared kid who feels betrayed by what he thought was a constant in his life."

But also, poor Kevin. He probably deserved more sympathy from all of us than he got.

7.  What are you most proud of?

I'm proud of the time and effort I've put into researching and "world-building" for this one.  Once again, I've found myself writing about a situation I have no firsthand experience with, so I've tried to immerse myself in stories of people who do.  I read an entire memoir three or four years ago when I was first working on this idea, and since coming back to it, I've been listening to podcasts and watching YouTube channels about the issues I'm writing about in this story.


8.  What is your biggest challenge?

Going along with my answer to the last question, I think it's going to be writing about something I've never experienced in a realistic, sensitive way that will make for a compelling story without getting too melodramatic.

That's cool!  Do you often find your research involving reading other books or is it typically "things you can find on the internet"? When you do need to read other books, do you feel like writing goes slower afterward or quicker?

9.  How would you describe your writing style for your work-in-progress?
10.  How would you describe your work-in-progress' narrative style?

I feel like these questions go together.  I'm writing this one in first person, alternating between Kevin and Nick's point of view.  Because it's in first person, there's more emphasis on the characters' thoughts and feelings than flowery descriptions of the setting and whatnot.  I'm trying to only describe what the character who's telling the story would notice.

Do you find yourself starting to write about things they wouldn't notice often or after you switch POV, writing about something Nick or Kevin would notice, but not both?

13.  Your characters are stranded on a deserted island? What happens?

Nick would probably flourish on a deserted island, away from all the temptations of society, but Kevin would be screwed.

Nick would learn to build a boat, escape, and save Kevin on a harrowing high seas adventure, lol.

15.  Do you know your characters' MBTI personalities?

I took a test at https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test for Nick and Kevin in my story.

According to that, Nick is a Campaigner, ENFP-T.  Extraverted, intuitive, feeling, prospecting, turbulent.  

"The Campaigner personality is a true free spirit. They are often the life of the party, but unlike types in the Explorer Role group, Campaigners are less interested in the sheer excitement and pleasure of the moment than they are in enjoying the social and emotional connections they make with others. Charming, independent, energetic and compassionate, the 7% of the population that they comprise can certainly be felt in any crowd."
(https://www.16personalities.com/enfp-personality)


Kevin is an Advocate, INFJ-A.  Introverted, intuitive, feeling, judging, assertive.

"Advocates are the rarest personality types of all. Still, Advocates leave their mark on the world. They have a deep sense of idealism and integrity, but they aren’t idle dreamers – they take concrete steps to realize their goals and make a lasting impact.

Advocates’ unique combination of personality traits makes them complex and quite versatile. For example, Advocates can speak with great passion and conviction, especially when standing up for their ideals. At other times, however, they may choose to be soft-spoken and understated, preferring to keep the peace rather than challenge others."
(https://www.16personalities.com/infj-personality)

It would be interesting to see if others got the same or similar results for the Boys.

I love 16-personalities. It's actually a tab I often have open on my phone. Taking their little mini quiz polls and reading research results is fun.

I feel like Nick and Kevin could be both of those!

16.  What would your characters be for Halloween?

Kevin would probably be something cute for his son Mason, who would have been a year old on Halloween 2008.  Maybe Thomas the Tank Engine... Train as a train LOL.

Nick had a show on Halloween 2008 and apparently dressed up as a gecko. Geico Gecko, perhaps?  https://youtu.be/l9ZyY5XpScI  This was in Montclair, NJ.  Were you at this show, Tracy?

Aww, train as a train!

lol, a Gecko is like a tiny crocodile.

17.  Does your work-in-progress have any themes or motifs?

Role reversal, dependability vs. dependency, brotherhood, and change are going to be the big themes of this one.  The only motif I can think of that has come up so far is dancing.

Interesting! Did you pick these ahead of time or did they come out as you were planning and writing?

19.  Post a picture or gif that describes your work-in-progress.

Here's the banner: https://i2.wp.com/dreamers-sanctuary.com/fanfic/wp-content/uploads/brotherbanner.png

The stark white is interesting! Less busy than many banners!

20.  Post a brief excerpt.

Oh, hot mess Nick. "I only do x when x" is a slippery slope! It really hits when it's AJ being disappointed. I laughed that he picked up Nick's underpants at all, lol. Also the "chafing" bit.

[nicksgal]

I have gotten better at writing during the school year the last few years.  It was really just when I was in my master's program that I hardly wrote during the school year because I didn't have time, since I spent most weekends doing homework.  Since I came back from my little hiatus with AHTIM, I've been able to at least write pretty consistently on the weekends.

It's hard to write for fun when you have constantly looming deadlines, especially when they involve intense amounts of writing.

Bethlehem was definitely "right place, right time," since it took place during the pandemic.  But I had been wanting to write a survival story for a while, so I guess it wasn't an entirely new idea - the car accident and Kevin's injury were elements I was planning for a survival story that would have taken place in the desert outside Vegas during the residency.  Everything else I came up with shortly before I started writing it.

SAMS was a little pushier.  It came at a time when I had other stories in progress - Undead, Guilty Roads, and my Harry Potter crossover - but none that I was actually updating regularly.  So I followed my inspiration and started writing it in the summer of 2013, but didn't post any of it until February 2014.

The pandemic was what you needed for the survival story to click! Nothing that happened seemed too crazy and it was plausibly remote. I enjoyed it.

Poor Guilty Roads. It keeps getting knocked to the side, haha.

"The sick one!"  LMAO!  Dead.  I dunno about boyband archetypes, but the sick one, the brooding one, and the angsty one would all be great for fanfic.

2Ge+her did it sympatheticall y! lol And you're right, they're all great in fanfics. Perhaps "the brooding one" and "the angsty one" are better combined as "the one who can be changed with love." That's all boyband archetypes are, right? Different types of boys that would be "good" romantic interests for the target demographic?

Those are very inspiring words!  "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."  Better than "I can't." LOL

If only they were that inspiring! lol I changed the less consent-oriented "I'll" to the more consent oriented "I can" in the line "I can give you a boost [up this tree]?” And then I laid on the couch and watched tv instead.

It is definitely weird going out to places again after a year of quarantining.  I've pretty much only gone to work, the grocery store, and occasionally my parents' house in the past year.  The monthly Google Maps timeline emails I get are so pathetic because they only show the same three places every month.

I don't even go to the grocery store, hubby does that! lol I stopped looking at the Google Maps timeline because I don't want to be reminded that I don't go anywhere, haha.

The two I'm thinking of are around my age.  I can't see myself ever caring enough about another boyband to write about them either, but I also don't write or read fanfic for other fandoms that I do really love, like Harry Potter or The Walking Dead.  I have shrines to both HP and TWD in my house, but fanfic?  Not interested.  There's just something uniquely special about BSB.

It's that little spark of care and love. I wish RPF was less taboo in the fanfic world. But I get it. I enjoy it more because it feels like there's more creating that gets to be done, even when the story sticks closer to "canon."

LOL Pretty much!  And then they find out you're a sorority girl and we're both elementary school teachers.

I'm the peppiest, most exuberant kind of dark, haha! I think it works both ways, people outside the writing/fanfic world would never know that we're secretly so dark and people in the writing/fanfic world would never know that we're so... fluffy (?) outside of writing. I'm going to call us well balanced, lol.

[RokofAges75]

Ooh themes! Do you plan out your themes and motifs ahead of time or do they just kind of happen?

With themes, it depends on the story.  Some ideas already have an obvious theme, whereas with others, they come about as the plot and characters develop.  My Brother's Keeper is one that had themes sort of built in to the idea.  I don't usually plan out motifs in advance; they happen as the story progresses.

Aww. Glad it became living the dream again. I missed Kevin and I bet hot mess Nick did too! I look back on some of the things he said in regards to Kevin back then with the wisdom of age and say, "Ah, yes, there's a scared kid who feels betrayed by what he thought was a constant in his life."

But also, poor Kevin. He probably deserved more sympathy from all of us than he got.

Aww, I did too, and I'm sure Nick and all the guys did.  Nick could have used his guidance during that time, although he probably wouldn't have accepted it then.  I think everything worked out the way it was meant to be.  It gave Kevin a chance to start his family and rediscover the love he had for being part of a group, and it gave Howie a chance to shine and Nick a chance to grow up.

That's cool!  Do you often find your research involving reading other books or is it typically "things you can find on the internet"? When you do need to read other books, do you feel like writing goes slower afterward or quicker?

My research is typically things I can find on the internet, but sometimes I need more of an in-depth, personal account.  Memoirs are good for that.  In my experience, they slow my writing down, but make it stronger in the long run.  I read one called "Sick Girl" about a woman's experience as a heart transplant recipient while researching for Secrets of the Heart, and it was really good.  One thing I learned that I had never realized before was that when they put the new heart in, they can't reattach the nerves that connected to the old heart, so the new one is slower to respond to stimuli that would normally tell it to speed up, like exercise or being startled.  It will eventually react due to adrenaline, but it's a delayed response.  I never would have thought to include that detail in the story if I hadn't read the firsthand description of how it feels in that book.

Do you find yourself starting to write about things they wouldn't notice often or after you switch POV, writing about something Nick or Kevin would notice, but not both?

I probably do both.  I have so much more experience writing in third person that I'm sure it bleeds into my first person stories.  I try to find a balance between my more flowery, descriptive third person prose and writing first person the way a real person would actually tell a story, which would probably make it a rambling mess.  And when I write stories like these that alternate between two POVs, I'm not sure I do enough to differentiate between the two voices.

Nick would learn to build a boat, escape, and save Kevin on a harrowing high seas adventure, lol.

Sounds like a good story to me!  That, or Nick and the other could just cannibalize Kevin to stay alive after he dies.  Maybe it could be a choose your own adventure!

I love 16-personalities. It's actually a tab I often have open on my phone. Taking their little mini quiz polls and reading research results is fun.

I feel like Nick and Kevin could be both of those!

I thought the descriptions fit both of them pretty well!

lol, a Gecko is like a tiny crocodile.

Boy likes his reptiles! LOL  He also went as a Ninja Turtle on one of the cruises.

The stark white is interesting! Less busy than many banners!

It's definitely simple.  I made it a few years ago when I started the story, but I haven't felt the urge to remake it yet.  I'm not really sure what else I would do that wouldn't spoil anything.

Oh, hot mess Nick. "I only do x when x" is a slippery slope! It really hits when it's AJ being disappointed. I laughed that he picked up Nick's underpants at all, lol. Also the "chafing" bit.

Yeah, that's the kind of thing addicts say because they can't see that it's a problem.  This was written before AJ came out with all the stuff last year about just how often he fell off the wagon over the years when we thought he was still sober.  But he claimed to have been five years sober when Unbreakable came out, so I'm just gonna stick with that for this story.

Glad you liked the funny parts!  Thanks!

[RokofAges75]

The pandemic was what you needed for the survival story to click! Nothing that happened seemed too crazy and it was plausibly remote. I enjoyed it.

Yeah, it gave me what the desert idea was missing - a good reason for the five of them to be in a remote location with none of their families or security or anyone else around.  And the inherent craziness of 2020 made every bad thing that happened seem more believable.  Thanks!

2Ge+her did it sympatheticall y! lol And you're right, they're all great in fanfics. Perhaps "the brooding one" and "the angsty one" are better combined as "the one who can be changed with love." That's all boyband archetypes are, right? Different types of boys that would be "good" romantic interests for the target demographic?

That's true; I did think of QT.  And you're right about the reason for the archetypes.  There's a boy for every fan!

If only they were that inspiring! lol I changed the less consent-oriented "I'll" to the more consent oriented "I can" in the line "I can give you a boost [up this tree]?” And then I laid on the couch and watched tv instead.

LOL Well, kudos for making sure that boost was consensual.

I have spent more time lying on the couch and watching TV this weekend than actually writing too.  I made the same mistake I always used to make with Heroic Measures, when I started watching ER for "research purposes" and then get sucked into a marathon and stop writing.  I started watching another old favorite of mine for "research purposes" last weekend and have since finished half of the first season and no new chapters.  Fail LOL.  I did finally watch Walking Dead Friday night though.

It's that little spark of care and love. I wish RPF was less taboo in the fanfic world. But I get it. I enjoy it more because it feels like there's more creating that gets to be done, even when the story sticks closer to "canon."

Yeah... I get it too.  I'm just glad there's a community of us who get the appeal and don't judge.

I'm the peppiest, most exuberant kind of dark, haha! I think it works both ways, people outside the writing/fanfic world would never know that we're secretly so dark and people in the writing/fanfic world would never know that we're so... fluffy (?) outside of writing. I'm going to call us well balanced, lol.

LOL So true!

[nicksgal]

With themes, it depends on the story.  Some ideas already have an obvious theme, whereas with others, they come about as the plot and characters develop.  My Brother's Keeper is one that had themes sort of built in to the idea.  I don't usually plan out motifs in advance; they happen as the story progresses.

I wanted to know so much that I asked it twice, apparently. lol I wonder if new themes will appear as you keep writing.

Aww, I did too, and I'm sure Nick and all the guys did.  Nick could have used his guidance during that time, although he probably wouldn't have accepted it then.  I think everything worked out the way it was meant to be.  It gave Kevin a chance to start his family and rediscover the love he had for being part of a group, and it gave Howie a chance to shine and Nick a chance to grow up.

He would have been too stubborn to do so! And all good points. With the bonus of Howie getting some love too.

My research is typically things I can find on the internet, but sometimes I need more of an in-depth, personal account.  Memoirs are good for that.  In my experience, they slow my writing down, but make it stronger in the long run.  I read one called "Sick Girl" about a woman's experience as a heart transplant recipient while researching for Secrets of the Heart, and it was really good.  One thing I learned that I had never realized before was that when they put the new heart in, they can't reattach the nerves that connected to the old heart, so the new one is slower to respond to stimuli that would normally tell it to speed up, like exercise or being startled.  It will eventually react due to adrenaline, but it's a delayed response.  I never would have thought to include that detail in the story if I hadn't read the firsthand description of how it feels in that book.

I didn't know that either! That is really interesting. I wonder what kind of adverse reaction that has when exercising.

I probably do both.  I have so much more experience writing in third person that I'm sure it bleeds into my first person stories.  I try to find a balance between my more flowery, descriptive third person prose and writing first person the way a real person would actually tell a story, which would probably make it a rambling mess.  And when I write stories like these that alternate between two POVs, I'm not sure I do enough to differentiate between the two voices.

It's especially a rambling mess if Nick is really telling the story, lol! Which Boy is most likely to do flowery, descriptive third person prose in their head as they narrate their life? (In general, not necessarily Nick or Kevin specifically.)

Your Nick excerpt sounded pretty Nick. I'd say "give me a Kevin excerpt" but I understand, spoilers.

Sounds like a good story to me!  That, or Nick and the other could just cannibalize Kevin to stay alive after he dies.  Maybe it could be a choose your own adventure!

I've secretly always wanted to write a CYOA story, but I've never really thought I could make it strong enough to carry a narrative, let alone multiple narratives.

Boy likes his reptiles! LOL  He also went as a Ninja Turtle on one of the cruises.

A super hero reptile, you say? I believe that.

It's definitely simple.  I made it a few years ago when I started the story, but I haven't felt the urge to remake it yet.  I'm not really sure what else I would do that wouldn't spoil anything.

There's beauty in simplicity.

Yeah, that's the kind of thing addicts say because they can't see that it's a problem.  This was written before AJ came out with all the stuff last year about just how often he fell off the wagon over the years when we thought he was still sober.  But he claimed to have been five years sober when Unbreakable came out, so I'm just gonna stick with that for this story.

Glad you liked the funny parts!  Thanks!

I'm guilty of it, or qualifiers would be more accurate: "I only drink heavily on the weekends" is something I said a lot in my twenties.

Having known other addicts, I always assumed he actually fell off the wagon a lot, but that he didn't want to disappoint anyone by saying so. But I did like believing that he had gotten everything together and was sticking to it. I think it's fine if you stick with what he said, especially if he was hiding the "falling off" from the POV characters. Unless they caught him, they wouldn't know. I suspect AJ would worry about disappointing the other Boys a lot.

[nicksgal]

Yeah, it gave me what the desert idea was missing - a good reason for the five of them to be in a remote location with none of their families or security or anyone else around.  And the inherent craziness of 2020 made every bad thing that happened seem more believable.  Thanks!

They were escaping fans who wanted to kidnap them! lol

That's true; I did think of QT.  And you're right about the reason for the archetypes.  There's a boy for every fan!

Unless she likes green. You can only love someone if you have the same favorite colors!

LOL Well, kudos for making sure that boost was consensual.

I have spent more time lying on the couch and watching TV this weekend than actually writing too.  I made the same mistake I always used to make with Heroic Measures, when I started watching ER for "research purposes" and then get sucked into a marathon and stop writing.  I started watching another old favorite of mine for "research purposes" last weekend and have since finished half of the first season and no new chapters.  Fail LOL.  I did finally watch Walking Dead Friday night though.

haha. Can't let our hero do toxic things! Plus I figure someone who avoids being touched would probably ask other people before touching them when they're consciously thinking about it.

I've been useless today. Glad you finally watched Walking Dead. I've mostly watched basketball and did some house things. I was a little productive this morning and hopefully I can get back to that point.

Hopefully your research is going well, even if it's not productive right now.

Yeah... I get it too.  I'm just glad there's a community of us who get the appeal and don't judge.

Same!

[nicksgal]

1.  Summarize your work-in-progress in 10 words or less.

Demons save the day! Plucky Nick angsts through life!

2.  Post a line from your work-in-progress with no context.

“Nick…” Brian batted his eyelashes as he put his hand to his chest, stifling a laugh with his other hand.

3.  Does your work-in-progress have a title? If so, explain its significance. If not, what are you calling it for now?

Despite me calling it “PNecklace” (call it a lazy holdover from calling the first one “PBox”), it’s actually called Pandora’s Necklace. I always envisioned this second story being called “Pandora’s Necklace” because it really focused on Nick’s journey, more than anything else. Outside of their bodies, demon hearts became gemstones and Nick’s popped out as a necklace. So I guess you could call the story “Nick’s Heart,” but that seems silly in comparison.

4.  Describe the setting of your work-in-progress.

A “medieval stasis" Asian-inspired fantasy world of suck. 

5.  Search for the word "knife" in your work-in-progress. If you find it, paste the line and explain the significance.

You know, in a “sword and sorcery” world, the word “knife” doesn’t appear at all. “Sword” (or “swords” or “sword-something”) is in it 61 times and “dagger” four times. Since “dagger” is more spiritually akin to knife, I’ll go with that one. And the question doesn’t specify that the first instance needs to be used, so I’ll go with the second, because I like it better:

“That is a price of battle. We own many daggers; they are easily replaced, you are not.”

As always, a key tenet of our heroes’ MO is that someones should not be sacrificed for somethings, even when those somethings are the goal. I hesitate to use “people” and “things” because, well… are demons people? A question to ponder… perhaps in our themes and motifs…

6.  Search for the word "dream" in your work-in-progress. If you find it, paste the line and explain the significance.

“Dream” (or “dreams” or “dreaming” and so on) appears 53 times so far, which is not at all surprising to me since the dichotomy of dreams and nightmares is a recurring motif in the series.

I like the next one better, but it’s less funny without the surrounding context of “other crazy things Nick has said,” so have the following:

The immovable power of fate makes me call out in my dreams.

I mostly think it’s pretty, but it does tie into a theme. Is it fate, Nick, or is it choices? Hmmm...

7.  What are you most proud of?

Being able to still write it after letting the idea sit for a decade! Once I “retired,” I honestly wasn’t ever sure that I would get back into writing again, let alone finishing an idea that wasn’t even partially on paper. So, I guess thanks to the whole of the PBox series for being pushy?

8.  What is your biggest challenge?

Not immediately feeling frustrated if it suddenly doesn’t go well. I think in the back of my head, I’m having nightmare flashbacks to my six-month PBox hiatus and how writing went after I finished it. I think if I had more going on besides writing in my free time, I would worry about it a lot less. But, since I don’t really have anywhere to go or anything else to do, I do worry.

9.  How would you describe your writing style for your work-in-progress?

Plantsing, foreshadowing, and call-backs. Gardening? Like planting things and letting them grow for the next book.

10.  How would you describe your work-in-progress' narrative style?

Limited third pov. It’s pretty Nick focused in this one, but it still switches between him and Minako like it did before and the other Boys do get their moments to shine. But Nick made it clear a long time ago that he drives this bus.

11.  Which character do you have the most in common with?
12.  Which character do you have the least in common with?

None of them? Howie might be the most? Howie is all of us, after all.. There’s bits of me in all of them, but no one where it’s abundantly most or least. Kevin might be the least?

13.  Your characters are stranded on a deserted island? What happens?

Mass hysteria, lol. I’m kidding. Since no one is actively looking to kill them, I think they’d work together to stay alive while they figured out how to leave. I think they’d be fine? Nick would complain a lot.

14.  Have you chosen birthdays for any of your characters? If so, what are they? (Exclude any Boys, because I assume their birthdays in your stories are their birthdays.)

I’d call Minako a pisces, so somewhere in the late February to early March timeframe. I don’t think I ever actually picked a birthday for her, because it never came up in the story, haha. Renee’s is some time in August. I haven’t really thought about the other two Pandoras.

15.  Do you know your characters' MBTI personalities?

Even though I love MBTI, I did not! Until I took the same quiz Julie used on their behalf. (I know mine: ENFJ forever!)

I took it for Nick and started taking it for Minako, but didn’t agree with the result, so I did it again, and then I got tired of looking at it, especially after Nick got it too and they are not the same thing. Clearly I am the turbulent one, lol! Ask me later.

I also took it twice for Nick, I think because I’m so all over the place in the grand scheme of the story, but the only thing that changed was the introverted/extroverted part when I retook it. I guess the difference in growing over the course of the story? I don’t know, I’m not entirely happy with either of these choices either... I guess PBox Nick is either:

The Adventurer (ISFP): Introverted, Observant, Feeling, and Prospecting (plus turbulent)

Adventurer personalities are true artists, but not necessarily in the typical sense where they’re out painting happy little trees. Often enough though, they are perfectly capable of this. Rather, it’s that they use aesthetics, design and even their choices and actions to push the limits of social convention. Adventurers enjoy upsetting traditional expectations with experiments in beauty and behavior – chances are, they’ve expressed more than once the phrase “Don’t box me in!”

The Entertainer (ESFP): Extraverted, Observant, Feeling, and Prospecting (plus turbulent)

If anyone is to be found spontaneously breaking into song and dance, it is the Entertainer personality type. Entertainers get caught up in the excitement of the moment, and want everyone else to feel that way, too. No other personality type is as generous with their time and energy as Entertainers when it comes to encouraging others, and no other personality type does it with such irresistible style.

16.  What would your characters be for Halloween?

What’s Halloween? lol This is a lazy copout on my part; they are obviously too busy fighting the forces of evil to participate in holidays. Nick would do it because Minako asked, but question every minute of it until he actually got the costume on, then he would love it. AJ would probably be Nick or Kevin, because they would hate it, then he would laugh about it with Brian.

17.  Does your work-in-progress have any themes or motifs?

Hahahahahahaha ha, obviously.

Themes: What measure is a non-human?/What measure is a monster?, light versus dark (all incarnations including, but not limited to: the Holy light, light is not good, dark is not evil, the sacred dark, etcetera), Right Makes Might versus Might Makes Right, definitions, fate versus choice, the power of intangible things, sacrifices, strength in true companionship… I could go on, but I’d call a lot of these sub-themes to the big themes of how to define yourself and the world plus another I won’t say.

Motifs: light/darkness, dreams and nightmares, loneliness and togetherness… I guess juxtaposition of opposing things is a motif in and of itself.

18.  What's easier, dialogue or description?

When I write interesting bits ahead of where I am currently working, I usually end up writing dialogue. So I will say dialogue. I often don’t even add “so and so said” tags unless I have a clear body language thing to convey. Who speaks what is all very clear to me.

19.  Post a picture or gif that describes your work-in-progress.

This one should work! https://images.app.goo.gl/NtCi9LSyRSTVj321A

20.  Post a brief excerpt.

A knock sounded at the door.

He turned toward it quickly. “Uh, hang on…” He picked up a crumpled pair of jeans from the floor between the bed and the window, yanking them over each leg as he hopped toward a chair between the door and a large closet. After grabbing the gray sweatshirt slung over the arm, he pulled it over his head quickly before opening the door. “Kevin…”

The second man leaned on his door frame, his black button down shirt contrasting against the dark wood. Kevin narrowed his thick eyebrows against his green eyes as he matched the tone of his voice. “Nick…”

“You’re doing house calls again?” Nick crossed his arms.

He smiled and patted Nick’s shoulder. “Just making sure you’re awake and not staring at that necklace again.”

Nick hung his head.

Kevin lips quirked into a frown. “Well, you’re awake at least. Step one.”

“It… I… That weird dream again…” Nick put his hand to his head, but kept his arms crossed.

Kevin mirrored Nick and crossed his arms as well. “Do you want to talk to someone about it?”

“No, I’ll just sound crazy repeating myself…” Nick shook his head.

“Nick…”

He raised his hands in mock defense. “You keep suggesting that I talk to someone other than you all, you obviously also think I sound crazy… ‘I keep having this dream where I scream for someone I don’t know.’ ‘This weird necklace I had a death grip on when I woke up four months ago… Also a ring!’ ‘No other updates, still don’t know where anything came from.’ Did I forget a crazy sounding thing I’ve said?”

Kevin frowned. “You know I’m just worried about you…”

“Yeah, because it sounds--”

“Because it’s bothering you.” He smirked. “You’ve done plenty of things over the years that seem ‘crazy,’ I’m used to it.”

Nick crossed his arms again and crumpled into himself. “Gee… thanks…”