1. Is there a story you're holding off on writing for some reason?I actually thought I would hold off on the one I'm currently writing, My Brother's Keeper, because of what it has in common with my last two stories. I thought I would need a break from the medical drama aspect of it, but maybe I've just been building up to it.
I guess the one I'm holding off on now is the Brian horror story I thought I was going to write next. Although it would seem "easier" to write than MBK because it requires less research, I'm anticipating it being harder because it's something different from what I'm used to writing. Let's just say psychological stuff seems more intimidating than physical stuff.
2. What work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?That would be a "novel" I wrote in 2000 called Silent Desperation. It's about Brian getting addicted to painkillers after being injured in a car accident. Decent idea... terrible execution. I didn't come up with the premise myself; it was given to me by a friend, and at fifteen, I was still too young and naive to do it justice. This was when I didn't have internet in my bedroom, so I did a scant amount of research using the only source I had easy access to - Encarta '95 on CD-Rom LOL. It definitely shows that I had no idea what I was talking about. After all, Lurlene McDaniel didn't have a book about drug addiction LOL.
5. Character you were most surprised to end up writing?I'm pleasantly surprised to finally be writing a Kevin novel. I guess after 21 years, it was about freaking time. Sorry, Kevin LOL.
As far as original characters go, my first thought was Jori from Secrets of the Heart. I based her on my sister, which is not something I thought I would do. I don't even remember why I did, but it worked for that story. My sister would hate her portrayal, but I love it. She made for an interesting character.
6. Something you would go back and change in your writing that it's too late/complicated to change now?I would go back and fix the grammatical mistakes I used to make - stuff like writing "His heart sunk" instead of "His heart sank." Another one I learned just a few years ago is that "blonde" is the female version of the word and "blond" is the male version, so technically Nick has
blond hair, not
blonde. I probably still mess that one up from time to time because I am so used to using "blonde" indiscriminate
ly. If I'm editing a story anyway and come across mistakes like that, I'll fix them, but I haven't gone as far as reposting chapters of old stories just to correct that stuff. It wouldn't really be complicated, just time-consuming. I haven't gotten that bored yet LOL.
7. When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?Embarrassed. I never even mention writing when I'm asked about my hobbies, even though it's been my favorite hobby for two decades and is the only real hobby I have these days outside of watching TV, which I don't think really counts LOL. I just don't want to have to any follow-up questions about what I write or if someone else can read it. No!
Part of that has to do with it being BSB fanfic, part of it is the subject matter I write about it, and part of it is just me. I have always been shy about sharing my writing, even before I started writing fanfic. I wrote a story for the Young Author's competition every year in elementary school, and I won for my class every year from 4th grade to 8th, but I was always embarrassed about letting anyone but my teacher read my story.
9. What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?Lately, I've been listening to a podcast and watching YouTube videos. I have a mental list of other stuff to watch for inspiration when the time is right, such as the Unbreakable concert video from London, but I haven't gotten that far in the story yet.
14. Do you make playlists for your stories while working on them?Sometimes. I don't do this as often as I did in the mid-2000s with Broken and BMS, 00Carter, and Undead. The last story-specific one I made was for A Heart That Isn't Mine. Otherwise, I just have playlists of instrumental writing music that I add on to as I discover new pieces. Sometimes certain pieces or scores will remind me of certain stories because of how often I listened to it when writing that story. The Braveheart soundtrack reminds me of Broken, especially the track called
"The Princess Pleads for Wallace's Life," which I listened to on repeat when I was writing the choppage chapter. There's a song called
"Primavera," that is still a staple of my writing playlist because it's so sad and beautiful, but I'll always associate it with Sick as My Secrets. My favorite piece for My Brother's Keeper is
"Arrival of the Birds," although I've also been loving these long piano medleys of
Linkin Park songs.
15. Why did you start writing?I read a Brian story that was about his illness when he was five, told from the perspective of his best friend at the time, the little girl who lived next door. It started out the same as the version Brian tells, but Brian ended up dying... only it turned out the whole thing was just a dream that the girl was having as a grown woman. She woke up at the end and found herself in bed next to Brian, her husband. It was a cute little story, but I went into it expecting a novel and was disappointed to discover it was only a short story. I wanted to read more, so I decided to try my hand at writing a story of my own about Brian and his childhood best friend growing up and falling in love. I never finished the first version of it, but that's how I started writing fanfic. I eventually went back to that idea and rewrote it as "Years of Grace."
19. When it come to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, etcetera?I have one big outline for each novel that includes all that kind of information. The outline for my current story is 13 pages long so far and has a section on settings, a section on characters, a timeline, a chapter by chapter outline that I'm adding to as I go, a bulleted list of future plot points and ideas, and a section for research notes. It's one of my more elaborate outlines because it's a medical drama set in BSB history, so there's a lot to keep track of.
20. Do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?I can sit in front of my computer and "write" for hours, but in reality, I'm not actually writing that whole time. Usually I'll write a few words or maybe a few sentences, then open a new tab to look something up or check Twitter or this forum. Then I'll go back to the story and write a little more. So I'm not sure if that counts as long sit-down sessions or little spurts LOL. I guess it's a combination of both.
21. What do you think when you read over your older work?I am generally proud of everything I've written post-Broken. The really old, pre-Broken stuff is pretty bad, but when I think about how young I was then, I'm still proud of myself for putting forth the effort to write it. Everyone starts somewhere, and I had to write those stories to become a better fiction writer. I can't say I really go back and read those stories, but on the rare occasion I've skimmed through one for whatever reason, it puts a smile on my face - partly because of how bad it was, but also because of the nostalgia. I love the references to early-2000s pop culture and outdated technology. All those old fanfics - not just mine - are such a throwback to one of my favorite times in my life.
22. Are there any subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?Darker sexual stuff, like rape and fetishes.
23. Any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?I studied abroad at the University of Stirling in Scotland for a summer when I was in college. Stirling is where William Wallace and the Scottish army defeated the English - the "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our FREEDOM!" scene in Braveheart. One day we went to see the Wallace Monument there, which is this beautiful tower on top of a big hill. You have to walk up the hill to get to it. There is a paved path, but for some reason, one of my friends suggested we take the "scenic route" by hiking up what looked like a trail that snaked through the trees on the hill. I was not a fan of this idea, but I followed the others off the path. As we picked our way up the hill, the "trail" disappeared, and the terrain got steeper and harder to climb. None of us were prepared for that intense of a hike. As I was climbing one particularly steep section, my foot slipped out from under me in the mud, and I fell and landed hard on my right side. I'm pretty sure I broke or at least bruised a rib because it was sore for weeks, to the point that I couldn't sleep on that side. But we eventually made it to the top of the hill and saw the monument, and I got a good story of it, so it all worked out. Anyway, that is the obscure life experience I draw on when writing about broken ribs or hiking injuries, such as in Road to Bethlehem.
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Topic: The Writing Thread: Orlando Passaggio (aka The Writing Thread 3) (Read 452334 times)