Fic Talk > General Discussion
Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 27, 2021, 06:58:04 PM ---OMG, yes! The misogyny! It's interesting that you had an awareness for it that seeped into the writing without you realizing. I remember doing the same thing back then. I cringed a little rereading Beta Sig when Nick was monologing about how much he liked talking to Brian and literally thinks something to the effect of "I sound like a girl that wants to date Brian." (Misogynistic and homophobic! I'm the worst!) I think that's something that can happen with all creative works. They're really a product of their time, so even something praised can become something with cringey aspects over the years. Heck, look at Hamilton. Initially praised for its diversity in cast, now judged for "Founders Chic" and lack of diverse characters.
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They are definitely a product of their time. And I think we also have to remember that just because we write characters saying or thinking certain things doesn't mean that those words reflect something we ourselves would say. My older stories also have the guys using words like "gay" and "retarded" as insults, which I myself would never say now and hope they wouldn't either, but that was the way people talked among their friends not so long ago. It's true to the time, even if it's not PC now.
I also saw something about Book of Mormon cast members petitioning for revisions to that musical because of the way the Africans are portrayed or something. The article I read did not say what, specifically, they wanted changed, but my thoughts on that are, there are so many things in that musical that could be considered offensive, but that's kind of the point! The stereotypes, like that all Africans are poor and live in mud huts and have AIDS, are there at least partly to mock how naive Americans like the Mormon missionaries would see them. I'm curious to see if Matt and Trey comment on it because they are so against PC culture.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 27, 2021, 06:58:04 PM ---A valid point! AJ would be pretty badass, but probably sprain his ankle from his tight pants, lol. What do you mean I can't put AJ in coma and have him be important? I thought this story was "AJ is Nick's guardian angel"?! LMAO!
My next related thought, and I'd love to be corrected if I'm wrong. Brian's been involved in pretty much everything Nick's been involved in to some degree, though not in a while, if I'm remembering correctly... I'm probably fine to just pick whatever, yeah?
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I stand corrected - definitely make AJ Nick's crippled guardian angel who's actually in a coma!
Yeah, I agree about Brian. He's definitely been kidnapped, held hostage, stricken down by disease (especially heart disease), and involved in romantic storylines. Seems like nowadays he mostly exists to to have angsty sexual relationships with Nick, judging by what I've read on AO3 LOL. So I'm not sure what you would do with him, but yeah, probably anything you come up with will work.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 27, 2021, 06:58:04 PM ---I do! I wonder why he changed from backwoods cannibals to zombies? I'm guessing Kevin hated it. LMAO! Nick the villain. He would be such a large ham! You watched Dr. Horrible, right? That's the type of villain I see Nick being.
LOL! The Headless Horseman would be lucky to get Nick's head, even though his hair was only okay in that film.
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I know his original co-writer or producer (can't remember his exact role) passed away, and that's when the idea changed. Nick would make a great cheesy, over the top villain! Definitely something like Dr. Horrible LOL.
Yeah, The Hollow was not Nick at his finest in terms of looks, but I'd still take his head, long hair and all. He was sure hot in those football pants though!
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 27, 2021, 07:21:27 PM ---You're totally right, it is more of a Passover movie. It's just the second thing I think of when I think of The Ten Commandments, lol. LMAO! If "has a bunny" is the only qualification for an Easter movie, then is Donnie Darko an Easter movie? Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a classic though.
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Same! LOL Apparently so, because Donnie Darko also came up on Google's list of "Easter movies," as did Zootopia LOL.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 27, 2021, 07:21:27 PM ---It's not really anything tied to an era outside of being "classic Backstreet," but as usual, it's easier to blissfully avoid their lives away from BSB if you go earlier than Brian and Kevin's weddings, lol. I think I could get away with it too. It being a dramedy poking the edge of satire doesn't require intense grounding in reality. Although, now that I'm thinking about it, how would they get their stage set overseas? Did they have a second one constructed over there or did it just fly over in a cargo plane? I could probably still make my idea work just fine even if they had to go to Europe first; it really ends before the tour starts. What are the chances anyone has created a detailed timeline of their lives between Millennium getting released and embarking on the tour? This would probably help me out a lot.
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I totally get the "no wives" thing. You could also go with the Backstreet's Back tour. They started that one in Canada in December 97 and then had shows in the States in January 98. Then they had a second U.S. leg that started in July 98 after a two-month break for Brian's surgery. I could see them doing some rehearsal before that second leg just because of Brian needing time to get back into the swing of things.
Those are really good questions about how they get their whole stage setup overseas. I have no idea LOL. See, that's the kind of stuff they should have covered in the documentary! It would have been so helpful to us fanfic writers to see all that behind the scenes tour stuff.
Good ol' Backstreet.net is still online and has a timeline that may be helpful for keeping track of events from back then: http://backstreet.net/timeline.html
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 27, 2021, 07:21:27 PM ---I'm very loyal. I pick a favorite and I stick with it. Movie, band, song, Backstreet Boy, whatever. Stuck, lol. All good, because Titanic, the Boys, QPG, and Nick are all great, lol.
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Same here! My favorites are so engrained in me at this point, it would take a lot to make me switch. Even Brian promoting Parler couldn't make me revoke my Brian girl card. The favorite song is a tough one though. My favorite BSB song is Don't Wanna Lose You Now, with Siberia as a close second - but sometimes I go back and forth between which one I actually like better because I love them both so much. I can't pick an all-time favorite song by anyone though. I guess maybe it should be DWLYN, being my favorite song by my favorite group, but I don't know that it actually is LOL. There are just too many good songs in the world.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 27, 2021, 07:21:27 PM ---It did not, lol. Instead of writing, I decided now was a great time to start making a Google Sheet to keep track of my word counts, lol.
Today was cooking day, so I got a later start, then tried to get on with my next scene, but ended up texting my BFF to get some medical issue questions answered in more layman's terms than google was giving me, lol. So now I have a bunch of medical knowledge for only a scene, but it will be so accurate. Unlike my Backstreet timeline, lol. I've written 47 words today, lol.
Edited to Add: Oh, I didn't name the story yet, but the first chapter has a name "Chapter One: My World is Half Asleep, or How I, Nick Carter, am a Victim of Circumstance"
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LOL It happens. I also have not had a productive writing day so far and chose to reorganize my bookshelves and weed out some books instead of writing. Then I watched the gymnastics Olympics trials, and now I am here. I'm glad you at least got some research done!
LOL I love the first chapter's title!
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---Yeah, but just think, most of those are one-shots. For novelists like us, it's more comparable to talk about how many chapters we finish in a month LOL.
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You're totally right! I keep forgetting! lol This is one of those stupid bias things. I just kind of assuming everyone's up to the same thing as me if not told otherwise (e.g., writing fanfic = writing novel-length stories); I have to stop doing that. I only finished five this month... but I finished nine the month before. Maybe I am prolific, lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---Yes, and then their lifeboat sinks LOL. Love it. Yeah, in reality, a shipwreck nowadays would be much less disastrous because of all the safety regulations that were put in place BECAUSE of Titanic. They have to have enough lifeboats for everyone now and do a lifeboat drill before departure. When that cruise ship capsized off the coast of Italy a few years ago, I think only 30 some people died compared to 1,500 with Titanic - and that was probably a bigger boat with more people on it in the first place. So it would definitely be a stretch. I would probably stick with Nick's personal boat sinking over an entire cruise ship because that seems more plausible. He seems to have had a lot of issues with boats over the years LOL.
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But they save it and end up capsized on that island with a million venomous snakes near Brazil. And you just know one of them would start quoting Snakes on a Plane, lol. But also they would probably die... or at the very least get arrested because it's illegal to go there.
I've done a lifeboat drill. Hubs was distracting, because our meetup spot was a bar, so he kept asking me if they would give us drinks if the boat was sinking. And I was like, no I'm pretty sure that bar service is at the bottom of the list if this drill becomes reality, lol.
It is surprisingly easy to sink a pontoon or smaller! I know several people who have done it (and been shamed). Larger than a pontoon, it gets more difficult. So yes, I'm sure Nick will sink several more boats in his lifetime. That said, it's much easier to get yourself to safety if you're sinking a smaller boat -- it has less of that undertow(?)... I looked it up, this is called cavitation (where the boat makes that suction as it sinks by pulling air down with it).
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---I was pretty good at only focusing on one story at a time until my novels started getting longer and it took me longer than a month to finish them. That's when I started overlapping stories, which can definitely become overwhelming. I used to like having a main project and a side project so I always had something to work on even when I was feeling uninspired on my main story, but even that seems like too much for me now. Like you, I've found I'm most successful at finishing things when I stick to one story at a time. Hopefully your Nick-is-not-the-main-character story will give AJ a time to shine. It took me me 13 years to write a Howie novel and 21 to get to Kevin, so I hear you. But I also see nothing wrong with writing lots of Nick stories. ;)
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I think that was why I stopped. I figured if I kept writing a bunch of other things, I'd never get them done, lol. I am giving myself PBox related leeway, since I'm still editing PNecklace. So if PDemons or OF PBox strikes me while I'm writing NABTMC, I'll probably still work on them. Or Snail, of course. Anything else, I'll get out the jabby part and then move on.
You know, it is so far. He popped into the second chapter for something really mundane and pretty much took charge of the scene he was in, so... I have high hopes for him going forward. :)
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---Yeah, I'm the same as far as not having enough for fun bonus features. Whatever I originally wrote is usually similar enough to what I ended up with that I'm not sure anyone else would enjoy reading it. The only ones I kinda wish I still had are the original beginnings for AHTIM because they were both so different from each other and from the third and final version. That was a lesson in perseverance for me, and it might have been interesting for people who read that story to see all the different ways I planned for Nick to get from Point A to Point B in the first few chapters.
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Does word do version history? I wonder if they'd be recoverable at all. That would be interesting because they're so different.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---I am usually a little slower than that, but have managed to stay 8-9 chapters ahead of myself most of the time. I was able to maintain weekly updates all the way through my last three finished multi-chapter stories - AHTIM, Heroic Measures, and Bethlehem - and so far so good with MBK.
With SAMS, I wrote everything in order except the prologue. So I wrote Chapter 18 after 17 and then used an excerpt from it as my prologue. I didn't originally plan on having a prologue, but I felt like my beginning needed a little something extra to create suspense. I knew that scene would be coming eventually, so I waited until I got to that point in the story to write it and put it in as a prologue. Then I was finally ready to start posting the story.
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I believe in you! I think it's great that you've gotten to keep weekly updates going without having to take a brief hiatus. My real goal, hopefully, is to be able to get to the end of posting PNecklace and be able to start posting PDemons right away. My dream would be to finish this new story while I'm still posting PNecklace, actually. Like I still think it's a pretty short idea, so I'm hoping I can finish it up quickly.
Interesting! Is that typically what you'll use prologues for and are they something you use often?
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---From a storytelling perspective, that seems like the best place for the inciting incident - within the first couple chapters. As I think about my stories, that's usually about where mine fall, too, but sometimes there's another pivotal moment or twist that comes up a little later, and that's really the point I want to get to to feel like I'm in the heart of the story. Like with Bethlehem, I guess the inciting incident is the guys going to the cabin in Chapter 1, but really, the part I was waiting to get past was the car crash in Chapter 5 that kicks off the survival part of the story. Curtain Call was similar - the inciting incident technically happened in Chapter 2, but the cancer bomb doesn't get dropped until the end of Chapter 5, which is a bigger moment in the story. I have definitely shored it up since Broken, where it took me like 18 chapters to get to the point LOL.
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I get it, you like to make it to the turning point for the first act. :) That makes sense, because that forces the characters to make a decision they usually can't go back from. Like Brian could have decided not to drive in the rain (not that I think he would have in those circumstances), but once he did, there was no turning around once that moose appeared.
I know it feels long in Broken, but Broken's also a long story and the turning point usually happens a little earlier than a 1/3 of the way through the story. I think Chapter 18 is totally justifiable for its length. Now, would you put it earlier, thus making Broken a shorter story if you wrote it today? That's possible.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---No, I think I said it was 2001 or 2002 and was off by a couple years. I was happy I could still click on the results of that poll and see them! Guilty Roads/Austere Refuge actually came in 4th place. The winning idea was the Brian romance, Divergence, which evolved into an idea called Surrender My Heart that I still have a folder for in the Future Stories section of my bookmarks. It's there waiting for me if I ever feel like writing a historical romance AU or OF, but I have not had that urge LOL. I enjoy history, but not so much historical fiction. That was also the problem with the reincarnation idea, which was going to take place partly during the Civil War. I loved that damn reincarnation idea and also still have bookmarks saved for it. It evolved into a Brian idea since that poll, though, which lists it as an AJ one LOL. Sorry, AJ. I actually have a decent start to an outline and eight pages of actual story written for that one too, but for whatever reason, I stopped writing it in the middle of Chapter 1 and never went back to it. According to my notes, the last time I added anything to the outline was in 2013, which was a WADD year for me. I eventually started SAMS toward the end of that summer, so I guess that's why I never went back to the reincarnation one.
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Of course a Brian romance would win. That's what the people wanted back then, lol! The amount of research historical fiction takes is crazy. Didn't Julilly used to write a bunch of it? I was always really impressed. Dare I suggest a Brian reincarnation horror story? lol
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---I love doing polls like that, but don't do them very often. Besides this one, I only remember doing one other where I described several ideas I was considering and asked readers to vote. That was in the summer of 2017, after I finished SAMS and was having major WADD trying to figure out what to write next. http://dreamers-sanctuary.com/2017-07-01/ I actually have since finished two of the four ideas on this one (#1 was Heroic Measures, #2 was A Heart that Isn't Mine) and am working on a third (#3 was My Brother's Keeper). And #4 is the same Brian horror story I wrote the first scene for earlier this year. So either I'm getting better at bringing ideas into fruition, or I just have fewer ideas to choose from these days LOL.
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So you do polls when you're WADDing? Interesting. We're always here to bounce ideas too. Not totally quite the same as what your readership might want, but... it's good to get some outside perspective. Or vague questions, whatever.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---LOL Yes! Glad you jumped on your holiday story and got it written when the time felt right. I did not do that with the fourth pandaskunk story idea I had last year (well, I started it, but did not finish it), and now half the idea won't work anymore unless I still set it in 2020. But since I wrote the others all in the year they take place in, that takes some of the fun out of it. This must be how the Boys feel about failing to deliver a Christmas album year after year LOL. It's such a time-sensitive thing, and they are not good with being timely. But hopefully this is the year!
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If they get this far into it and don't finish it this year, I will laugh so hard. Not even be surprised, just laugh. I feel you on your Pandaskunk story though. Maybe something will strike this year or you can figure out a way to set the last one in 2020 and 2021 at the same time.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---I love yellow! My kitchen is yellow! Aside from my soon-to-be-redecorated guest bathroom, it's the only room in my house I didn't repaint when I moved in because I fell in love with the bright yellow walls the first time I looked at the house. I decorated it with teal and red accents, and it's so colorful and cute. It makes me happy. So I say go for the yellow kitchen and the yellow house! A pink kitchen would be super cute too, but yellow is probably a better option for the hubs LOL.
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Same. And I think it's a great color for a house because it feels both neutral and cheery. :) Your kitchen sounds adorable! I haven't really redecorated yet, but our next home, I have big plans, lol. Yes, the pink kitchen would make him sad.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---So this is my other dilemma. I'm planning to put REDRUM on the back of the door, cause he writes it on a door in the movie, but in the movie, the door is white. My bathroom door is currently stained wood, not painted. It's pretty the way it is and goes with the current bathroom better than white would, but REDRUM would definitely pop more on a white door. So I have to decide if I want to paint it or not. I can definitely cover up the screw holes in the walls with artwork, but not the places where the paint is peeling a bit.
I would love to visit the Stanley too! I definitely need to plan a vacation to Colorado sometime - so much to see!
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What if you got a Redrum needlepoint thing, framed it, and hung it on the door? It's not quite the same, but it would probably be white and would pop against the door that way and you could still keep it's nice stained wood look. Peeling paint is the worst.
Yes, we have so many wonderfully weird and macabre things, lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---The big ideas are usually planned in advance in the outline, but I come up with a lot of little things on the spot as I'm writing. I'm counting on that happening in the Kevin chapter I barely started today because I'm worried it's gonna be a boring one otherwise LOL.
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How's it going? Glad you were able to get something started.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:03:24 AM ---Heroes thrust together by destiny - absolutely! I mean, that's basically what they are in real life LOL. As far as their relationship goes, my favorite AU I've written is Song for the Undead because it has the found family trope. Other than Brian and Kevin, none of them knew each other at the beginning, but they developed that bond as the story went on.
Gotta keep your muse's name the same!
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lol! I don't know that I'd call Lou Pearlman destiny, but sure. I'm glad they were heroes thrust together by a ponzi schemer, lol. Love found family. That's PBox too.
I think he would be mad if I didn't, lol!
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:43:04 AM ---They are definitely a product of their time. And I think we also have to remember that just because we write characters saying or thinking certain things doesn't mean that those words reflect something we ourselves would say. My older stories also have the guys using words like "gay" and "retarded" as insults, which I myself would never say now and hope they wouldn't either, but that was the way people talked among their friends not so long ago. It's true to the time, even if it's not PC now.
I also saw something about Book of Mormon cast members petitioning for revisions to that musical because of the way the Africans are portrayed or something. The article I read did not say what, specifically, they wanted changed, but my thoughts on that are, there are so many things in that musical that could be considered offensive, but that's kind of the point! The stereotypes, like that all Africans are poor and live in mud huts and have AIDS, are there at least partly to mock how naive Americans like the Mormon missionaries would see them. I'm curious to see if Matt and Trey comment on it because they are so against PC culture.
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That's a valid point. If anything, characters should be different from us and if that's something they would say, they should say it (and get called out on it, and hopefully the Boys don't speak that way now, if they did then). But it's also good that we recognize it in our earlier works and are making the necessary adjustments to do better for our community when we catch ourselves writing something that could be problematic.
Uhhh... what? Like, they've seen the show right? I think you're totally right, that's the exact point of the show. If it gets changed, then that satire level is just absent. See this is what I dislike about PC culture. Something where the whole purpose is to say "this is crazy and offensive" is being called crazy and offensive. We should recognize our biases and have conversations with people when they are being biased (or racist, homophobic, etcetera), but we've gotta stop "canceling" everything.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:43:04 AM ---I stand corrected - definitely make AJ Nick's crippled guardian angel who's actually in a coma!
Yeah, I agree about Brian. He's definitely been kidnapped, held hostage, stricken down by disease (especially heart disease), and involved in romantic storylines. Seems like nowadays he mostly exists to to have angsty sexual relationships with Nick, judging by what I've read on AO3 LOL. So I'm not sure what you would do with him, but yeah, probably anything you come up with will work.
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LMFAO! It was my joke initially, but just seeing you write it made it funnier.
Okay, well the way to subvert that is writing Brian in a relationship with his wife and I just don't feel like writing about her, so... I'm going to go with my original plan, lol. Which was not an angsty sexual relationship with Nick, lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:43:04 AM ---I know his original co-writer or producer (can't remember his exact role) passed away, and that's when the idea changed. Nick would make a great cheesy, over the top villain! Definitely something like Dr. Horrible LOL.
Yeah, The Hollow was not Nick at his finest in terms of looks, but I'd still take his head, long hair and all. He was sure hot in those football pants though!
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Oh, that's sad. I didn't know that. :( Nick would be great at that, especially if he could be a singing supervillain!
Can't give a cute butt a bad haircut! lol Football pants, baseball pants, all great. :)
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:43:04 AM ---Same! LOL Apparently so, because Donnie Darko also came up on Google's list of "Easter movies," as did Zootopia LOL.
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WTF google? This belongs in that thread apparently, lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:43:04 AM ---I totally get the "no wives" thing. You could also go with the Backstreet's Back tour. They started that one in Canada in December 97 and then had shows in the States in January 98. Then they had a second U.S. leg that started in July 98 after a two-month break for Brian's surgery. I could see them doing some rehearsal before that second leg just because of Brian needing time to get back into the swing of things.
Those are really good questions about how they get their whole stage setup overseas. I have no idea LOL. See, that's the kind of stuff they should have covered in the documentary! It would have been so helpful to us fanfic writers to see all that behind the scenes tour stuff.
Good ol' Backstreet.net is still online and has a timeline that may be helpful for keeping track of events from back then: http://backstreet.net/timeline.html
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Hmmm... that might actually work too! Great suggestion to go further back. Good ol' Backstreet.net! I haven't thought about you in forever, but what a blessing!
Next time they solicit fan questions, this is what I'm going to ask. What's the process of preparing for a tour? Please tell me about your job and not your underwear preferences! lol My first thought was actually boat, but then I remembered that cargo planes are a thing and not just passenger planes, lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:43:04 AM ---Same here! My favorites are so engrained in me at this point, it would take a lot to make me switch. Even Brian promoting Parler couldn't make me revoke my Brian girl card. The favorite song is a tough one though. My favorite BSB song is Don't Wanna Lose You Now, with Siberia as a close second - but sometimes I go back and forth between which one I actually like better because I love them both so much. I can't pick an all-time favorite song by anyone though. I guess maybe it should be DWLYN, being my favorite song by my favorite group, but I don't know that it actually is LOL. There are just too many good songs in the world.
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Even Nick's whole blah. But we've discussed that already.
There are so many great songs! But favorite song by favorite band makes the most sense to me, so I've stuck with it.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 28, 2021, 12:43:04 AM ---LOL It happens. I also have not had a productive writing day so far and chose to reorganize my bookshelves and weed out some books instead of writing. Then I watched the gymnastics Olympics trials, and now I am here. I'm glad you at least got some research done!
LOL I love the first chapter's title!
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I ended up writing around 500 words yesterday, and then about 200 editing, but yeah... Not productive at all. I mean cooking and laundry, sure! I think I just need to get into the groove with this story. I envisioned it as some sort of hilarious thing and it ended up more serious than I'd planned on. Curse you, Team Dark!
Thanks! I wanted them to be funny, but the idea of using song lyrics as chapter titles was also too good to pass up, lol.
How's your writing going today?
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---You're totally right! I keep forgetting! lol This is one of those stupid bias things. I just kind of assuming everyone's up to the same thing as me if not told otherwise (e.g., writing fanfic = writing novel-length stories); I have to stop doing that. I only finished five this month... but I finished nine the month before. Maybe I am prolific, lol.
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Yeah, even when I was an enthusiastic and prolific new teenybopper writer, I only averaged one "novel" a month - and I have since written short stories with a higher word count than some of those "novels" LOL. They definitely wouldn't qualify for NaNoWriMo.
I think averaging a chapter a week is a good pace. That's what I've been doing, too. You doubled that in May; that's impressive! It definitely makes you prolific in my book. That's 14 stories in two months if each chapter was a one-shot! LOL
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---But they save it and end up capsized on that island with a million venomous snakes near Brazil. And you just know one of them would start quoting Snakes on a Plane, lol. But also they would probably die... or at the very least get arrested because it's illegal to go there.
I've done a lifeboat drill. Hubs was distracting, because our meetup spot was a bar, so he kept asking me if they would give us drinks if the boat was sinking. And I was like, no I'm pretty sure that bar service is at the bottom of the list if this drill becomes reality, lol.
It is surprisingly easy to sink a pontoon or smaller! I know several people who have done it (and been shamed). Larger than a pontoon, it gets more difficult. So yes, I'm sure Nick will sink several more boats in his lifetime. That said, it's much easier to get yourself to safety if you're sinking a smaller boat -- it has less of that undertow(?)... I looked it up, this is called cavitation (where the boat makes that suction as it sinks by pulling air down with it).
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"I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking island!" LOL Yeah, I could totally see that.
I dunno about the drink thing; remember Benjamin Guggenheim in Titanic who was like, "We are dressed in our best and prepared to go down as gentleman... but we would like a brandy!" He was last seen sipping brandy by the Grand Staircase, so someone must have served him. Of course, they also had music to drown by. I do think things would be a little different nowadays LOL.
That makes sense that a smaller boat would be easier to escape from. Thanks for teaching me a new word! Jack Dawson didn't use that term when he was describing the suction. LOL
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---I think that was why I stopped. I figured if I kept writing a bunch of other things, I'd never get them done, lol. I am giving myself PBox related leeway, since I'm still editing PNecklace. So if PDemons or OF PBox strikes me while I'm writing NABTMC, I'll probably still work on them. Or Snail, of course. Anything else, I'll get out the jabby part and then move on.
You know, it is so far. He popped into the second chapter for something really mundane and pretty much took charge of the scene he was in, so... I have high hopes for him going forward. :)
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That sounds like a good compromise. And go AJ! It's your time to shine!
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---Does word do version history? I wonder if they'd be recoverable at all. That would be interesting because they're so different.
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No, but they were written in Google Docs. I remembering making the choice to delete them and not back them up once I had my third beginning that I was happy with, knowing I would never be able to recover them, so they're gone forever. They exist now only in my memory. LOL The third version was more similar to the first version than the second; I even used some of the same dialogue from it, so at least there's that.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---I believe in you! I think it's great that you've gotten to keep weekly updates going without having to take a brief hiatus. My real goal, hopefully, is to be able to get to the end of posting PNecklace and be able to start posting PDemons right away. My dream would be to finish this new story while I'm still posting PNecklace, actually. Like I still think it's a pretty short idea, so I'm hoping I can finish it up quickly.
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That's a great goal! I wish I could get to that point too, but I haven't managed to transition from one story to another without taking at least a few weeks off from updating. But if you have enough chapters hoarded and the new story is short enough, you can do it!!
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---Interesting! Is that typically what you'll use prologues for and are they something you use often?
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No... I think that's the only one where I used the prologue for a flash forward like that. Most of my stories don't even have prologues; I only use them when I have some kind of introduction or shorter beginning that I want to be set apart from the rest of the story. And now that I'm posting on AO3, where the first chapter posts as "Chapter 1" no matter what, I will probably go out of my way to avoid prologues altogether LOL.
How about you? Are you a fan of the prologue and/or epilogue?
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---I get it, you like to make it to the turning point for the first act. :) That makes sense, because that forces the characters to make a decision they usually can't go back from. Like Brian could have decided not to drive in the rain (not that I think he would have in those circumstances), but once he did, there was no turning around once that moose appeared.
I know it feels long in Broken, but Broken's also a long story and the turning point usually happens a little earlier than a 1/3 of the way through the story. I think Chapter 18 is totally justifiable for its length. Now, would you put it earlier, thus making Broken a shorter story if you wrote it today? That's possible.
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Yep, that makes sense. I guess it's also like a turning point for me as the writer - once I have them make that decision and there's no turning back, it's full steam ahead, so I might as well start posting it LOL.
Yeah, relative to its length, I guess Chapter 18 isn't bad, but that also shows me that Broken could have been shorter LOL.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---Of course a Brian romance would win. That's what the people wanted back then, lol! The amount of research historical fiction takes is crazy. Didn't Julilly used to write a bunch of it? I was always really impressed. Dare I suggest a Brian reincarnation horror story? lol
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Yep, and I'm sure I had a lot of Brian girls reading because most of my stories were about Brian back then. A lot of my ideas came from the desire to write another Brian romance without finding a way to get rid of Leighanne, hence the AU... except I don't really like AU, so I didn't get anywhere with them LOL.
I'm sure historical fiction does take a ton of research. The closest I've come to that is Guilty Roads with the Amish aspect of its storyline, and I did not enjoy researching for that as much as I thought I would, so I think historical fiction would be a challenge for me. Yet I can spend hours researching medical stuff LOL. Julilly did write historical fiction - kudos to her! It is definitely impressive.
There was a supernatural element and kind of a suspense/mystery subplot to the reincarnation idea, but not full on horror. The horror idea I do have also contains a supernatural element, but no reincarnation. If I had an idea for a reincarnation horror story, that actually sounds cool! Maybe I'll be able to merge some ideas someday.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---So you do polls when you're WADDing? Interesting. We're always here to bounce ideas too. Not totally quite the same as what your readership might want, but... it's good to get some outside perspective. Or vague questions, whatever.
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Yep. Thanks! Maybe I'll bounce some ideas around here when I'm ready to start a new one. I'll appreciate any perspective I can get! As of right now, I have no idea what my next story will be (unless it's a MBK sequel), but I don't think that will be until next year, so I'm not worried about it right now. I usually end up changing my mind anyway, or a new idea comes along.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---If they get this far into it and don't finish it this year, I will laugh so hard. Not even be surprised, just laugh. I feel you on your Pandaskunk story though. Maybe something will strike this year or you can figure out a way to set the last one in 2020 and 2021 at the same time.
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LOL I know, same here. And shake my head. Oh Boys... But I have faith in them this year, knowing they've already recorded. In this day and age, it can't possibly take that long to put together a Christmas album. They don't even have to have all original songs!
So my Pandaskunk idea had a main plot and a subplot. The main plot I can still use if I decide to write another one. The subplot was specific to 2020, so I'd have to either scrap it, change it, or just keep the story in 2020. It was going to be a parody of A Christmas Carol with the three ghosts visiting Brian to try to convince him not to do that Littrell family Christmas show everyone was mad at them for doing in the middle of the pandemic last year. The three ghosts were going to be characters I'd already killed off in the previous pandaskunk stories, so it would have been perfect. But I may be able to use the basic idea with a different goal. I'm sure the Littrells will do something cringey again this year that I could make incorporate LOL.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---Same. And I think it's a great color for a house because it feels both neutral and cheery. :) Your kitchen sounds adorable! I haven't really redecorated yet, but our next home, I have big plans, lol. Yes, the pink kitchen would make him sad.
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Yes, exactly! Yellow goes well with most other colors. Decorating was my favorite part of buying a house instead of renting - so many more options!
Here's a pic of my kitchen: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jSIeTE__GaA8qIH5KTKPguNZGhxl9lAn/view?usp=sharing It's very kitschy, but I love it. My house was built in 1952, so kitschy works.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---What if you got a Redrum needlepoint thing, framed it, and hung it on the door? It's not quite the same, but it would probably be white and would pop against the door that way and you could still keep it's nice stained wood look. Peeling paint is the worst.
Yes, we have so many wonderfully weird and macabre things, lol.
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That's a good idea! I do love those needlepoints that look so sweet and pretty and then say horrible things LOL. But I already have the vinyl wall cling, so I'm gonna use that. I think if I end up painting the walls, I will probably also do the door... but if I don't, then I probably won't. I am indecisive right now LOL. I did already paint the back of the door to my writing room, which was identical, so I might as well paint another one if it will look best. My shower curtain came today, so now I can go look for paint chips and get a feel for what will work best with the color scheme.
Weird and macabre things are the best! Ask Rose about her zombie-themed bathroom LOL.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---How's it going? Glad you were able to get something started.
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I actually ended up having a pretty good writing night last night! Once I got off here and went upstairs to write, I churned out about 1,300 words and got a good start on my chapter.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 07:56:51 PM ---lol! I don't know that I'd call Lou Pearlman destiny, but sure. I'm glad they were heroes thrust together by a ponzi schemer, lol. Love found family. That's PBox too.
I think he would be mad if I didn't, lol!
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I mean, yes, they were clearly manufactured in the beginning, but I do think there was some destiny involved with the other original members quitting and them finding Kevin, who brought in Brian. They would not be the same group without Kevin and Brian, so that part seems like it was meant to be. LMAO at "heroes thrust together by a ponzi scheme."
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 09:50:21 PM ---That's a valid point. If anything, characters should be different from us and if that's something they would say, they should say it (and get called out on it, and hopefully the Boys don't speak that way now, if they did then). But it's also good that we recognize it in our earlier works and are making the necessary adjustments to do better for our community when we catch ourselves writing something that could be problematic.
Uhhh... what? Like, they've seen the show right? I think you're totally right, that's the exact point of the show. If it gets changed, then that satire level is just absent. See this is what I dislike about PC culture. Something where the whole purpose is to say "this is crazy and offensive" is being called crazy and offensive. We should recognize our biases and have conversations with people when they are being biased (or racist, homophobic, etcetera), but we've gotta stop "canceling" everything.
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Yep, I totally agree with everything you said here. We can always learn more and do better. I'm all for education, but not a fan of cancel culture either. People who are truly committed to learning and growing deserve a chance to do so.
There's definitely a difference between ignorance, intolerance, and satire. Being PC is fine in society, but it takes the fun out of satire. And, again, I don't know the specifics of who exactly made the complaint about Book of Mormon or what they were complaining about, but so many times, it seems like it's "woke" straight white people getting all offended on behalf of minorities who may or may not actually be offended themselves. Having those conversations before launching into social justice warrior mode is so important, and while it's great to be an ally, sometimes we need to take a back seat and let whatever group we're fighting for be in the driver's seat.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 09:50:21 PM ---Okay, well the way to subvert that is writing Brian in a relationship with his wife and I just don't feel like writing about her, so... I'm going to go with my original plan, lol. Which was not an angsty sexual relationship with Nick, lol.
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LOL Totally understand that. Although I actually kinda like writing Leighanne in small doses; even before last year, she was so easy to poke fun of. Now I don't even feel remotely bad about doing so. But go with your original plan! I'm sure it'll be great!
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 09:50:21 PM ---WTF google? This belongs in that thread apparently, lol.
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LOL For sure! I forgot to mention The Passion of the Christ, which also came up and is a valid choice for an Easter movie, but damn... my story is depressing enough already LOL.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 09:50:21 PM ---Hmmm... that might actually work too! Great suggestion to go further back. Good ol' Backstreet.net! I haven't thought about you in forever, but what a blessing!
Next time they solicit fan questions, this is what I'm going to ask. What's the process of preparing for a tour? Please tell me about your job and not your underwear preferences! lol My first thought was actually boat, but then I remembered that cargo planes are a thing and not just passenger planes, lol.
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That would be a great question! I imagine you're right about the cargo plane; they probably sent the stage over in pieces and build it there. But really I have no idea. I think that's also part of the reason I hate writing tour/concert stuff, because I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes besides the little snippets we've seen in their videos, so I can't draw on my own experience, and it's not an easy thing to research. So much of what comes up when I have tried to look stuff like that up is geared toward garage bands, not famous pop groups on world tours.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 28, 2021, 09:50:21 PM ---I ended up writing around 500 words yesterday, and then about 200 editing, but yeah... Not productive at all. I mean cooking and laundry, sure! I think I just need to get into the groove with this story. I envisioned it as some sort of hilarious thing and it ended up more serious than I'd planned on. Curse you, Team Dark!
Thanks! I wanted them to be funny, but the idea of using song lyrics as chapter titles was also too good to pass up, lol.
How's your writing going today?
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Aww. It's hard to be a productive writer when you have stuff to do around the house too. I hate adulting. LOL It's also hard when you're not quite in the groove yet, whether it be with a new story or just a new chapter. So it'll be a black comedy! Those are the best.
I haven't even opened my story since waking up this afternoon LOL, but last night/this morning was good. Hopefully tonight/tomorrow morning will be too!
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