Fic Talk > General Discussion
Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on July 27, 2021, 09:35:31 PM ---I saw this Reddit thread about "sandbox books," stories or series that you keep playing in even if you'll never finish or publish them. https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/osn2l5/do_you_have_a_sandbox_bookseries_one_that_you/ Do you have (or have you ever had) any sandbox stories? If so, tell us about them. Are they published online? Do you see yourself finishing them someday?
00Carter definitely seems like a sandbox story to me. I doubt it will ever be finished, but it's fun to play in from time to time. Some of my most creative writing has come from that story, and it has definitely challenged me and broadened my horizons as a writer.
I don't have any stories like this that aren't posted. I eventually post everything that makes it past the first few chapters.
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I guess PBox is kind of sandboxy? But here I am attempting to finish it, so I don't know if it is a full sandbox story.
I think the fun thing about enjoying a character or a world is that there's a ton of fun writing exercises to do with familiar characters that just bring some "writing for the joy of it" aspects into it. One of my favorites that I've played around with recently is to rewrite pieces of scenes from other characters' perspectives. Sometimes I do this anyway when trying to pick the best POV character for the scene, but there are other times when I know the POV character I want to use and just do it for fun afterward. Like that "funny mundane Nick moment" I asked for ideas on here back in May, I ended up writing the version of that from his POV just for fun because it made me laugh. Maybe I'll share it once I get to that chapter. I also sometimes write little things that are referenced in the story, but that don't actually end up in the narrative. (Or sometimes they do eventually if I like them enough, lol.)
I guess when I say it like this, PBox is a sandbox story. Or maybe it's like those sand art sculptures, where you play in them, but eventually it's a finished product.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on July 27, 2021, 10:36:32 PM ---Yeah, I don't know what it is about the other one... Maybe the five structured POVs? The two Nick chapters I've written so far were just so easy. I don't get it. Although, now that I think of it, I've also been pretty meticulous about tracking everything I do writing-wise to kind of see how my work on stories varies (all the things NaNo normally asks about like times and mood and such). However, I think it's sucking the fun out of it. I think the only thing I really like tracking is my word count, so I think I may go back to just tracking that as I keep writing.
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Sticking to a specific structure and switching POVS can definitely be challenging. Really, the premise of Nick trying not to be the main character sounds like a challenge for any writer who tends to gravitate toward Nick. Sometimes it's hard to come up with interesting ideas for the other guys and get into their heads.
I can also see how all the tracking would get tedious and take time away from actually writing. I enter the start and stop times and all that on Nano when it's convenient, like when I've had a pretty focused writing session, but when I'm just writing a sentence here and there while doing other things, I don't worry about recording the time because it will just skew my average word count even lower than it already is. And trying to keep track of all the tiny increments where I'm actually writing, while subtracting my focus fails, would take way too much time, effort, and math for me LOL. At the end of the day, the date and word count are the stats I care about.
One thing I do wonder about Nano is why it doesn't show any stats for "how" I write (by hand, on a laptop, etc.). I've been noting whether I wrote on my laptop (Chromebook) or desktop just to see if it made a noticeable difference in my productivity, but that is not included in the stats it gives at the bottom. Oh well... I'm pretty sure I'm a lot more productive on my Chromebook because I can be physically more comfortable, which affects how long I'm willing to sit and stare at the screen.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on July 27, 2021, 10:36:32 PM ---I subbed in an infant classroom yesterday and then had the last session of a PD I signed up for in the evening. I took a twenty minute nap between, wrote one sentence, and went to bed, lol. But the streak lives!
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That sounds tiring! I'm glad you were able to keep the streak alive.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on July 27, 2021, 10:36:32 PM ---I think you did a great job! :) It's a work of art. Now Rose needs to show us her redone bathroom too.
--- End quote ---
Thanks! She posted some pics of it the other day: https://twitter.com/ForeverRebel/status/1419573467448373257
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on July 27, 2021, 10:49:33 PM ---I guess PBox is kind of sandboxy? But here I am attempting to finish it, so I don't know if it is a full sandbox story.
I think the fun thing about enjoying a character or a world is that there's a ton of fun writing exercises to do with familiar characters that just bring some "writing for the joy of it" aspects into it. One of my favorites that I've played around with recently is to rewrite pieces of scenes from other characters' perspectives. Sometimes I do this anyway when trying to pick the best POV character for the scene, but there are other times when I know the POV character I want to use and just do it for fun afterward. Like that "funny mundane Nick moment" I asked for ideas on here back in May, I ended up writing the version of that from his POV just for fun because it made me laugh. Maybe I'll share it once I get to that chapter. I also sometimes write little things that are referenced in the story, but that don't actually end up in the narrative. (Or sometimes they do eventually if I like them enough, lol.)
I guess when I say it like this, PBox is a sandbox story. Or maybe it's like those sand art sculptures, where you play in them, but eventually it's a finished product.
--- End quote ---
All that makes sense. I would consider PBox a sandbox story because, even though you do plan on finishing the series, it's such a vast world that you've spent so many years building and playing in.
I agree about having those characters or that story world that you write just for the joy of it, even if it's not something you post. I guess my Footprints series of shorts would qualify as a sandbox story in that way. They are one-shots written in Broken/BMS Claire's POV, written just for the fun of it because I wanted to explore more of her back story and how she felt during the big moments that were written from Nick's perspective. I haven't written one in years and put the "completed" label on it because I didn't have any more planned that I definitely wanted to write, but if I felt inspired to write another one, I would. I still love those characters and their relationship and all their drama LOL.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on July 27, 2021, 11:01:12 PM ---Sticking to a specific structure and switching POVS can definitely be challenging. Really, the premise of Nick trying not to be the main character sounds like a challenge for any writer who tends to gravitate toward Nick. Sometimes it's hard to come up with interesting ideas for the other guys and get into their heads.
--- End quote ---
It is a challenge! The idea was too funny not to write, but it's not going as easily as it was at first. Except for the jokes. Now if only I could string the random jokes into a cohesive narrative, lol. This is how I know that I would struggle with a Kevin story, so I'm glad I didn't jump on that trend when it was trendy. Someone tell Nick to stop being the main character, lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on July 27, 2021, 11:01:12 PM ---I can also see how all the tracking would get tedious and take time away from actually writing. I enter the start and stop times and all that on Nano when it's convenient, like when I've had a pretty focused writing session, but when I'm just writing a sentence here and there while doing other things, I don't worry about recording the time because it will just skew my average word count even lower than it already is. And trying to keep track of all the tiny increments where I'm actually writing, while subtracting my focus fails, would take way too much time, effort, and math for me LOL. At the end of the day, the date and word count are the stats I care about.
--- End quote ---
I thought it might be helpful for my WADD to see if I was spending a lot of time devoted to a certain story over another one or if the time I spent trying to write a story was not reflected in its word count. It only takes a few minutes, but it has felt tedious and you're right, it's really just word count that I care about. I do like seeing word count by story, so that's something I might keep tracking, but I think I'm putting the kibosh on all the other stuff unless I have an active NaNo goal going, which I also think I'll stop after this camp NaNo session for the time being. That being said, when I have only had a minute to write, I usually end up writing 7-8 words, so I have proven that I consistently write 7-8 words in a minute, lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on July 27, 2021, 11:01:12 PM ---One thing I do wonder about Nano is why it doesn't show any stats for "how" I write (by hand, on a laptop, etc.). I've been noting whether I wrote on my laptop (Chromebook) or desktop just to see if it made a noticeable difference in my productivity, but that is not included in the stats it gives at the bottom. Oh well... I'm pretty sure I'm a lot more productive on my Chromebook because I can be physically more comfortable, which affects how long I'm willing to sit and stare at the screen.
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I've always wondered why it asked that if it doesn't have a statistic for it. It doesn't make sense anymore now that you can just track your own word count and they don't verify it. I think it made more of a difference back then, so maybe it's a holdover from the old platform/rules. I'm not sure where I'm more productive. I don't think it's a "physically where" for me, so much as a where in the story I am.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on July 27, 2021, 11:01:12 PM ---That sounds tiring! I'm glad you were able to keep the streak alive.
--- End quote ---
Gotta get to 150 days just to say that I can! ;)
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on July 27, 2021, 11:01:12 PM ---Thanks! She posted some pics of it the other day: https://twitter.com/ForeverRebel/status/1419573467448373257
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Oh good! I missed that in my lurking. (It looks great/artful too, Rose, but you need more things for your shelf.) My phone has decided that I must get notifications about your tweets, Julie, but no one else's, lol.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on July 27, 2021, 11:11:57 PM ---All that makes sense. I would consider PBox a sandbox story because, even though you do plan on finishing the series, it's such a vast world that you've spent so many years building and playing in.
I agree about having those characters or that story world that you write just for the joy of it, even if it's not something you post. I guess my Footprints series of shorts would qualify as a sandbox story in that way. They are one-shots written in Broken/BMS Claire's POV, written just for the fun of it because I wanted to explore more of her back story and how she felt during the big moments that were written from Nick's perspective. I haven't written one in years and put the "completed" label on it because I didn't have any more planned that I definitely wanted to write, but if I felt inspired to write another one, I would. I still love those characters and their relationship and all their drama LOL.
--- End quote ---
I like that too! Just a little series of connected shorts with a different twist from the original. What made you decide to share them instead of just hanging on to them for yourself? I think what really makes a good story compelling is the characters, so I think with really compelling character dynamics, it's easy to get attached to them and keep them around in the sandbox for next time.
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