Fic Talk > General Discussion
Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 10:06:58 PM ---Haha, I love that thread!
I don't use a lot of symbolism and that sort of stuff that gets analyzed in English class, but when I do, I like when it gets noticed. I do use a fair amount of foreshadowing, which doesn't usually get mentioned in feedback from people who are reading for the first time because they wouldn't necessarily know it's foreshadowing. But I hope it would be recognized and appreciated on rereads.
I would get a kick out of them overanalyzing the little Easter eggs I throw in for my own amusement and making them seem deeper than they really are. "Why did she name the doctor the German word for 'platypus'? Was that meant to represent the enigma of rare cancers, or was it a commentary on how xenophobic Americans view foreigners as strange and unusual?" No, I actually had just been discussing platypuses with Rose and thought it was funny.
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I know, right? I laughed so hard.
You do foreshadow a lot. It's pretty subtle, but every now and then I've gotten an inkling and been proud for nailing it. I can't think of a specific example off hand (also spoilers) except for your shark leg-eating dreams from Broken, lol.
Yes! Those are for sure things that would get over analyzed! Like all the Pixar ones do. I feel like most things like that, things that are just in there for fun are the ones analyzed to death. Please have them discuss the meaning of Pandaskunks. That's all I want for Christmas, lol. I feel like there's a modern author (I can't remember who or what about, clearly) that said something like "Please stop analyzing x. I just liked it. That's it." lol
I can't think of deep things in any of the others off hand. But in PBox, I'm very true to my main theme "there's always hope." Time and time again, as long as the characters are hoping and believing, they get rewarded. I did a fun thing in PBox that I don't think anyone's ever pointed out to me. Even though I didn't say, I did know what Nick's powers would be fairly early on and constantly described him in words that could evoke that imagery. It's fun knowing it's there, but no one's ever really mentioned it.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 10:06:58 PM ---All great points. Plantsing is the best of both worlds because then you have a rough path to follow, with the freedom to divert from it and forge a different path to your planned destination - or maybe a different one! It's okay to change your mind in the middle or even at the end, as long as it makes sense. Like you said, ideally you would stay true to the plot and characters at the same time. But yeah, if you can get a character to plausibly do something they normally wouldn't do and then hate themselves for it, thus becoming a more believably flawed character, even better!
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Yeah, that's definitely part of why I consider myself a plantser over a pantser or a planner, but my planning tends to be me free writing ideas rather than anything linear. If it seems like it could be important, I'll write it down. Or, I think I've mentioned several times that I enjoy asking myself questions including "tell me why" several times like the Boys, philosophy professors, and 4-year-olds, lol. (Anyone else get that meme a lot from their friends or is it just me?) Usually I'll figure it out as long as I have a Point A and a Point Z... or eventually, at least.
I do that so much to Nick in PBox. He hates it. I am slowly forcing him to become a better person, lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 10:06:58 PM ---Yeah, I agree, it would be fun to combine the reading challenge with the Fanfic of the Month feature we used to do and discuss stories we want to revisit or read for the first time. Then we could have some of those deeper, English-class style discussions without worrying about spoilers.
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Sweet! Who wants to pick the first story?
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 10:06:58 PM ---Haha, I don't correct spelling on the forum. We all have times when we type too fast too late at night and make mistakes.
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Ugh, I know. But I did it again in my questions to Tracy post too and I was so mad at myself, lol!
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 10:06:58 PM ---Yep, I agree. It would be nice to be able to see a breakdown of hits per chapter on AO3. I have no idea if the hits on AC are actually even real readers or just spambots. If yours is usually in the 0-2 range for your most recent chapter, that gives me hope that more of mine are actual readers than what I thought, but who knows. It just always seems like the site is dead, but without the review option, it's hard to tell.
I'm looking at my chapter stats on AC now, and yeah, it's interesting how some of those random chapters spike it. Sometimes they are chapters where something big happened that maybe readers would want to revisit, but other times they seem totally random. The same thing happens on my site where certain chapters or posts seem to get a lot of clicks and/or spam comments. I don't know if it's because they had certain words that made them come up in search results or what. I noticed my third pandaskunk story that I posted early last year has more "reads" per chapter than my last three serious stories, which definitely does not match with the very minimal amount of feedback I got for it compared to what I've gotten for my dramas. Not sure what to make of that, but I take it all with a grain of salt because I know the site has a big spam problem.
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It would be hard with the way they do it though, so I get it. Yeah, if they were even in the teens in the first week for a new chapter, I would definitely figure they were mostly spam bots. But 0-2 feels like real people. I have 5 this past week, so I've been pretending that suddenly a bunch of people wanted to read. ;D
I've found that on a whole, AC is hard to find. I don't know about your site, but I've definitely tried searching for exact lines of my stories and AC never comes up. So it's unfortunate that the spam has found it somehow. Silent readers prefer comedy? lol Not sure! I think a grain of salt is probably best, then you're not wondering why twenty people (or 200 people) don't want to connect with you somewhere for something.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 10:43:41 PM ---Wow! Good for you! Take it from me, WADDing is more frustrating than fun LOL. Sometimes it's a necessary evil in order to come up with new ideas, but I'd much rather just write consistently on one story.
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I mean same. I guess it was less annoyance and more that I was looking forward to perusing a few ideas and seeing what might stick rather than just waking up and being like "PDemons!" But, I guess that means the end of PNecklace really stuck with me. So if nothing else, I know that's a project that I can definitely pursue for the next one or that I should be able to quickly pick back up if I do something else first.
I did look over Gobosei and found myself skimming the chapters that are posted rather than reading, but reading the ones I hadn't posted. Not sure if this is because I've read them so many times or what, but I definitely found some places to edit -- including where it starts and probably the female character's name, because I definitely kept reading "Minako" in my head, so I've got to get away from M names, lol. So that's where we are there.
No new news for Nick is Brian's guardian angel.
I know what happens next in snail, I just haven't committed anything new to paper yet.
I did wake up at midnight with this strong urge to write my other idea though. The "Nick avoids being the main character" one and got about 250 words added for the beginning, but then got stuck deciding between two equally funny options that would steer the first bit of the story and also got hung up on a detail y'all might know the answer to. Maybe y'all can help me!
So the basic no spoilers premise of "Nick avoids being the main character" is that joke I made a while ago about Nick getting a chance to be everyone else's stereotypes in fanfics in addition to actively, well... avoiding being the main character. It's meant to be a bit of a love letter and humorous subversion to our old fanfic cliches. And I decided a good place to start it, just as an inciting incident to give Nick the power to "avoid being the main character," would be a nice love triangle. My initial gut was to pick AJ, because then they could have a conversation where AJ's trying to be focused and Nick makes dirty jokes while he tries on hats in the background at some point (hilarious). But then yesterday I thought "It could be equally hilarious if the love triangle was with Howie. And while Howie's trying to be focused on their conversation, Nick just sleeps, then disappears for a while... or tries to anyway" (also hilarious). So, I don't know. Am I supremely wrong on either of these being funny? Is one more funny than the other?
And then I got hung up on... they have dress rehearsals for their tours before they go, I assume... with full costumes, effects, etcetera? But I can't find them talking about any of it... except for the residency. Where do they set up this dress rehearsal? My impromptu "no research" gut instinct thought empty airplane hanger, because renting out a stadium or arena seems cost prohibitive to not let anyone in. Anyone know for certain? Or remember somewhere they discuss this?
So... this could be my next project. I've got pretty much everything figured out except what to do with Howie or AJ if they're not in this love triangle.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 11:33:36 PM ---It's usually about every other week, depending on how fast the grass is growing. It's been really dry here lately, so I probably won't have to mow this week. I only have a push mower since my yard's not that big, and its blade could use a sharpening, so in reality, it probably wouldn't do much damage to a body LOL.
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We don't have a lawn, but my friends that do always talk about how relatively low maintenance they are because of our water restrictions. I assumed the opposite, since cuts from dull knives hurt worse than cuts from sharp ones? lol. But maybe it takes more effort with a dull knife? I guess if anything, it would be more likely to give the body an infection which could eventually lead to death... If slow death is more your thing, lol. I'm not planning any murders, I swear! lol
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 11:33:36 PM ---Ooh, good point, I forgot to include the comic on my list of things he has written! He really is quite diverse in his creative endeavors, and aside from acting, he's good at everything he does! (And he's still entertaining to watch as an actor, even if he won't be winning any serious acting awards LOL.)
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LOL! Not a good actor?! Was your life not forever changed by the "bridge bit" in The Hollow? Superb acting. (I'm kidding, it was obviously not written for the laugh I give it every time, lol.)
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 11:33:36 PM ---Do you find you use your writing time more productively when you limit it that way, like only writing an hour per day? Now that it's summer, I can get more written in a day where I don't have anywhere I have to be, but I waste so much time getting distracting while I'm "writing." Today I "wrote" in bed for like 4 hours, and I finished the scene I was on, but I only wrote 900 some words. That is really not much for 4 hours. But I know it's because I'd write a sentence or maybe even a few sentences and then open a new tab to look something up or watch a YouTube video or check Twitter or whatever while I "thought of what to write next." When the words are flowing, I'm more focused, but when they're not, this is why I write so slowly LOL.
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Hmmm... It depends? If I limit the writing time, I tend not to get distracted by research things or get stuck on word choice because I'm just trying to write in that time (and then I can go back and fix anything later.) But, no, they're not usually my high word count writing times. Those are typically when I have inspiration and nothing else to do in a day. If I can sit and write for a few hours, I'll probably get between 1000 and 2000 words if I'm starting in the morning. I'll usually call it a good day if I get around 1000 words in. 2000 is a great day and anything above that is an exceptional day.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 11:45:42 PM ---I like that idea! The battle of the bands is a fun twist on R&J, and it would be cool to turn it into a series of stories inspired by Shakespeare.
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I feel like BSB Richard III would just drag and drag... lol! But you're right, could be cool. If I could ever stand to look at the original version for longer than five seconds... ha!
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 21, 2021, 11:45:42 PM ---As mentioned, I'm considering a sequel for My Brother's Keeper, but it's definitely too early to make a decision on that right now. Ideas have just been floating around in my brain, but I haven't written anything down.
Other than a fourth pandaskunk story, the one that's probably most likely to happen at some point is a short story sequel to SAMS. I've been lowkey wanting to do one of those for a few years. I was going to write it for the DNA challenge we talked about doing here, and then none of us did it LOL. I guess it's a sign of how well my novel-writing has been going since DNA came out that I haven't wanted to stop working on my other projects long enough to spend a few days writing a short story.
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I remember. Keep floating ideas. I'm always team sequel if the story warrants it or was always planned in multiple parts.
It's interesting that you've had so many sequel ideas you've wanted to explore. I think it's great to have so many stories worth continuing. :) LOL! Don't you love when everyone talks about something and then no one does it. So funny.
It's good that your novel projects have been going well. Don't stop on them to write a short story!
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2021, 12:14:44 AM ---Those weekends are the best! It's rare for them to happen twice in a row though. When I have a really good writing day, the next day almost always sucks - especially if it involves me staying up until crazy hours and then not getting enough sleep.
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I guess technically there was a weekend in between them where I was not productive, but I didn't really have time to write, so I'm calling it a toss up. I typically do have dips after my prolific days, but I would say that Wednesdays are typically my biggest dip unless I haven't finished editing the chapter I'm supposed to post (then my Wednesdays are higher). During this last goal section, I was pretty good about keeping a semi-consistent sleep schedule. I did not during NaNo though, but I'd say that I straddled the 2000 words line more than having extreme dips like I have since. I'm not sure if that's because I've been interacting with y'all more and not in a writing bubble or because being in the fresh new beginning was more exciting than being in the middle or the end. Or that I'd only spent a month or so working on the same project fairly consistently instead of six months. If I don't sleep, I am a wreck, lol!
I think if you're on an extended vacation, it's both okay to have crazy writing days and slumps or spread it out so there's less slumps. Wherever your muse takes you, really.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2021, 12:14:44 AM ---LOL! Yeah... not going on my site. Nick's chapter is going okay. I finished the first scene today. Have not started the second scene yet. I probably need to take a nice, long break from being on the computer and come back to it later.
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Alas! I'll have to imagine it to appreciate it. Yay, first scene done! I hope you did take a nice, long break. You've been working hard and deserve a break too.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2021, 12:14:44 AM ---I teared up at his post too, especially given what I had just posted here about my writing. Aww, Kevin... It's definitely those times when fiction intersects with reality that get to me. But I'm the same way; I make myself laugh a lot more.
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Yeah, when fiction ends up mirroring reality like that, it doubly gets me for sure from a fandom perspective. I'm sure the timing of it was quite surreal. I just cry at everything (even that stupid Budweiser commercial where the dog and horse reunite after several years), so it's weird that my writing doesn't make my cry as much. But then, I always trend toward dark over sad, so that might be part of it. Meanwhile, I will put any stupid joke in that pops in my head and laugh the whole time.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2021, 12:14:44 AM ---Agreed, no Baylee!!! That is totally different. Let's keep the slash just among the Boys.
Hehe, I love linking this interview: https://youtu.be/doq6lpBY6xk?t=595 The part I referred to starts at 9:55. So funny!
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Yes; the one time to follow Mare's rule that Backstreet Boys fanfic focuses on the Boys to a T.
OMG! How did I miss this?! LMFAO! Howie! He totally deserved that! Also, I watched the whole thing and why are we still letting Nick say "conversate"? Nick... "conversate" is not a word...
I'm dying that Nick can't remember how old he was when they were recording IWITW. Nick, you were not 16. SOMH and QPG were probably right though.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2021, 12:14:44 AM ---Yeah, it's one I really could just use Find & Replace on to change the characters' names, and voila! No longer fanfic! Obviously it would need some other editing to bring it up to published novel quality, but at least I wouldn't have to rewrite most of it to make it work.
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Just remember to find and replace the nicknames too! That's what will get you, lol. Unless they don't have any because it's an AU.
Could be fun to try if you ever get that itch. :)
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2021, 12:14:44 AM ---It's like The Butterfly Effect! Change one tiny thing, and you end up having to change more.
That's a challenge with sequels - how to catch up the reader and remind them of what's already happened without info-dumping. It's better if you can work the information in more gradually and naturally, but you also don't want the reader to be completely confused at the beginning. It seems like children's series are pretty formulaic in that they start with a scene, then do the info dump towards the end of Chapter 1 or beginning of Chapter 2. Not sure about YA; it's been a while since I've read or reread any YA series, so I don't remember if they follow that same formula or avoid the info dump since they're written for older readers.
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Ugh... It really is... It really is...
I just had them reminisce in PNecklace, easy because half of them missed the end. The beginning of PBox, Nick definitely did an info dump about some of the lore things to bring the reader in, but it's probably too info dumpy, thus making it boring instead of intriguing. Oh well, that's what a major edit is for, right? I also haven't read YA in a while and I probably should for research purposes. I think it's probably more repetitive in Middle Grade stories, especially if they're in a series.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2021, 12:14:44 AM ---A shared Google Sheet would be more organized and easy to keep track of. I dunno... keep it around as a reminder of what not to write in a fanfic LOL.
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Do we need this reminder? lol I think if an epithet is in dialogue, it's okay. Or maybe in a first person narrative. If the characters know a character's name, they should use it. If we're using it as the narrators after we've revealed the characters' names, then that's where is gets bad.
Also when the epithets are overly long and ridiculous like "The one who recorded a solo album with Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block,' lol.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2021, 12:14:44 AM ---Ow! Were you trying to do the splits? LOL
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So much more less wholesome! lol To be honest, it probably wouldn't have happened if I was flexible enough to do the splits, lmao!
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