Fic Talk > General Discussion
Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 22, 2021, 12:19:20 AM ---Just popping in to say you are a great writing coach, Dee! These seem like helpful questions. If I ever get around to working seriously on Guilty Roads again, I know who to come to for plotting advice.
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Aw, thanks. This is how I let myself work through things when I'm really truly stuck or trying to come up with new ideas at any point. I think questions are good because saying "I don't know" usually means that whatever you're trying to figure out is either too broad or too far away from where you're at. The smaller the question, the easier I tend to find it. It's like they say, the devil is in the details. :) This isn't to say that the question can't get too small too quickly, but that's easy to notice to if I'm getting too far ahead of myself.
I am happy to throw random questions at you with minimal context, but no direct involvement, lol. I'll do this for anyone anytime if it's useful.
Edited to Add: And now I am fully caught up! Sorry for staycationing and having a post-end of story tired hangover type thing, lol.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 24, 2021, 08:28:10 PM ---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.
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LOL Broken is the one story where I intentionally tried to use the type of literary devices that could be discussed in English class (because I was taking AP English at the time), but my attempts are so clunky, they would just be laughed at. Like the shark dream. Foreshadowing, definitely, but a bit obvious. I think I've gotten slightly more subtle over the years. The Road to Bethlehem had a lot of foreshadowing in the beginning with the description of the Trump house they passed on the drive up, the conversation about how dangerous the mountains are while they're the Christmas tree farm, and at least one mention of how they had no cell service in the mountains.
LOL I myself would like to know the hidden meaning of the flying pandaskunks in that video. But maybe the artist just really liked pandas with long, fluffy tails. I bet that happens a lot. Not everything's meant to be deep and symbolic.
You do seem big on sticking to your theme. If/when I ever get around to reading PBox in its entirety, I'll have to see if I can figure out Nick's power based on his descriptions.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 24, 2021, 08:28:10 PM ---Sweet! Who wants to pick the first story?
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I guess we should find out who else wants to do this besides us.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 24, 2021, 08:28:10 PM ---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.
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AC is hard to find. I just Googled for Backstreet Boys fanfiction, and it didn't come up on the first page of results, no matter what variation I used (fan fiction, fanfic, etc.). That's too bad. But the spambots will find and exploit any site with weakness. For as few visitors as my site gets, I'll log in and have like 50 spam comments to delete from my spam queue. Thankfully, I have a good plugin that filters them out so they don't ever show up on the actual site, but it's still annoying. I noticed a significant increase in them last year after I did the blogs for my 20th anniversary. I called them "Wayback Wednesday" blogs, and I think those key words are what got the posts noticed by spammers because the spam comments are almost always on one of those.
nicksgal:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 24, 2021, 10:57:55 PM ---LOL Broken is the one story where I intentionally tried to use the type of literary devices that could be discussed in English class (because I was taking AP English at the time), but my attempts are so clunky, they would just be laughed at. Like the shark dream. Foreshadowing, definitely, but a bit obvious. I think I've gotten slightly more subtle over the years. The Road to Bethlehem had a lot of foreshadowing in the beginning with the description of the Trump house they passed on the drive up, the conversation about how dangerous the mountains are while they're the Christmas tree farm, and at least one mention of how they had no cell service in the mountains.
LOL I myself would like to know the hidden meaning of the flying pandaskunks in that video. But maybe the artist just really liked pandas with long, fluffy tails. I bet that happens a lot. Not everything's meant to be deep and symbolic.
You do seem big on sticking to your theme. If/when I ever get around to reading PBox in its entirety, I'll have to see if I can figure out Nick's power based on his descriptions.
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Probably the same reason PBox is so true to its theme. Darn you over-analyzing High School English classes, lol! Even if they were clunky, they helped you practice and make them more subtle as time went on. The Trump house I didn't catch on to, but the mountains and the cell service I knew were going to be big things later, but no clear ideas on why.
Who are we to say that elves don't ride pandas that need longer tails to keep warm? Santa has all the reindeer busy, lol.
I wish you luck, if/when. ;)
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 24, 2021, 10:57:55 PM ---I guess we should find out who else wants to do this besides us.
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Stop putting logic in me trying to jumpstart this, lol. If no one else speaks up, Tracy did just finish reading Why I'd Do It All Again; I'm sure she'd discuss it with us if we (re)read it.
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on June 24, 2021, 10:57:55 PM ---AC is hard to find. I just Googled for Backstreet Boys fanfiction, and it didn't come up on the first page of results, no matter what variation I used (fan fiction, fanfic, etc.). That's too bad. But the spambots will find and exploit any site with weakness. For as few visitors as my site gets, I'll log in and have like 50 spam comments to delete from my spam queue. Thankfully, I have a good plugin that filters them out so they don't ever show up on the actual site, but it's still annoying. I noticed a significant increase in them last year after I did the blogs for my 20th anniversary. I called them "Wayback Wednesday" blogs, and I think those key words are what got the posts noticed by spammers because the spam comments are almost always on one of those.
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I don't think it even comes up if you google "Absolute Chaos." I think Ash made it that way intentionally once upon a time, because I feel like we've all discussed that it's hard to find at one point way back when.
Really glad that the spam comments only get to you and not published in full. It would be unfortunate to see so much spam as you host, let alone for anyone else to see it too. I wonder what about "Wayback Wednesday" attracted the spammers? The alliteration? (I get it, because I love that.) The "Wayback" like the "Wayback Machine"? The weekly blogs increasing the traffic? I'm at a loss.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 24, 2021, 09:00:43 PM ---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.
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I hear you. It is fun to feel like you have the flexibility to write whatever you want without flaking out on your other projects, but it's frustrating when you hop from story to story and nothing sticks. So if PDemons is calling to you, go with it!
I'm glad you looked over Gobosei and found some places worth editing. LOL I did the same thing with my two Nick cancer stories, gave the female character a C name. That was not an intentional choice; I just thought those names fit best.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 24, 2021, 09:00:43 PM ---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.
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I love this idea! I think the AJ version works better for that scene because then the conversation wouldn't be totally one-sided like it would if Nick were sleeping in the background. He can still participate, just in a distracted way as he's trying on hats. I think you'd get more out of the joke that way. You could have Nick pull a Howie and sleep through something important later in the story. That said, I think it would be funnier with Howie as the love interest/chosen one because there just aren't that many Howie romances - fewer than AJ, I'm sure. That, or Howie could be the one everything bad happens to.
I have wondered the same thing about their tour rehearsals. I tried researching it once and wasn't able to find specifics for the Boys either, but it sounds like they would rent some sort of rehearsal space big enough to run through the whole show. I found an article about Beyonce renting out a stadium in Tampa to rehearse for her tour a week before it started in Miami: https://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/music/beyonc233-preps-for-her-formation-tour-with-rehearsals-in-tampa/2274355/ There also seem to be places that are specifically rehearsal studios, not actual concert venues. Here's an article about those that names some specific ones in different cities: https://www.soundonsound.com/music-business/rise-large-scale-rehearsal-studio I'm assuming these would be more affordable and practical than renting out an entire stadium.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 24, 2021, 09:28:11 PM ---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
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LOL! I don't think Nick has been killed by a lawn mower yet in 1000 Ways if you wanna add that idea to your list of things to write.
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 24, 2021, 09:28:11 PM ---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.)
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LMAO Best scene in the entire movie! Here it is if anyone else feels compelled to watch it now: https://youtu.be/09sBVx2jQ28?t=386 I do think he was a bit better in Dead 7, so at least he's improving?
--- Quote from: nicksgal on June 24, 2021, 09:28:11 PM ---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.
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Same. I seem to be most productive when I'm writing a scene that has a lot of dialogue and nothing I need to look up. Those are the times where I can write for long periods of time without getting distracted and churn out 1,000+ words easily. It's the scenes that are more descriptive or require research that I get the most distracted writing.
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