1) Tell us one thing about your story that no one else knows?I was gonna say "the ending," LOL, but that's not exactly telling you something, is it? Um... how about this: The outline for it, which I have saved as a Word doc, is currently 22 pages long. It's probably been even longer than that, but I've taken some stuff out that isn't relevant anymore.
2) How long did it take you to write this entire story?I've been writing it since March 2004, and it's still going. It's getting close to being done, though, so I'll probably finish it this year.
3) Give us a summary different from the one you have posted on AC, with a few more spoilers to make people tune in.Critical illness tends to complicate relationships, but in Nick and Claire's case, it brought them together. Now, in the aftermath, their growing relationship must face the challenges of everday life and the reality of their two very different lifestyles. They say relationships based on intense experiences never work, but when theirs falls apart, it just may take a few more intense experiences to bring them back together.(Okay, now here's my author's note: It sounds like a romance, and it IS a romance, but there's really more to it than that. It's not all fluff and petty couple issues. There's a lot of drama too - hopefully the realistic type, not just melodrama for the sake of it. So I hope no one will avoid it just because it's a romance, especially if you liked Broken. If you know me, you know that I get bored by romance without some major drama and angst included, so expect drama and angst too LOL.)
4) If you could cast this story as a movie who would play the main roles and why?For Nick, I have NO idea. The best choice would be him LOL, and if not him, maybe someone like Ryan Phillippe, cause he's a good actor and does anger/angst well LOL (and he's hot!), but he might be too old. I don't know of any younger actors that would fit the part, so I'm gonna pass on that one LOL.
For Claire, Bryce Dallas Howard because she's got the look, Scarlett Johansson because she's got the casual, cool vibe, or Rachel McAdams because she's a fantastic actress and could fit her personality too.
For Jamie, Shane West because he can play a jerk well and does a great smirk. Joaquin Phoenix would be my second choice because he's such a great actor, and he sort of has the look.
For Laureen, I'm kinda blanking again... I dunno. Probably an unknown that I'd discover through auditions.
For the rest of the Boys, I'm just gonna cheat and say I would want them to play themselves.
It's seriously hard to think of actors who would do them justice! It's too weird to imagine them portrayed by anyone else LOL.
5) Have you ever thought of giving up on the story and if you did what made you continue to work on it? Nope, never. It's my baby. Only before I actually started did I think I might never get through it because I have a horrible track record with sequels LOL, but here I am, almost done with it! The end is in sight. It's been pretty easy to write, for the most part.
6) What was your writing process? (Outline, make it up as you go along, the characters wrote it, I am Tonja and plagerized lol)LMAO I always enjoy the end of this question.
I've used an outline, for the most part. I planned out the major events of the story before I even started it, and I have stuck with all of those. The minor stuff in between, I have kinda made up and changed along the way. I've added subplots and characters I didn't plan originally, and some characters have become more important or less important than I intended, so in that way, the characters and the story kinda wrote itself, but there was still a lot of planning that went into the overal story arc.
7) Who was your favorite character in this story and why?Aw, it's gotta be Nick; I love Nick anyway, and I like the character he has developed into throughout Broken and this story. He's my favorite to write about.
8 ) You had to know this was coming, who was your least favorite?I'm gonna group the whole Carter Clan into one and say them. Nick's family. I write about them as little as possible and much less than in Broken even because I can't stand writing about them LOL. It's too hard not to exaggerate them, and yet I find them so much more fun to write about when they're crazy and dysfunctional than when they're "normal," so I've just started avoiding them altogether LOL.
9) Are all the boys in this one? If not why did you choose to exclude them?Yep. They're not in it as much as they were in Broken, but they're there. The reason they're not in it as much is because they're not really a part of the main storyline. They're just a subplot. Usually their parts are just there for filler and don't move the story along much, so to force out Bsb parts that have no real point just seemed like a waste of time and pages for me, so I didn't bother. The story's long enough as it is LOL. But there are some good Bsb parts, so never fear.
10) If we like this story...then we'd love what story? (Could be by you or someone else) and obviously tell us why lol "Cover Me With Dreams" by Heidi - http://www.covermewithdreams.com/cmwd.htmlI read this story for the first time when I was nearing the end of Broken, and it was a HUGE inspiration to me when writing BMS. I had already decided to write a sequel, but I drew a lot of inspiration from CMWD when it came to the romance/relationship aspect of the story, since that is not something I'd really written as the main focus of a story before (not WELL, anyway LOL). It's a romance/drama, like BMS, and tells the story of Bsb coming together, as well as how the main couple in it came together. It's more Backstreet-oriented than BMS and a far better story than I could ever hope to write, in my opinion. Definitely read it!
One other thing I wanna say... in case you don't know, "By My Side" is actually a sequel to my story "Broken." So if you haven't read Broken, I would HIGHLY recommend reading that before you tackle this one. Otherwise you'll be missing out on some key plot points and character development. If it's okay with Mare, I have no problem with anyone reading Broken instead of BMS this month and posting feedback on that here. The two stories go together, so we can kinda discuss both - BMS for the people who have already read it or have read Broken and are going to read it, and Broken for those who haven't read that and want something new to read.
Here's the link to Broken:
http://accidentalchaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=5354
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Topic: Featured story of the month for August 2007 - By My Side by Julie (Read 19062 times)