Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => General Discussion => Topic started by: mare on September 08, 2012, 04:34:45 PM
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I figured i'd just start a new thread since we were over 500 posts in the old one.
Here's the question:
Is there any instance when you go back and look at something you've read or written where you tend to be surprised at how good or bad it actually was in retrospect? Meaning the first time you read it, you thought it sucked but on the second reread, suddenly you found it awesome or vice versa?
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aww, where is everybody? Why is no one answering my question? *sad Mare* :(
People come, people go and no one is answering my question. Where is my tie wearing, talking hedgehog when I need him? He'd answer my question! Or at the very least give me drugs to make me feel better.
And you know, the answers don't always have to be BSB related. For those of you silly enough to read and write more than just BSB lol :P
Here's another question:
If you did a BSB or any other group crossover and had to use a TV show, which one would you use and why? How would you fit the guys into it?
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Has anyone else seen that talking hedgehog commercial? I have only seen it once and now i'm starting to think it was all in my head!
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I didn't answer because I have already answered first question within one of the other questions! LOL
But when I re-read Left and Leaving I was really surprised at how good it was. Not the plot, but the actual writing. I didn't think I could write like that!
I don't know if it counts as a true crossover, but I stuck Nick into the Evangelion world as the main character and played with the setting a lot so that Nick's the one who has to save the world from the angels that have come back to reclaim it. I outlined the whole thing I just need to write it.
I also started a Sailor Moon/BSB crossover last year because obviously those are my two big loves but it was kind of impossible to fit them together. I went with having Nick date this girl who finds out about her past life where she's was the princess (and got rid of all the actual Sailor Moon monster fighting stuff) and Nick gets brainwashed and basically ends up being her enemy LOL. I am something like five chapters in... need to finish it.
Yup lol.
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Is there any instance when you go back and look at something you've read or written where you tend to be surprised at how good or bad it actually was in retrospect? Meaning the first time you read it, you thought it sucked but on the second reread, suddenly you found it awesome or vice versa?
Some of my favorite stories are ones that took me two tries to get into. Cover Me With Dreams and Between the Lines are the two examples that come to mind. They both had come highly recommended, but because they are both genres that are not my favorite thing and had elements that turned me off, I didn't get very far on either of them the first time I tried to read them. It wasn't that I thought they sucked; I just didn't get sucked in until I forced myself to read farther the second time. There came a point with each of them when I did get sucked in, and now they are two of my favorite fanfics of all time.
At the same time, there are also stories I really liked early in my fanfic-reading days that I reread years later and didn't have the same reaction to. If I read them for the first time now, I probably wouldn't add them to my favorites list. My taste in stories hasn't really changed, but my tolerance for poor writing has thinned.
With my own stories, I find that while I usually (hopefully) like them while I'm writing them and immediately after finishing them, that feeling only lasts a certain number of years, before I move on to better things and realize the old ones pale in comparison. On the rare occasion I reread something I wrote more than a few years ago and think, "Wow, this isn't that bad," it comes as a pleasant surprise. Most of it is pretty bad LOL.
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If you did a BSB or any other group crossover and had to use a TV show, which one would you use and why? How would you fit the guys into it?
I already started a thread about this idea, but I have one for an ER crossover. ER is my favorite TV show of all time, and even though I'd never read or written fanfic for that fandom before, I love the characters and love the medical drama enough to think I could pull it off as a crossover. My idea is basically to involve the guys in a serious accident while they're touring in Chicago so that the ER staff would have to treat them.
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I'd love to do a Star Wars/BSB crossover or Sailor Moon one. I really am leaning more towards star wars but I don't think I could do it, it's a lot of stuff and coming up with a idea...it's daunting lol. I love sci fi and I wish more would delve into that genre.
PS: steph I want to read this sailor moon one ;)
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I figured i'd just start a new thread since we were over 500 posts in the old one.
Here's the question:
Is there any instance when you go back and look at something you've read or written where you tend to be surprised at how good or bad it actually was in retrospect? Meaning the first time you read it, you thought it sucked but on the second reread, suddenly you found it awesome or vice versa?
I usually don't tend to reread things once i've read it once but when I had my FFF group and featured some of the stories that I loved, I remember on the second skim through thinking that most of them weren't as great as I remembered them. But I still loved them, if nothing else for nostalgia's sake. I have never felt the opposite way though because I've never had the desire to read something I already didn't think I liked lol
Writing wise, Protect and Serve surprised me. When I wrote it, I did think it was okay but not the best by any means. I just finished reading it this morning and I can honestly say, I was really impressed by me lmao
Now I have a new answer to that if you could ask anyone to read any of your stories which one would it be question. I mean, there is definitely room to grow, but as far as the overall flow and plot of the story I was more than pleased. Plus I had forgotten the whole thing was pretty much told from Kevin's POV and Howie had a pretty significant role in it as well, so yeah. Tooting my own horn for this one! I'm sure Howie would approve as well!
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Aw sorry Mare, I would've replied if I'd been around this weekend and not drinking stupid amounts of alcohol, lol.
I don't tend to re-read things, so I have no idea how I'd react if I read stories again. Maybe I should try it.
As for crossovers, I've done a BSB/Supernatural one where the Winchester brothers had to save Nick and AJ from dying from a supernatural video game.
If I had to write another TV show into a crossover, I think I'd choose something like Falling Skies as I'd love to see how the boys would deal with an alien invasion :)
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I already started a thread about this idea, but I have one for an ER crossover. ER is my favorite TV show of all time, and even though I'd never read or written fanfic for that fandom before, I love the characters and love the medical drama enough to think I could pull it off as a crossover. My idea is basically to involve the guys in a serious accident while they're touring in Chicago so that the ER staff would have to treat them.
When you first mentioned this crossover I remember being hesitant about wanting to read it because I thought you were going to make it an AU and have the guys be doctors but the way you described it, I would totally read it! I love this idea and I hope you do it!! (minus killing any of them and after you finish GR lmao)
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I already started a thread about this idea, but I have one for an ER crossover. ER is my favorite TV show of all time, and even though I'd never read or written fanfic for that fandom before, I love the characters and love the medical drama enough to think I could pull it off as a crossover. My idea is basically to involve the guys in a serious accident while they're touring in Chicago so that the ER staff would have to treat them.
I would love to read that, even though I've never seen ER, I love all your other medical dramas :)
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The only two shows I could see myself doing a semi decent crossover would be either BSB/Supernatural or BSB/Numb3rs. I know they won't happen but if they did, the SN one would be them as a group but maybe only two of them (perhaps Nick and AJ) and it would be told when they were younger and go and get themselves stuck in a haunted house when my short story about the haunted house left off and of course it would be Sam and Dean to the rescue!
The Numb3rs one I would do with Nick as the younger brother to the Epps boys and have there be some kind of home invasion.
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Thanks, Mare and Steph! Oh no, already been there/done that with the doctor AU. It wouldn't be AU. I'd love to write this sometime when I have more of a solid idea and am in the mood for another medical drama. Not anytime soon, though, cause I have other stories I want/need to finish first LOL.
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Aw sorry Mare, I would've replied if I'd been around this weekend and not drinking stupid amounts of alcohol, lol.
I don't tend to re-read things, so I have no idea how I'd react if I read stories again. Maybe I should try it.
As for crossovers, I've done a BSB/Supernatural one where the Winchester brothers had to save Nick and AJ from dying from a supernatural video game.
If I had to write another TV show into a crossover, I think I'd choose something like Falling Skies as I'd love to see how the boys would deal with an alien invasion :)
Ooh, I'd love to see a Falling Skies crossover. I bet you would be able to do that one justice!
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I would love to read your Supernatural one Mare, if you ever decide to write it :)
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Ooh, I'd love to see a Falling Skies crossover. I bet you would be able to do that one justice!
I'd love to have a go writing it, maybe have them join the 2nd Mass :)
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Hrmm... can't think of a question at the moment.
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I'd love to have a go writing it, maybe have them join the 2nd Mass :)
That would be awesome! You could proably even keep them as them! How epic would that be? A boyband turned soldiers!! Write it! lmao
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That would be awesome! You could proably even keep them as them! How epic would that be? A boyband turned soldiers!! Write it! lmao
Nick and Kevin shooting skitters and fish heads, I like it!
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All of your crossover ideas sound awesome! I'd love to read your Supernatural/BSB one, Mare. I really enjoyed the one that Steph did with the same characters. And I've never even watched Supernatural lol.
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OK, here's a question. Have you ever posted under another name in a genre you wouldn't usually write in under your usual ID?
I've never done it, and I don't even know what made me ask the question! lol
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All of your crossover ideas sound awesome! I'd love to read your Supernatural/BSB one, Mare. I really enjoyed the one that Steph did with the same characters. And I've never even watched Supernatural lol.
When I wrote that story, I'd only just started watching it. I highly recommend that TV show :)
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OK, here's a question. Have you ever posted under another name in a genre you wouldn't usually write in under your usual ID?
I've never done that here, but on Fanfiction.net I have. I've got my regular SN on there that my real life friends know about (because all my real life friends are from the anime community, so they all know about my fan fiction tendencies in those fandoms) but I wanted to write something that no one would know about, so I created an alias over there. Then the alias got way more popular so I just use that haha
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Nick and Kevin shooting skitters and fish heads, I like it!
Yes! I LOVE it! lmao
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All of your crossover ideas sound awesome! I'd love to read your Supernatural/BSB one, Mare. I really enjoyed the one that Steph did with the same characters. And I've never even watched Supernatural lol.
You should watch the show, it's awesome!!
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OK, here's a question. Have you ever posted under another name in a genre you wouldn't usually write in under your usual ID?
I've never done it, and I don't even know what made me ask the question! lol
Actually yes, just when we did the April Fool's challenge. I wrote a Brian visual/romance one shot under the SN brian's big toe! LOL I was completely embarassed by that story and my descriptions I almost left it as brian's big toe but I decided to move it to my SN after the challenge and it actually got nominated for one of those trash awards and won runner up in two categories lmao which I can't believe anyone even voted for in the first place!
I don't know if I could actually write with an alias, I'm sure I would end up giving it away. LOL although maybe my alias would only write AJ and Howie slash and use cosmically huge banners!!
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I think if I wrote under an alias, the British words/sayings would give me away, LOL
Yes, no one would guess if you posted slash with a banner :D
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Oh yeah that's right! I forgot about that April Fool's challenge where we had to do the alias here. I did that too and wrote a story about Howie actually being an undercover assassin where his assignment is to kill Nick, and he ends up accidentally killing Kevin as well, haha.
Mare, I would totally read a AJ/Howie slash written by you, or your alias haha now if I ever see one on most recent I'll assume it's you :P
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lmao but it has to have a huge banner!
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I've only done the alias thing for that April Fool's challenge Mare mentioned, but I later added my regular sn as a co-writer so it's listed under both names. I'm not ashamed of anything I write and like having a variety of stories credited to my name.
That said, I get why some people do the alias thing, even within the same fandom. It would be interesting to see if your writing got the same reaction under a different name. Writing should speak for itself, but I think sometimes people's personalities and online behavior either contribute to the popularity of their stories or detract from it. Posting anonymously under an alias no one knows forces people to judge you solely on your writing, not anything else.
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Here's a question for people who make banners with their female characters on them. When you write your female characters, do you tend to use a famous person in the banner and if you do, is that who you actually see when you write your character?
Are you afriad that someone will then only picture that person instead of your original character when placing them on the banner?
For instance when I see a picture of Cameron Diaz no matter what you tell me her name is or who she's supposed to be, to me she's going to be Cameron Diaz lol
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When I make banners, I like use someone who is not so well known. Actually, I've just looked at my stories and there is only one with a girl in it, and I picked someone who might be unknown unless you are a Doctor Who fan :)
I think the stories I've read seem to have someone I don't know in the banner, so I don't imagine any famous person when I'm reading.
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I try to choose someone who looks like what I picture in my head, but is also less recognizable. Usually I use photos from modeling agency sites or no-name people that I've seen in ads or music videos. In the original banner for Broken, the girl I used for Claire was a model I saw in a Sketchers ad in a magazine who had the look I wanted for Claire. When I wanted to write a sequel and make more banners and couldn't find more pictures of the same girl, I made new ones using Bryce Dallas Howard, who I'd seen in The Village - she wasn't as well-known then. I never pictured Claire as Bryce Dallas Howard when I wrote her, though.
The only other time I've used a celebrity for one of my own stories is Curtain Call - I used Zooey Deschanel for Cary on the banner that's on my site because I did base Cary's vintage look/style on her. If it was a movie, I would have wanted to cast Zooey Deschanel, so it was okay if my readers pictured her when they read the story.
Otherwise, I try not to use recognizable faces for exactly the reason you mentioned, Mare - I don't want readers to think the story is about Nick and Cameron Diaz, or whoever. I guess it's the same as casting directors who want to cast unknown actors for big roles because they don't want viewers to associate that face with some other role.
I don't know how many readers actually picture the face on the banner when they read, though. There are very few stories on my favorites list with a random female in the banner, and I can't say that for any of them, I actually pictured that face in my head as I read. I think we make up our own image of any character based on the description that's given, or lack thereof, more than what's on the cover/banner.
(Btw, as I was writing this, that hedgehog commercial came on, Mare - I hadn't seen it yet, but you were not just making it up. Cute!! Too bad it wasn't an anti-depressant commercial; that's the only thing that could make it better LOL.)
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In the banners I made for In Pieces, My Happy Ending and Left and Leaving, I just went over to getty images and took random girls who fit the pictures of my female characters in my head.
I actually had a really, really hard time making the banner for Forever Like This for that reason. I don't have Brittany in the banner for the 1D story that she's in, and I couldn't find a good picture on getty images or anywhere for someone that I thought looked like her. I was complaining about it to my friend Kate and she just suggested I go look for a celebrity picture. And I was sort of against doing that for the reasons that you guys have already said, but she explained it to me that it's like picking out an actress to play a part in a movie. Then I found a good picture of Aimee Teegarden to use, and she's basically how I picture Brittany in my head anyway, so I figured why not. It's not like the banner is the most important part of the story anyway (well, not here lol) and like you said, Julie, people probably picture characters in their head based on any description that's given anyway.
I mean, I still don't think I'd use a mega popular actress on my banner, but at least the way Kate explained it made me change my attitude towards it a little.
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Aww, I was hoping it was for an anti depressant as well. But it was for a drug of some kind though, right? I'm just glad I didn't hallucinate that! I haven't seen it since that first time lmao
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That makes sense, Steph, and that's how I see it too, like we're casting people to fit the roles of characters we've already created. But like I said, I usually feel the same way that directors who only cast unknown actors do - the exception is if the one who fits best has a famous face, like with Brittany or Cary. At least Aimee Teegarden isn't super well known. I only know her from Friday Night Lights, so I bet a lot of people wouldn't recognize her.
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So you know I have to ask this then, right? But if you don't think people are going to look at the girl and see her in their head when they read the story, then why bother with the banner in the first place? LOL
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Aww, I was hoping it was for an anti depressant as well. But it was for a drug of some kind though, right? I'm just glad I didn't hallucinate that! I haven't seen it since that first time lmao
Yeah, it was for the flu vaccine - now with smaller needles!
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And Steph, i'm glad you talked about Brittany because I always thought the Brittany you talked about when talking about your story was Spears lol
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That makes sense, Steph, and that's how I see it too, like we're casting people to fit the roles of characters we've already created. But like I said, I usually feel the same way that directors who only cast unknown actors do - the exception is if the one who fits best has a famous face, like with Brittany or Cary. At least Aimee Teegarden isn't super well known. I only know her from Friday Night Lights, so I bet a lot of people wouldn't recognize her.
Yeah, I do have to say none of the girls I have seen on the banners on the most recent page are people I recognize at all. So, good job everyone lol
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So you know I have to ask this then, right? But if you don't think people are going to look at the girl and see her in their head when they read the story, then why bother with the banner in the first place? LOL
To me, the point of a banner isn't to tell readers what to picture in their heads while they read. If I wanted that, I would make a banner for every chapter, like a children's picture book LOL. A banner serves the same purpose as a book cover - a visual that's meant to catch readers' eyes and attract them to clicking on my story or at least reading the summary instead of scrolling past it. Also, I have fun making them. I don't always include a picture of a girl, even if I have a female main character. I just try to make the banner something that's going to represent the story.
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And Steph, i'm glad you talked about Brittany because I always thought the Brittany you talked about when talking about your story was Spears lol
She probably would have spelled it the white trash way if it was THAT Britney LOL.
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LOL the white trash way. Brittany was almost named Ashley when I first created her, but then I changed it at the last minute and it's a good thing I did because I already have a Nick/Ashleigh series (I mean, it's spelled differently, but it still would have bothered me)
I actually do have one chapter of a fic written where it was actually Nick who broke up Justin and Britney in an attempt by Nick to piss off Justin and ruin his career. But I never went anywhere with it and it's sitting in first chapter fic limbo.
And yeah, I only know Aimee Teegarden from Friday Night Lights too, haha. (Which I am about to start watching on account of the twitter conversation from yesterday)
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Yes, you need to; it's a great show!!!
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lmao the white trash way.
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To me, the point of a banner isn't to tell readers what to picture in their heads while they read. If I wanted that, I would make a banner for every chapter, like a children's picture book LOL. A banner serves the same purpose as a book cover - a visual that's meant to catch readers' eyes and attract them to clicking on my story or at least reading the summary instead of scrolling past it. Also, I have fun making them. I don't always include a picture of a girl, even if I have a female main character. I just try to make the banner something that's going to represent the story.
I was talking more along the lines of using the female lol
I do find banners less annoyiong lately but I think it's because my computer isn't freezing on the site anymore because I use my Ipod to go on AC now.
I will never be able to fully comprehend why people spend more time and energy worrying about what their banners look like before the first sentence of their story is even written though. LOL This is where I will always be different from everyone else in fanfic land.
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I usually make the banner after the first few chapters are written. There's one banner I have sitting in my folder that has no story attached to it yet, and to be honest it probably never will. But I saw the picture and wanted to make a graphic with it. It was probably more about be wanting to play with the photo than anything else.
I will say that I hate making banners for one-shots. I have some stories with banners on them that are like 1,000 words long. The story took probably an hour to write and the banner took two hours to make. Stupid and a complete waste of time. I am cool with banners for multi-chapter stories but for one-shots they seem completely pointless and a waste of effort for something so short.
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I give you all credit for making these banners. I don't have the patience to do it lol
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I enjoy making banners, but usually don't take the time to make them for one-shots. The only one I did recently was for Hybrid because, c'mon, killer monkeys from outer space deserve a graphic LOL.
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Half of my stories don't have banners. I am on the fence about them. I like them because sometimes I will click on a story if the banner catches my eye....but I read stuff without one as well. As long as the author's picture isn't on it, they're good ;)
To me they add something to the story....like Julie said, similar to a book cover. I have no idea how to make them, all of the ones I have were made by someone else.
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I use Paintshop Pro, but there is a free program you can download called Paint.net that can do a lot of the same things. You'd have to download it on a computer, though; I don't think you could do it on your phone.
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I think it's be really difficult to make a banner using the phone! I'll read stories without banners, it should be the summary that is focused on more than the banner when posting something and trying to entice people to read. The banner is just a fun addition.
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I've not heard of that actress Steph, she's a good choice for Brittany though. And Julie, I didn't know who the picture was of on your Broken story.
I use Photoshop to make my banners, but they are quite basic and I don't really spend much time making them.
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Thanks Steph! I had a lot of fun making that banner.
Actually, something that was cool on 1Dff was that one girl made a bunch of random banners, then issued a challenge where shed assign out the banner and you bad to write a story based on the banner alone. That was kind of cool, but likely a lot of work for her haha.
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That does sound like fun though! Some people just love making stuff. I don't use my photoshop that often, but when I do I get carried away and spend hours on there.
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I figured i'd just start a new thread since we were over 500 posts in the old one.
Here's the question:
Is there any instance when you go back and look at something you've read or written where you tend to be surprised at how good or bad it actually was in retrospect? Meaning the first time you read it, you thought it sucked but on the second reread, suddenly you found it awesome or vice versa?
I've only recently gotten back into fanfic and the first thing I did was read some of the old stories that I had PRINTED OUT and stored in a binder in my book shelf. Honestly, I laughed so hard reading some of them - they were awful!
I remember at the time thinking they were so good but now... I'd be ashamed to let anyone see them. The chapters are like 600 words long lol There'd be one small scene and it would be done. It's no wonder that so many stories "back in the day" had hundreds of chapters.
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I need to come in here and answer everything LOL. Banners aren't and shouldn't be the end all of a story. But sometimes it's fun making them, especially as a way to drop hints of what's to come and see if anyone catches it.
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I give you all credit for making these banners. I don't have the patience to do it lol
I just don't have the talent for it! I like when people have really nice banners that seem clean and professional but I wouldn't be able to achieve that myself. If someone made me one? Great, I'd totally use it. But I wouldn't try and lure readers in with a banner that looked like an elementary school student made it with their eyes closed haha
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I need to come in here and answer everything LOL. Banners aren't and shouldn't be the end all of a story. But sometimes it's fun making them, especially as a way to drop hints of what's to come and see if anyone catches it.
I am perpetually behind in these threads it seems! I was able to keep up for a while and then... Lol I'm sure it doesn't help that most of the discussion happens while I am asleep.
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Does no one have a question of the day? I'll ask one!
If the fanfic scene for BSB died out for whatever reason, would you stop writing, would you move to another fandom or would you move to original fiction?
Since I write in a million fandoms I'd probably just go work on more stuff in 1D fandom and pick up writing Avatar: The Last Airbender stuff again.
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I hope it never dies out, but if it did, I'm sure I would still write something.
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I'd stop & really focus on my original fics.
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If it died out I would focus more on my original works ... though I might have to write the rough draft them as the characters or at least their names. LOL
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How similar are you to your online persona? Is fanfic author you any different from real life you?
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I still need to catch up on old questions but in response to the latest one...
Fanfic me is real me. I'm random and a little hyper with a morbid sense or humor LOL. I'm the same person online as I am offline, I never tried to be anyone else.
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I'm pretty much the same online as offline. I think in real life I'm probably a bit louder than I am online.
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If the fanfic scene for BSB died out for whatever reason, would you stop writing, would you move to another fandom or would you move to original fiction?
I guess if I thought no one was reading my fanfics (or anyone's BSB fics) anymore and I was writing/posting them for no reason, I'd move on to original fiction. I don't see myself writing in another fandom.
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How similar are you to your online persona? Is fanfic author you any different from real life you?
Good question. It's weird, but I feel like the internet is one of the only places where I can truly "be myself." So I would say that my online persona is the real me, whereas I show different sides of myself in different situations in real life. Around my family and closest friends, I'm more or less the same person I am online. But I only show certain parts of that personality to other people, like my students, some of my co-workers, my god-fearing friends, etc. I don't go around trumpeting my love of the Backstreet Boys and zombies and severed body parts to just anyone because I don't need everyone to know what a weirdo I am. :P But here I can say it loud and proud and not worry (or care) about being judged for it.
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I think online me is the same as me offline, I don't know because I've never noticed a difference. I think I'm a bit more outgoing and chatty on twitter and stuff though. Otherwise personality is the same.
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Personality wise I am the same online as I am in person.
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If the fanfic scene for BSB died out for whatever reason, would you stop writing, would you move to another fandom or would you move to original fiction?
Finally, a question I can answer. :) if that happens, which I hope not, I'd have more time to concentrate writing original fiction. Even before I started writing fan fics, I already dreamed of being published. I can't see myself writing fan fictions for another fandom.
How similar are you to your online persona? Is fanfic author you any different from real life you?
Pretty much the same.
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Does no one have a question of the day? I'll ask one!
If the fanfic scene for BSB died out for whatever reason, would you stop writing, would you move to another fandom or would you move to original fiction?
Since I write in a million fandoms I'd probably just go work on more stuff in 1D fandom and pick up writing Avatar: The Last Airbender stuff again.
I guess I can kind of answer this speaking from experience. BSB did die out for me for years and even when they came back the fanfic didn't. I just stopped writing fanfic. I did write some original poetry for a while but I didn't even really write any stories!
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How similar are you to your online persona? Is fanfic author you any different from real life you?
I'm the same person online as in real life, but I'm quieter in reality.
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How do you feel about the cliches in romance? Are they too well known to get around them, or do you feel a lot of authors rely on them to tell the same story but with different people?
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I'm not sure what you mean by cliches in romance - do you mean like kissing at sunset and stuff like that?
I can say that I've definitely written a lot of romance stories and none of them are completely alike. I've even gone so far as to have written two different stories with basically the same premise - a love triangle that unfolds while being on tour and even both of those stories are pretty different. I think what should make the romance story stand out and unique is the characters. The way that I approach romance stories (and any story, really, but I'll stick with romance since that's what you asked about) is the fact that it's obviously about two characters falling in or out of love. And in real life how/why does that happen? Because people learn about each other and all of their little personality quirks.
So take the two stories I wrote for example. They're both really close to the same - one of them is a BSB fic and one of them is a 1D fic. They both take place on tour and the characters are the same age in both of them 18-19. But I think they're pretty different based on the fact that all six main characters involved have their own personality traits. The end result is the same - some couple gets together and the odd man out is pissed off and there's drama within the boyband, but how the characters work it out amongst themselves is completely different. Their reasoning and motivations are completely different, even if there are scenes in both of them that look identical on the surface, they're really not.
In both scenes between Brian/Nick or Harry/Niall where they're arguing because one of them stole the other ones girlfriend, what the reader takes away from the scene is basically the same - things are out in the open, the boys are upset and they're fighting now, making it awkward. But again, in both of those scenes all four characters are different, so they come into the scene acting differently, and they leave it feeling differently. So the scenes afterwards and beforehand are probably going to go down separate paths.
I guess I would say the way I get around cliches is just by trying my best to create those well rounded characters and have all the characters in a story be different than the one that came before it. It can be challenging, especially when you're writing about the same group of guys all the time (or in my case, pretty much just focusing on Nick LOL) but that's where you have to try and make the female lead very different, and maybe try to put a different twist on Nick's personality.
I can't speak for other authors, but that's how I get around the fact that there are a lot of similarities in romance fiction. There's a lot of it out there, but if you create a well rounded character, chances are no one else will have created one who is 100% the same.
I don't know if that answered your question or not haha.
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I agree with what Steph said. Romance, like a lot of genres, tends to follow a certain formula, and there are only so many basic premises. Boy meets girl, love triangles, love/hate relationships, on-again-off-again relationships, opposites attract, two people from different worlds falling in love, star-crossed lovers, the forbidden romance, the summer romance, the whirlwind romance, love at first sight, good girl falls for bad boy, rich girl falls for poor boy, old cougar falls for young stud, etc. etc. etc. It's all been done before, but what sets one story apart from the next are the characters and the situation they're in. A talented writer can take an overdone storyline and revitalize it by creating fresh characters, putting them in interesting scenarios, and telling their story in an engaging way. That makes it easier to look past the cliches.
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Holy essay Steph lol. I was definitely thinking plot cliches, which are more common in romance than anywhere. That, and the forum was quiet, and nothing gets discussion like romance :P. I do agree, it's definitely about the characters. Unfortunately, not many can do that, to where it's the same story, only the names and faces change.
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I was bored lol plus I figured since I've written a lot of it I could write a lot about it!
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I agree with Steph and Julie.... In the Philippines, 90% of published books by Filipino writers are romance novels. And the publishing company/editors gave the formula for a good manuscript. Boy meets girls, they fall in love, then there must be some conflict (which could not be solved just bt merely talking to each other), then they will get back together again for a happy ending. All the plots have been used before, but a good writer can re-tell the story without boring the readers.
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What is one fanfic you've read that surprised you? What made you click on it in the first place? Was it something you would normally read?
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Romance is a tough genre to write in, like Julie said...you need to keep the story fresh so people don't get bored because a lot of the plots have been used before. It's difficult unless you're a really good writer.
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What is one fanfic you've read that surprised you? What made you click on it in the first place? Was it something you would normally read?
Save a Prayer surprised me. From the summary, I thought it was going to be similar to the old fanfic Survivor, which was about BSB competing against NSYNC on a celebrity version of Survivor the show. I loved that story, and I love Steph, so I clicked on Save a Prayer, thinking it would make a light, fun read. I probably would have enjoyed it if it was just what the summary suggested, the Boys against New Kids on a reality show, but I loved the twist it took with the plane crash even more! I love survival stories, and Steph definitely delivered. I was surprised at how gory she got! I had never read anything like that from Steph before, so it was definitely a pleasant surprise to know she had that in her! LOL
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How do you feel about the cliches in romance? Are they too well known to get around them, or do you feel a lot of authors rely on them to tell the same story but with different people?
When I think cliches I always think words or phrases that are overused, that kind of thing. I hate when those pop up regularly in books/fanfic. As far as overused plots go is anybody really writing anything these days that is totally original?
If they are then they're "one in a million" haha I think romance only has so many possible ways to tell the story because it's so true to life. Most people can probably relate to a romance in some way so in order to make it believable you have to use real life situations.
It bugs me actually when romances get so overdramatic that they aren't believable anymore but I don't get bored of the same stories told in slightly different ways so long as its well written.
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When I think cliches I always think words or phrases that are overused, that kind of thing. I hate when those pop up regularly in books/fanfic. As far as overused plots go is anybody really writing anything these days that is totally original?
If they are then they're "one in a million" haha I think romance only has so many possible ways to tell the story because it's so true to life. Most people can probably relate to a romance in some way so in order to make it believable you have to use real life situations.
It bugs me actually when romances get so overdramatic that they aren't believable anymore but I don't get bored of the same stories told in slightly different ways so long as its well written.
Actually yes, there's ideas now and then that I've never seen before. Or a twist or new spin to make an old idea new with that put in. And even so, romance has more commonly used cliche plots than any other genre. I don't think anyone would debate that. Real life situations come into everything, even in fantasy or sci-fi because otherwise people can't relate. Honestly I think a lot of people relate to romance cause it taps into fantasies.
Maybe I'm just picky, but if a well written story is the same story over and over, it's still boring lol. The characters need to be captivating, or something has to be new. Slight differences do nothing for me LOL.
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Actually yes, there's ideas now and then that I've never seen before. Or a twist or new spin to make an old idea new with that put in. And even so, romance has more commonly used cliche plots than any other genre. I don't think anyone would debate that. Real life situations come into everything, even in fantasy or sci-fi because otherwise people can't relate. Honestly I think a lot of people relate to romance cause it taps into fantasies.
Maybe I'm just picky, but if a well written story is the same story over and over, it's still boring lol. The characters need to be captivating, or something has to be new. Slight differences do nothing for me LOL.
It's alright to be picky! :) After all, that's why it's so great that there are so many options out there for everyone.
I think that most fiction taps into fantasties, not just romance and that's one of the things I love about reading. I love if I've had a crappy day to be able to step outside my world for a while and get into somebody else's. Maybe it's a fantasy of a life I could never live, or a place or time I could never visit but I think much of writing/reading has an element of fantasy to it.
I didn't mean before that the characters didn't have to be captivating and so on, that's what I meant by well written. But I truly believe that literature has been around for so long that at the root of every story there is an idea that has already been used.
Look at love triangles... Gone With the Wind and A Tale of Two Cities are both stories about love triangles but the authors made them original by making them their own. That's what I mean by each idea having a root in another idea. I can't recall seeing much that is completely fresh, that no one has ever done before, but I'd definitely read it if I came across it! :)
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^ Good points. I agree - at its roots, no idea is truly original; it's what you do with it and the way that you write it that makes it unique. And the ideas that are the most overused/cliched usually are because people enjoy them, because they do tap into either a fantasy or a nightmare.
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^ Good points. I agree - at its roots, no idea is truly original; it's what you do with it and the way that you write it that makes it unique. And the ideas that are the most overused/cliched usually are because people enjoy them, because they do tap into either a fantasy or a nightmare.
I was gonna say, nightmares are a good part of it too LOL.
That said, I hated Gone With The Wind lmao :P.
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See now I disagree with that, I don't think most romance stems from fantasies of the author. If the writer has good, intriguing characters and a refreshing storyline, the fact that it is a romance shouldn't play a part in whether I read it or not.
Not all romances are the same. I like ones where romance is laid in subtly or isn't even the main genre. I started out as a romance writer, and now I have branched out....but the romance stories I read usually have comedy or drama laid in. I love stories like that, they keep me interested.
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I will point out I never said all, a lot are however. But I'm just speaking about when it's the main genre. In fanfic, it does tend to stem from fantasy, especially if it's an author with similar plots. There's definitely good romances out there, they're just rare lol.
I love romance when it's not the main genre. I feel it can add a lot as a subplot, in fact I feel it adds more when it's a subplot than it does when it's the main genre. Like in Undead, I really love the Nick/Riley story and how I've managed to write it since it's the most romance I've written in years. (I also love how Julie's developed Brian/Gretchen).
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Oh no I wasn't saying you said all of them were lol just that was how I felt. I like romance as a subplot myself :)
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I know but I get accused of saying it often enough, I wanted to make it clear LOL.
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What is one fanfic you've read that surprised you? What made you click on it in the first place? Was it something you would normally read?
It's a tale of two Stephs lol
Save a Prayer by Steph really surprised me. I had only read one story by Steph prior to that and it was Rewind. When I saw the summary and that it was about a plane crash I got all excited because it's been awhile since i've seen an action/adventure storyline. I admit I probably wouldn't have read it because I saw it had NKOTB in it but I also knew she didn't have much love for them so it gave me hope they would meet their fate early on and I wasn't disappointed lol
This was such a stretch for Steph and she did an amazing job with it!
The other story that surprised me was Running Up That Hill by Saka Steph. I only knew Saka as a romance writer so I had never really read anything by her. The summary sounded so interesting and promising, I thought i'd give it a try but I admit I was also a little worried that at any point a random female character was going to pop in and try to take over. I was so pleasantly surprised by this story. Steph is an amazing writer and does such a great job portraying the boys! Just like Other Steph lol Saka came out of her comfort zone for this one and did an amazing job.
It was the same way for Tracy's Figured You Out. I was surprised by that one as well.
I'm sure there have been others, but those three stick out as things I wouldn't have guessed they would have written.
Oh, you said one, well I cheated lol
And yes, they were all something I would normally read but it was the summaries that made me click on them.
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Sorry i've been absent guys, now that school is in full swing expect questions from me mostly on the weekends only. But make sure you keep them coming even when i'm not around. :) Because even if i'm too tired to post anything I still love coming in and reading everyone's answers and thoughts on things!
Here's your question of the day:
Which do you prefer to write/read, novels or short stories?
Have you ever challenged yourself to stay within a word count?
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I prefer novels, both reading and writing. I don't write a lot of short stories because I always find myself thinking, "Well, what's the point?" I usually just don't connect to them as much as I do longer stories that are really able to develop the characters and take them (and me) on a journey. There are plenty of short stories that I like, both ones I've read and written, but when I think of my favorite stories, the ones I remember are typically novels.
The only time I limit my word count is if it's for a challenge, and we all know how often I do those - ha! Otherwise I don't pay any attention to word count, besides trying to make my chapters all stay within the same range of each other. However long it takes me to tell the story I want to tell is however long the story will be.
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Aw, thanks for the compliments on Running Up That Hill, mare :)
I think I prefer to write short stories just because I'm so writing ADD that a short story can take me an evening or to and then I'll be done with it. It's definitely less of a time commitment, and I like the challenge of trying to tell a complete story in 2,000-3,000 words. I do write longer stories too, and that can be fun because I also like the challenge of creating original characters and having a longer storyline that gets resolved through bits and pieces as the story moves along.
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Awww thank you for the FYO mention mare :)
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Lately I enjoy reading novels but writing short stories. I at times like to read short stories but for whatever reason, unless I am issuing it as a challenge, I tend to skip over most one shots.
I really never worry about word counts unless it's for a challenge or real life fiction. I think it's really important for anyone who truly is interested in getting published to challenge themselves to stick to a word count because many contests for publication or short story submissions absolutely have to be a certain number of words or they are autotmatically discarded. That's why I almost always put a word count on things when I do challenges.
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It doesn't really matter how long a story is...I will read it if it is something that I'm interested in. However if one is like 200 chapters I will hesitate, get to it when I have time.
When I write, I don't limit myself too much on word count unless it is for a challenge.
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I knew I should have posted the question I had for today as the second one yesterday because now I can't remember what the hell it was! It was a good one too!! lol I hope it comes back to me. Dang!!
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I hate when that happens!
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Which do you prefer to write/read, novels or short stories?
Have you ever challenged yourself to stay within a word count?
I like short stories just to get the juices flowing when I'm writing something longer. I can't concentrate on one plot only, I need to jump around a bit and short stories help with that!
I try to make my chapters about the same length so it's usually the first couple of chapterst hat set the bar for the rest of them.
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I still don't remember the one I had originally planned on asking but here's a different one:
Do you enjopy writing challenge stories? If you do what has been your favorite challenge to compete in so far and do you have any ideas for upcoming challenges?
If you don't enjoy writing them, why not? What's wrong with you? Are you like a total doofus or something? lmao ;)
Do you read other people's challenge stories? And how do you feel yours compares to the others you have read? If you've read these stories have you left reviews for them?
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Lots for me to catch up on after 4 days away!
Thanks for the Save A Prayer mentions Julie and Mare, I loved writing that :)
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What is one fanfic you've read that surprised you? What made you click on it in the first place? Was it something you would normally read?
I'm going to go with Song For The Undead. I clicked on it because I liked the summary, it looked really interesting. I would usually read this kind of thing, but at the time it was first posted, we didn't know it was going to be about zombies as the banner and the story name was something different. I thought it was going to be something like Survivors (A BBC show about a flu epidemic which wiped out most of the world), but it was so much more!
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Which do you prefer to write/read, novels or short stories?
Have you ever challenged yourself to stay within a word count?
I don't mind really, I'll read/write both.
The only time I try to stick to a word count is with the challenges. Most of my chapters are between 1000-2000 words.
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I still don't remember the one I had originally planned on asking but here's a different one:
Do you enjopy writing challenge stories? If you do what has been your favorite challenge to compete in so far and do you have any ideas for upcoming challenges?
If you don't enjoy writing them, why not? What's wrong with you? Are you like a total doofus or something? lmao ;)
Do you read other people's challenge stories? And how do you feel yours compares to the others you have read? If you've read these stories have you left reviews for them?
I love the challenges and have taken part in quite a few. I think my favourite one to write was The Man With Two Brains as I was laughing as I wrote it.
I always read the challenge stories too, it's interesting to see someone else's take on the challenge. I always leave a review for the stories I read.
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I'm going to go with Song For The Undead. I clicked on it because I liked the summary, it looked really interesting. I would usually read this kind of thing, but at the time it was first posted, we didn't know it was going to be about zombies as the banner and the story name was something different. I thought it was going to be something like Survivors (A BBC show about a flu epidemic which wiped out most of the world), but it was so much more!
Thanks, Steph! We wanted to keep the zombie thing a secret in the beginning because we didn't want that to turn anyone off to it. Mind you, this was before The Walking Dead and the recent resurgence of zombie stuff! I watched Survivors on On Demand sometime early in the writing of Undead - even without zombies, it was great inspiration!
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Do you enjopy writing challenge stories? If you do what has been your favorite challenge to compete in so far and do you have any ideas for upcoming challenges?
If you don't enjoy writing them, why not? What's wrong with you? Are you like a total doofus or something? lmao ;)
Do you read other people's challenge stories? And how do you feel yours compares to the others you have read? If you've read these stories have you left reviews for them?
I'm not a big fan of challenges that seem really random, the kind that are like, "Write a comedic mystery about Howie that contains the following things: 1) a missing article of clothing, 2) a platypus, and 3) someone shouting "Cheesedoodles!" Must be under 3000 words." I'm just like, "...Why?" I don't like to write stories that don't have a point, nor do I like to write stories that I'm not emotionally invested in. If the challenge doesn't inspire an idea that I really care about taking the time to write, I don't do it.
That said, I do enjoy the challenges that really take me out of my comfort zone. Two of my favorites have been the April Fool's challenges - the 2008 one where we had to write a story that was something we'd never write and post it under an alter ego, and this year's challenge where we had to pick one of the ridiculous premises to turn into a serious story. I really got into the killer monkeys from outer space idea! LOL I felt like those challenges got me to write outside the box, rather than to force my writing into the dimensions of the box built by the challenge-issuer.
Another one I enjoyed was the August 2008 one where we got to issue personal challenges to each other. Rose challenged me to write a gory horror story (which, at the time, was a genre I hadn't really written), and I had a ton of fun writing it and living up to my avatar! LOL I would love to do that kind of personal challenge again.
I don't read all of the challenge stories, but I read some. I review the ones I read. Usually if I write a challenge story, I will read the others for that challenge. If the challenge doesn't interest me, I'm less likely to read the submissions, although sometimes I will read them if they're by my favorite authors or if they just sound interesting.
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Another thought about challenges - I am more likely to participate in challenges when I'm either between projects or blocked/uninspired and in need of an excuse to not update my current projects. I did more challenges in 2008 than in any other year because that was the lull between finishing BMS and starting Undead. Since then, I've always had at least one novel I'd rather spend my writing time working on.
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I am a total challenge whore, I admit it lol. That's where like 90% of my one-shots have come from. I do them here and I do them on 1DFF and I just like...love them lol. I think there's something really fun about getting a basic idea and having to form it into a story. And actually, the only two stories I won/got runner up awards for were challenge entries.
Answering that question of which was my favourite is tough! Every time I think I've decided I remember some other challenge and then change my mind lol. But I think it's a tie between the one where we had to write about the boys on the bed, and the April Fool's one where we all wrote those ridiculous stories. Those were so fun and the entries were all so entertaining! I usually do try to read all of the other challenge entries, and if I do I leave a review. I like to see other people's takes on the same basic idea. I don't really compare them though, cause it's not really like it's a competition or anything.
Although on 1DFF the challenges are actually competitions, but I don't read the other entries because you basically can write anything. Everyone's are so radically different. You basically get assigned a song and a boy and go to town. They're not as fun as the ones we do here.
Anyway long story short, I have this addiction to challenges.
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I'm not a big fan of challenges where you have to include random things like words and phrases etc... either. I usually don't participate or issue those types of challenges.
My favorite one was also the personal challenge story one when I wrote The Colors Of My World Suck aftr I was challenged to write a romance where the female lead does not die lol
Maybe we'll do this challenge again at some point this year. As you can tell i'm not really going nuts issuing challenges once a month like I used to because we don't really get all that much participation but once every other month or so we'll try.
I always read the challenges I issue and leave reviews for them. When I don't issue them I tend to skip challenge stories unless the summary sounds really interesting.
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Thanks, Steph! We wanted to keep the zombie thing a secret in the beginning because we didn't want that to turn anyone off to it. Mind you, this was before The Walking Dead and the recent resurgence of zombie stuff! I watched Survivors on On Demand sometime early in the writing of Undead - even without zombies, it was great inspiration!
Thanks Steph! And yeah, we were Walking Dead before Walking Dead was cool LMAO. :P. It was that and those "World Without People" specials. I loved watching those on the History channel because they were that helpful in describing the world after.
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I like doing challenges now and then. I love one-shots cause they're great when I'm stuck on something. I think my favorite ones to write were the April Fools one with my talking grapes LMAO, and the "Back To Me" one where we had to do suspense without gore. I think that was one of my freakier ones cause I implied it but left it up to the reader just what Howie did with that chainsaw.
I'll read some, but I do need it to interest me just like anything else. I'm picky, I'm sorry LOL.
I'd like to do the one where we challenge each other again. I failed with the one aimed at me (it was slash okay? LOL). But I loved seeing what people did with the ones I gave them. I got Kelly to write in 2nd person (which is NOT easy), Mare to write a female lead that doesn't die lol, and got Julie into what is now her current gore-fest lmao. I'm so used to you writing gore now Julie I forgot you didn't do it much then!
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I got Julie into what is now her current gore-fest lmao. I'm so used to you writing gore now Julie I forgot you didn't do it much then!
LOL You created a monster! A lovable, awesome monster, of course - like Godzilla. Rawr!
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LOL You created a monster! A lovable, awesome monster, of course - like Godzilla. Rawr!
Or an adorable zombie baby! :)
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I love doing challenges. I pretty much try to do each one, and I read everyone elses, plus I always review.
Honestly I have way too much fun reviewing stories I've read lol. I review every chapter.
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Or an adorable zombie baby! :)
What about a zombie Godzilla?
http://www.spinserpent.com/2012/04/zombie-godzilla.html
It shouldn't even surprise me anymore that I can Google zombie anything and find results. Zombie Godzilla is pretty epic, though, so of course it exists!
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What about a zombie Godzilla?
http://www.spinserpent.com/2012/04/zombie-godzilla.html
It shouldn't even surprise me anymore that I can Google zombie anything and find results. Zombie Godzilla is pretty epic, though, so of course it exists!
I shouldn't be surprised you found that but I kinda am LMAO.
Zombie Godzilla is amazing! Totally ZDRATW.
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I've really liked a lot of the challenge ideas but I fail at coming up with something for a one shot. I definitely am not a one shot writer and I have a hard time coming up with ideas that I can write out clearly in a word limit. I keep telling myself that the point of the challenge is to uh duh, challenge yourself by doing something you don't typically, but the plots I think of tend to get turned into some complicated AU/sci-fi/suspense fest. :(
I challenge fail!
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It's been kind of dead here! I miss everyone :(
Anyways, what is the one story you have written that you're most proud of?
What is the fastest amount of time you've taken writing a story? The longest?
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The story I'm most proud of is a 1D story called Inside My Head. It was basically the same as Running Up That Hill. I guess the BSB story I'm most proud of is Nick's Dirty Kicks.
The story that has taken me the longest to write is the actual Running Up That Hill lol.
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I can't decide which story I'm most proud of, it's a tie between Patience (a Take That romance/drama story which is probably crap if I read it back now) and Save A Prayer.
The story which has taken the longest is Maybe Tomorrow, I'm really crap at writing/updating recently and can't seem to get motivated to open my word document :(
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It's been kind of dead here! I miss everyone :(
Anyways, what is the one story you have written that you're most proud of?
What is the fastest amount of time you've taken writing a story? The longest?
As a whole story, I'm most proud of Curtain Call. Based on individual parts, though, I think some of my best writing has gone into 00Carter.
Not counting one-shots, the fastest I've written a story has been about a month; I used to average a story a month when I first started writing, but those were all pretty short as far as "novels" go. The longest I've taken while actually updating the story consistently was about four years - that was By My Side, and it was just because it was so damn long! I have other stories that have been "in progress" longer than four years, but they aren't stories that I've written on regularly.
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I'm really crap at writing/updating recently and can't seem to get motivated to open my word document :(
ditto! I have written 250 words in the last 2 weeks. :(
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That's more than I've written Lore! We need a brainstorming session on AIM :)
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I haven't written anything in over a month! I keep waiting for a weekend when I have nothing else going on, but it hasn't happened yet since school started. Ugh.
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Luckily I haven't had trouble writing. I've only been concentrating on one story lately with daily updates for Finding Carter. I'm so happy my muse hasn't given up on that one :)
Hope you all get your mojo back soon!
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What is this writing thing you speak of? I do not understand what those words mean?
Story i'm most proud of really depends on what kind of proud. For overcoming my overall anxiety about putting myself out there and on the net, it would probably be Mizpah since that was the first fanfic I ever wrote and the first thing I allowed anyone to read. I'm most proud of Lurks and Protect and Serve for the intricate storylines and plots though.
The story that took me the longest to write was probably Scars Run Deep and Wide. There were long gaps of nothingness in that one, but I finally did finish it at least lol
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Today's question: What do you consider the best form of feedback? Concrit, when readers guess what's really happening before you post the next chapter, when readers tell you they became over emotional when reading or relate to something you've written, when readers are totoally surprised by the outcome or just getting a review and knowing someone is reading in general? Of course feel free to use other examples, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew what I was trying to say lol
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I don't really mind what kind of reviews I get. I know when I leave reviews, sometimes I'll be trying to guess what comes next, or sometimes stories have left me in tears (RMTW and Curtain Call for example) and I'll say that in my review, lol. I don't give concrit unless someone wants it or if it's part of a challenge.
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Of course I appreciate any kind of review, but my favorites are the ones that comment on my writing style or the reviewer's emotional response to a part of my story, whether it made them laugh out loud, cringe, or cry.
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I like the reviews that tell me about my writing style as well or what the person enjoyed about the chapter. I have gotten a reader telling me over twitter that they cried reading one of my one shots which was a really nice compliment. I also like the ones who let me know they're reading or that they are catching up. It means a lot that they liked it that much.
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I appreciate any review I get
as long as people aren't asking me for a sequel and then proceeding to tell me exactly what should happen in said sequel My favourites are the ones where people tell me specifically what they liked, or even when they have predictions or insights as to what might happen. I love it when people pick up on the little hints I drop!
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Yeah I LOVE when readers pick up on hints I leave. Which is why right now you're my favorite reader, Steph :)
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What story currently has you hooked?
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What story currently has you hooked?
At the moment I'm completely hooked on Forever Like This by Steph. It's a romance with lots of drama going on and I just love the way it's written and the way the story is going.
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Aw thanks!! :) I'm totally hooked on Love Will Keep You Up All Night by Hannah. I love the idea of the heart transplant and I really love the way Hannah adds in small details to make the story seem real. I'm enjoying the friendship between Lauren and Rochelle in that one a lot, actually, and I don't normally enjoy either of them in fics so I think she's done a great job with keeping their personalities true to life while still making them likeable.
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I'm hooked on Forever Like This as well. It's a really cute and fun story, I like the characters and situations they've been in so far. Plus I liked the prequel to it from what I read, so I can't wait to see where Steph takes this one :)
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I'm not really hooked on anything at the moment, fanfic-wise. There are a few new-ish stories that seem interesting, but I'm waiting until they're further along or finished to get into them. Unfortunately, the stories that seem to hook me the most also have the flakiest authors who don't seem to update very often or finish things before starting new projects. I haven't had much time to read lately, so it's not hard to wait and see.
That said, I am looking forward to updates on Running Up That Hill, Borrowed Time, Here We Stand, and Divine Intervention, as well as a few older stories that I doubt will ever get finished. And there's a story or two I want to catch up on reading as well.
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Yeah there hasn't been much going on on Most Recent lately. September is always a slow month because everybody is back in school.
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Yeah, I noticed that. Back to school is definitely the reason I haven't been writing or reading much. I guess everyone else is in the same boat or busy with other things. Silly life getting in the way of our fanfic enjoyment! LOL
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Yeah I've been updating almost every day, or at least once a week when I can. Only one of the stories I read has been updating almost daily as well.
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Currently I'm hooked on Forever Like This and Love Will Keep you Up All Night. I love how both authors add little details to the stories that make them feel real. Hannah's especially. Her story reads real enuogh that I've felt sad for Rochelle when I see her tweet. *shakes head* silly me! And though I don't look for updates from Nick in regards to his newest artist on his label, Britney (it is in the future after all) I find myself looking for Niall to tweet about her. LOL I feel like I'm a silly reader sometimes. It's FICTION Lore! LOL
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Awww thanks Lore! I'm glad you're liking it so much. I sometimes find I have to consciously separate what's happened in fic with what's happened in real life too, haha.
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Steph you deserve it. That's a really good story!
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Thank you :)
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Nobody's posted in a few days so I thought I'd drop in.
What is your favorite genre to read? Has it changed since you joined AC, or has it always been the same one?
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I've always enjoyed Nick romance and anything with angst and the boys interacting with each other. Stuff like that has always been my favourite regardless of fandom and in movies/books/TV shows too. (Well I guess not the "Nick" part, but still lol)
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Same here, I love angst and drama. I will read romance if it is a subplot. When I first joined AC I started out as a romance writer, then as my reading tastes changed so did my writing. I will read mostly comedy, angst and science fiction.
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I'm pretty sure I will always be a romance writer, through and through LOL I find it very hard to write a story that doesn't have any romance in it unless it's a one shot.
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Before I joined here, the only fanfics I'd read were romance. So when I first joined here, it was amazing to see so many different types of story.
My taste has always been the same though. I like anything if the story is good. From romance to gore, lol.
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Yeah same here, I will pretty much read anything these days. I love angst or a good drama or suspense. There's so much variety on AC which I love very much.
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My favorite fanfic genre has always been drama/angst with a hint of romance or suspense, and that has never changed. Those are still the storylines I'm drawn to the most.
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When you find glaring errors in someone's story, do you let the author know? What about if someone brings a mistake to your attention, would that bother you?
What would you do if you found a huge mistake in your story which could potentially change the entire thing? Would you ignore it & hope nobody notices or would you go ahead and change everything?
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I only let people know about errors in their stories if they've asked or if I'm sure they'd want to know. I don't say anything if I think it might annoy them or hurt their feelings.
If someone brings a mistake my attention, I fix it right away - it would bother me if I didn't. You all know what a stickler I am, both for conventions and accuracy.
As for your last question... if I hadn't posted the story yet, I would definitely change it. If the story was in-progress, I would try to change it if I could, but if it meant rewriting parts that were already posted, I probably wouldn't. If it were in a story that's already finished and online, I wouldn't go back and change it. I'd just try to learn from it so it wouldn't happen in a future story.
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My favorite fanfic genre to read hasn't much changed and that's drama/action, suspense non romance, non AU. All revolving around Nick and the guys and their relationship to each other. That's why this new story on AC called Brothers sucked me in! It's got all of that. Even though it's not an action/suspense, the drama and relationship build up reminds me of stories back in the days.
I will read an AU from time to time as long as the guys are brothers and really the same personalities.
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That's what I'm doing with Finding Carter, I like to keep them themselves
while it is an AU. As for the brothers thing I can't give anything away but if people read they will see :)
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When you find glaring errors in someone's story, do you let the author know? What about if someone brings a mistake to your attention, would that bother you?
What would you do if you found a huge mistake in your story which could potentially change the entire thing? Would you ignore it & hope nobody notices or would you go ahead and change everything?
No, I'd only let them know if they asked for it because people can get offended. If someone brought one of my mistakes to my attention, I would probably be OK with it and depending on whether the story was complete or not I would amend it.
I've got a major inconsistency in one of my stories, but as it's been complete for about 3 years, I'm not going to go back and alter it as it would mean re-writing and I don't see the point. If someone questioned why something was wrong, well...I'd just says something like "whoops, I messed up" lol. Hopefully I've learned from past mistakes.
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That's what I'm doing with Finding Carter, I like to keep them themselves
while it is an AU. As for the brothers thing I can't give anything away but if people read they will see :)
That's good you are keeping them, them. One of the things I don't enjoy with AU is when people alter their personalities so much you can't even tell it's the guys or mess around with their ages like make them all the same age or make one who is younger actually older. All that stuff really bugs me for some reason. I like to read my boys as authentically them. I don't mind so much if like Kevin is the oldest but a lot older than the others or a year older or something like that but I hate reading things when suddenly Kevin is twelve years younger than Nick and Brian is AJ's long lost twin after twenty chapters of them just being friends. lmao
I guess that is a good opening for a new question, what are some of your biggest AU pet peeves? I'm sure we could do this with any genre so feel free to do this with any genre lol
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Obviously mine are what I mentioned above. The guys out of character & the whole age thing. lol
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I'm with you on the AU thing, Mare. I don't even like when they're brothers instead of friends. When I write AU, I write the Boys as if they are the same people, but made different life choices - instead of being part of a boyband, they did something else. So I like to read AUs that write them the same way. It's different if you're writing "original fiction" with characters that may be based on the Boys, but if you're labeling it fanfic, I think you should keep them as true to life as possible.
My pet peeves are mostly related to grammar, spelling, punctuation, and English conventions in general. There are plenty of stories out there that are probably well-written and just aren't something I'm interested in, but the ones that are not even as well-written as the stories my 9-year-old students write annoy me... mostly because they make us teachers look bad. LOL Why won't you apply what your teachers tried to teach you???
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Yeah that bugs me in AU as well...out of character boys. I write tons of AU myself, but I really try my best to keep their personalities intact, while making them a bit different.
As for Mare's question about pointing out mistakes...I have had people tell me about stuff that I've either been inconsistent with, or mistakes I've made. I usually go back and fix it if it is a minor error.
I'd much rather be told privately why someone stopped reading or lost interest privately than in a review. I like honesty if it will help me be a better writer.
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Yeah, I can understand about the not brothers thing too. I just have a thing for brothers, obviously lmao
For my mistakes question, I probably wouldn't mention a huge mistake unless it was very early on in the story and I knew the person who was writing it well enough to let them know and not worry about offending them.
If someone were to bring up a mistake to me, like most of you have said, it really depends on the status of the story. If it was something I was writing and they found in the latest chapter, I would be more prone to fix it then if it was caught after the story was done.
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Would you consider youself an emotional writer? Do you tend to let what people say affect how you write? Do you have to be in a certain frame of mind to write a chapter?
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I really shouldn't but sometimes I used to let things bother me. It would bother me initially but eventually I would get over it and keep writing. It doesn't happen so much anymore thank goodness.
For writing chapters, I have to have food in my stomach and be well rested in order to write. Being in a good frame of mind helps a lot.
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I don't really let what people say in reviews affect what I write. I tend to just write what I want and let the story go how I want. I will take reader thoughts into consideration if I'm just talking about the story and brainstorming with friends on twitter or Yahoo, but as far as in a review where people share their predictions and what they want to happen? I very rarely take those suggestions because by the time of posting, I've already decided on where I want the story to end up.
It does tend to bother me when I see people making fun of writing. That is the kind of thing that will bother me a lot and put a damper on my writing mojo. Whether it's about my own stuff or not, it just really, really irks me.
To be able to write I have to know where I'm going with the chapter. I find I can't write if I just have half an idea, I need to know exactly what's going to happen. I also need to have tea or Starbucks or some sort of caffeinated beverage.
I don't usually point out huge mistakes to people in reviews unless they have specifically asked me for a critique review. But otherwise I just say what I enjoyed about the chapter. I also tend to gloss over mistakes because I have such a terrible memory for media, that if there was a gaping plot hole I likely wouldn't notice. This is also another reason why I personally need to outline things before even starting to write.
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The only thing that affects my writing is how tired I am. If i'm exhausted I just can't write at all. My moods usually don't factor into things although I do write faster when I'm happy.
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AU peeves, hmm, I like the boys to still come across kind of true to who they are, although if the story is good, then I don't really mind.
To be able to write, I just need my brain to co-operate, lol. Oh, and I need it to be quiet or I'll get distracted if the TV/music is on :)
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Jumping in randomly...the only thing that affects my writing is usually how hectic my life gets. If things tend to be too much, it does kill my writing mojo. Emotionally or Physically, it just depends on how much things get to me.
Though right now...I'm just slacking majorly LOL.
As for AUs, yeah they need to be true to who they are in some form. I try my best to do that in the AUs I write as well.
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I'm also slacking at the moment, I have no excuse either! Nothing dramatic going on in my life, just plodding on as always, but yet I seem to have lost my mojo :( Think I need to re-read some of my story to get back into it.
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AU peeves, hmm, I like the boys to still come across kind of true to who they are, although if the story is good, then I don't really mind.
To be able to write, I just need my brain to co-operate, lol. Oh, and I need it to be quiet or I'll get distracted if the TV/music is on :)
I need for it to be really quiet as well! I need that for reading too.
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I try not to let what people say affect my writing or motivation to write. I won't say it hasn't happened before, but I can't remember the last time it did. For the most part, I write for my own enjoyment, and as long as I'm happy with my writing, I'm satisfied. I know the kind of stuff I write doesn't appeal to everyone, and that's okay. I also know there's an audience out there that does like what I write, and that's a nice perk.
Generally, the things that keep me from writing or wanting to write are the same things others have mentioned - lack of time, lack of energy, being hungry, not feeling well, stress or too much on my mind, etc. I write best when I am well-rested and have a whole day of no commitments or responsibiliti es ahead of me, and unfortunately, that hasn't happened even on weekends lately. Well, except for today, but because this is the first day all week I've had to just lounge around and not do anything, I want to do just that - nothing LOL. Not even writing. Sometimes writing just takes too much brain power LOL.
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If I am sick, tired or having a lot of things going on I lose my motivation to write. Reviews don't really affect anything, I don't let the readers influence how a story plays out but it is fun to see their guesses or reactions to things I've written.
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AUs would bother me if the boys ages were really off or if one of them was the child of another one of them. *shakes head* I know in CP Nick is older than the typical distance in age between Nick and Kevin IRL but that's because of the whole time travel thing, otherwise I try to keep them relatively the same age difference as they are IRL. I attempt to stick as close as I can to their personalities though I know I've made some boo boos.
I've pointed out minor flaws in stories in a review but if I found something glaring I'd probably private message, e-mail or DM them on twitter to let them know what I saw. BUT I'm oblivious, Tracy pointed out a flaw in hers that others notied and I didn't notice so sometimes you just get wrapped up and the details kind of slip by. :)
When I get a lot of reviews or if I'm chatty with people I tend to write faster. Right now I have no idea why I'm not writing. I've been more in a reading mood so that could be part of it.
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I got this from a twitter convo I saw from yesterday lol
Do you tend to post a new story right away or do you wait until you have a few chapters to post? What makes you decide to write a new story? Do you base it on what people like to read or what you feel like writing and then does it bother you if you don't get the feedback or attention after you post it?
As a reader, do you tend to get excited if one of your favorite authors says they are going to post a new story despite the fact that you don't know what it's going to be about? If after they post it, you see it's not something you'd like to read, do you find yourself still clicking and reading just because they are one of your favorite authors and you added to the "yes can't wait to read so please post it soon!!" bugging lol
I know that's a lot of questions but I have learned to post while they are in my head!
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I wait until I have a few chapters until I post. The last two stories I have posted I have waited until they were completely finished, and I just edit chapters before I post them. I basically just write what I want and whatever idea won't leave me alone until I get it out. I think most of what I write is probably not very appealing, so sometimes it bothers me that I don't get feedback. But honestly I do just keep writing and hope that one day my writing will improve and that my stuff will appeal more! (Talking less about AC and more about 1DFF cause I post there more than here as of late)
I usually get excited when my favourite authors post what their story is going to be about, and if it interests me then I'll read it. Like when Tracy first started talking about writing a story about Nick going to college. The premise interested me, so I was excited for her to start posting it. I don't think there's anyone on this site whose entire catalog I have read. The only people I get blindly excited for any new idea is my two 1D friends, and that's because I read literally everything they write because I know their stuff is going to be quality and I'm too lazy to sort through most recent on that site to find anything else that might appeal to me more.
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I start a new story either when I finish an old one and am ready for a new project or when I get an idea that won't get out of my head and demands to be written. I sometimes start stories on the side and work on them in secret until I run out of steam and then go back to the projects that are posted. I only post the ones that I've been working on daily for awhile without running out of steam, because that seems like a good sign I'll be able to keep writing them consistently. Sometimes that works (Curtain Call) and sometimes after my initial success, another story or real life gets in the way and totally derails me (Guilty Roads and the Harry Potter crossover). Lesson learned, I guess - I need to follow the SakaSteph rule of finishing things first and then posting them.
I only write what I want to write, not necessarily what I think people are going to want to read. I know there will always be an audience for what I write because there are other people who like the same things I do, but that audience may be bigger or smaller depending on the genre, the main Boy, and whether or not it's AU. It would probably bother me if I didn't get ANY feedback, but as long as I know SOMEONE out there besides me is enjoying it, I'm satisfied.
As far as favorite authors, I do get excited when I see they are writing a new story, but that doesn't mean it's a guarantee I'll read it. I don't think there's any one author in fanfic whose ENTIRE collection of work I've read, unless they only have one story LOL. So even with my favorite authors, there's no guarantee I'll want to read every story they write, and I think they understand that. My readers are the same way. I'll always give something new a try if it piques my curiosity or if it's by an author whose work I've enjoyed in the past, but if it doesn't hook me, I don't feel any obligation to keep reading it.
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I will come and answer this question when I'm feeling better, today's not really a good day right now.
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I would usually wait until I have at least five chapters written of a story before I posted it, unless they are one shots. My ideas usually come to me in the form of dreams but I tend to ignore it the first time I have the idea. It's only if the idea won't go away to the point where I get the itch to write that the story will actually start coming into place. Like Julie said, there are stories out there for everyone to read so I usually knew going in to any given story, what kind of reader it would appeal to. I think I know my regular readers enough to know "Oh, this person is going to love this one!" and "This person isn't going to read this one!" lol But it is always fun to see some new readers and I think that happens everytime a new story is posted.
As far as being a reader, it depends on what the story is about for me, not necessarily who writes it. I do have my favorite authors where I know when I do commit to their stories, I usually enjoy them but that doesn't mean i'm going to read everything they write. I do get excited FOR them if they get inspired to write on a new one but it doesn't mean i'm on board to read it.
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Do you find yourself more picky as a reader now then you were before? Or do you find yourself more willing to try new things? How have your tastes changed over the years? Or have they pretty much stayed the same?
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I would actually say that now I'm less picky as a reader than I was before. My tastes are pretty much the same, but now I give a lot more leeway on bad grammar/spelling and story flow.Also, back in the day there was a lot more fic to choose from, so I generally stuck with reading Nick romance stuff (even though I liked other genres, there was just a lot more to read) just because that was my favourite so that was what I wound up reading. Now, there's less to choose from so I have found I have more time almost to give things a chance that I would have waited on before just because I had so many trashy Nick stories to read, lol.
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Do you tend to post a new story right away or do you wait until you have a few chapters to post? What makes you decide to write a new story? Do you base it on what people like to read or what you feel like writing and then does it bother you if you don't get the feedback or attention after you post it?
As a reader, do you tend to get excited if one of your favorite authors says they are going to post a new story despite the fact that you don't know what it's going to be about? If after they post it, you see it's not something you'd like to read, do you find yourself still clicking and reading just because they are one of your favorite authors and you added to the "yes can't wait to read so please post it soon!!" bugging lol
I know that's a lot of questions but I have learned to post while they are in my head!
I don't post straight away, I wait until I know where the story is going to go. I've made the mistake in the past of just posting before I even know what the story is going to be fully about, and it never ended well.
I write what I want to write and the things that interest me. Hopefully they appeal to others, but if not, then there's not a lot I can do about it. Obviously I do like getting feedback, but I don't write just for that, I do it because it's something I enjoy.
I do have my favourite writers and I get excited when I see something new by them, but even some of my favourites have got lots of stories I haven't got around to reading yet. I wouldn't read if I didn't enjoy it though, because that would be false of me to say "yay, I love it" if really I didn't.
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Do you find yourself more picky as a reader now then you were before? Or do you find yourself more willing to try new things? How have your tastes changed over the years? Or have they pretty much stayed the same?
I don't think my taste has changed much, but I don't click on everything like I used to! When I first joined here and was finding my way around, I read all sorts of stuff as I got to know what kind of writers I liked.
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I've gotten very picky over the years. I have a very small window of things I'm willing to read. I wish I wasn't as picky because every single story I have invested in, have been pretty much abandoned by their authors.
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My tastes haven't really changed over the years, but like SakaSteph said, I probably read a wider variety of stories now just because there are less to choose from and, thus, less in my genres of choice. At the same time, though, I'm a lot pickier than I used to be because my standards are higher. Poor writing turns me off, and overdone cliches bore me. It takes a well-written story with something new and different to keep me truly interested and entertained.
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I'm starting to find myself become more picky with what I read because people keep abandoning stories or starting new ones before others are finished. I have not started reading anything new in about a month because of that. I'm patient and will read updates as they come, but it will make me hesitant to read anything new by the same person.
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I've gotten to where I only post stories I know I'm going to finish. As in I have a solid idea of where it's going, an outline, etc. If all I have is a prologue and an idea, I sit on it. I've got a couple I'm doing that with right now cause I'm determined to finish another story before I start one. (I'm trying to only have two stories at a time, not counting one-shots or collabs LOL). The one I had the most self control with was RMTW. I was ahead of myself posting wise for a while with that one. And even when I finally caught up to myself I was really good about consistently posting updates lol.
As a reader, I'm rather picky, I'm not even gonna lie lol. I'll click on a lot of things but I click out of almost all of them. It's gonna depend on the quality of writing and if the plot keeps me interested. I kinda wish I wasn't so picky but yeah.
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Today's question: What if anything makes you stop reading a story? Have you ever stopped reading a story even after you had hit more than the halfway mark?
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The only reason I'll stop reading a story is if I lose interest in it... which may be because the plot takes it in a direction I don't like and it becomes a completely different story, or because it drags on too long and gets boring, or because it takes so long to be updated that I lose track of the plot. Usually it's the latter. Most of the time I'll finish out a story I've invested time in reading just to see how it ends.
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The only time I ever really lose interest in a story is if it outlives it's plot and becomes never ending or suddenly turns down a path I don't enjoy reading but most times i'll finish it if I am so far into it I feel like I can't walk away lol
The exception to that rule for me lately are stories that are rarely if ever updated. I find that when they eventually are I am not nearly as excited about reading it as I was when it initially was posted and might tend to wait until it's completely done before commiting anymore time into it for fear that the author will leave me hanging for a few more months at a time. lol
I don't have the patience I used to!
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It takes a lot for me to stop reading something. There's only one story I've stopped reading, one where the author kept saying in her chapter notes she wasn't going to update because people weren't reviewing enough. After I saw that I became annoyed and stopped reading.
If someone doesn't update frequently I can deal with it, but like I said in my other post, it makes me hesitant to try anything new by them.
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Oh, bringing up the author's note brings me to another question since I tend to disappear until the weekends lol
Does an author's personality ever spark you to read or not read a story? For instance, if you know they are just the sweetest thing ever but you know you won't enjoy the story, are you more willing to give it a try? Or the opposite, if the author is self involved and threatening not to update unless they get reviews does that ever influence whether to read their stuff or not?
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Today's question: What if anything makes you stop reading a story? Have you ever stopped reading a story even after you had hit more than the halfway mark?
If the story just isn't interesting me I'll stop within the first few chapters. But if I've got past the first few chapters or halfway through, then I'll carry on reading because I want to know how it ends. I usually know after a few chapters whether I'm going to like the story.
I can handle slow updates as long as I know the author is still around and hasn't vanished off the face of the earth. That's why there are some stories which have been recommended to me that I won't read, because I don't want to invest all that time into reading only to never know the ending, it would annoy me, lol.
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If someone is a nice person or a bitch, I will still read if the story interests me. That doesn't really play a factor if the story is well written and I like it.
I will admit when I first started at AC I did ask for reviews in my very early stories. I didn't hold off from updating, I just didn't know any better lol
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Oh, bringing up the author's note brings me to another question since I tend to disappear until the weekends lol
Does an author's personality ever spark you to read or not read a story? For instance, if you know they are just the sweetest thing ever but you know you won't enjoy the story, are you more willing to give it a try? Or the opposite, if the author is self involved and threatening not to update unless they get reviews does that ever influence whether to read their stuff or not?
If I know I won't enjoy the story, then I won't read it, no matter who has written it. Just like I wouldn't expect someone I was friends with to read my stuff just because we were friends, I know that we all like different things and I'd hate for someone to feel like they had to read.
If a writer was begging for reviews and threatening not to post until they got the amount of reviews they wanted, well that would make me not want to review at all. I might read the story though, depends how good it is.
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I don't really go by an author's personality when I decide if i'm going to read a story or not. I will be turned off if people threaten not to update unless they get a certain amount of reviews but I haven't ever really read a story where an author has done that. Maybe back in the days of fanfic.net but none of the authors I read are that needy lol
I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for a review at the end of a chapter at all, just don't threaten me!
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The author's personality isn't usually a factor I take into consideration when deciding whether or not to click on a story or stick with a story I've started, but once in awhile it does have an impact.
If I really enjoy talking to someone on here but have never tried one of their stories for whatever reason, I might be more tempted to check out their work the next time they post something new or even go back to their old stuff that I may have missed.
On the other hand, there have been a handful of authors throughout the years that have turned me off so much with their unpleasant personalities that even if they wrote the kind of stories I liked to read (luckily, none of them have), I wouldn't want to give them the satisfaction of reading their work.
Generally, though, I read whatever sounds good and sucks me in, no matter who wrote it.
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I actually thought of a pretty good question.
When you go to start a new story, how do you choose which boys are lead characters or backup characters? Do you experiment or do you already have someone in mind when you form the idea?
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That's a good question. Usually I have a boy in mind when I think of the idea, but if I'm not sure or can't decide, I think about which boy would work best in that role, almost as if I were casting them for the story.
Like for Curtain Call, the idea always felt like a Nick one to me. Even if I had wanted to use another boy, I don't think the idea would have worked as well for any other guy. I needed a guy who was "unattached," who could keep that kind of secret, and all the other guys were married and closer to their families than Nick. All I had to do was have Lauren break up with him to make it seem plausible.
I always had Brian in mind for Secrets of the Heart just because it seemed the most realistic, although if I had waited a few more months to write it, I could have used Nick in that role instead and still felt like there was some basis in reality. But I'm glad I ended up using Brian because he and AJ, the other main character, are so opposite that they created an interesting juxtaposition that I don't think I could have had if I'd used Nick and AJ or any other combination of Boys. Also I haven't written as many Brian stories lately, and I feel like I've written a lot of Nick the last few years!
Has anyone ever written a story about one boy and then later thought, "I wish I had written this same story about [different boy]?"
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I will answer my question a bit later.
Forces Of Nature is one story that I am majorly stuck on because I wrote AJ as the main character for a change. It worked well at first but i think the reason I'm so stuck is because AJ has always been a difficult character for me to write. I don't relate to him the way I do to Nick.
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Usually when I have the idea, I have a specific boy in mind. Sometimes I'll think about it and "cast" if I don't have one in my head immediately but usually I do. RMTW was always Nick. I never considered anyone else. I wanted him in his prime, easily unattached so I could steal away the entire life I had ahead of him, and someone who could slip back into bad habits and still be believable. Divine Intervention I guess technically could work for AJ but since Nick really did a complete 180, it fit him better. I've got a Brian story in my head I've been sitting on because it just can't fit anyone else.
I don't think I've written a story where I thought it should be someone else after finishing lol.
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I think I would struggle the same way with a Howie or Kevin story. I love Howie and Kevin, but I just don't find them as interesting to write about (except in 00Carter). I love writing AJ better as a supporting character than a main character, but it depends on the story - I have written some stories with AJ as a main character. I do best when it's Brian or Nick in the lead role.
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I don't think I've ever wished I had used a different boy in the lead role, but I do have one idea that I've had on the backburner since 2001 that started out as an AJ BSB story and has since evolved into a Brian AU LOL. Usually, though, once I decide which guy fits best, I stick with him.
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Forces of Nature isn't done yet, I've got 8 chapters posted. I took a hiatus from writing it because I was so stuck.
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I hate when that happens. :(
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I think I would struggle the same way with a Howie or Kevin story. I love Howie and Kevin, but I just don't find them as interesting to write about (except in 00Carter). I love writing AJ better as a supporting character than a main character, but it depends on the story - I have written some stories with AJ as a main character. I do best when it's Brian or Nick in the lead role.
I think I would too. I mean if Kevin's a main, it's because of his relationship with Nick. AJ if I use him, it's more to use his "bad ass" type side and twist it a little bit for humor or angst depending on the story LOL. I haven't written AJ centered stories beyond one-shots though I have an idea I've had on hold forever. I feel like I write him best as a supporting. Same with Howie, he's best as the under-the-radar pillar of support for Nick.
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Honestly, when I think about writing a new fic I very rarely think about casting any boy other than Nick in a lead role. I've always just written about Nick and the one time I tried to write an AJ story I just couldn't get into it. Nick is definitely my favourite to write about, so when I brainstorm for new ideas, I brainstorm for ideas that would work with him.
The only exception was Running Up That Hill and I knew from the beginning that I wanted it to be a group centered story. This is probably part of the reason that it takes so long for me to write that one- because I very rarely get inspired to write about the other boys.
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Oh I do too Julie. I was so excited for the idea and completely lost my muse for it. I'm glad it hasn't happened for Finding Carter. I've been cranking out daily updates for it. One day I hope to finish FON one day...although lately I've been thinking about just deleting it completely.
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That's one thing I don't do is delete stories. Sometimes people like to reread them - finished or not. I hated when other authors do it so I decided never to do it myself.
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I've deleted stuff before mostly because it was either old and embarrassing, or because I knew I was never going to finish it. I also don't like it when people randomly delete things without warning and I recall when I was going to remove those I gave warning so if anyone actually wanted to save them, they could.
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That's one reason I haven't done it, because I don't like deleting stuff. I think I might just keep it up because I might finish it one day.
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I would never delete a story. I have moved the discontinued ones to their own page on my site so they're not easily accessed, but they're still there for anyone who wants to read them for some reason. Even my old and embarrassing stuff is online, mostly because I know it's safe there. And it's kinda fun to look back at those and see how much I've grown as a writer since.
It really, really annoys me when writers delete their stories, unless there's a reason they have to, such as publishing an original fiction version. And like Steph said, it's nice to be given some warning before it happens so you can save the story yourself if you want to.
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I can agree with that. I've rewritten a whole series into one story when I did Weird World, and I kept the original ones up. I like to look at my old stuff and see how much I've grown.
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Something that's been bugging me is this acquaintance of mine who keeps rewriting her story every couple of months, even changing character names and the title of the story.
I am guilty of doing a rewrite but I would not continue to read something that changes so frequently. How does everyone else feel about rewriting?
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I'm way too lazy to do a rewrite. I have been re-writing a lot of Forever Like This as I post it because when I read over the chapter I find stuff I want to change, or I want to make it more consistent, but once a story posted that's it, I'm done! I'd really rather just concentrate on something new and focus on making a new story better than going back and re-working an old one.
Also, when people rewrite their stuff constantly, or right after it's been posted it can be a little bit jarring. Because sometimes I like to go back and read stuff over again, and if I click on the story and it's different than what I remember... sure the writing's probably better, but I miss the original one that I loved! This has happened a couple times and it kind of sucks.
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I actually thought of a pretty good question.
When you go to start a new story, how do you choose which boys are lead characters or backup characters? Do you experiment or do you already have someone in mind when you form the idea?
I already have someone in mind when I think of the story.
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Has anyone ever written a story about one boy and then later thought, "I wish I had written this same story about [different boy]?"
No, I'm usually happy with the person I've written about. Like with Ten Things, I used AJ because he was the opposite of what the female (who happens to be called Steph, LOL) would go for. It wouldn't have worked with any of the others.
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I've deleted stuff before mostly because it was either old and embarrassing, or because I knew I was never going to finish it. I also don't like it when people randomly delete things without warning and I recall when I was going to remove those I gave warning so if anyone actually wanted to save them, they could.
I've still got one or two old and embarrassing stories posted, but luckily not the really cringeworthy ones I wrote when I first discovered fanfics :)
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Something that's been bugging me is this acquaintance of mine who keeps rewriting her story every couple of months, even changing character names and the title of the story.
I am guilty of doing a rewrite but I would not continue to read something that changes so frequently. How does everyone else feel about rewriting?
Personally, I don't think I'd go back and read something which has been re-written, unless it was turned into original fiction and altered beyond recognition. I wouldn't even re-write any of my stories because I don't see the point. They can be left as they are...mistakes and all :)
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Sometimes I know the lead of the story before I start, sometimes I have to think about which boy would fit better with the storyline, which one would give more dynamic to the story. Chronos Project was almost a Nick centric story but Kevin fit too, depending on how the story went. If Nick had been the lead, the story would have been likely different. Severed Identities couldn't be any one other than Brian, I had briefly flitted with the idea of using Kevin but knew with what happens that it would impact Brian more, he would have a harder time with the events. I started a story for the Howie challenge that after starting realized it would be better as a Nick romance, though it's on the back burner.
I've never thought after a story was finished that another boy would have been better in the lead of the story because the story forms itself around the boy that I did use as the lead. If I had decided to use Kevin for the lead in Severed Identities it would likely have a completely different feel but it would be a story where you wouldn't be able to see anyone else in that role other than Kevin, just like I feel now you can't see anyone else other than Brian in the story as it is.
I've deleted ONE story from AC. More Than That: All or Nothing... I wasn't happy with where it was going, I didn't plan on working on it ever again and didn't really feel like anyone would miss it so I deleted it. I don't think I'd delete any of them now unless I made them original fics for publishing.
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I actually thought of a pretty good question.
When you go to start a new story, how do you choose which boys are lead characters or backup characters? Do you experiment or do you already have someone in mind when you form the idea?
For me it's really simple, I ask myself if I was going to read this story, which guy would I like this to be about? And nine times out of ten the answer is Nick. That's why he's usually the main focus in my stories even though I do try to make everything involve all five of them.
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Has anyone ever written a story about one boy and then later thought, "I wish I had written this same story about [different boy]?"
I don't think i've ever felt that way for anything I've written.
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As far as rewriting or deleting stories, I don't understand why people delete their stories unless site wise they need to in order to post more. I do think people who discontinue stories should have the deceny to let their readers know they never plan on updating it, but then I think they should also leave it up to the reader to decide if they want to go back and read it again or not. As long as you have that disclaimer at the beginning, "By the way, this story isn't finished and never will be so no bitching when you get to my last chapter and aren't happy with it!" Then I say leave it up! lmao
I think rewriting something that's already written is a waste of time, honestly, unless you are changing it completely by making it an OF or something. I would never reread something that's been reworked or rewritten just because the author wasn't happy with it the first time around. All it says is the author posts their work too soon and it makes me kind of avoid their other stories.
I feel the ame way about people who care more about the banners and 'character lists' of their stories than the actual plot.
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I tried to rewrite a story once - Code Blue - and it was such a huge hassle that I will never it again!! Even rewriting a story as an original fic is a lot harder than I thought it would be. But as a reader, I'm one of those people who likes to reread stories in their original form and doesn't want to see them changed, so as a writer, I wouldn't want to mess things up for my readers, even if I thought I was making the story better. It's the George Lucas rule, George Lucas being the example of what NOT to do.
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Which books if any would you think might be fun if they had been turned into a fanfic and which boy would you like to have been which character?
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The Harry Potter books would be good as fanfics. I would have Nick as Harry, AJ as Ron, Howie as Hermione, Brian as Dumbledore and Kevin as Snape, LOL.
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LOL I agree with you, Steph! Back when Kevin had the long hair he totally looked a bit like snape. I think Nick would make a good Harry as well.
For me if I put them in the star wars novels I've read:
Brian as Luke, Nick as Han Solo, Kevin as Obi Wan, AJ as Chewbacca, and Howie could be Yoda.
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Good choices!
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Haha Kevin as Snape is excellent! I like all the Star Wars roles too, Tracy!
I don't know who I'd pick, because most of the books I've read are really female-centric. I could see Nick in the role of Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl haha - womanizing, but deeply insecure.
or
Nick as Serena from Gossip Girl, trying to turn his life around from drugs and partying and Howie as Blair - his high class old friend who feels threatened now that Nick's back. Haha!
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I'd love to see a BSB version of the Five People You Meet in Heaven.
I can see Nick is Malfoy in Harry Potter but I agree about Kevin. I think he would make a most awesome Snape!
From The Dark Tower, I could see Kevin as Rowland, Nick as Jake, and maybe AJ as the girl with no legs and isn't there another guy? I can't remember his name but he would be Howie!
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Have you ever watched a show, movie or read a book that reminded you of someone's fanfic or of one of your own?
The whole 11/22/63 thing is what sparked this question. lol
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I really love Nick as malfoy too lmao.
TV shows? The Walking Dead sooo reminds me of Song For The Undead.
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Thanks, Tracy! And yes Mare, the end of 11/22/63 so reminded me of Whatever the Night May Bring.
Castle sometimes reminds me of 00Carter, the way he acts so silly and gets on people's nerves, but always saves the day by helping crack the case.
There may be other examples, but I can't think of any right now - more often, people's fanfics remind me of movies/shows/books.
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When you get a new idea for a fanfic, do you like to share it with someone or save it as a big surprise? Have you ever waited a little too long to post something that you thought was an incredibly original idea only to see that someone else suddenly posts an idea similar to yours before you get to? Would you scrap the idea or still go ahead and do it even if it meant people might think you were copying?
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it really depends on the fanfic that I get an idea for. There are some I talk to people about and others I keep to myself for the surprise factor. I like to surprise people but I will chat about it if I'm not completely sure of something before I write/post.
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I can't keep any of my ideas to myself, I always have to tell someone and I often I'll write the first chapter of a story idea I have to get it out of my brain. If I'm still excited about it after writing out the first chapter then I know it's something I'll probably continue with.
Hannah's story Love Will Keep You Up All Night was similar to an idea I had in passing but never did anything with. I'm just content to read her story now instead of writing my own - less work for me! And her story's really good :)
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That is a good question! I will be back later to answer it, but first, before I lose my train of thought, I have something else to add.
We all have disclaimers on our sites/stories, stating that they are only fan fiction and, thus, not true and not written by the Backstreet Boys or anyone associated with the Backstreet Boys. I have always thought those disclaimers were stupid and pointless, but I've had one at the bottom of my site for as long as I can remember just because everyone else did. I never really thought it was necessary.
Well, apparently they are, because I got the following email today, with the subject "your story." This is all the email said:
It took me days to read it and I thought it was true. I wasn't disappointed it was fiction, I was upset I didn't know it from the start. I found the story accidentally and thought he was writing about actually having it. But when I got to part where he chooses not to go thru treatment second time I suspected something. I can't believe he agreed to let someone write such a real story and he wasn't sick. Too sad when we make up stories about people when there are real people dying no one rights about.
It took some inferring on my part, due to the overuse of pronouns and lack of names or titles, but I'm pretty sure this is about Curtain Call and this person being upset over discovering that Curtain Call is not actually a true story written by Nick Carter, as told to Julie Lewis.
Um... really??? LOL I'll take it as a compliment that my story was apparently realistic enough to be believable as some kind of memoir, but again... REALLY?!?!?!
Has this happened to anyone else? LOL I used to get emails asking if I was Brian's mom because of a short story I wrote in her POV, but this is a new one!
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When I get a new idea for a story, I will share because I don't expect anyone to take it, plus I like to see their opinion on how good the idea is or not.
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LMAO!!! Oh my! I bet that made your day, Julie! Just the use of right instead of write alone....
I have had more than a few people think I was Nick when I first started. During the time I was writing Why, I was asked about a dozen different times if I was working with the guys in some capacity and just claiming it was fiction. lol I take all that stuff as compliments.
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Wow... that email. How can people not realize it was fiction? Also this "Too sad when we make up stories about people when there are real people dying no one rights about."
Besides the obvious grammar error (lol) what is this person on about? Have they never heard of published books or movies? People make up stories about fictional characters dying all the time. Also how can they not realize this wasn't true? One Google search on American Idol season 9 will tell you that there was no contestant name Cary Hilst.
Bahaha.
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Apparently I should only be "righting" about real people... real people who are really dying of real diseases... for real. Shame on me for making up a story!!! LIES! ALL LIES!!! :P
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When you get a new idea for a fanfic, do you like to share it with someone or save it as a big surprise? Have you ever waited a little too long to post something that you thought was an incredibly original idea only to see that someone else suddenly posts an idea similar to yours before you get to? Would you scrap the idea or still go ahead and do it even if it meant people might think you were copying?
I almost always keep my ideas to myself. I like them to be a surprise. Sometimes I will tell one person, especially if I'm in need of an opinion before I decide whether to keep writing or post it. Sometimes I don't tell anyone.
I have definitely had that happen, where I hold on to an idea for too long and then someone posts a story that seems eerily similar. It's not like I come up with super original ideas, so it's not that tough to think up an idea that's similar to one of mine LOL. Usually, though, the other story turns out to be different enough that it ends up not seeming like much of a "threat" - that or it just gets abandoned and doesn't matter anymore.
This isn't fanfic, but for awhile it was happening with Lurlene McDaniel, who was my favorite author in middle school. When I was thinking of rewriting Broken as an original novel, she published one about a guy who loses his leg to bone cancer. And then when I was still in the early stages of Secrets of the Heart, which would be an easy one to novelize, she published one about cellular memory following a heart transplant. I was like, really, are you kidding me?! But I bought and read both books, and neither one was really that similar to my stories - and to be honest, at the risk of sounding arrogant, I liked both of mine better, so nyah!
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LOL Julie, what a strange email to have received. Surely they've heard of Google? Did the person honestly think they were reading Nick's real story, OMG :)
In one of my old Take That stories, someone actually messaged me and asked about a scene I wrote where the main (female called Steph, LOL) character goes to get an abortion after having a one nighter with Jason whilst married to Gary (who'd had a vasectomy in the story). She thought it was real! Not the whole Gary/Jason thing, but she thought I was somehow involved in a love triangle which resulted in me getting pregnant. My life has never been that exciting! :D
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Have you ever watched a show, movie or read a book that reminded you of someone's fanfic or of one of your own?
The whole 11/22/63 thing is what sparked this question. lol
Yes, The Walking Dead reminds me of Song For The Undead. There have been some episodes where I've wondered if the TV show writers have been reading Julie and Rose's story!
Also parts of 11/22/63 remind me of Whatever The Night May Bring.
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When you get a new idea for a fanfic, do you like to share it with someone or save it as a big surprise? Have you ever waited a little too long to post something that you thought was an incredibly original idea only to see that someone else suddenly posts an idea similar to yours before you get to? Would you scrap the idea or still go ahead and do it even if it meant people might think you were copying?
I don't usually share, the only time I have is with Lore when we've chatted about ideas.
If someone posted a story which was very much like an idea I had, I'm not really sure whether I'd go ahead with it. It depends how much like my story it is. I would hate for anyone to think I'd copied someone else.
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That email cracks me up LOL. Hello, google!
As for things reminding me of fanfic, I definitely did with 11/22/63 towards the end cause it reminded me of Mare lol. Stephen King read her story :P hahaha. And when Julie and I saw the trailer for Walking Dead when it first started airing, we immediately thought of Undead lol. There's a few similarities and I get such a kick out of it lol.
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I got a reply from that person who emailed me about Curtain Call. Surprise surprise, she's an old person! (Not surprised at all.)
I had gone to doctor that day and he told me he couldn't hear my heart, I'm 63 and have heart problems. I googled doctor couldn't hear my heart and brought up few things. So did it now to see where I found story. Last one on page says curtain call then website. It has few lines from story about heart lungs and stethoscope, no explanation of what it is. I clicked on it goes directly to story. I started reading which took like 4-5 days from my phone. Was totally entranced and read whole thing, mentioned different things to my daughter. Knew wasn't true when got to dying part and was stymied because I knew he wasn't dead. Then at end had info about fiction. I have a niece recently diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma that started with swelling in her chest so sounded similar. So when he went thru chemo and still transplant I was shocked. She's doing chemo now. Anyway wanted you to know how I found it and wasn't connected to fan site.
Thanks for answering.
I get site referrals all the time from people googling random medical symptoms and clicking on chapters of Broken or now CC, but most of them click right out again when they realize it's a story, not an answer to their questions. I have a button at the bottom of every page of my site that links back to the main page just because of that. Apparently she never looked at or clicked on that. Guess I need to add the disclaimer to the bottom of every page too! LOL
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For example...
"what is the white blob and. the little white speck in my ultrasound"
Search terms that led to a BMS chapter this morning LOL.
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He couldn't hear her heart? lol that's freaky. I'm sure it's in there somewhere.
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LOL I always love your site referrals Julie. Shame on you for not having a disclaimer on every page :P.
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I found her search in my site referrals - so odd that after all the medical sites, Curtain Call is the 10th result LOL.
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&client=ms-android-hms-tmobile-us&source=android-launcher-widget&q=doctor+couldnt+hear+my+heart+with+stethoscope
Sorry if we're getting off topic. If I could think of a new fanfic question, I'd post one!
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LOL if I was looking for answers to a medical problem and clicked on something that turned out to be fanfic, I would click straight back out again and continue looking for answers to my problem :)
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I do find that amusing that it took her such a long time to figure it out! She was probably like "Wow, this medical journal really does give out a little too much information! I didn't have to know this girl had a pig!" lmao
I really don't have a question for you guys. Hopefully someone will think of something.
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Now that I just said that, I do have a question!
What is the most outlandish piece of feedback you have ever gotten? lol
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Mine was probably from the person who thought I was writing about real events with my Take That love triangle story. She said she was available to talk if I needed to! And then she also asked if she could copy some of my story to use in her own story. Cheeky cow, LOL.
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hrm I haven't ever gotten anything outlandish... :(
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I guess that one I posted would be mine! Nothing more outlandish comes to mind at the moment LOL.
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I don't think I've ever gotten anything outlandish, actually! I can't really think of anything.
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Hmmm I can't think of any on the site but on twitter I get some funny ones.
I have a nice girl that reads and she goes "can you update at 8:45 so I can read on my break." I wasn't offended but it flattered me. I love comments I get on there. Even though they didn't review on the site, it still feels good to get that response.
Has anyone else gotten feedback via twitter or another source?
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Before I went missing from fan fic world I had someone find me on MySpace and tell me they loved my work. Kinda creepy cause I never use my real last name reguarding my fics.
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I occasionally get feedback on Twitter or on other forums and sometimes still through email or my Yahoo Group for my site. But most of my feedback comes in review form from AC these days, which I prefer - it's easier to keep track of here.
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Sometimes I get feedback on twitter. I found out on twitter that more people were reading Forever Like This than I thought were so that was cool. But generally feedback comes in the form of a review, yeah!
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I haven't received that many outlandish reviews either. Probably the ones that actually asked me if I was Nick or worked for the boys would be the closest thing to 'out there' lol
I mostly get feedback on the site but every once in a while I'll get a random email from someone about a story and that always makes me smile. I tend to not get feedback on twitter however I do sometimes see people talking about my stories on there which also makes me smile. Especially when it's someone who I didn't even know read my stuff then I smile and think "Hrmm why haven't they reviewed me ever?" lol
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Don't think I've ever had feedback on Twitter, it's just on the site. The only email I've ever got about a story was from the person who asked to copy my story and thought I was writing about real events.
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I haven't gotten any outlandish reviews really, though one said I was either insane or had a good imagination lmfao. I was like - I think it's a combo of both. I've gotten emails and tweets now and then, it's always nice. And if it's brought to my attention someone's tweeting about my story (even if it's not directly), I'll usually tweet them and thank them. I'll take compliments anywhere LOL.
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What do you think your biggest flaw is when it comes to writing fanfic?
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I know that my biggest flaw is with flow and sentence fragments.
Um also probably not finishing things that I start lol I find either write something very quickly, or it literally takes years. For instance, Forever Like This and Running Up That Hill are both going to end up being around the same amount of chapters. Forever Like This took about a month and a half to write, not including the month I was posting it (because I waited until it was done). Running Up That Hill I started two years ago and I'm still chugging along lol.
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I think my biggest flaw is lack of originality. My ideas are usually inspired by other people's ideas, or I recycle my own storylines. I don't have many ideas that I think are really creative and original.
I think I'm also overly ambitious. I tend to bite off more than I can chew, either with too many stories going at once or too much going on in one story. My projects always seem to take years to finish, either because the stories are just really long or because I only write on them once in a blue moon. I used to be a writer who wrote one story at a time and finished each one in about a month, but that was a long, long time ago. I kind of wish I could still be that way without sacrificing the quality of my writing.
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One of my biggest flaws is the fact that I worry too much, especially about what other people think. I also am getting better with my confidence but sometimes I feel I could improve that as well.
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My biggest flaw is my overeagerness to jump into projects. I've gotten better but I still get blocked so then delays happen. I feel bad about it anytime it happens too. I can't just focus on one story, I try and I fail LOL.
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One of my flaws is biting off more than I can chew too. Like with Maybe Tomorrow. I started off really eager, but now I'm doubting myself and wondering why I ever thought I could write an AU world war two story and make it seem realistic. I'm slow at posting, and I don't like that. I will finish it though because once I start something, I don't give up.
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I think we all doubt ourselves way too much!
What is the one thing you feel like you have greatly improved on since you started writing?
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I think I've gotten a lot better about follow through. I now won't post a story unless I've committed myself to finishing it no matter what instead of just on a whim. I also think my writing in general has grown in leaps and bounds. :)
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I have gotten a lot better at description and character development. I do more showing than telling now, and my characters are more well-rounded and believable.
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BTW Julie, I've always thought you had plenty of originality. You've come up with plenty of epically creative ideas :).
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I think my biggest flaw is inconsistency in my writing. As I've read back over my stories, I notice that one chapter will be awesome, and the next pretty lackluster. I think this is often perpetuated by another flaw-- Posting new chapters as soon as I finish writing. If i would stew over my writing a little longer and make more edits/revisions, it would probably be a lot better. But, what can I say? I' m a review whore. I get way too excited to post and see what the response is going to be. I also think my mood tends to influence my writing a lot, which contributes to the inconsistency. As far as what I think I've improved on the most... Well, I still need a lot of improvement :)
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BTW Julie, I've always thought you had plenty of originality. You've come up with plenty of epically creative ideas :).
Aww, well thanks! :) Maybe it's just cause I know how my mind works and where they come from that they don't seem that creative or original to me.
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I think my biggest flaw is inconsistency in my writing. As I've read back over my stories, I notice that one chapter will be awesome, and the next pretty lackluster. I think this is often perpetuated by another flaw-- Posting new chapters as soon as I finish writing. If i would stew over my writing a little longer and make more edits/revisions, it would probably be a lot better. But, what can I say? I' m a review whore. I get way too excited to post and see what the response is going to be. I also think my mood tends to influence my writing a lot, which contributes to the inconsistency. As far as what I think I've improved on the most... Well, I still need a lot of improvement :)
I notice this with my writing too. I think part of it is that sometimes I'm just really "on" as a writer - the words just pour out of me and flow together so well - and sometimes I'm "off" and every sentence is a struggle. If I force myself to write when the words just aren't coming, I'm usually not happy with the result. Sometimes I have to do a little forcing to get myself over a hurdle, but sometimes I just have to wait until inspiration strikes. I think mood does have a lot to do with it.
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I tend to doubt myself too much. One thing I've improved upon is my confidence but sometimes it can be lacking. In the past three years that has changed a lot but there are moments when I read stuff people are saying and although it is not necessarily about me, it gets into my head and tries messing with my writing. When I go to write I try to clear my mind of that doubt and just go with it.
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^ That's a good lead in to my next question. Do you take things personally when people insult fanfic or put down fanfic writing in general? Do you tend to be overly sensitive when it comes to your own writing and get easily offended if someone says something negative or perhaps gives someone else's story more attention than yours?
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Not really. Like I said my mind tries to mess with me but I know it wasn't anything personal. I try not to let it get to me, because I know not everyone will like what I'm writing.
I just had a convo about this on the phone with someone. I understand not everyone reads or likes fanfiction but I don't hold that against them.
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I don't get offended when someone insults fanfic in general. I know it's a weird hobby, and those who aren't into it won't get it. Their loss. But that's why I don't even tell most people in my real life that I do this - because I know they won't understand. It's a hobby best shared with other people who enjoy it.
I am more sensitive about people insulting or criticizing my stories specifically, but not to the point that I would ever let it ruin my confidence or turn me off of writing. I just have to remind myself of how many people DO like my stories and understand that even within the fandom, not everyone is going to want to read everything I write, just like I don't want to read every fanfic I come across. To each their own; I'm not shooting for universal approval because that's an impossible goal.
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My greatest fanfic flaw - I sometimes get in a rush to finish a project and so the endings are never what I want them to be. Heck, endings in general are my greatest flaw. But I say that I tend to rush to the end.
My greatest improvement - looking back at some of my older fics they didn't have as much description as they could have. One chapter would have like 4 people's points of view instead of expanding each point of view into their own chapter. I think I've improved on description and giving more "meat" to a story.
Insults to fanfic - I tend to not get insulted if someone insults fanfic as a generalization I roll my eyes because how could they know what the fanfic world was like they are outsiders. :) My own stories I've improved at taking constructive criticism but have never received a flat out insult to one of my own.
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What is the one thing you feel like you have greatly improved on since you started writing?
I think I add more meat to the stories now, compared to the first few I wrote which were over in just a couple of chapters.
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^ That's a good lead in to my next question. Do you take things personally when people insult fanfic or put down fanfic writing in general? Do you tend to be overly sensitive when it comes to your own writing and get easily offended if someone says something negative or perhaps gives someone else's story more attention than yours?
If people slag off fanfic in general, I don't let it bother me. I know that not everyone understands fanfic, and some people might think we're a bunch of weirdos for reading/writing it, lol. I kind of like that I've got something that none of my friends know about.
If someone else's story got more attention than mine, I wouldn't mind at all. I know that we all like different things and what I write might not appeal to everyone. I don't expect anything when I post a story, so to know someone likes it is great!
If someone were to say "your story is absolute crap Steph!" or something like that, then I probably would get a bit offended. But if the comments were actually about things I'd done wrong, and put to me in a friendly way, then I'm sure I'd be fine with that. Whatever though, I would still write...if I ever get my mojo back!