Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => I Challenge You.... => Topic started by: mare on August 11, 2012, 05:50:41 PM
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I thought this would be a nice challenge for some of us who do not feel comfortable reading our own work.
A challenge to you is to read one or more of your older stories and then fill out the survey. Old can be really really old or even as old as your newest one. Just anytime you read one of your own stories, take a minute and fill this form out!
There is no deadline for this, in fact we'll just keep it open forever. LOL Hopefully some of you will do this. I plan on filling one out for each of my stories I read. I challenged myself to read my stuff this year! lol
Reading self evaluation form
Name of story:
Year you wrote it:
Summary: (You can use the one from the site or make a new one up now)
Main Character:
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
2) Was your plot consistent?
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s?
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
8) Did your opnion change from you wrote it originally?
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyoe else should give it a chance or not etc...)
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There ya go! I went first lol
Name of story: A Million Little Things
Year you wrote it: 2008
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
Yes. I only had four of the guys in this one. Howie was absent because it revolved around his father dying and the small break they took.
2) Was your plot consistent?
Pretty much
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
None, which I was kind of happy about!
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
I really liked the use of friendship quotes at the beginning of every chapter. I'm not big on doing stuff like that and I didn't remember actually doing it for this one. LOL But they fit really well.
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s?
No, not really.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
I tend to copy myself a lot more than I realized. I felt like a lot of what I was reading I had read somewhere else.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
I would say an 8 lol
8) Did your opinion change from you wrote it originally?
I had no opinion of this one because I couldn't remember it at all lmao
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
Yes, I would actually! I thought it was a pretty good story. I know I won't be saying that too often in here lmao
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyone else should give it a chance or not etc...)
I'm just glad I finally forced myself to read this!
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Name of story: Forces of Nature
Year you wrote it: 2008
1) Did you feel your characters were strong? No, not really.
2) Was your plot consistent? What plot, lol. It was basically girl meets boy in a random place, they fall in love and live happily ever after *cringe*
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots? No, it was mainly sex all the way *cringe*
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story? The presentation looks alright to me and I didn't find any typos.
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s? It was rushed, very little plot and didn't have much detail in it.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one? Maybe romance isn't the genre for me, lol. Don't self-insert.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one? Two. I don't know if that's being too harsh or too generous. I'm still cringing a bit after reading it.
8) Did your opnion change from you wrote it originally? Yes, it's worse than I remember!
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone? No. In fact I'm embarrassed to have it still posted, lol.
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyoe else should give it a chance or not etc...)
Don't waste your time reading it, you'll only regret it!
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I loved A Million Little Things, it was the first of your stories which I read :)
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^ aww thanks, Steph :)
I had to change my answer to #6 because I was getting this one confused with Cough Medicine which i'm reading now. There were no villians in A Million Little Things lmao
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lmao aww Steph! Go read Rewind or Save a Prayer! :)
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lmao aww Steph! Go read Rewind or Save a Prayer! :)
I'm reading Games now, and smiling as I read. I liked writing that one :)
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Ooh I forgot that one! That was another great one :) yay Supernatural!
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I will be doing this challenge shortly :)
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Name of story: Switch
Year you wrote it:2009
1) Did you feel your characters were strong? Yup,I think it was just like the guys in real life(from what I've seen)
2) Was your plot consistent? Yup
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots? nope
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story? It's my first one done that's not 3 chapters lol
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s? no
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one? Uh can't think of anything....it's just a funny story
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one? 7
8) Did your opnion change from you wrote it originally? nope
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone? yup ;) Its a nick/kevin story so if your a big fan of that *looks at mare* you might like it
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyoe else should give it a chance or not etc...)
I'm just glad I got a long story done
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Name of story: Incomplete
Year you wrote it: 2009
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
-not really. The characters aren't developed that much.
2) Was your plot consistent?
- Yes it was. I liked my transitions between Nick's coma world and what was happening in the real world.
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
- no, it flowed pretty well. There was some filler and didn't stray from the plot too much.
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
- I liked some of the ideas I had for this story, like the coma world's boys vs real life boys. The part of Brian being a male stripper amused me a lot.
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s?
- there was a lot more I could do with Howie, I feel he wasn't opposite of himself enough.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
- This story was written before I realized I needed to separate quotations and paragraphs, but I am impressed I didn't have many spelling errors or typos.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
- I'd give it about a 6.
8) Did your opinion change from you wrote it originally?
- Yes because my writing has changed a lot since I wrote this, but I'd never delete or rewrite this story except to make it more readable.
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
- The plot is kinda out there and it is a Nick in a coma story so people might enjoy it. But don't go by my word lol.
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyone else should give it a chance or not etc...)
None that I can think of.
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I'm going to fill this out for the first fanfic I finished writing and then the most recent fanfic I finished writing. The answers should be on vastly different ends of the spectrum! LOL
Name of story: Heartache
Year you wrote it: 2000
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
Um, no. None of the characters had any sort of depth. They were all just flat cardboard cutouts who said and did stuff LOL.
2) Was your plot consistent?
The plot moved pretty quickly. The whole story is only 15 short chapters. The first third of it was just about Brian and the guys; the female lead, Alexa, wasn't even introduced until Chapter 6, and by the end of the story, she and Brian are in love. There was a lot of summary to get from one point to another.
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
There weren't really filler chapters because I just used a lot of summary to move the story along. As far as subplots, there are two main storylines that are woven together, the medical drama one and the romance one, but not any subplots.
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
This story is not good by any means, but it's far from the worst I've read. It's not even the worst I've written, even though it was my first. I was only fourteen when I wrote it, so I can forgive myself for it being so simplistic and naive. What I'm proud of is the fact that it's pretty well-written in terms of grammar and conventions. It's organized into complete sentences and paragraphs, it uses appropriate punctuation, the dialogue is punctuated the right way, the spelling is fine, etc. The 8th grade diploma I had when I wrote this came in handy! LOL
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s?
Besides the fact that it does more "telling" than "showing," I noticed at least one sentence that was missing some punctuation, and I also caught a chapter in which I changed the name of a minor character within the same chapter... oops LOL. Also, it's very obvious that I did not do any real research in writing the medical aspects of the story. My only "research" involved rereading a Lurlene McDaniel book that was written in the 80s and maybe watching ER, and it shows. But I was fourteen and didn't have access to or even knowledge of the kind of resources I have now, so again, I can forgive myself for that.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
I guess something interesting is that I don't hate the plot of this one. In fact, Secrets of the Heart is sort of a more mature and twisted version of the same basic premise, without the romance and with more of a psychological/mystery element.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
3 - because like I said, it's not good, but it's not a total failure.
8) Did your opinion change from you wrote it originally?
Yes - when I originally wrote it, I had enough pride and confidence in it to submit it to a site to be hosted. That was the first step that eventually led me to start my own site. The only reason this story is still posted on my site now is purely out of nostalgia. I would never post it on AC or anywhere else.
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
No
Final thoughts and comments about it: Heartache is what it is: It's the first fanfic I finished and posted online, and it led to two sequels and then more stories after that. Its "medical drama with a hint of romance" storyline was very telling of the type of stories I would become known for writing. Everyone has to start somewhere, and that is where I started LOL.
Name of story: Curtain Call
Year you wrote it: 2010-2011
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
Yes. Nick was a different Nick from the versions of him I've written in other stories - more mature and laid back, but also more cocky and manipulative (yet still charming). I tried to write him as I see him on stage, in interviews, and online, while imagining how he might react the fictional situation of having cancer.
Cary was a character I could both picture clearly in my head and relate to. I think she was likable, but also flawed, in that she was easily manipulated by Nick. But I felt like she behaved in a consistent way - she never did anything that made me think, "The Cary I know wouldn't have done this."
2) Was your plot consistent?
This story is about a journey, and I think the journey can be broken down into several legs, each with their own story mountain. The first leg is the set up, in which both characters and their backstories leading up to the start of the story are introduced. The second leg is about Nick hiding his illness while on tour, which takes up most of the first half of the story. The third leg is the "calm before the storm," in which Nick undergoes a stem cell transplant to keep his disease in remission and Cary explores her relationship with him, and the final leg is them dealing with his impending death. I think they all go together to tell the complete story, but I also see how the first and second half of the story are different enough that they could have possibly been split into two separate stories. I'm not a fan of sequels, though, so I'm glad I kept it all as one.
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
There were some filler chapters, but none that I thought were pointless fluff. Every chapter did something to move the story forward, whether it showed a tour stop and a passage of time or a scene that helped to develop the characters and their relationship. As far as subplots, there weren't really any that didn't relate directly to Nick, Cary, or the situation they were dealing with. I felt like everything - the tour, Cary's aspiring singing career, her dead mom backstory, and her relationship with Nick - tied together to form the main plot of the story.
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
I'm proud of how the first person narration turned out. The medical stuff was old hat to me by the time I wrote this one; I knew I was capable of researching and writing it realistically. But this is one of the first novels I've written in first person point of view, especially alternating between two different characters' voices, and I wasn't sure how that was going to go. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it, and when I went back to read it, I was really happy with it myself.
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s?
There are 27 typos or missing words that I need to go back and correct! There was also one chapter where I had the narrator mention that the cruise was off, and then a few chapters later, they acted like they were still considering whether or not to go through with it. That was an inconsistency. But I didn't really notice anything major.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
When I started this story, I knew I wanted Cary's character to be female, even though the movie that inspired the idea (Funny People) was more of a bromance. It just didn't make sense to me to create a male original character when I already have four other Backstreet Boys for bromance. That said, I wasn't sure if Cary would become a romantic female lead or not. Obviously I could see it going that way because I like romantic subplots, but I didn't want to force it, so I decided to see what kind of chemistry my two characters had and let them decide. What happened was that while I realized early on that Cary had a crush on Nick, I was never sure of his feelings, and eventually I just figured out he wasn't as into her as she was into him. He liked her as a person, but he was also using her for her companionship and her caring nature (and also for sex). Almost any part in his POV where it mentions him wanting her to stay, the reasons he gives are that he's lonely and/or bored without her. He never thinks "because I love her and just can't live without her." And so once I realized that, I wrote that into the story, the fact that they didn't feel the same way. It made it even more of a tragedy in my mind, but I think that also made it more interesting than if they had been soulmates. I'm glad that I paid attention to my characters and was willing to go where they took me, instead of forcing them to feel a certain way that worked for my plot, but didn't work for them. That's a lesson I learned the hard way from By My Side, and I hope I'll remember it for future stories.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
I'm going to be an arrogant douche and say 9. As a writer, I'm proud of this story, but as a reader, I actually really enjoyed just reading it. There was really nothing in it that made me cringe or have regrets, and that's a first for me when it comes to a novel like this one.
8) Did your opinion change from you wrote it originally?
I liked Curtain Call as I was writing it, but I may like it even better after reading it in its entirety. The whole time I wrote it, I was comparing it to Broken in my head... and while I could appreciate that the writing was of a better quality, in my mind it didn't have the same magic as Broken. Broken is my baby; I've never been more attached to a story than I was to that one. But when I compare the two now that they're both done and I can step back and look at them from some distance, I can see how much better of a story CC really is, in most ways. It's raised my opinion of CC and probably lowered my opinion of Broken LOL.
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
To anyone who loves a good, long tearjerker and doesn't mind female leads or detailed descriptions of medical procedures, yes. For readers who don't like those things, probably not LOL.
Final thoughts and comments about it: I'm really proud of this story and thrilled with the reception it got on AC. Even though it completely killed my momentum on Guilty Roads, I'm glad I went where my inspiration took me and wrote Curtain Call.
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Name of story: Games
Year you wrote it: 2010
1) Did you feel your characters were strong? Yes, I think the characters of Dean and Sam Winchester were easily recognisable, as were Nick and AJ.
2) Was your plot consistent? Yes. The plot for this was supposed to be like an episode of Supernatural, and I think it came across like that.
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots? No, this story was quite fast moving and stuck to the main plot.
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story? It was the first time I had a go at something like this and I realised how much I enjoyed it. I think it was well written, and enjoyed reading it.
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s? No, it seemed to read alright to me. I'm sure there are errors in there somewhere, but I didn't notice any spelling errors.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one? That I like writing horror/suspense and think I do an alright job of it. Maybe I could expand a little with descriptions as I tend to keep it simple.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one? I'll give it an 8 because it kept my interest as I was reading, and it was enjoyable (well, to me anyway, lol).
8) Did your opnion change from you wrote it originally? No, I enjoyed writing it and I enjoyed reading it back just as much. Maybe I would've added more detail, but I'm not going to change that now.
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone? Yes. If you like stories with a bit of horror, supernatural stuff and suspense then you might like it.
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyoe else should give it a chance or not etc...)
I enjoyed writing this and I think it shows.
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I enjoyed reading it too! :)
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I really liked Games, Steph! I've only seen a couple of episodes of Supernatural, and Dean and Sam really interested me as characters. I think you did a great job with that one!
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Name of story: I'll Always Be Right There
Year you wrote it: 1999
1) Did you feel your characters were strong? The characters of myself and my friends were strong, even though we were exaggerated versions of ourselves. The BSB characters? Um, no.
2) Was your plot consistent? The plot was actually fairly consistent. That doesn't mean it wasn't pages and pages of will they/won't they for Steph and Nick though.
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots? The entire story was a filler chapter LOL. Nothing happened!
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story? That I finished it. It was the first fanfic I ever wrote and the fact that I followed through and finished it is something I'll always be proud of, even if it the content of it is terrible.
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s? Well, it's a little weird that Nick and the rest of the BSB have decided to move from Florida to Winnipeg and that Brian is dating Sophie, who is 16 years old and he's like... 24. Oh, that that everyone is perfectly okay with Brian, Nick, Steph and Sophie living in the same house.
And actually that house is a real house in my parent's neighborhood. Whenever I walk by it, I smile, haha.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one? The trend of putting my own life into stories began with this one, and this story begins with my real-life breakup with my boyfriend lmao. I really just wanted Nick to come fix everything wrong with my 13 year old life, haha.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one? 2, and it only gets the extra point because the spelling/grammar isn't bad.
8) Did your opnion change from you wrote it originally? Uh yeah when I wrote it I was super proud of it and thought it was the greatest fanfic ever.
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone? Nope, and no one will ever find it because the only copy is printed out in a binder in my bin of BSB shame.
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyoe else should give it a chance or not etc...) I was embarrassed about it even in 2001 when I had my own teeny website because it didn't even make it onto that lol.
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Name of story: All I Wanted was Some Cough Medicine
Year you wrote it: 2003 One of my oldies!! lol
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
You know, I actually do feel like they were pretty strong. Especially my villians.
2) Was your plot consistent?
Yup
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
I didn't have any filler chapters or real subplots going on
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
I have to say i'm pretty proud of the action filled chapters. I think this might have been my very first real action based story and I think I did a pretty good job keeping the suspense going throughout.
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s?
There were some grammar no nos! Ugh, I was annoying myself by not always separating the dialogue by speaker. But as far as the actual story, there were no glaring errors. Just some very sterotypical things like having Howie being referred to as "The Latino" and "The young blonde" luckily no orbs in sight! Go me! lmao
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
I think my love for Kevin and his eyes were very evident in this story. Usually i'm not one to ooh and ah over the boys looks, in fact most times people aren't fully sure who my favorite boy is but in this one, you can pretty much tell lmao Also I found it interesting that I named my villians after my ex best friend and her ex boyfriend who is now my brother in law. I guess all the drama concerning them was happening during this period in my life!
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
I would give it about a 7
8) Did your opnion change from you wrote it originally?
I'm not sure what I thought about it originally, but most likely, no.
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
I actually would. I didn't think so when I first started it but after getting into it, I really do believe it's a pretty good action fic. There are some elements that I rolled my eyes at lol like the believeabilty of the police letting Brian and Howie ride along for a car chase in the middle of the woods? lmao but if you can get past that and the dialogue thing, I think you'd enjoy it!
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyoe else should give it a chance or not etc...)
This story pretty much sums up Julie's question in the other thread about guilty pleasures. It had pretty much everything I look for when reading a story so much so I can tell that's why I wrote it! lol To me that was interesting!
I had fun doing this! I don't know what to read next though lmao any suggestions?
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LOL go read The Apartment Mare. Or Total Kaos 24/7 (I think that's the title) if you wanna read one of your oldies.
See, I told you "All I Wanted Was Some Cough Medicine" still held up!
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I was thinking of The Apartment maybe lol and yes, you did. I'm just glad it didn't suck! At least to me, i'm sure it sucked to a fair amount of people who read it though. LOL
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Name of story: The Apartment
Year you wrote it: 2004
Summary: (You can use the one off of the site or write a new one) When the Carters decide to go on a family vacation, they drop Nick off to spend three weeks with Howie, Kevin and Brian who are all sharing a one bedroom apartment in Florida. At the beginning of their careers they are all trying to become accustomed to each other and the last thing Kevin wants to do is baby sit who he considers to be the most annoying child on the planet!
Main Character: Kevin, Nick, group
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
Yup
2) Was your plot consistent?
Yup again lol
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
No fillers or sub plots happening
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
I liked the exploring of Nick and Kevin's relationship when they first started out. That's when this story takes place, in the very early days before they were famous or even signed and all of the guys are still trying to figure each other out, but it mainly focuses on Kevin and Nick's relationship and especially Kevin's thoughts.
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s ?
Just some editing issues! I could tell I was in a rush to post this without thoroughly checking it like I do now. This was my let me write about four or five stories at once and see how it goes, period lol Also again with the not breaking up the dialogue but I didn't do it as much in this one, maybe a few places.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
I am pretty cheesy! I could tell how influenced by Swenglish I was for this one. It's funny because at the end I do thank her so there ya go! LOL
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
I would give it about a 7 for the idea but about a 6 for the execution.
8) Did your opinion change from you wrote it originally?
I am pretty sure when I wrote it, I thought it was awesome! Now, not so much lol
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
Yikes, I'm not sure. On the one hand I think it's a great idea and there are parts in here that I am really proud of, but It also kind of embarrassed me a little more than I thought it would. So, I would say if you are in the mood to read something really cute, over the top cheesy and sweet this would be a fun one but otherwise, not my best stuff lol
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyone else should give it a chance or not etc...)
You could tell in this one, I was still getting to know these guys better myself. I wrote them so stereotypical that I actually laughed out loud a few times. I have Howie winking left and right in this one! I use lil man about every other sentence and I make Nick a bit over to top immature at times. Looking back I doubt he would have done some of the stuff I had him do but maybe? I guess that's what I'm on the fence about lol because I know several 12 and 13 year olds that do act the way I portrayed him but quite a few, not really. I did like the way I portrayed Brian. He was my comic relief in this one and I found myself enjoying him a lot! And my obvious hate of Jane was there big time!
I also thought it was pretty funny where towards the end Nick sprains his ankle (Swenglish influenced lol) and they talk about him going to the emergency room before it gets infected and they have to chop his leg off and they make a joke about not being able to have a one legged Nick in the group! lmao I found myself wondering if I was inspired to write that before Broken or if I took that as a nod TO Broken LOL If it was before Broken's time that's pretty funny! It was about February or so of 2004 when I wrote that chapter.
Anyway, I think I'm going to tackle To Protect and Serve next because it looks like I was writing that at the same time as this which is insane to me since they are so night and day!
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I included a few more things at the beginning of the survey like main characters and summary. It might help people who are looking at the surveys to get a better understanding of what the stories are about lol
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You know I was just re-reading The Apartment LOL. I needed a good get lost in fanfic break. There's things in there I totally didn't notice back in the day but do now. My inner editing nazi's grown a bit LOL. I loved Brian in this one though, he was hilarious. Especially the Ass Conversation.
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^ That was my favorite part as well lol and yeah, I agree the editing was poor poor poor in this one. So many mistakes I wanted to go back and fix everything but eh....we know how that goes. lol If it was something I knew lots of people would still read I would but it's old enough to leave as is.
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I did figure out the publish dates are all a bit off for these older stories. I think the dates are when I transferred them onto AC but not when I actually wrote them. I think they are all older than they are. I figured that out when I saw Long Road Home for 06 but I know for a fact it was the second story I wrote right after Mizpah so it's more like 2001 or 2002. So This one, said 2003 but i'm thinking probably 2002. Same with Protect and Serve. I clearly was writing The Apartment and that one at the same time but it says The Apartment was published in 2003 where the first chapter of Protect and Serve was 2004. It's all messed up. So, i'm just going to say it was a long time ago! lmao
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I did figure out the publish dates are all a bit off for these older stories. I think the dates are when I transferred them onto AC but not when I actually wrote them. I think they are all older than they are. I figured that out when I saw Long Road Home for 06 but I know for a fact it was the second story I wrote right after Mizpah so it's more like 2001 or 2002. So This one, said 2003 but i'm thinking probably 2002. Same with Protect and Serve. I clearly was writing The Apartment and that one at the same time but it says The Apartment was published in 2003 where the first chapter of Protect and Serve was 2004. It's all messed up. So, i'm just going to say it was a long time ago! lmao
LOL yeah that and Protect and Serve were around the same time just cause of the author's notes at the end of the chapters. 2003 was when we had to switch servers and transfer stories over though so that's why they're all out of order lol.
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I forgot about the server thing! LOL Duh!! Makes sense then.
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LOL awww. Yeah I remember that vividly. Those were the days of the lightening layout lol.
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I still use the lightning layout or the generic old one. I use the generic old one on this too lol
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OK, I went ahead and did this one for my first-ever story. This is for dreamalittlebi gger, who said my first few stories back in the day couldn't be as bad as I said they were. Try me. :)
Name of story: One Week
Year you wrote it: 1999
Summary: (You can use the one from the site or make a new one up now):
Stepsisters from California go to Hawaii on vacation and find themselves staying in the same hotel as the Backstreet Boys. Brian saves one of the girls from drowning while she’s learning how to surf, and they have a thing going on. The other one hooks up with Nick. The whole thing turns out to be a dream. (Mostly because I decided I was over writing fanfiction, abandoned it for more than a year and didn’t know how to end it.)
Main Character: Natalie (narrator), Brian
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
God, no. They were one-note idiots. Natalie was exactly what I wanted to be in college when I was a freshman in high school, and Michelle was basically a slightly more likable version of the ditzy girls I hated at that age. Natalie had an aircraft carrier-sized chip on her shoulder about being hurt by an old boyfriend, a completely foreign concept to me since I was two years away from having anything remotely resembling a boyfriend. And I had absolutely no concept of what the guys were like.
2) Was your plot consistent?
It was consistent insofar as there weren’t any gaping plot holes. It was just as thin as cheap toilet paper. And the end was shite.
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
PFFFFT. There might have been three chapters that WEREN’T filler.
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
Not riddled with typos. Dialogue is basically readable. Those were hard attributes to come by when I was reading/writing fanfiction back in the day. (Apparently, I was running with the wrong fanfiction crowd.)
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s?
Oh, where to start? The whole story is totally implausible. Why would the guys all be in Hawaii together, minus both girlfriends AND entourage? Brian was engaged by the time I started writing this, and I actually had absolutely no idea – and furthermore, had he been single, why would he have been so entranced by a 19-year-old? Nick would probably go to jail for hooking up with Michelle. Why would the group go to an 18-and-up club when it’s apparent only the 17-year-old has a fake ID? A 19-year-old couldn’t even legally rent a car or check into a hotel, especially one as fancy as the one where they were staying. Yes, dumb 19-year-old protagonist, missing a few days of college classes WILL kill you. Hitting your head on your surfboard will not knock you out – I know, because I’ve done it – and hot Hawaiian surfer guys will not even notice you exist, and there will not be a hunky guy there to save you if you do mess your shit up. Nobody’s, but NOBODY’S pickup lines are as bad as the guys’ are in this story. (I think I borrowed half of them from my then-crush, a dreamy exchange student with a tenuous grasp of English.) You would probably get arrested for sleeping on the beach, unless your hotel has a private beach, and theirs isn’t even on the beach. I went to Hawaii with my family shortly before I started writing this (and I was a huge fan of The Real World: Hawaii, which was on not long before we went), and it’s very obvious to me that I wrote the story basically as an excuse to set a story there. Unfortunately, I didn’t describe Hawaii nearly well enough to make it the character it obviously was.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
I apparently named the protagonists’ dad/stepdad after Tom Hanks’ character in You’ve Got Mail (at that time one of my favorite movies), and I’m not sure whether I did that consciously. Also, man, I retained a lot of useless knowledge about Hawaii in order to write this story.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
3
8) Did your opnion change from you wrote it originally?
Yes. I thought it was really great then, and I got a lot of positive feedback on it. Now I can hardly stand to look at it.
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
If you want to feel like a clueless tourist in Hawaii, sure.
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyoe else should give it a chance or not etc...)
If you’re really curious, Google “KTBSPA Fiction.”
Also, fun fact, I finished my first-ever piece of fanfiction on that Hawaii trip – a very early version of “The Boys on the Bus.” Sometimes I think I should have published that first & waited on “One Week,” but then, among other consequences, you wouldn’t have this wonderfully ranty self-evaluation.
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If you’re really curious, Google “KTBSPA Fiction.”
OMG. I'm reading One Week now (only because I'm really curious about the "one-note idiots" you had as characters, as you say) but I'm laughing because my story (Secrets) was hosted on your site?? (My pen name was Carla back in the day) Dude. Small world.
Also, best find ever! I am totally dying at work, laughing so hard. :) (At the coincidence, not your story :) )
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SERIOUSLY?!?!?!??!?!?! This is hilarious. Hello again, random former hosted writer whom I totally forgot about! Glad we have quasi-reconnected! Bwahahaha...
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LOL That's so funny that you guys had stories on the same site and didn't know it! I totally get a kick out of looking at these old Tripod and Angelfire fanfic sites. Ahh, the good old days!
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SERIOUSLY?!?!?!??!?!?! This is hilarious. Hello again, random former hosted writer whom I totally forgot about! Glad we have quasi-reconnected! Bwahahaha...
RIGHT?!?! I didn't even realize I had my story hosted anywhere! Haha :) The Internet never forgets, clearly! :)
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LOL That's so funny that you guys had stories on the same site and didn't know it! I totally get a kick out of looking at these old Tripod and Angelfire fanfic sites. Ahh, the good old days!
OMG a part of me wishes I kept my bookmarks from 1999 because there were so many awesome stories that I'm startng to remember now but can't find! Loved those Tripod and Angelfire sites!
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So many of them are no longer online, it's great to see some that still are! Geocities going down a few years ago really took out a lot of the old fanfic sites.
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There are at least a couple sites that have Geocities archives -- Reocities and OoCities are the ones that popped up on Google first, anyway.
And my Tripod site is TOTALLY still up, hence how I was able to find my story for this exercise (and how dreamalittlebi gger was able to stumble on this ridiculous coincidence). I should link to it in my site sig for S&Gs. It hasn't had a serious update in 13 years -- literally almost half a lifetime ago, NBD.
I'd be willing to bet the same thing has happened to a lot of writers on this site -- stumbling on each other unknowingly, years after they were hosted together. This seems like kind of a small world. :)
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Yep, I have seen those Geocities archives. They don't have everything, sadly, but I went through my links and saved everything I really wanted to preserve before Geocities went down.
It is kind of a small world. I love our little tightknit community. :)
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Name of story: For The Rest of My Life
Year you wrote it: 2007/2008
Summary: Sequel to Unsaid Goodbyes -- The summary from the site; One couples Story through heartache and pain, love and courage, and most of all, commitment. Will their love withstand the ultimate test of faith? Will there be any miracles? Can Gracie hold on long enough to say "I do"
Main Character: Nick
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
I actually really liked the characters in this story... Nick of course is Nick! And Gracie I tried to make fun and spontaneous, even despite the cancer treatments. The story was about Nick and Grace and I feel like I did a pretty good job developing their characters considering this was my first ever story. The others popped up here and there, but they weren't nearly as important.
2) Was your plot consistent?
I feel it was... the plot of this story was Grace's cancer treatment and whether or not she would make it to the wedding day, I focused on that throughout the story
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
Maybe one or two, but nothing that really strayed from the story... everything went back to the plot in some manner.
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
I'm proud of the fact that this was my first story *it was the sequel, but I wrote it first*. I felt that Unsaid Goodbyes could have been developed more and offered more of a back story on their relationship, but I don't feel like that was needed here. I am partial to the ending as well!
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s?
Nope.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
Hmmm... I think that **Spoiler** stories can have happy endings and they don't ruin the story. I really battled back and forth a few times and actually wrote two different endings to the story, but in the end I simply couldn't have Grace die. It didn't seem right... so I think it made the ending perfect.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
Probably a 7 -- it could always be better!
8) Did your opnion change from you wrote it originally?
Not really
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
I would -- if you enjoy sappy love stories or angsty stories, go for it ;)
Final thoughts and comments about it: (If you think everyoe else should give it a chance or not etc...)
I think the fact that it was my first fic it will always have a special little spot in my heart! I really became attached to the characters and even started writing a third fic "I'm Movin' On", but haven't been able to continue it because I didn't like the idea of ruining Nick and Grace! So maybe someday!!
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Last summer I read Curtain Call as Mare was reading it for the reading challenge, and I enjoyed the experience, so I thought I'd do it again this summer with Secrets of the Heart while Cinzia's reading it for the challenge. Again, it was interesting to read one of my own stories in its entirety almost a year after finishing it.
Name of story: Secrets of the Heart
Year you wrote it: I started it in October 2008 and finished it in August 2012, but the majority of it was written last summer.
Summary:
Brian Littrell and AJ McLean were not the type of men you’d expect to associate with one another. One was a music teacher and a family man; the other made his living in bars and tattoo parlors. Their paths sometimes paralleled, but never crossed… until fate altered the course of their lives. Through tragedy, the two men would meet… to bring justice to a life cut short.
Main Character: Brian and AJ
1) Did you feel your characters were strong?
I do think they were strong. I love the characters in this story. There are really four main characters, Brian, AJ, and their respective significant others, and each of them has their own personality and perspective.
2) Was your plot consistent?
I think so... The plot of this story is pieced together like a puzzle, and I had to do a lot of careful planning to be able to put all the parts together. This is the only story, aside from collaborations, that I've outlined chapter by chapter, so even though it took me forever to write it, I was able to remember where it was going and keep the story consistent.
3) Did you have many filler chapters or sub plots?
Really, no. There are two interweaving storylines, but no subplots beyond those. The story only has 25 chapters, which is short by my standards, and I pruned it down to get to that number (I think I had originally planned it to be closer to 30), so I can honestly say that every chapter is important and serves a purpose to the storyline and character development.
4) What is something you are proud of concerning this story?
Besides the characters, I'm most proud of the way I was able to weave the two storylines together in a way that would reveal the major pieces of the puzzle one at a time in the order I wanted to. I am not a mystery writer, and I'm not someone who departs from writing in chronological order very often, so this was a big accomplishment for me!
5) Did you find any major problems or inconsistencie s?
There weren't any major problems, and I only noticed three typos, which is pretty good for me! The only inconsistency I was worried about was with my writing style. I was worried it would be disjointed because of how long it took me to write this story. Luckily, I didn't notice that too much; I thought it flowed pretty well. I do think the ending is rushed, and that's partly because I remember feeling rushed as I wrote the ending - I was trying to crank out the last few chapters before school started last August and also wrap it up in 25 chapters. Without the deadlines I set for myself, I might have taken more time with it and stretched it out a little longer, but I'm not sure.
6) Something interesting that you took away from this one?
This is the first AU I've written in a LONG time that wasn't a collaboration and wasn't centered around some "gimmick" - ER doctors, secret agents, zombie apocalypse. It's the only one I've written in which the guys are just regular people, doing mostly regular things. If they weren't named for the Backstreet Boys, I think it could easily pass as original fiction, and that is encouraging to me because I don't usually think in terms of original fiction.
7) On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this one?
I'd give it a 9. It's not perfect, but it's well-written, with vibrant characters and a unique plot, and there was nothing in it that made me outwardly cringe - a first, for me! Even Curtain Call had a cringe moment or two. I also like that I was able to keep it concise; it's been a long time since I wrote a whole novel in 25 chapters or less.
8) Did your opinion change from you wrote it originally?
I always liked this story for its plot, characters, and the first three chapters, but it was a pain in the ass to write! Even last summer, when I finally was able to churn out chapters consistently, it took a lot of effort to make myself keep writing. I'm not really sure why, but I like it more as a reader than I did as a writer - it's really nice to be able to look back on it now that it's finished and be like, "Hey, I wrote that!" But you will never catch me going, "Aww, I miss the days of writing Secrets..." Nope. LOL
9) Would you recommend this one to anyone?
I would recommend this to anyone who likes Brian, AJ, mystery, medical drama, and is open to AU. I know a lot of people probably passed on it because of the lack of consistent updates, the AU genre, and the fact that Nick is not mentioned anywhere in the summary, but if you can get past those things, I think it's a good read.
Final thoughts and comments about it: I'm proud of myself for finishing this story and mostly happy with how it turned out. It was fun to read it in its entirety this summer and see how the whole thing turned out.