Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => Featured Story of the Month => Topic started by: mare on April 03, 2007, 06:09:21 PM
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Hello!
Well, Chaos is still MIA and after what he went through who can blame him? So I have picked Under My Skin as this month's story.
I know I said I wanted to discuss only completed works but sadly, there really isn't too much complete on AC lol so I changed my criteria for this. Hopefully this will give you the incentive to finish this story up now!
I'm going to try to pick authors/stories who were mentioned in those initial surveys we made, and who also post regularly on this forum. I think it makes more sense to showcase people who will actually participate in any possible discussions that may ensue.
I randomly landed on Mel's name and I know she said this is the story she is most proud of, so there ya go. :D
Congrats, have fun and discuss!
I'll be back randomly in and out with questions for you Mel!
~ Mare
oops A link would be nice huh? lol
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=6862
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Wow! I'm in complete shock right now! I totally did not expect to be picked as Story of the Month, so I'd like to give a very big thank you for the honor. I've been definitely dragging my feet a little on writing in general, so this is exactly the pick me up that I needed. I'm estimating that I prolly only have maybe ten chapters or so left, so hopefully I can finish it up very soon. I'm VERY excited about the sequel which is going to be just amazing... And yes, I'm babbling lol
Thanks for the honor and I can't wait to hear what others have to say about it!
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*is suddenly filled with excitement that she chose to start reading this already*
hehe, It sort of feels like I cheated and got a head start! ;)
With any luck I'll actually finish this one. Congrats Mel!!! Hope this get some new readers for ya so that you can be motivated to finish! I'll be back later after I read som more, with my thoughts and stuff. Yay for new featured sotries!
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*is suddenly filled with excitement that she chose to start reading this already*
hehe, It sort of feels like I cheated and got a head start! ;)
LOL I know right Kelly! You're cutting edge! lol j/k
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Aww you're very welcome. I hope this gives you the umph to finish it and to gain some new readers.
LOL I hope you're ready to endure my inner Oprah.
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LOL I hope you're ready to endure my inner Oprah.
LOL Yea I think I am. I love Oprah so its all good!
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Congrats!! I'll go read this when I have the time (tomorrow?? lol)..
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Here's your first two questions Mel :)
Tell us how you came up with the inspriation to write this story and how long you have been working on it.
Why do you consider this one your personal favorite?
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Here's your first two questions Mel :)
Tell us how you came up with the inspriation to write this story and how long you have been working on it.
Why do you consider this one your personal favorite?
Ooh good two easy ones to start off with lol *wipes sweat from brow*
The inspiration to write this story came from a fellow author, Laura Mae, who unfortunately no longer writes fan fiction :( I hadn't written anything since probably about 2003 when I was working on a story called All or Nothing. At that time I used to talk to Laura through my Yahoo group, but then we lost touch. A lil over a year ago I decided to randomly IM her and we began talking again. She told me that she was reworking her fan fiction that she had been working on back in 2003 (Something Beautiful for those of you who remember it) She gave me the link to the story on AC and I was incredibly inspired how she had changed the story to make it current, yet still fill in the original details. After reading SB I realized how much I missed writing and decided if Laura could rework SB, I could do the same thing with AON. I changed the name to Under my Skin and concocted a new plotline that would pararallell all the flashbacks that were events from AON. And volia! It was born in Feb of 2006. I just started Chapter 41 and I hope to finish it by this summer with a little over 50 chapters.
As far as why its my favorite? Well, I've never spent this much time on a story or had a storyline this complex. I've also never been this close to finishing another fic. My writing has improved so much over the course of this story and its definitely been my most sucessful. It's refreshing to see so much enthusiasm over something I've written!
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Aww! good answers. I love it when another person's work helps to inspire someone to write. That's awesome!
Also it's great when you spend so much time on something that it really becomes your baby. I hope you see it through to the end, send this baby off to college! lol
if anyone else can think of questions, especially pertaining to the story feel free to ask.
And Mel if there's anything you want to say as we go along feel free like a funny story about one of the chapters or any bloopers you encountered along the way.
:)
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Hmm... Funny stories or bloopers? I'm sure there are a few I just have to think about that one a bit. I'll get back to you there!
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How about your love affair with dark chocolate? That's a good one. ;)
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How about your love affair with dark chocolate? That's a good one. ;)
Oh God LMAO How do I explain this one w/out sounding like a total freak? Lol
Well, lets just say that I'm a sucker for dark chocolate and as any of my readers know its been a great inspiration for uhmm certain scenes of the story LOl :-[
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:D See, it's a good story. :)
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Oh God LMAO How do I explain this one w/out sounding like a total freak? Lol
Well, lets just say that I'm a sucker for dark chocolate and as any of my readers know its been a great inspiration for uhmm certain scenes of the story LOl :-[
it's OK -lol I have that same problem with cheesecake. ;)
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it's OK -lol I have that same problem with cheesecake. ;)
Mmmm.... Cheesecake....
Me too, Kelly. :D
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it's OK -lol I have that same problem with cheesecake. ;)
I think all authors have their "sex food" LOL That's the big secret ;) Lol
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I think all authors have their "sex food" LOL That's the big secret ;) Lol
wait... were we talking about writing?? oh. um yeah. I meant that too. I don't have that problem in real life... I swear. ;)
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I think all authors have their "sex food" LOL That's the big secret ;) Lol
Really?! I must've missed that secret memo. I guess I'll go find my "sex food" now. What do you guys think of popcorn, mac and cheese, or a tuna sandwich? Are those "sexy" enough LOL
Mel! I'm so excited that you were picked! I'm glad I started reading this story last summer, and I really hope that being picked for this month inspires you to keep going.
I have to say, I like how complicated all of their feelings are. Or, at least, all of Alyssa's feelings are because we don't get too much of Nick's side at all, right? Or maybe I'm forgetting something? Anyhoo, it's nice to have those complicated emotions because love/lust/emotional entanglement is not all cut and dry stuff, and you've clearly depicted that in this story. I also enjoy not knowing the whole story behind the Katie debacle and the way that you slowly, through flashbacks, show everything that happened in the past.
Plus, Alyssa's hit the top ten females in BSB fanfic for me because she's no Mary Sue and she's not going to fall all over herself for Nick. I think I told you this before in the chapter where the fangirls spot her leaving Nick's room one morning, but I really like the fact that she doesn't want to be seen by the fans as just another girl and is afraid that that's how Nick does see her. Also, she sees past his celeb status. You have passing references to the BSB plans, but it's not all about this concert, this party, this photoshoot, etc. You seem to have written a story that's more character and emotionally driven than one that's driven by the events (although, some of those events are pretty big). Oh, and also, I like the fact that Nick's not perfect (i.e. women in the couple's past). Both characters are just flawed enough that they appear human and accessible.
I'm sure I could go on and on, but this is it for now! I love the story, and I want more updates...NOW! LOL
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Spoiler warnings Sarah!!!!! Come on!!!! Work with me here!!!! -lol
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Spoiler warnings Sarah!!!!! Come on!!!! Work with me here!!!! Nick sleeps with Steph??? GASP! I don't know who she is yet, but she sleeps with him??? The NERVE! -lol
SORRY!!!! I totally forgot! But, for everyone else, I edited my post, so hopefully that'll not wreck it for everyone else. I'm super sorry, Kelly!
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SORRY!!!! I totally forgot! But, for everyone else, I edited my post, so hopefully that'll not wreck it for everyone else. I'm super sorry, Kelly!
hehe, you're funny Sarah! now you have to edit this one cause you quoted me and I ruined it. I edited it from my post now too though so we should be safe after that...
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Really?! I must've missed that secret memo. I guess I'll go find my "sex food" now. What do you guys think of popcorn, mac and cheese, or a tuna sandwich? Are those "sexy" enough LOL
Hey whatever gets you going works! LOL ;D
Wow... Thanks for your opinions Sarah! I'm SOOOO happy that you're still enjoying UMS. You brought up a lot of great points in your last post about the story which makes me feel like Good! I'm getting my point across! lol
The whole "complication" factor in reationships is definitely what I wanted to focus on with this story. If I'm going to write something in the romance realm (and i think I consider UMS more angst than romance, but some beg to differ) I'm not going to do a cutesy fantasy type romance. I'm going to lay it out there how it really is. Men cheat, exes who try to be friends wind up more as friends with benefits, and sometimes your feelings for a person aren't as cut and dry as you'd think. I joke that the reason that I can write a story like this and keep it so raw and real is that I'm in a pretty bitter cynical place when it comes to love in general right now. Its very funny though because just the other night I was out to dinner w/ a friend who had just broken up w/ her b/f and she was really upset and pretty much spent the whole meal venting to me about the breakup. It got to the point where I actually swore that i could be talking to Alyssa from my story LOl. Like Nick, her b/f broke up with her cuz he felt that he "needed to be single for a while to just hang with the guys and do his thing." He also told her that maybe down the road they could get back together again when he's ready. She was actually saying something about how their relationship was so intense sometimes that it scared her which was actually something that I had just written for the next chapter. So, I guess when it comes to keeping it real I definitely did my job there!
I'm going to try to include more from Nick's perspective too. When I started writing the story it was pretty much Alyssa's story because A) I'm much more comfortable writing from a girls POV and B) Originally the story was supposed to be first person, but I felt too limited so I changed it. As the story has progressed I've slipped into Nick's head a few times too, but the predominant perspective has been from Alyssa. I'm going to work on that, but sometimes its just so hard to get both their opinions on something and not have the story drag. And I'm glad you like the flashbacks and how the mystery of their past is unfolding. Unfortunately, *hides* I don't think the complete Katie/Serena mystery will be answered in this story. I'm going to carry that over to the sequel just because it parallells events that take place in it. There will be one more major bombshell concerning Katie before the end of this story though.
About Alyssa not being a Mary Sue, I REALLY tried hard not to let her fall into that catergory. I wanted her to be very realistic and not one of those female leads where everyone of the guys (including Aaron and even Baylee or any other male period) falls in love w/ her. I've tried to make her flawed, but just flawed enough where the reader realizes she's human. She's definitely very jealous and maybe a bit posessive over Nick (although I would think you'd have to be to ward off all those girls lol) and she definitely has her bitchy moments like her lil snide comments about Paris, the whole wanting revenge on Katie... (left it vague so I don't spoil it for Kelly lol) In the end I think it makes you realize she's just your average 20 something year old female. Face it, we're bitchy when we need to be and I don't think too many fics show their main character in that light.
Ha don't get me started on Nick's flaws in this story. I alwas say that Nick is just complicated period, so he pretty much writes himself sometimes. But he's trying to change (operative word trying) he just becomes a little misguided lol.
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Oh yea! Sorry if Sarah spoiled anything Kelly. I forgot that you're only up to like Chapter 10 (30 more to go!)
Trust me though... You know Steph. You prolly don't remember her because she's played a very minor role, but you'll see more of her as the story progresses.
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Oh yea! Sorry if Sarah spoiled anything Kelly. I forgot that you're only up to like Chapter 10 (30 more to go!)
Trust me though... You know Steph. You prolly don't remember her because she's played a very minor role, but you'll see more of her as the story progresses.
OMG STEPH!!!! as in Alyssa's little sister!!!!!!! How could I forget!!!!!! UGH!!! Nicky just went down on my "reasons to kill your boyfriend" list!!!!
----would run off to read more right this second, but I'm like 1/2 a page away from finishing my story so I need to go do that first... Then I'll go read more cause now I wanna know how that whole STEPH thing came about!!!!!
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OMG STEPH!!!! as in Alyssa's little sister!!!!!!! How could I forget!!!!!! UGH!!! Nicky just went down on my "reasons to kill your boyfriend" list!!!!
----would run off to read more right this second, but I'm like 1/2 a page away from finishing my story so I need to go do that first... Then I'll go read more cause now I wanna know how that whole STEPH thing came about!!!!!
It's okay lol Take your time! You have quite a bit before you get to the Steph part and quite a few other reasons to kill Nick to get through LOL
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This story is sooooo good. Congratulation s, Mel, on getting featured!
My question is: How in the world do you manage to juggle two jobs, a life, and writing at the same time? I must know your secret. :3
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This story is sooooo good. Congratulation s, Mel, on getting featured!
My question is: How in the world do you manage to juggle two jobs, a life, and writing at the same time? I must know your secret. :3
Well, the secret is that I don't really have a life LOL. Sad, but true... Hopefully that situation will improve soon. I'm looking for a permanent teaching job and as soon as that happens I can quit working at Macy's. I'll still have my Masters to do, but I'm trying to knock that out as soon as I can. I write in between whenever I get a minute. I've been trying to do a lot this week when I REALLY should've been doing schoolwork and I didn't even manage to crank out a whole chapter, so its difficult. I'm hoping once the summer comes I can have more time to focus on writing.
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OKay readers of Under My Skin time to plug this one!
Give us one reason that anyone who has not read this story should.
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OKay readers of Under My Skin time to plug this one!
Give us one reason that anyone who has not read this story should.
My vote is for the excellent characterizati on. Everyone in the story is so well fleshed-out and believable, and their actions (even when crazy or frustrating) make sense. Mel puts so much detail into the psychologies of her characters that you'll swear you're caught up in the real-life drama of some of your best friends. Read it! (http://stat.livejournal.com/img/talk/md10_thumbup.gif)
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I'll try to really have a read this week! ;D
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Two more questions for you Mel.
Was there anytime while you were writing this that you had a total plot shift or went into another direction you never planned?
Are any of the characters based on real life people? (Besides any of the BSB lol)
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Two more questions for you Mel.
Was there anytime while you were writing this that you had a total plot shift or went into another direction you never planned?
Are any of the characters based on real life people? (Besides any of the BSB lol)
Good questions Mare! Thankfully my plot has stayed pretty much the same throughout the story although its just mushroomed out to a much larger scale than I'd imagined. But its funny about you asking if it every went into any other direction than I had planned cuz as my readers know, my characters often take over a chapter and things wind up going differently than planned, but somehow it works. Prolly the best example of this is orginally in the chapter where Nick agrees to give things another try with Alyssa, he was supposed to kind of just brush off Alyssa's concerns about where they were heading and kind of be a jerk about it. Yet, once I started writing it next thing I know he's agreeing to at least try which actually kind of works out better for the story. I guess its a good sign that I have such strong characters LOL.
As far as if any of the characters are based on real people- absolutely! In fact I think just about all the non BSB characters come from some form of a person I know. I suppose you can say Alyssa is based off me on a very basic level. Italian descent... Substitute teacher just graduated college... From Long island lol But as far as being in her position w/ an ex I've never been there, so thats all creative.
Meg, Alyssa's older sister is based off a friend of mine that I meant through BSB years ago and we've gotten REALLY close. She's actually younger than me, but we're practically sisters. Like Megan in the story, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 16, so that part of the story is true. Today, she's doing great at 21!
Izzy is also based off a friend of mine that used to be in my BSB RP group where the ver basic ideas of the story stemmed from. Somehow back then it turned out to be a BSB/O-town RP and she used to play Ashley's g/f. If you REALLY read carefully you can argue that Tristan is a caricature of Ashley in some ways.
I do have a younger sister named Stephanie only she is 14 and although she's definitely not as into much crap as Stephanie in the story she is a bit of a spoiled brat, so I guess some inspiration comes from that.
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OKay readers of Under My Skin time to plug this one!
Give us one reason that anyone who has not read this story should.
OK, I have to say that you should not be turned off by the fact that romance is one of the genres listed in the summary. THis is (so far) an absolutely wonderful story. Like I was trying to say to Mel earlier, I love it because she is telling a love story and yet she's not. This story is really the story about what happens after the love story. The sappy romantic cheesy crap that I love to write so much where you get to the end and they FINALLY get together... that's where her story sort of begins. It explores relationships and all the different sides to them. There is a lot of pain and angst in the relationship that has gone sooo wrong and she does a remarkable job at making you see both sides to the arguement. As I read it (and not fast enough) I have really been pulled in different directions and honestly cannot take a side. THey are both right and both wrong. I love the internal conflict and Mel has done it in a way that makes you love both the main characters and want the best for both of them even if you don't know what that is. I love that because I don't hate either of the characters which happens a lot in stoies about break ups. I think it's hard to make them not totally one-sided. Well done Mel!!!
hope that made at least a little sense. I guess my point is, read the story cause it's really really good!
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Good answers Mel. Glads to hear your friend won her battle with cancer too. That's a great thing!
Here's another question :)
if you could change one thing about your story, what if anything would it be?
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OK, I have to say that you should not be turned off by the fact that romance is one of the genres listed in the summary. THis is (so far) an absolutely wonderful story. Like I was trying to say to Mel earlier, I love it because she is telling a love story and yet she's not. This story is really the story about what happens after the love story. The sappy romantic cheesy crap that I love to write so much where you get to the end and they FINALLY get together... that's where her story sort of begins. It explores relationships and all the different sides to them. There is a lot of pain and angst in the relationship that has gone sooo wrong and she does a remarkable job at making you see both sides to the arguement. As I read it (and not fast enough) I have really been pulled in different directions and honestly cannot take a side. THey are both right and both wrong. I love the internal conflict and Mel has done it in a way that makes you love both the main characters and want the best for both of them even if you don't know what that is. I love that because I don't hate either of the characters which happens a lot in stoies about break ups. I think it's hard to make them not totally one-sided. Well done Mel!!!
hope that made at least a little sense. I guess my point is, read the story cause it's really really good!
Aww, you'd make a really great promo agent! You should hire her Mel! :D
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Good answers Mel. Glads to hear your friend won her battle with cancer too. That's a great thing!
Here's another question :)
if you could change one thing about your story, what if anything would it be?
Definitely the whole beginning... I think you can tell by reading it that I was unsure of where exactly I was going with it. Nick isn't even introduced in the present time until Chapter 7! (He is shown in flashbacks before this though.) I just think it drags a little too much there. After that point it really picks up but I think a lot of readers might give up on it.
Haha and yea I should hire Kelly as my press agent lol Or my self-esteem coach LOL
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yeah, I would make a good guru I think... -lol. I only praise the praiseworthy stories ;D
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Okay here's another question for you:
Have you ever changed your mind about a scene or a chapter in this story AFTER you have already posted it? And if so, did you leave it as is or change it?
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Okay here's another question for you:
Have you ever changed your mind about a scene or a chapter in this story AFTER you have already posted it? And if so, did you leave it as is or change it?
Ehh not really... I mean there have been little details I wish I'd thought of earlier or improvements, but not to the point where I'd go back to change anything. I don't like doing that because I'm afraid it might confuse readers. I like to just concentrate on the progressing chapters. I don't like going backwards.
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Another question for you Mel. I keep forgetting to post this so I figured while I was here I would actually remember, and yay I did lol
This is a tough one which probably requires some heavy thought on your part, or maybe not? lol
Can you tell us what your favorite scene to write in this story is and maybe put up a small excerpt of it for us all to read and explain what you like most about it.
All of you who have read this and have a favorite scene should do the same. Show Mel what your favorite part of the story is.
Okay off to school! Have a great day all!'
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That's a REALLY good and tough question Mare... I'm not sure if I can pick just one scene. It changes all the time for me. I'd REALLY have to think about that one.
Just a quick note... i know I've been MIA for the past week and a half... Long story, but my internet died and I've been on and off the phone between Verizon and Linksys to try and fix the DSL and apparently neither one can help me nor can they send someone to look at it. So basically we're at the point now that we are most likely going to switch to Optimum Online. Problem is I'm not sure yet how soon they can start to install it, so I might noty be around for a bit. One of our computers gets some acsess, but someone else is usually always on it.
I'm going to try to still write on my laptop through word, but I'm not sure about updates since I'd have to burn it to a CD and then try to get on our main computer and risk someone seeing them and my hidden life as a BSB fan fic writer be revealed LOL I'm going to see what I can do though. i miss everyone!
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Sorry to hear about your computer problems. That sucks! Hope everything gets worked out!
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Well since we're coming to the end of the month, if anyone has any last thoughts about Under My Skin feel free to post. I know Mel's computer isn't working which sucks but if anyone else has anything to say, last comments about the story or feedback etc... now would be the time.
:)
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Final words time! I just want to reiterate that I'm really proud of Mel for getting selected as featured story. She is a great writer, and I always get so excited when I get the e-mail telling me that her story has been updated. :3
I can't select any particular passage as my favorite because there are so many well-written ones that choosing just one wouldn't do the fic proper justice. But the point is, if you haven't read UMS yet, then definitely do so.
Also, great choice for FSotM, Mare.
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totally off topic, but I was just talking to someone the other day about the featured story of the month and they said they would like to see a shorter story done because then they might be able to read it... I thought that didn't sound like a bad idea so I thought I would mention it here. Maybe if we had one featured that was a little shorter it might get a few more readers and a little more discussion going? Just a thought?
***To get back to the topic, I love this story. Mell did (is doing) a wonderful job! Congrats Mel and hope you get the internet situation resolved soon! We miss ya!
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Hrmm... define short? Because to me a short story is one chapter. To others anything under 50 chapters is short. lol
The thing is they do have an entire month to read. I just think people need excuses not to read stuff lol
If it's a good story, it should suck you in, no matter how many chapters it is. But, I was thinking about having a short story themed month maybe. Feature a bunch of one shot type stories perhaps? Somewhere along the line. What do you guys think of that?
Maybe in February lol short month...short stories? lmao
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Managed to sneak on for a few minutes and I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for selecting UMS as a featured story. Its inspired me SOOO much! Thank you everyone for your comments. I get my internet back May 8th I think, so look for more to come from me!
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you're welcome Mel. I'm glad we helped inspire you! :)
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I know how you feel about not having computer access, Mel. The only time I can really hit up AC and the forum is when I'm at work, LOL.
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Mel oh Mel where for art thou Mel! *giggles* we've been playing IM and email tag lately and now text message tag! LOL I miss talking to ya every day! Anyways yeah UMS honestly I can't say enough good things about it mainly because its the story that LED me to AC. (Thanks to mel posting it on BSB writers union) But yeah as beta reader I get alot of the spoilers and new chapter stuff, and I know I'm not the only one but it's really fun.
Being of a selected few that gets to see creativity in progress, truly it's an honor to be beta reader to this story and well all of Mel's stories!
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Just wanted to give props to Mel! I've been reading this story since she first posted it, and I love it. I would say hurry up and update, but I'm not the queen of updates either so.... but I am still addicted to the story. :)
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Just wanted to give props to Mel! I've been reading this story since she first posted it, and I love it. I would say hurry up and update, but I'm not the queen of updates either so.... but I am still addicted to the story. :)
Aww... Thanks so much Rose! You really have been there from the beginning! I'm trying to get an update out this week *crosses fingers*
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featured story author survey
I just thought of this and since a few months have passed since, I am posting this in every thread, so authors fll this out when you get the chance. It might help people who are searching the forum and looking for something good to read. Sorry i'm using (this story) and being so generic but like I said everyone is going to get the identical survey to fill out when their turn pops up and i'm in lazy mode lmao
thanks!
Moprah! hehe
1) Tell us one thing about your story that no one else knows?
2) How long did it take you to write this entire story?
3) Give us a summary different from the one you have posted on AC, with a few more spoilers to make people tune in.
4) If you could cast this story as a movie who would play the main roles and why?
5) Have you ever thought of giving up on the story and if you did what made you continue to work on it?
6) What was your writing process? (Outline, make it up as you go along, the characters wrote it, I am Tonja and plagerized lol)
7) Who was your favorite character in this story and why?
8) You had to know this was coming, who was your least favorite?
9) Are all the boys in this one? If not why did you choose to exclude them?
10) If we like this story...then we'd love what story? (Could be by you or someone else) and obviously tell us why lol
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Yay you know how much I love your surveys Mare! Is this just going to be in the thread so readers can check it out to see if they want to read each story or will they be posted somewhere? Just wondering! Anywhoo here we go!
1) Tell us one thing about your story that no one else knows?
Hmm... That NO ONE else knows? That's kind of hard...Okay i got it! The ver basic elements of the story in the past (Nick cheating on Alyssa with Katie while recording in Sweden, her getting pregnant etc) actually came from the soap opera of a plot we had going on in my BSB RP group at least six years ago. Orignally I was writing another fic based off all that, but then I gave up on it and stopped writing. Finally in Feb of 2006 when I decided to return to writing fan fics I wanted to rewrite my old story, but of course update it. Hence how I incoporated all the backstory on Alyssa and Nick.
2) How long did it take you to write this entire story?
Well, I'm still working on it, but I started it in Feb 2006 and I'm trying to finish it by the end of summer *crosses fingers* Problem is I keep having to split chapters so it takes longer. So far its been like a year ad a half which is the longest I've stood by ANY story.
3) Give us a summary different from the one you have posted on AC, with a few more spoilers to make people tune in.
Oh god... I'm really bad at summaries, but I'll try.
When Alyssa Martinelli has a chance encounter with her ex boyfriend and fiancee Nick Carter and they decide to remain friends, Alyssa never expects any problems to arise. All of a sudden, old feelings begin to arise and things quickly grow complicated the closer they get to each other. Only problem is that the both of them are two different people now, each wanting two very differet things. Can they make things work again between them?
Ok yea that was pretty lame, but ehh its one of those stories that you just have to read lol Its too broad for a summary.
4) If you could cast this story as a movie who would play the main roles and why?
You know its funny because when I read a fic I can say Oh ok if this was a movie I'd have this person play that character... But seriously in my own stories I really don't do that. I write my own characters as just original people, so this is a REALLY hard question for me. Obviously Nick would play himself lol. Alyssa? That's hard... Can't think of many brunette actresses the right age sadly. Maybe Jennifer Love Hewitt or Ann Hathaway or maybe Jamie Lynn Sigler? Lol I'm open for suggestions!
5) Have you ever thought of giving up on the story and if you did what made you continue to work on it?
At times I feel like trashing it, especially when I get very busy and don't have the time to write. Then when I come back it sounds just so silly. Usually rereading the story helps me fall back in love with it or focusing on my future plans for it.
6) What was your writing process? (Outline, make it up as you go along, the characters wrote it, I am Tonja and plagerized lol)
Ok, you got me! LOL I'm Tonja in disguise lol j/k Seriously I'm a big outliner, but I mostly do it in my head (sometimes on paper) I like to work from the inside out. So first I thnk up of my main events and then link them together with smaller events. Eventually everything fits together like a puzzle and it flows pretty good from arc to arc in the story. That's how it works for me at least.
7) Who was your favorite character in this story and why?
Obviously both Alyssa and Nick. I myself am amazed with the chemistry the two of them have. Its so much fun writing playful coversations between the two. The dialogue just seems to flow really easy between them and I think the readers really connect. Of course I love all my characters though. I've been told that as a whole all my characters are pretty well developed, so to me they all seem like real people.
You had to know this was coming, who was your least favorite?
Again... This is REALLY hard because I love all my characters lol. Even my villans (which in this story I don't really have any. I think that the biggest villans in this story are the flaws that each of the main characters need to face unless you consider Stephanie and Katie villans) aren't like completely bad I feel. Stephanie is actually fun to write cuz in some ways she reminds me of my own sister (only not as slutty and messed up) and with Katie even though she's the "other woman" I tried to write her story as sympatheticall y as possible, so she wasn't just some girl at a bar that Nick slept with and got pregnant like 47567 million other stories. I think most of my readers prolly still hate her because thats what we're conditioned to do, but she's a lil different I guess if I had to pick Howie and Brian are the hardest characters for me to write personally, so that's why they are hardly in the story.
9) Are all the boys in this one? If not why did you choose to exclude them?
They are all in the story at some point or another. Nick obviously is the main character and the story mostly focuses on him. All the other guys make their cameos as well though. AJ at one point dated Alyssa's sister and he pops up every now and then and hangs out with Nick and Alyssa. Kevin is playing a very integral part as of right now since I'm getting into how his leaving the group may have impacted Nick. Howie and Brian like I said are the hardest to write. Howie shows up in a scene where they all go out one night clubbing when Alyssa visits Nick in LA and Brian has one conversation with Nick after Kevin announces that he and his wife are having a baby and he senses that Nick is taking it hard cuz it brings up bad memories of Katie and her baby. Got to work on getting the two of them in more... LOL
10) If we like this story...then we'd love what story? (Could be by you or someone else) and obviously tell us why lol
Another toughie... Typically a lot of my readers also tend to like Teri's Nothings Impossible Series (Accidentally in Love, Somewhere I Belong, Always Something) I guess in some ways they are similair (besides he fact that both our mai characters are named Alyssa LOL) Like we have I guess similair thematic elements and styles. We both try to incoporate some humor into what we write. And of course we beta each others work so that definitely has influence. So yea... If you like Teri's stories, you'll like mine only mine have a lot less sex in them LOL
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Thanks for filling this out :) I think for now it's just going to stay in the thread but once everyone fills them out (meaning the people who have been author already) i'll post them all up in one thread and sticky it at the top. So this way people can use this as a reference when looking for something to read.
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10) If we like this story...then we'd love what story? (Could be by you or someone else) and obviously tell us why lol
Another toughie... Typically a lot of my readers also tend to like Teri's Nothings Impossible Series (Accidentally in Love, Somewhere I Belong, Always Something) I guess in some ways they are similair (besides he fact that both our mai characters are named Alyssa LOL) Like we have I guess similair thematic elements and styles. We both try to incoporate some humor into what we write. And of course we beta each others work so that definitely has influence. So yea... If you like Teri's stories, you'll like mine only mine have a lot less sex in them LOL
I heart you mel!!!! hehe Yeah urs has less sex (what can I say I like writing sex scenes LOL!!!!) But what's REALLY funny is that it was UMS that got me to start posting on AC. The UMS and NI readers like both our stories because I'd like to think that both plotlines are very well thought out and well executed. (Mel's told me what she has planned and it's going to be really dramatic but really good) I love UMS just because I love the complexity Mel puts to the characters.
At first glance Alyssa seems like she could be a Mary sue, but at a second glance you realize she's just as complex if not moreso than Nick. She's a classically angsty chick and that's what I love about her.
As far as Mel's Nick character, I want to slap him silly alot of times but that's also what makes him a good character, he has depth and a ton of neurosies about relationships.
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Haha... How much do I owe you for being my official spokesperson Teri lol j/k. Thanks a lot for your kind words, but if you keep it up I may start to get a big ego LOl. I really like how you described Nick... He has "neuroses about relationships" lol I kina like that actually!
Awesome idea Mare. It'll be like a one stop place for anyone who is bored and lookng for a good fiction to read!
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Hehe go on get a big ego!!! LOL Blah I'm bored have to work in an hour and I wanna write but I'm stuck again lol