Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => General Discussion => Topic started by: mare on July 23, 2013, 08:55:39 AM
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Just thought I'd start a brand new thread since the other one was well over 700 posts.
Julie just asked:
Have you ever crossed that line in your own writing, either by taking it over the top or writing something you swore you would never write?
In reference to taking things way over the top in the drama category!
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Yay, new thread! We were chatty in that last one!
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Yes we were but chatty is good! I'd rather chatty than dead! lol
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Have you ever crossed that line in your own writing, either by taking it over the top or writing something you swore you would never write?
I don't think I have in terms of things I would never write, the only things that I consider really off limits are killing existing BSB kids (not fictional ones) and writing about real life drama as it's happening and I haven't done either of those things.
In terms of drama, I have. I had Nick rescue "Steph" from a burning down basement, only for her to get smakced in the head with some falling woodbeam, get amnesia and forget that she confessed her love to him. So dumb lol.
I'm also going to answer a few older questions and attempt to play catch-up from last week!
395. Is there any story of yours that if it was read, you'd be afraid to be judged solely by that story?
Probably What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, as it's still on my AC profile solely to show how much I think I've grown as a writer. Plus I was really proud of it at the time of writing it and it's one of the first stories I ever finished. I don't have the heart to take it down, but I sort of hope no one ever reads it and seriously thinks that's how I still write!
396. On AC, go into your Account Info and Reviews Received and look at your stats. What is your highest-reviewed story? How about your lowest-reviewed? Why do you think these two stories got the amount of reviews they did?
Highest is Forever Like This at 235... I honestly don't know why that has so many. I'd say it was because it was a romance-drama starring Nick, and maybe it's because of the amount of ust in it, waiting for the characters to hook up. It's sort of weird to me considering that when I was writing it I had zero intention of posting it.
Lowest is a tie between two one-shots, Rogues of the Sea and I Close the Door at two reviews each. The first because it's a really short AU starring Nick as a pirate (I think... I don't even remember) I wrote it as a challenge and because it's so far our of my comfort zone it's really not my best work. I Close the Door is in Kevin's POV and doesn't star any of the other guys, so that's probably why that one is low.
397. Do you base the number of reviews a story has (yours or someone else's) on how good or bad it must be?
I do and I don't. If it has a high number of reviews then I might be more inclined to check it out, but once I start reading the number of reviews doesn't keep me around. I might look at some of the reviews to see what people are saying about the story and who is reading it, honestly. Plus, like I said before Room 317 trended on twitter, and I hated it. I only finished reading it so I wouldn't be completely out of the loop in that fandom.
398. Do you let awards influence what you read? If you had a choice between reading something that had no awards and something that did would you choose based on that? How important is it for your stories to win awards or does it not matter one way or the other?
Same as the review answer - I might be more inclined to check it out but it doesn't sway me that much. Of course it would be nice for my stories to win awards and I'm so happy that I have some, but especially since I've now started over in a new fandom I don't place a lot of emphasis on it. Doing that will only lead to disappointment .
399. What are the first five stories that pop into your mind when you think of popular stories and have you read them and enjoyed them?
Oreos for Breakfast
Broken
With The Band
Where Can We Go From Here
Signal to Noise
I've read all of them except for Signal to Noise! And I really did enjoy all of them - for a while Oreos was the only fanfic I was following, because I didn't know about AC. I thought it was the only one out there! I shamelessly loved it though and I re-read it multiple times while waiting for updates lol. I'm sure if I went back and read it now I'd still enjoy it, if just for the nostalgia of it.
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Have you ever crossed that line in your own writing, either by taking it over the top or writing something you swore you would never write?
I think I've crossed the line when I started to write my first "rape" story. But I don't think I've ever crossed that line because, before posting, I'm always asking myself or my friend if it's too much or not.
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I don't think I ever really took things over the top that much. I guess sometimes I feel like I hit my limit when it comes to dark with It Stays but I can't really say that I've written anything too out there drama wise. There's a lot of stuff going on in my Scars story and Whatever the Night but the action is divided pretty evenly between all the boys so it's not one person getting all the grief. I am an equal opportunity drama queen! :) LOL
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My most over the top (serious) story is my old girl band story, Through Thick and Thin, which sounds a lot like that Room 317 story in terms of the drama that happened. There was a car accident that killed Leighanne and one of the girls' boyfriends, which then led to her hooking up with Brian. One of the girls got cancer, and another one had an eating disorder. The fourth girl had a baby with Howie who died of SIDS. I'm sure there was more that I can't even remember LOL. And the worst part is that all of those things happened to the girls; I didn't even torture the Boys too much, except when it would tie back to the girls. Ugh! That was a looong time ago, though, back when I enjoyed reading stories like this and that plane crash one too LOL.
These days, I try to limit myself to drama that is realistic to the situation I've put my characters in - like Mare said in the other thread, a ripple effect off of the main problem in the story. I may have toed that line in BMS, but with the exception of the car accident and their relationship drama, everything bad that happened to Nick and Claire in that story could be tied back to their cancer treatment. That was how I justified it. Curtain Call may have come close to the line just for being really depressing, but I actually backed off and didn't write some of the options in my outline to keep it from crossing that line.
That said, I started a new novel last week that makes Curtain Call look like a comedy, and now I'm trying to work on this Beauty and the Beast story for the fairy tale challenge, which is even worse. If either story actually makes it online, you will know that I no longer have any "line" or standards. I will have gone from a drama queen to a drama whore.
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I will have gone from a drama queen to a drama whore.
Remember that you're part of the Angst group. LOL
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Remember that you're part of the Angst group. LOL
LOL True! I may ask your opinion on this new one if it gets to the point where I'm considering posting it.
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LOL True! I may ask your opinion on this new one if it gets to the point where I'm considering posting it.
You're welcome! It will be an honor :)
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Lol drama whore
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Hey guys. Not answering any questions. Just wanted to say hey. :)
PS: I just opened Google Docs for the first time in.... well, a long time, so I think that's a valid excuse for not answering questions.
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Yay! :)
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Yay! Yes it is!
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Cool! hopefully it's to write and not just because you forgot what it looked like! LOL
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Cool! hopefully it's to write and not just because you forgot what it looked like! LOL
I was going to write then I realized I need to do a lot of reading to figure out what the heck I'm writing about LOL
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I was going to write then I realized I need to do a lot of reading to figure out what the heck I'm writing about LOL
Well, that's a good start! LOL
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Do you know something is going to be a one shot before you start to write it? Do you ever intend for your one shot to be a novel but then realize it works better as a shorter story? Or maybe it's the other way around. Have you ever written something you thought was only going to be one chapter and then decide to make a full blown novel out of it?
What are some of your inspirations when writing a one shot as opposed to a long novel?
Which of the two do you prefer to write?
Do you ever set chapter limits on yourself when writing? What about reading? Do you tend to enjoy reading shorter stories or novels?
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Do you know something is going to be a one shot before you start to write it? Do you ever intend for your one shot to be a novel but then realize it works better as a shorter story? Or maybe it's the other way around. Have you ever written something you thought was only going to be one chapter and then decide to make a full blown novel out of it?
I always know before I start to write a new story whether it's going to be a one-shot, novella, or novel. I don't think I've ever switched between a one-shot and a novel. The most I've done is turn what might have started as a one-shot into a short story with several chapters instead of just one. My pandaskunk story was like that; I knew it was going to be a short story, but it just worked better in parts, so I broke it up into ten short chapters instead of one long one.
Up until this summer, I had never turned a one-shot into a novel, but the new story I started writing last week is sort of a continuation of the slash one-shot I posted not too long ago. I got the idea for the novel after I got the idea for the one-shot, and the reason I went ahead and wrote the one-shot was to see how that came out and how it was received before I decided whether or not to proceed with a longer story. The jury's still out on the novel; I've written three chapters of it, but it's definitely in that "crossing the line" territory I talked about in my answer to the last question, so I'm not sold on it yet.
What are some of your inspirations when writing a one shot as opposed to a long novel?
These days, most of my one-shots are for challenges. I've never been a big fan of writing them, but occasionally I will get inspired by a song or something (like a random flying pandaskunk in a Christmas music video), or I look at the calendar and realize April Fool's Day is coming up and I have no idea what to do for my site. Six out of the eight short stories I've written in the last five years have been for challenges or holiday-related jokes.
Which of the two do you prefer to write?
I prefer novels because I like being able to really get into a story and let it develop over time, but it's fun to take a break from them and write a one-shot every now and then. I love all of the one-shots I've written in recent years.
Do you ever set chapter limits on yourself when writing? What about reading? Do you tend to enjoy reading shorter stories or novels?
I don't set limits for myself, although I do like to end stories on nice, round numbers of chapters whenever possible, and I will put pressure on myself to make those goals.
As far as reading goes, I prefer reading novels to short stories for the same reason I prefer writing them - I enjoy being able to get into a good story and see how the characters change from the beginning to the end. A good, long novel is like an epic, cross-country journey, compared to the trip across town you get with a short story. Both can be enjoyable, but the payoff of finishing a novel is bigger and more rewarding to me.
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Do you know something is going to be a one shot before you start to write it? Do you ever intend for your one shot to be a novel but then realize it works better as a shorter story? Or maybe it's the other way around. Have you ever written something you thought was only going to be one chapter and then decide to make a full blown novel out of it?
I was going to answer this as part of my writing process answer but as it's fitting I'll just answer here! Coming up with an idea that I know is going to be a one shot right away is easy - usually my one shots have less plot and are more of a scene. I find that a one shot is easiest to write and makes the most sense when the climax of whatever backstory has happened is the most important part, and the rest can be summed up in one or two paragraphs.
When I get an idea that needs to be a longer story as opposed to a one shot, I just seem to know it. First of all, the idea is really big and requires a lot more thought and exploration than the 2,000ish words that a one shot allows. That, and I get way more excited about big ideas and if I just wrote them as a one shot, I don't think I'd feel satisfied with them. I almost feel like they deserve more than just being a one off, like whatever that idea is deserves more attention than that.
That being said, I'm working on a story right now that feels like it should be a lot longer, but I'm trying it out as a one-shot with short snippets of scenes instead of each scene being longer and warranting the story to be split up into chapters. I'll see how it goes, because it's something really new for me.
What are some of your inspirations when writing a one shot as opposed to a long novel?
Usually my one shot ideas come from something that actually happened. I'll hear or see something in an interview and think "I should write about that!" Like that picture Leighanne randomly tweeted of hers and Brian's wedding a while ago. I think Nick looked really happy in it, and for whatever reason I thought that was weird so I decided to explore that. I don't think I could have turned that into a chaptered story if I had wanted to.
When a big idea comes to me it's usually something that's a bit different, and that I know I want to explore even further. I knew for a long time I wanted to write a soccer AU, and I knew that it would have to be long because I'd have to give more backstory onto the different teams and the character motivations to make it interesting and to make it seem like these people were actually soccer players instead of in a boyband.
Which of the two do you prefer to write?
I honestly like them both equally! I like being able to devote time to an idea, but I like the instant feeling of accomplishment that a one shot brings lol
Do you ever set chapter limits on yourself when writing? What about reading? Do you tend to enjoy reading shorter stories or novels?
Not really. I used to try to get my stories finished around 20-35 chapters, but in the past year I've written two stories with 40+ chapters so that's kind of out the window. I just write and the story ends where it ends, I try not to draw it out too long. When I was writing Where You Are I thought it was going to be around 30-35 chapters but it ended up being only 25 because it felt right to end it around there.
Again, not picky with reading one shots or novels. As long as it's good and has a plot/characters I enjoy I'm cool to read either of them.
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but I like the instant feeling of accomplishment that a one shot brings lol
I so agree with that! LOL It's nice to be able to check that "complete" box on something and have a finished story, all in one chapter!
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Do you know something is going to be a one shot before you start to write it? Do you ever intend for your one shot to be a novel but then realize it works better as a shorter story? Or maybe it's the other way around. Have you ever written something you thought was only going to be one chapter and then decide to make a full blown novel out of it?
Yes, I definetely know before writing if it's gonna be a shot or a novel. And it has happened both way: the story I'm writing now it started as an one - shot but then I realized that it would end up being 30 pages long so I decided to divide it in three chapters. The fact is that I'm still not able to stop myself into writing: if it was for me, I would tell everything about a particular story.
What are some of your inspirations when writing a one shot as opposed to a long novel?
It depends. Usually it's something related to what happens to the boys, like a particular interview, or a video, or a scene from the concert. It might be a song or part of it, like right now I'm dying to write something related to "Breathe". Once I wrote this little shot after watching Nick's video chat and hm saying that he missed Brian a lot. :D
Which of the two do you prefer to write?
I love both. The one shot because I can complete them quickly. lol But novel are so much better because you have all the time and space to create characters and the plotline, see them move around the situations and the various dramas (lol).
Do you ever set chapter limits on yourself when writing? What about reading? Do you tend to enjoy reading shorter stories or novels?
I used to set chapter limits but then I stopped because I never respect them. lol
As for reading, it depends. While my top favorite are really long novels, I admit that I have a soft spot for the one shot, especially if they are little scenes here and then.
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Do you know something is going to be a one shot before you start to write it? Do you ever intend for your one shot to be a novel but then realize it works better as a shorter story? Or maybe it's the other way around. Have you ever written something you thought was only going to be one chapter and then decide to make a full blown novel out of it?
I always know when I am going to write a short story versus a longer one. Now whether it will be a novelette I usually don't figure out until I'm in the middle of the writing process, but at the most those usually turn into no more than 3 chapters. I'll do that if I feel like my word count is getting way up there.
I've never decided to make a one shot into a longer novel but I have decided to build a collection out of some of them like I did with the London based ones last summer (Scattered Pictures) and the outcome of a crazy fan's rampage. (Beautiful Girl) Or Nick and Kevin's relationship (A Symphony of Friendship)
What are some of your inspirations when writing a one shot as opposed to a long novel?
Most of the time it has to do with some kind of special event, like most of you have said. For me, I tend to write one every year for Nick's birthday and usually one for April Fools. Most of the the ones I have written have been challenge stories or specific moments in time. I'm never inspired by songs though. Song fics don't do anything for me.
Which of the two do you prefer to write?
I think I enjoy both but lately it's gotta be the short stories. Less stress. You say what you want to say and that's that! LOL
Do you ever set chapter limits on yourself when writing? What about reading? Do you tend to enjoy reading shorter stories or novels?
I don't ever consciously do it, but looking back on my novels, it seems like I tend to end things at around 40 - 45 chapters or less. Very rarely do I tend to go over that.
I don't enjoy reading things with a ton of chapters. I think I find it overwhelming. If I'm reading as it's being updated that's different but if I click on it and it has more than 50 chapters, I actually do take the time to decide if I want to make that kind of commitment. LOL
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Looking back on your novels, go check and see how many chapters each one is.
What is your longest one?
What is your shortest one?
Obviously do not include your one shots in this answer! LOL
Going along with that, is your longest one the one with the most reviews? And your shortest the one with the least?
What about read counts? (even though I HATE those! LOL)
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Looking back on your novels, go check and see how many chapters each one is.
I'm only including finished novels that are on AC for this.
What is your longest one? By My Side (202 chapters)
What is your shortest one? Secrets of the Heart (25 chapters)
Going along with that, is your longest one the one with the most reviews? And your shortest the one with the least?
Nope! I think if I had posted BMS on AC as I was writing it, it probably would be my most-reviewed story, but that honor goes to Curtain Call. BMS only has 299 reviews.
Secrets has 135 reviews. My least-reviewed novel (and also one of my shortest) is Identical with 5 reviews for 27 chapters, which I posted all at one time several years after finishing the story on my site.
What about read counts?
My longest story is not my most read. BMS has 41,260 hits, while Broken (my most read) has over twice that.
On the other hand, Secrets actually is my least read novel with 2,894 hits. That is interesting because Identical, which is also a Brian story of about the same length and only has 5 reviews, has 5,535 hits, and I know it's not from me clicking on it because I can't remember the last time I even looked at that story LOL. So there's a case of a lot of people reading (or at least clicking) and not bothering to review, maybe because the story was already finished. I posted Secrets as I was writing it, so I had a small but loyal following who left reviews for every chapter.
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After looking at my read count stats, I'm going to add a few follow-up questions to Mare's.
If you go to View Your Statistics under Account Info and then click on your number of stories (next to "Author of"), you can click View Chapters at the top and see the stats for each individual chapter you've posted.
Which of your novels has the highest average read count per chapter? Is this also your most read novel? Most reviewed?
How about the lowest average? Is this your least read novel? Least reviewed?
Are there any stories where you notice a significant drop in read count from the beginning chapters to the end? Why do you think that is?
Do any individual chapters stand out as having an unusually high or low read count compared to the rest of the chapters in that story? Why do you think that is?
What is your most and least read one-shot?
Were you surprised by any of these stats?
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Looking back on your novels, go check and see how many chapters each one is.
What is your longest one?
Forever Like This - 42 chapters
What is your shortest one?
Left and Leaving - 22 chapters
Going along with that, is your longest one the one with the most reviews? And your shortest the one with the least?Forever Like This has the most reviews, but Left and Leaving doesn't have the least - it's got 167 reviews which is somewhere in the mid-range.
What about read counts? (even though I HATE those! LOL)
They are very similar read counts, actually. That's kind of weird, given the review stats of them and that FLT has been on the site for a lot less time. Plus FLT had readers who weren't reviewing - I know because they'd let me know on twitter their thoughts about certain things.
Which of your novels has the highest average read count per chapter? Is this also your most read novel? Most reviewed?
In Pieces has the highest average read count, around 600-700 per chapter and this is also my most read novel. Makes sense, I think a lot of people knew me for that one when I first started posting here, and it was also a featured story. It's my least reviewed though!
How about the lowest average? Is this your least read novel? Least reviewed?
The lowest is actually Running Up That Hill! Some of those chapters don't even have 100 hits. It's not my least reviewed and I think the reason is that the people who enjoy that story are a lot of people on this forum, and obviously we are advocates for reviewing each other's work lol
Are there any stories where you notice a significant drop in read count from the beginning chapters to the end? Why do you think that is?
Best of Both Words has a big read drop between chapters 20 and 21 and I'm sure it's because there was a year in between those two chapters. Forever Like This also has a big read drop after the chapter where Nick dies. Not surprising.
Do any individual chapters stand out as having an unusually high or low read count compared to the rest of the chapters in that story? Why do you think that is?
Besides the drops I mentioned above the reads stayed pretty steady.
What is your most and least read one-shot?
Most read is Slightly off Schedule with 469 reads, least is a tie between Rogues of the Sea and Picture Perfect.
Were you surprised by any of these stats?
I think it's sort of weird that Picture Perfect has a low read count, but the rest of it isn't that surprising.
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Looking back on your novels, go check and see how many chapters each one is.
What is your longest one?
Why I'd Do it All Again at 55 chapters
What is your shortest one?
Comedy of Errors at 11
Going along with that, is your longest one the one with the most reviews? And your shortest the one with the least?
Yes, Why has the most reviews and Comedy of Errors has the least. Weird lol
What about read counts? (even though I HATE those! LOL)
Why does have the most and Comedy of Errors has the least.
Which of your novels has the highest average read count per chapter? Is this also your most read novel? Most reviewed?
A Million Little Things and nope it's not my most reviews or most read. It had 185 reviews which is about the average for my novels the read count was at almost 12,000 which kind of falls in the middle range of my stuff.
How about the lowest average? Is this your least read novel? Least reviewed?
Comedy of Errors has the lowest everything pretty much and deservedly so because it sucked lol
Are there any stories where you notice a significant drop in read count from the beginning chapters to the end? Why do you think that is?
Sadly, all of my stories saw a big drop from the first chapter to the last one. I think it's normal for the first chapter to have the highest read count because people are curious and want to check it out to see what it's all about but the most noticeable drop is for Why Id' do it All Again. The first chapter has 940 and then the next chapter fell to 650. FAIL! LOL That's why I don't like to look at read counts they psych me out! All the others were pretty consistent with small spikes here or there.
Do any individual chapters stand out as having an unusually high or low read count compared to the rest of the chapters in that story? Why do you think that is?
Just the first chapters.
What is your most and least read one-shot?
The most read one is a story called The Words That Come Out of Kevin's Mouth at close to 700 reads. I don't even remember that one at all! I am actually going to go back and read it. LOL The least read one is Summer at Elk Wood Pines. with a whooping 114. guess no one liked my banner! :(
Were you surprised by any of these stats?
I was very surprised by A Million Little Things and it's read count. I had no idea. Wouldn't it be something else if people really did leave reviews for everything they read? LOL
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Looking back on your novels, go check and see how many chapters each one is.
What is your longest one? All That Glitters - 63 chapters
What is your shortest one? Satin and Silk - 14 chapters (I didn't include incomplete novels)
Going along with that, is your longest one the one with the most reviews? And your shortest the one with the least? Yes, the longest has the most reviews. The shortest is tied with a few others for the least.
What about read counts? My longest does has the most amount of reads but I have a couple of novels with less reads than my shortest.
Which of your novels has the highest average read count per chapter? Is this also your most read novel? Most reviewed? All That Glitters, my most read and reviewed novel
How about the lowest average? Is this your least read novel? Least reviewed? Not including incomplete novels, my lowest read count goes to Stockholm Syndrome but it's not the least reviewed - Satin and Silk takes that title.
Are there any stories where you notice a significant drop in read count from the beginning chapters to the end? Why do you think that is? Hawk and a Handsaw, actually. It goes from an average of 186/chapter to 53/chapter. It's probably because it got not very good near the end after my four-year-long break. :P
Do any individual chapters stand out as having an unusually high or low read count compared to the rest of the chapters in that story? Why do you think that is? History Repeating has a 1059 read count for Chapter 1, which is actually about 15 reads higher than the next one down, which is my most read story. I have no idea why that is. Someone kept hitting refresh? lol
What is your most and least read one-shot? They're all around the same - within 20 reads of each other, but my least read one is Sweet Charity - I think it was a birthday challenge. Most read is another challenge one-shot, Good Deeds Written On Snow.
Were you surprised by any of these stats? Not particularly lol Maybe by how many ppl read chapter 1 of History Repeating.
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Which of your novels has the highest average read count per chapter? Is this also your most read novel? Most reviewed?
Curtain Call has the highest average read count and is also my most reviewed story, but not my most read. Broken is my most read, probably just because it has more chapters.
How about the lowest average? Is this your least read novel? Least reviewed?
Secrets of the Heart has the lowest average read count of my finished novels and is also the least read, but not the least reviewed.
Are there any stories where you notice a significant drop in read count from the beginning chapters to the end? Why do you think that is?
As others have said, most of my stories have a drop from the beginning to the end, I think because people start reading and then don't continue. The biggest drops tend to happen in stories where I may have started off strong with updating regularly and then stopped. Song for the Undead, for example, was pretty consistently in the 400s for the first 75 chapters or so while Rose and I were updating it a lot, and then it tapered off to the point where the last few chapters we've posted still have read counts under 100.
Do any individual chapters stand out as having an unusually high or low read count compared to the rest of the chapters in that story? Why do you think that is?
Curtain Call averaged about 500-1000 reads per chapter, but I noticed one chapter had 4157 reads! And it wasn't the first chapter or the last chapter. It was Chapter 61, right in the middle. Other than being a "morning after" romantic chapter, there's nothing memorable about it, so I have no idea what happened there. Some spambot action, maybe? Then again, the chapter before it had over 1000 reads, which was 200-300 higher than all the other chapters around it, so maybe people just like re-reading sex scenes? LOL Anyway, that was the one that inspired this question because it was so out there!
What is your most and least read one-shot?
My most read is Watch Me as I Bleed, and least read is Unsuspecting Sunday.
Were you surprised by any of these stats?
Some of my older stories have more reads per chapter than I realized. A lot of the older ones I didn't post on AC until they had already been up on my site for awhile, and I didn't get a lot of reviews on them because of that, so I didn't realize people were actually reading them on AC. Broken only has about 1 review for every 2 chapters, but it's my most read and second-most favorited story. Go figure!
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Looking back on your novels, go check and see how many chapters each one is.
What is your longest one? Severed Identities with 43 Chapters
What is your shortest one? Amnesia with 13 chapters
Going along with that, is your longest one the one with the most reviews? And your shortest the one with the least? If I take out unfinished (which I did for chapters so I will for this) yes, my shortest one has the least amount of review. My longest, however, does not have the most reviews that goes to Chronos Project
Which of your novels has the highest average read count per chapter? Is this also your most read novel? Most reviewed? My highest average read per chapter is Darkness of Vampires with an average of 319 reads per chapter. My shortest story is actually the second in average reads per chapter with 308 aver. Neither are my most read novel or most reviewed.
How about the lowest average? Is this your least read novel? Least reviewed? My lowest average read per chapter is Chronos Breach with an average of 32 reads per chapter but this is my second highest reviewed story but is my least read novel.
Are there any stories where you notice a significant drop in read count from the beginning chapters to the end? Why do you think that is? Severed Identities probably has my biggest reader drop, towards the beginning I had over hundreds of reads per chapter and the last chapters I get around 50 mostly. I think it is because it took me so long between chapters at some point. Also, what made it sci-fi came out and that could have lost readers *shrugs*
Do any individual chapters stand out as having an unusually high or low read count compared to the rest of the chapters in that story? Why do you think that is? The first chapter has 374 and the last chapter has 35 so yeah.. those two. LOL Though there is chapter in the middle, I went from 84 to 100 back down to 94 (I know from the 100 to 94 isn't a wow but 84 to 100? for my stuff that is quite a change lol)
What is your most and least read one-shot? I only have 2 one shots so... the most read is Christmas Lights and the least read is Broken Mask.. Broken Mask is non-BSB so no shocker why that only has 9 reads. LOL
Were you surprised by any of these stats? Nope, these are all pretty average results for me. Though I do have to say I was a little shocked that Amnesia was my second highest average read per chapter. I really like that story and glad it's getting reads, wish there were more reviews though. LOL
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What is your longest one?
My collab with Julie, "Song For The Undead".
What is your shortest one?
"Walked Out Of My Dreams" though "Here We Stand" will be shorter, but it's not finished.
Going along with that, is your longest one the one with the most reviews? And your shortest the one with the least?
For now, yes. Song For The Undead definitely tops in reviews. I think Here We Stand will surpass WOOMD but it hasn't had that chance yet.
Which of your novels has the highest average read count per chapter? Is this also your most read novel? Most reviewed?
Actually "Remember Me This Way" wins for my highest read count per chapter. It's averaging 400/500 reads each! It's my most read novel though not my most reviewed. Well, it's my most reviewed noncollab.
How about the lowest average? Is this your least read novel? Least reviewed?
My least read is a story called "Rebirth". But it's an old forgotten collab, it's scifi and I'm pretty meh about it. It's one of my least reviewed too. But I get why on all levels lol.
Are there any stories where you notice a significant drop in read count from the beginning chapters to the end? Why do you think that is?
Definitely. After the Interlude it's drops a bit. And that's probably the hardest part of the fic to read so I can see why. Plus AC was having that update glitch where stories wouldn't show on the Most Recent at the time.
Do any individual chapters stand out as having an unusually high or low read count compared to the rest of the chapters in that story? Why do you think that is?
The Intro for RMTW has 967 reads, Chapter one has 1008. So I guess I did a really job with the intro, because man a lot of people kept on for Chapter one lol.
What is your most and least read one-shot?
Most Read - The Christmas Album That Never Was
Least Read - An old embarrassing "visual" attempt called "One Piece Is Enough". Yeah, not my best LOL.
Were you surprised by any of these stats?
Not really. It sort of fits.
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Do you ever question yourself and your abilities as a writer? What are some of the reasons why you think that happens?
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Do you ever question yourself and your abilities as a writer? What are some of the reasons why you think that happens?
All the time? Lol seriously though, I definitely do. I think it might be linked to the fact that I have bad stage fright when it comes to performing. Posting my writing is just another form of putting it all out there and that terrifies me.
It's quite opposing to my public persona. I have no issues with public speaking but I think that's because I'm just good at faking confidence. I can't fake it when it's in writing.
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Do you ever question yourself and your abilities as a writer? What are some of the reasons why you think that happens?
I think that everyone always question themselves and their abilities. It's what makes us always trying to improve and get better as writers.
So, yes, I always question myself. Sometimes, while writing, I ask myself why I'm writing because it's gonna probably suck anyway and no one will read it. Part of the reason it's because I've got a very low self-esteem due to bullying so I'm always afraid about someone's else opinion about me and my writing. And while you get to the point when you know that you shouldn't let those words still have hold on you, it's a little bit difficult to be totally comfortable into writing and not caring about what people would think.
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Do you ever question yourself and your abilities as a writer? What are some of the reasons why you think that happens?
All. The. Time. I actually used to think I was better than I think I am now. I do try my best to improve and take critical feedback, but it can get me down when my stuff gets a lack of response (or a not very good one), especially when I was used to people reading it on AC. I just tell myself that I do take an interest in bettering my writing - so that has to help. Also (this is kind of embarrassing) I've never been seen as a very smart person at least by my peers and the people I know IRL, so it's hard for me to believe in myself and my abilities when they have been questioned a lot.
I think that everyone always question themselves and their abilities. It's what makes us always trying to improve and get better as writers.
I agree with this completely!
That is something that's really great about this forum. We are all very encouraging of each other and our hobby, and I think that's really awesome. I went to a panel at a convention a few years ago about writing and fanfiction, and the panelist's advice was to find a person or group of people who aren't afraid to be honest about the good and bad stuff about your writing, and who you can speak candidly with. When he was talking about this, I thought of AC and you guys right away.
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Do you ever question yourself and your abilities as a writer? What are some of the reasons why you think that happens?
I am always questioning my abilities but like Cinzia said, I think we all do that from time to time. I actually think it's healthier to question yourself than not to. I know I go through phases where I feel like nothing is going right for me. I can't get myself motivated or I feel like my words are just flat. I'm not exactly sure what brings those feelings on, but when they happen I have a hard time pulling myself out of that funk.
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That is something that's really great about this forum. We are all very encouraging of each other and our hobby, and I think that's really awesome. I went to a panel at a convention a few years ago about writing and fanfiction, and the panelist's advice was to find a person or group of people who aren't afraid to be honest about the good and bad stuff about your writing, and who you can speak candidly with. When he was talking about this, I thought of AC and you guys right away.
I think that's so awesome! That's one of the reasons we decided to open this forum in the first place. I think it is so important to have a place where we can discuss writing and if nothing else, realize that in the end, we all tend to feel the same way about things.
I know before this forum, the only connection we really had to one another was their stories without really getting to know each other as people. It's so neat to see that no matter how long people have been writing or what genre's everyone is known for, we all have this one thing in common and love to talk about it and help each other out.
Related question to that, have you ever given authors their own personalities without even getting to know them but just based solely on their writing? Once you got to know them, were you surprised about the difference or did they act kind of how you expected in the first place? LOL
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I agree with you guys, and it's so interesting to read the way you characterize yourselves or talk about how others in real life so you because it's so different from the way I "see" you online. Julilly, you do seem very confident, even if it's faked, and Steph, I can't believe anyone would think you weren't smart. Cinzia, you are such a nice, friendly person, I don't know why anyone would bully you, but I'm sorry that happened. And Mare, it's nice to know everyone feels that way about their writing sometimes, when it seems like nothing is going right.
I question myself as a writer the most when I start comparing myself to other writers. When someone posts a really great idea or a scene/story that's written in a creative way, I think, "Why couldn't I come up with something like that? Why can't I write like that?" Or "Why can't I finish this damn story?" Like Mare said, it comes and goes. There are days when I can churn out page after page of effortless-sounding writing that I'm happy with, and then there are days where everything I write or think of writing makes me go, "Ugh, this sucks" and quit. I think everyone has those days.
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Related question to that, have you ever given authors their own personalities without even getting to know them but just based solely on their writing? Once you got to know them, were you surprised about the difference or did they act kind of how you expected in the first place? LOL
I don't think I've done this with writers as much as with readers. Or maybe with writers, too, but only once I've started talking to them through feedback or something. I do kind of invent personalities for people based on how they write and what they say, but only when they're talking as themselves, not so much by reading their fiction.
I have definitely been surprised by how different people are from what I initially thought as I've gotten to know them better online or even met them in real life, and I'm sure they would probably say the same about me. It just shows how much is left open to interpretation when you're communicating solely through text.
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I agree with you guys, and it's so interesting to read the way you characterize yourselves or talk about how others in real life so you because it's so different from the way I "see" you online. Julilly, you do seem very confident, even if it's faked, and Steph, I can't believe anyone would think you weren't smart. Cinzia, you are such a nice, friendly person, I don't know why anyone would bully you, but I'm sorry that happened. And Mare, it's nice to know everyone feels that way about their writing sometimes, when it seems like nothing is going right.
I question myself as a writer the most when I start comparing myself to other writers. When someone posts a really great idea or a scene/story that's written in a creative way, I think, "Why couldn't I come up with something like that? Why can't I write like that?" Or "Why can't I finish this damn story?" Like Mare said, it comes and goes. There are days when I can churn out page after page of effortless-sounding writing that I'm happy with, and then there are days where everything I write or think of writing makes me go, "Ugh, this sucks" and quit. I think everyone has those days.
:bighug:
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Do you ever question yourself and your abilities as a writer? What are some of the reasons why you think that happens?
I question myself all the time. I have been writing a long time but i read these stories on here and I go "Wow, I wish i was as good as Mare, Julie, Rose, or even Hannah."
I then feel sometimes I will never be at that level. This lack of confidence has always been around mostly due to the fact I was verbally abused as a child and bullied...some times I may be a bit too sensitive and it hinders my writing. I can take constructive criticism but yeah, I constantly question why someone would even read my work in the first place. I am trying all the time to work on my confidence. Being on AC and having this kind of a support group has really helped and I love being able to talk to you guys and grow as a person and a writer.
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I think it's time for a big group hug.
:bighug:
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I think I actually teared up just now writing that. Thanks Cinzia! :bighug:
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I agree with you guys, and it's so interesting to read the way you characterize yourselves or talk about how others in real life so you because it's so different from the way I "see" you online. Julilly, you do seem very confident, even if it's faked, and Steph, I can't believe anyone would think you weren't smart. Cinzia, you are such a nice, friendly person, I don't know why anyone would bully you, but I'm sorry that happened. And Mare, it's nice to know everyone feels that way about their writing sometimes, when it seems like nothing is going right.
Thanks Julie, that's nice to hear :)
As weird as this may seem, it's nice to know that we all have our insecurities. Like you said, everyone has those days where we're just dissatisfied with our work. It's helpful to come here and have a place where we can talk about writing and what we're working on, even if our progress on whatever project isn't going as great as we hoped at that moment, haha.
Related question to that, have you ever given authors their own personalities without even getting to know them but just based solely on their writing? Once you got to know them, were you surprised about the difference or did they act kind of how you expected in the first place? LOL
It's kind of the opposite for me because this forum was already here by the time I found AC, and I got to know some of you before I'd ever read anything you'd written! So it's cool to click into a story written by one of you and have the writing style be completely different than the way you talk on this forum or on twitter. I think all of us are like that, and it does display that we all have a handle on this hobby, just from the way our writing voices are different than our "chatting" voices!
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I question myself as a writer the most when I start comparing myself to other writers. When someone posts a really great idea or a scene/story that's written in a creative way, I think, "Why couldn't I come up with something like that? Why can't I write like that?" Or "Why can't I finish this damn story?"
I feel like this too! When I find myself gradually going down the road to funky town, one of the symptoms is comparing myself to everyone else.
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I question myself as a writer a lot. I know we all have different styles so I try not to compare myself but when read a good plot I wonder why I couldn't come up with that. I know it was constructive and to help me grow but last years reader challenge really made me question myself as a writer. Doesn't help that my own mother does not think I have the writing chops and always gloats about how good my younger brother is. .. my friend Amanda helps me a lot when I feel down and reminds me that I write because I like to tell stories and will always improve the more I practice.
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Aww... at least, as Steph said, it's kind of comforting to know we've all felt the same way at some point or another.
It varies a lot from day to day for me. At times like this when I'm not working and don't have a lot else going on in my life, I find my overall mood is so dependent on how my writing is going. If it's going well, it keeps me in a great mood. If it's not, I get bummed out about it! Today has been a good writing day so far, but I think it's the first one I've had all week.
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We may have had a question like this before, but just to give us all a boost...
What's the best plot you've come up with, one that's so good you can't even believe you came up with it yourself? We've all got them - time to get past the insecurities and brag a little about what we do best!
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My friend Ali has supported my writing since high school and reads my stuff, even helps research. I love having that kind of support from friends.
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We may have had a question like this before, but just to give us all a boost...
What's the best plot you've come up with, one that's so good you can't even believe you came up with it yourself? We've all got them - time to get past the insecurities and brag a little about what we do best!
Figured You Out will always be the answer to this for me. Still floored by the attention I got for it. I loved.that story, it's my baby :)
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I question myself as a writer a lot. I know we all have different styles so I try not to compare myself but when read a good plot I wonder why I couldn't come up with that. I know it was constructive and to help me grow but last years reader challenge really made me question myself as a writer. Doesn't help that my own mother does not think I have the writing chops and always gloats about how good my younger brother is. .. my friend Amanda helps me a lot when I feel down and reminds me that I write because I like to tell stories and will always improve the more I practice.
Aww, I think that's normal too, especially the challenge part of it. I know I feel the same way when it comes to awards.
It all comes down to encouragement. We all need that positive reinforcement to keep going especially when it's lacking outside of the fandom. When all you get is negativity, it makes it harder to be fun and if it's not fun then why bother?
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I'd have to say that Amnesia and Severed Identities are the plots I am most proud of.
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What is your longest one?
Ten Things which is 49 chapters.
What is your shortest one?
Story Of My Life which is 6 chapters.
Going along with that, is your longest one the one with the most reviews? And your shortest the one with the least?
Yes, Ten Things has the most reviews but Story Of My Life doesn't have the least, that honour goes to another one lol.
Which of your novels has the highest average read count per chapter? Is this also your most read novel? Most reviewed?
Ten Things has the highest read count per chapter (which is something I've only just discovered you can check on), it's also my most reviewed and most read. I had no idea it was my most read!
How about the lowest average? Is this your least read novel? Least reviewed?
Lowest average is for Maybe Tomorrow, but Games is the least read one and the least reviewed is Forces of Nature.
Are there any stories where you notice a significant drop in read count from the beginning chapters to the end? Why do you think that is?
Yes, this has happened mainly on Maybe Tomorrow and Unwinding Truth. It's probably because of lack of updates and maybe the stories just aren't what people want to read.
Do any individual chapters stand out as having an unusually high or low read count compared to the rest of the chapters in that story? Why do you think that is?
No, not really.
What is your most and least read one-shot?
Most read is It Wasn't Me which I think was an April Fool's challenge a few years ago when I first joined here.
Least read is Strange & Beautiful which is a Jason Orange/Howard Donald from Take That slash one shot.
Were you surprised by any of these stats?
A bit! I didn't expect Ten Things to be my most read, but then again, it is the longest story I've done.
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Do you ever question yourself and your abilities as a writer? What are some of the reasons why you think that happens?
All the time. Sometimes I wonder about myself, is it good, is it worth posting...
I think it's because we're always putting ourselves out there. In a sense it's a little exposing. So of course you end up feeling vulnerable.
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Do you ever question yourself and your abilities as a writer? What are some of the reasons why you think that happens?
All the time! I lack confidence in the real world and online. I often wonder whether my stories are good enough to share, but it doesn't stop me posting them. I know I'll never be as good a writer as a lot of people on here, but I do like to try.
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If it helps, I have read something every one of you has written, and I think you are all good writers! I wouldn't say that if it wasn't true.
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Awww.
I love everyone in here too. :)
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Related question to that, have you ever given authors their own personalities without even getting to know them but just based solely on their writing? Once you got to know them, were you surprised about the difference or did they act kind of how you expected in the first place? LOL
Hmm, I don't think I connect a person's writing to their personality, I think through reviews and chatting on here I've got to know everyone.
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I'm glad that you don't say things that you don't mean, I had that happen, I asked for someone's Genuine opinion on a story one time, they praised me and then when we stopped being friends I heard my work called shitty. f someone doesn't want to read, I would rather them be honest than fake about it.
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We may have had a question like this before, but just to give us all a boost...
What's the best plot you've come up with, one that's so good you can't even believe you came up with it yourself? We've all got them - time to get past the insecurities and brag a little about what we do best!
Well, I wouldn't say they are amazing plots, but I did love Save A Prayer and Rewind and I think I'm probably most proud of them.
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I'm glad that you don't say things that you don't mean, I had that happen, I asked for someone's Genuine opinion on a story one time, they praised me and then when we stopped being friends I heard my work called shitty. f someone doesn't want to read, I would rather them be honest than fake about it.
I believe I know who you are talking about, and here's my take on that: When a person only cares about herself and getting praise for her stories and visitors to her website, she'll say anything to make people like her... and then turn on them just as quickly when they do or say something she doesn't like, because it's all about her, not them. People resort to bullying and name-calling because they don't feel very good about themselves and want to give themselves a boost by stepping on someone else, and that is exactly what she tried to do to you. I'm glad you were able to see through her fakeness. You are not a shitty writer. She is just a shitty person.
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I don't have a lot to choose from at the moment, but I'm pretty proud of Falling in Love Again. Plotwise, I think it was pretty original for a romance. I've been pretty excited about a new story I'm working on, but the more I think about it, the more I doubt myself. Eh-- we'll see.
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I have read something by almost everyone on here as well, I believe. At least people who have posted in this thread and I have to agree with Julie, I think you're all great writers and I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it either.
I also wanted to add that most likely when you were told it was good, that was the more genuine answer. It's far easier to hurt someone than praise them, especially after a fight. So chances are, that was said to just be flat out mean more so than honest.
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It really hurt my feelings and you're totally right. I don't like that. I think back and realized a lot of stuff, glad I am out of that situation. It affected me because I haven't been able to write anything new since that which is lame. I shouldn't let it get to me but I wish people would realize words can and do hurt.
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I'm glad that you don't say things that you don't mean, I had that happen, I asked for someone's Genuine opinion on a story one time, they praised me and then when we stopped being friends I heard my work called shitty. f someone doesn't want to read, I would rather them be honest than fake about it.
Exactly! I would rather someone didn't read my stuff instead of giving fake praise. If someone wanted my honest opinion, I would give it in the best possible way, no need for nastiness.
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It really hurt my feelings and you're totally right. I don't like that. I think back and realized a lot of stuff, glad I am out of that situation. It affected me because I haven't been able to write anything new since that which is lame. I shouldn't let it get to me but I wish people would realize words can and do hurt.
Especially people who have been hurt by words themselves. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, etc.
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I'm proud of most of my stories that have a lot of plot twists. It's hard to really name one, but I'd say What Lurks, Shadow Woods, Protect and Serve, Scars and Whatever the Night May Bring were all pretty original and creative.
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That's how I feel too. I think the plot I'm most proud of is Secrets of the Heart because even though it's one of my shorter novels, it has one of my more intricate plots, and I know how much work went into piecing it together.
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I think writing stories with plot twists are so hard but also so damn rewarding, especially when you have that moment where people say, "Holy shit! I did NOT see that coming!"
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Yep! Exactly!
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This thread is straight up gooey, sticky, mushiness you guys. There's some serious group hug moments. D'aww! <3
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What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?
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What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?
Stopping and letting years go by.
You guys are usually the ones who help me overcome it. With H&H I thought I wouldn't be able to pick it back up but I got so much encouragement that I forced myself to sit down and figure it out. I'm back in that position now but again the support from everyone here is helpful in making me realize that it's only as challenging as I make it!
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Stopping and letting years go by.
You guys are usually the ones who help me overcome it. With H&H I thought I wouldn't be able to pick it back up but I got so much encouragement that I forced myself to sit down and figure it out. I'm back in that position now but again the support from everyone here is helpful in making me realize that it's only as challenging as I make it!
Amen sista! LOL
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What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?
The biggest obstacle was probably being heard in the collaboration 00Carter. I know I left the story briefly but then realized I missed it so much I wanted back but that was after working years with the girls and after I'd become heard. Back in the early years I almost left before it really took off because there were so many of us and I was busy with Jackson that I didn't feel part of the group. The only way I really overcame it was just sticking around and continuing on. Now that it's a smaller group it feels more like everyone's opinions and ideas are heard and we all can decide together instead of just the loudest voice. :)
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00Carter, what's that? LOL
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I know, such slackers!
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Fail!
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What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?
Getting back into writing on a regular basis ever since my mom. Like I thought I'd beat that hurdle but then I found myself incredibly blocked. Now I'm working on it again and hoping to kick it down completely.
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The biggest obstacle was probably being heard in the collaboration 00Carter. I know I left the story briefly but then realized I missed it so much I wanted back but that was after working years with the girls and after I'd become heard. Back in the early years I almost left before it really took off because there were so many of us and I was busy with Jackson that I didn't feel part of the group. The only way I really overcame it was just sticking around and continuing on. Now that it's a smaller group it feels more like everyone's opinions and ideas are heard and we all can decide together instead of just the loudest voice. :)
That's the thing about big collabs, you have to go with the majority. Otherwise nothing's ever decided on lol.
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We may have had a question like this before, but just to give us all a boost...
What's the best plot you've come up with, one that's so good you can't even believe you came up with it yourself? We've all got them - time to get past the insecurities and brag a little about what we do best!
Mh... I think "Forces Of Nature". It's a suspence/thriller and I spent days just plotting carefully every little twist and leaving hints in the chapters for the ending (although I don't know if I will ever be able to finish it. LOL). And everytime one of the reader would review and say "wow, I didn't expect this" I was glowing like a kid on Christmas day.
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What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?
Keep writing? :D :D
Seriously, I think my biggest obstacles will always be trying not to stop writing just because of my insecurities.
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We may have had a question like this before, but just to give us all a boost...
What's the best plot you've come up with, one that's so good you can't even believe you came up with it yourself? We've all got them - time to get past the insecurities and brag a little about what we do best!
Probably Where You Are. People seemed to think the plot of that (though mainly slash/ romance) was really unique and it helped that it was very tightly written with very few filler chapters, I think.
What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?
Uh... writing more Backstreet stuff? LOL. I am a serious fail in that department lately!! I have tried by starting new stories, writing one-shots... but I just don't get ideas for that involve them anymore. I am really hoping that I'll be inspired by their new album and either be able to finish something I've already started, or at least write something new that I can follow through on.
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What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?
I think I'm stuck on my biggest obstacle right now, and that would be a story called Guilty Roads! This story is the bane of my fanfic writer existence. I don't enjoy writing it, but others seem to enjoy reading it (or did back in the day, when I was updating it regularly) and have been hinting and begging for updates for the past three years that I've been blocked on it, so I feel pressured to keep going. I don't like to give up on projects, and I do still like the story, and those are the only reasons I keep trying. I just hate writing it. I hardly ever feel that sense of excitement and inspiration that I feel for other stories with Guilty Roads, so writing it usually feels like homework. I either have to force myself to do it, or it doesn't get done. I was hoping if I just forced myself to do it for awhile and got back into it, I would be fine, but that has not been the case. And since I still have no actual outline for it, there is no end in sight, so I can't even use that as motivation. It affects my other projects, too, because I don't feel free to work on anything that's not posted without feeling guilty, and god forbid I post another story before finishing one of my posted works in progress first. Ugh, Guilty Roads!!!
The good news is that the biggest obstacle I've actually overcome would probably be Secrets of the Heart, which I was in the same boat with last summer, and I DID finish that one, and I think it's a pretty good story! So there is still hope for Guilty Roads.
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What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?
I think I'm stuck on my biggest obstacle right now, and that would be a story called Guilty Roads! This story is the bane of my fanfic writer existence. I don't enjoy writing it, but others seem to enjoy reading it (or did back in the day, when I was updating it regularly) and have been hinting and begging for updates for the past three years that I've been blocked on it, so I feel pressured to keep going. I don't like to give up on projects, and I do still like the story, and those are the only reasons I keep trying. I just hate writing it. I hardly ever feel that sense of excitement and inspiration that I feel for other stories with Guilty Roads, so writing it usually feels like homework. I either have to force myself to do it, or it doesn't get done. I was hoping if I just forced myself to do it for awhile and got back into it, I would be fine, but that has not been the case. And since I still have no actual outline for it, there is no end in sight, so I can't even use that as motivation. It affects my other projects, too, because I don't feel free to work on anything that's not posted without feeling guilty, and god forbid I post another story before finishing one of my posted works in progress first. Ugh, Guilty Roads!!!
The good news is that the biggest obstacle I've actually overcome would probably be Secrets of the Heart, which I was in the same boat with last summer, and I DID finish that one, and I think it's a pretty good story! So there is still hope for Guilty Roads.
It sucks when that happens. What is it exactly about that story that you aren't enjoying? Is it the plot or the direction? or is it because you want to write on something else? Is it too late to try to make an outline for it?
I know when you get to the point where it feels like homework and isn't fun to write, maybe it is best to just put it on hiatus because when that happens, sometimes it does come across in the writing. I know I'm a fan of that story and would hate to see it go, but I also don't want you writing something you are hating. Maybe if you just leave it alone, one day you'll have the sudden desire to finish it. When the pressure is off and everyone stops asking about it. As long as you let your reader's know. I hate when people just flat out leave a story behind with no explanation. LOL
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What was the biggest obstacle you've ever encountered while writing a fanfic and how did you overcome it?
Mine was probably finishing Scars Run Deep and Wide. It's the only story I have ever come close to completely abandoning and the only reason I didn't was because of the random emails I would get asking me for an update. I let a full two years go in-between updates on that one and it was hard as hell to try to re-channel that story but after I was done, I felt such an amazing sense of accomplishment and I really did owe it to those people that never let me forget I had left it unfinished in the first place. Ironically enough though, they all stopped reviewing towards the end, so I'm not even sure if they read the entire thing or not. LOL :shrug:
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It sucks when that happens. What is it exactly about that story that you aren't enjoying? Is it the plot or the direction? or is it because you want to write on something else? Is it too late to try to make an outline for it?
I know when you get to the point where it feels like homework and isn't fun to write, maybe it is best to just put it on hiatus because when that happens, sometimes it does come across in the writing. I know I'm a fan of that story and would hate to see it go, but I also don't want you writing something you are hating. Maybe if you just leave it alone, one day you'll have the sudden desire to finish it. When the pressure is off and everyone stops asking about it. As long as you let your reader's know. I hate when people just flat out leave a story behind with no explanation. LOL
Thanks for the input, Mare! I think it's a little bit of everything. I do like the story so far, and I like the storyline in theory, but I don't actually enjoy writing it, especially Nick's part, which is basically the whole premise of the story LOL. But I don't want to abandon that and try to change the direction of the story just because I'm bored with it. I think it deserves to be written the right way, and that's what I'm struggling with. I have a rough outline in my head, but I haven't been able to put it down on paper - every time I try, I just end up getting overwhelmed by it. So I just try to stay one step ahead of myself and have some idea of where I'm going with the next few scenes.
It may not be a bad idea to officially put it on hiatus to take the pressure off me, but then I'd be worried I would never come back to it. The word "hiatus" is like the kiss of death to me - the only stories I've officially put "on hiatus" are the same ones I've eventually just "discontinued," and I really don't want to do that to Guilty Roads. It has too much going for it to give up on.
How many of you have put a story on hiatus for a long time and then eventually finished it? How long was it on hiatus? How were you able to get going on it again?
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Mine was probably finishing Scars Run Deep and Wide. It's the only story I have ever come close to completely abandoning and the only reason I didn't was because of the random emails I would get asking me for an update. I let a full two years go in-between updates on that one and it was hard as hell to try to re-channel that story but after I was done, I felt such an amazing sense of accomplishment and I really did owe it to those people that never let me forget I had left it unfinished in the first place. Ironically enough though, they all stopped reviewing towards the end, so I'm not even sure if they read the entire thing or not. LOL :shrug:
That's exactly what happened to me with Secrets of the Heart. I would get those random reviews every once in awhile that would re-inspire me, until I finally made myself focus on it and only it last summer and wrote until it was finished... but like what happened with you and Scars, by then, some of those people had disappeared and didn't even read the ending LOL. That's okay, though. The sense of accomplishment you feel when you finish a story that you struggled with for so long makes up for the lack of reviews!
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Thanks for the input, Mare! I think it's a little bit of everything. I do like the story so far, and I like the storyline in theory, but I don't actually enjoy writing it, especially Nick's part, which is basically the whole premise of the story LOL. But I don't want to abandon that and try to change the direction of the story just because I'm bored with it. I think it deserves to be written the right way, and that's what I'm struggling with. I have a rough outline in my head, but I haven't been able to put it down on paper - every time I try, I just end up getting overwhelmed by it. So I just try to stay one step ahead of myself and have some idea of where I'm going with the next few scenes.
It may not be a bad idea to officially put it on hiatus to take the pressure off me, but then I'd be worried I would never come back to it. The word "hiatus" is like the kiss of death to me - the only stories I've officially put "on hiatus" are the same ones I've eventually just "discontinued," and I really don't want to do that to Guilty Roads. It has too much going for it to give up on.
You can just close it for summer holiday. lol That's how I prefer to call those stories that I haven't written in a long time. As you said, "hiatus" sounds so much like death.
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LOL Closed for summer holiday - I like that!
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lol At least it's not that definitive as "hiatus".
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How many of you have put a story on hiatus for a long time and then eventually finished it? How long was it on hiatus? How were you able to get going on it again?
Scars is my answer for this one and like I said, about two years.
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How many of you have put a story on hiatus for a long time and then eventually finished it? How long was it on hiatus? How were you able to get going on it again?
I never really put a story on hiatus. As I said before, I'm bad with resisting to start a story even if I already had tons of stories that need to be finished. So, all those stories are in "summer holiday": sometimes I write something, sometimes (most of the time) they keep waiting. I'm not able to say: "okay, I have to put that story on hold because I won't ever write it again".
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How many of you have put a story on hiatus for a long time and then eventually finished it? How long was it on hiatus? How were you able to get going on it again?
I've not even looked at Maybe Tomorrow in months. Every so often I feel bad for not even trying to get back into it, but then I open a word doc and just stare blankly at the screen until something on TV or wherever distracts me. I really do want to finish it though, just for my own sake, as I hate to leave something half done.
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How many of you have put a story on hiatus for a long time and then eventually finished it? How long was it on hiatus? How were you able to get going on it again?
I've never officially put a story on hiatus. I guess Running Up That Hill sort of is, and has been for a while but I don't want to put a notice on there just in case I randomly write a chapter one day. Plus, as Julie said, that's almost like the kiss of death for a story. I fully intend to go back to it and finish it, and I do enjoy writing it. My mind just isn't in BSB world right now.
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Wulf's Bane is on hiatus seemingly permanently. I tried to go back to DOV: Antigone to write.... I have a couple other on hiatus like Empty which I'm hoping to get back to.
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The only story I've put on hiatus in my mind, if not officially, and actually finished was Secrets of the Heart. It was one of my "side projects" for almost four years before I finally focused on it as my main project and got it finished.
Other than that, like I said, hiatus is the kiss of death for me, though it usually only happens with collaborations . The only unfinished story I have on my own that I'm not planning to finish is Not Another Teenybopper Fanfic... and since that was just a spoof to begin with, that doesn't bother me, and I don't think it bothers anyone else either. We'll just say I'm spoofing stories that get started and never finished. :)
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Since a lot of ye have listened to the new album already and the rest of us will be soon, I have a question about that.
When a new album comes out, do ye find yerself getting inspired by the new music and developing story ideas based on the new songs or wanting to incorporate them into yer current ones?
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So the drama whore in me couldn't help but notice there are at least three stories on the Most Recent page right now which have Backstreet Boys in wheelchairs (or who probably will be in wheelchairs once they wake up from their comas... and in that case, make it four!), and I wondered if this is the start of a new trend or something. What do ye think? Are ye on board for a disability fic trend?
What are some other trends ye remember from yer years of reading, and which were yer favorites?
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Since a lot of ye have listened to the new album already and the rest of us will be soon, I have a question about that.
When a new album comes out, do ye find yerself getting inspired by the new music and developing story ideas based on the new songs or wanting to incorporate them into yer current ones?
Both.
When I first heard "One phone call" I was like: "Gosh, that is perfect for this story I'm writing", though the phone call in the story already happened. Damn. LOL "Soldier" might work for this one - shot that I'm writing since forever.
Since I first heard "Breathe" live I knew I was gonna write something. And the potential of angst... But, to answer the question, I usually plot and develop new stories based on the songs.
So the drama whore in me couldn't help but notice there are at least three stories on the Most Recent page right now which have Backstreet Boys in wheelchairs (or who probably will be in wheelchairs once they wake up from their comas... and in that case, make it four!), and I wondered if this is the start of a new trend or something. What do ye think? Are ye on board for a disability fic trend?
What are some other trends ye remember from yer years of reading, and which were yer favorites?
Well, in the slash fandom, I doubt that there is an author that haven't write a story about rape. And yes, I must admit that it's one of my favorite. As I said before, it's not the rape itself but I love the getting back on feet and the whole hurt/comfort thing.
Another trend that I love (I'm bad) is everything that's linked with diseases or illness. I'm really bad. lol
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LOL Julie, ye is still in pirate mode!
<b>When a new album comes out, do ye find yerself getting inspired by the new music and developing story ideas based on the new songs or wanting to incorporate them into yer current ones?</b>
Yes, I suppose I do get inspired a little to add new music into my stories, that's if I can ever open a word doc and start typing!
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Since a lot of ye have listened to the new album already and the rest of us will be soon, I have a question about that.
When a new album comes out, do ye find yerself getting inspired by the new music and developing story ideas based on the new songs or wanting to incorporate them into yer current ones?
Not really. Like I've said many times, I am not a big fan of stories inspired by songs. It's their interviews and things like that which tend to inspire ideas. I do love the songs though. I can't get enough of them! LOL
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So the drama whore in me couldn't help but notice there are at least three stories on the Most Recent page right now which have Backstreet Boys in wheelchairs (or who probably will be in wheelchairs once they wake up from their comas... and in that case, make it four!), and I wondered if this is the start of a new trend or something. What do ye think? Are ye on board for a disability fic trend?
What are some other trends ye remember from yer years of reading, and which were yer favorites?
I'd rather that trend then some of the others I've seen. I don't have a problem with disability fics lmao although that sounds ridiculous to say. I'm not sure I want to read a billion stories about various boys being confined to wheelchairs but if there's a good one that catches my attention like one of those stories has, I'll stick with it to the end. That being said, I think too many of anything is a bad idea, but you can say that about everything. Books, TV, movies. The first time you encounter it, it's new and refreshing then the second one shows up and It's okay by the third and forth you're over it.
There have been bus crash and kidnapping story trends. There were girl band meets boy band trends. I'm pretty sure there was a period of time where a lot of the stories were about them breaking up as a group back around the hiatus time.
I also recall there being an odd fetish type trend a few summers ago with stories ranging from Mpregs to bondage and rape, incest etc... Yeah fun times lol
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Do you feel like you ever started your own trend? Or written something unique to the fandom that had never been done prior to yours?
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I don't mind the idea of a disability trend lol. More torture for the Boys though I'd sift through till I found the good ones.
Do you feel like you ever started your own trend? Or written something unique to the fandom that had never been done prior to yours?
Honestly I feel like I'm tooting my own horn but I'm trying not to, in saying I think I did this twice. The first time was with Julie, When "Song For The Undead" started getting popular we saw a couple zombie fics (though they didn't last long) pop up afterwards. It was a little annoying in a sense but flattering at the same time. Because zombie stories aren't unique in general obviously but you don't ever see them in this fandom.
As for something unique, it didn't start a trend (not sure it could lol), but I feel I did that with "Remember Me This Way". No one had ever considered giving one of the Boys something like Early Onset Alzheimer's to strike in the prime the way I did. That's actually part of what scared me when I wrote the chapter revealing it. Because it was definitely brand new to the fandom. I'm proud of myself for not only coming up with it but doing my best to tackle my nerves when I wrote that story.
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Since a lot of ye have listened to the new album already and the rest of us will be soon, I have a question about that.
When a new album comes out, do ye find yerself getting inspired by the new music and developing story ideas based on the new songs or wanting to incorporate them into yer current ones?
Sometimes. I don't write many songfics, but several of the songs on Never Gone inspired ideas for By My Side, which I was writing at the time. I probably should have exerted a bit more self-control when it came to actually using them, but it is what it is LOL.
I tend to go the opposite way and come up with an idea first, then find a song that fits it to use for a title or just to set the mood while I'm writing. I did that most recently with Unsuspecting Sunday. The song Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon didn't inspire the story, but when I was trying to think of a title, I thought of that song, and the lyrics fit surprisingly well, so I went with it.
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So the drama whore in me couldn't help but notice there are at least three stories on the Most Recent page right now which have Backstreet Boys in wheelchairs (or who probably will be in wheelchairs once they wake up from their comas... and in that case, make it four!), and I wondered if this is the start of a new trend or something. What do ye think? Are ye on board for a disability fic trend?
What are some other trends ye remember from yer years of reading, and which were yer favorites?
I am totally on board for a disability fic trend because 1) it's angsty, and 2) it's different from what's usually on the Most Recent page. Like Mare said, it is something that has to be done well, and I have read that storyline done well, but that's not to say I wouldn't want to read another if it were well-written.
Other trends I remember... When I started reading fanfics in 1999, it was all girl band stories and stories about Brian's heart. I read tons of those! I also remember several stories about Nick either having an eating disorder or being on drugs around the turn of the century. Then came the bus/car crash stories and kidnapping/hostage stories, and that was a great era. The solo female opening act storyline has always been another popular one and probably got even more popular as pop music changed and the girlband stories died down.
There was also a time in maybe the mid-2000s when vampire stories were really big. Weirdly enough, that was pre-Twilight. I haven't seen many of those lately. I guess we were ahead of the times on that one!
Slash and visuals seemed to be bigger back in the day than they are now, and I remember the fetishy era Mare was talking about, too.
The last couple of years, it's seemed like stories about fictional relatives/children have been big on AC. Like all trends, this stuff must go around in circles because the long-lost sister storyline was another popular one I remember from the early days, as was the love child the Backstreet Boy didn't even know he had fathered until it was left on his doorstep storyline.
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Do you feel like you ever started your own trend? Or written something unique to the fandom that had never been done prior to yours?
I don't think I've ever started my own trend. I have definitely followed some of the ones I mentioned - heart problems, bus crashes, car crashes, kidnappings, girlbands, solo acts. I even have a vampire story, a slash, and a long-list sibling story, so I've pretty much done it all! Maybe I should jump on this wheelchair bandwagon because that is one thing I have actually never done, permanently paralyze a Backstreet Boy. I gave AJ a spinal cord injury in my bus crash story back in the day, but he got better. LOL
The only thing I've written that was truly unique at the time was, as Rose said, Song for the Undead. As far as I know, no one had done a zombie story in our fandom before that one. I know there has been at least one since, but that's not exactly starting a trend. Still, it's nice to know we were the first, especially since zombies are so big right now.
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As for something unique, it didn't start a trend (not sure it could lol), but I feel I did that with "Remember Me This Way".
Wouldn't that be funny if it HAD started a trend? LOL!
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But, would anyone remember if it did?
*walks out of thread naked*
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LOL
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Limb choppage, Julie. That one's all yours. lol
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Limb choppage, Julie. That one's all yours. lol
I appreciate that :), but I was actually not the first one to do that! I remember one story that I started reading before Broken where Nick lost a leg... I think it was from a car accident, not cancer, but I can't remember for sure. It was discontinued after a few chapters and isn't online anymore, so it was not very memorable, but it did exist. But since it doesn't exist online anymore, I will continue to wear my crown as Choppage Queen LOL.
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Wouldn't that be funny if it HAD started a trend? LOL!
That would've been really funny lol.
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Do you feel like you ever started your own trend? Or written something unique to the fandom that had never been done prior to yours?
I definitely have not started any trends. I've jumped on the bandwagon for some of those trends, like the kidnapping stories etc... But I never was the cause of one. I do think I write pretty unique stories though?
One thing I might take credit for is not so much a plot, but a style. I'm pretty sure that I was the first person to write in all 5 BSB's points of view for an entire story. I mean I have seen plenty of first person stories & a ton told in 2 or 3 POVs but never all five maintained throughout the entire novel. Since then, there have been a few that have popped up but I would like to think I started that. Who knows though? It's not like I've read every BSB fanfic known to man. lol
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If you could only use one word to describe yourself as a fanfic writer, what would it be?
What about one word to describe other fanfic writers?
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If you could only use one word to describe yourself as a fanfic writer, what would it be?
What about one word to describe other fanfic writers?
I have NO idea lol.
Probably... Crazy? Cause sometimes I have some insane ideas of what to do to those Boys.
Julie - Rainbow. Because she's basically all the colors. She can be any type of writer if she wants to be and she's proven it again and again. I guess Versatile is a better word but it's as close to DRATW as I could get lol.
Mare - Cliffies. You are the QUEEN of this Mare and part of me hates you, part of me loves you, and part of me is so jealous that you're so good at that!
I'll add more when it's not 4am lol.
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I think I would describe myself as spontaneous... .cause I can be pretty damn random when I want to be when it comes to writing. I have written so many different genres and plots it's like "What do I do now?"
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Do you feel like you ever started your own trend? Or written something unique to the fandom that had never been done prior to yours?
I'm pretty sure my 1D/BSB crossover was unique to the fandom. Unfortunately it didn't start a trend lol because I could definitely live with more stories like that!
What are some other trends ye remember from yer years of reading, and which were yer favorites?
Julie pretty much named all of the ones I remember, but back in the day my favourite was definitely the girl band one. I shamelessly used that one multiple times, with the same characters (my friends and I the members of the band, obvs) and read tons of stories centered around that plot. The more soap-operatic the better, LOL!
When a new album comes out, do ye find yerself getting inspired by the new music and developing story ideas based on the new songs or wanting to incorporate them into yer current ones?
I did this with Unbreakable, and that's actually how I ended up getting back into fanfic and finding AC. I usually end up coming up with at least some ideas for one-shots based around new songs. I'm seriously hoping that will happen again when the album comes out on Tuesday.
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If you could only use one word to describe yourself as a fanfic writer, what would it be?
What about one word to describe other fanfic writers?
Me = dramatic. I don't write stories without some kind of drama. People even die in my comedies LOL.
Rose = intense. SO intense! Rose excels at writing the intense stuff, whether it's action, horror, or drama/angst. Another word I was going to use for her (except it's not in the Double Rainbow song) is brave because she's not afraid to write anything. If you suggest it, she'll go there! Also, when she gets a new idea, she gets really into it! She is the reason why most of our collaborations have come from jokes. First we're joking around, and then suddenly Rose has us actually talking seriously about it, and the next thing you know, we're writing! It's so intense!
Mare = original. Mare marches to the beat of her own drummer! She knows exactly what she likes and what she doesn't like, and her tastes have absolutely nothing to do with what is popular with everyone else. She is so creative, she can come up with things no one else would have thought of, and that makes her stories unique.
UK Steph = fluid. I say this because Steph always seems to go with the flow! She's willing to try anything, and she's read and written a little of everything! She always seems to mold her writing style to suit whatever genre she's writing, and that's one reason she does so well with challenges.
Saka Steph = underrated. It shocked me when Steph said she had never won a fanfic award, just as it shocked me when she said people in her real life don't think of her as smart. I haven't read a lot of her stories, but I've read enough to know that she is one of the best writers on this board! People think of her as a romance writer, and there's nothing wrong with that, but seeing as how none of the stories I've read by her have been romance, I can attest to the fact that she is so much more than that!
Tracy = reflective. This has two meanings. First, it means Tracy is always thinking. She questions and doubts herself a lot, but I also see her always trying to grow as a writer and improve upon herself, and she does that by reflecting upon her writing. Secondly, like a mirror or any reflective surface, Tracy shows us a lot of different things. She is one of the most diverse writers on the board; she's pretty much done it all, and like Steph, she's willing to try anything.
Julilly = multifaceted. There are a lot of different sides to Julilly, both as a writer and as a person. She comes off as tough as nails sometimes, but she also has a wicked sense of humor and a warm, fuzzy side that she may not always like to show (but it's there, trust me - when she's not throwing bunnies or kicking babies or stabbity stabbing people, anyway!). As a writer, she is equally multi-dimensional. She doesn't write as often as she should (or doesn't post it anyway), but like Steph and Tracy, she has written in a variety of genres and has utilized AU to take her stories in completely different directions from the fandom norm.
Cinzia = devoted. I say this because Cinzia, like Mare, is another who knows exactly what she likes and writes what she likes without worrying what others might think. She is devoted to her craft and to angst and to Brian (and the idea that Brian and Nick might secretly be in love :)). She is also so devoted that she takes time to translate her stories from Italian to English, or even to write them in English, which is not her first language. That's dedication!
Lore = brazen. Lore is bold as a writer. She's not afraid to write what she loves, even though what she loves is not always what is popular. She, like Julilly, forges her own path and takes her stories in different directions from the fandom norm. She's also not afraid to speak her mind and say what she feels, and I respect that quality in her as a person, as well as a writer.
Emily = fresh. I don't mean the 50s slang version of "fresh," as in "being a smartass." I used fresh to describe Emily not just because she is a relatively new writer on AC, having been a member for less than two years, but because she has felt like a breath of fresh air this summer! It's always nice to have new people join the forum and jump right into the conversation, instead of lurking and then calling the rest of us a clique when they don't make friends right away. In addition to that, I've read two of her stories this summer that I've really enjoyed. "Falling in Love Again" was the first fanfic, especially a ROMANCE fanfic, that I've read willingly on my own and really gotten into in a LONG time. It brought back that old warm fuzzy feeling of excitement that I used to get when I read fanfic, and again, I hadn't experienced that in a long time. Sometimes you need a good old romance with just the right mix of drama and fluff to do that, and Emily's story did.
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Julie - Rainbow. Because she's basically all the colors. She can be any type of writer if she wants to be and she's proven it again and again. I guess Versatile is a better word but it's as close to DRATW as I could get lol.
:sunny:
Thank you ZDR!!! I love being described as a rainbow! So bright and vivid! You almost make me want to take down my Choppage Queen avy and put up a rainbow... almost. The blade of the bone saw may not be as colorful, but it's still bright!
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If you could only use one word to describe yourself as a fanfic writer, what would it be?
I honestly have no idea. Blonde? LOL I always write about the whiny blonde one in the group. Nick from BSB, Niall from One Direction, my short lived Ashley Angel/O-town phase lol when I was writing Gundam Wing slash I even wrote about the blonde pilot. Yep.
What about one word to describe other fanfic writers?
This is difficult!
Rose - Twisted. This comes from her love of horror, of course!
Tracy - Hilarious. Her stories are so funny - even Figured You Out had a few laugh out loud moments as I recall.
Julie - Angsty. All her stories that I've read have lovely angst!
Mare - Definitely agree with Rose on cliffies, lol. I'd also say brotherhood is one that comes to mind.
Julia - Direct. Her stories get right to the point and aren't overly wordy. I definitely appreciate this as I have a very short attention span, lol.
Steph - Diverse. I can't think of a genre she hasn't tried, it seems like every time she writes a new story it's something completely different from the last.
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I love the words everyone is using to describe themselves and each other! Yay us!
I think one word for me would be complex because I like to make things as complex as possible, in fanfic land as well as real life. Not always intentional but, yeah. LOL
I would love to come up with a word for every single one of you but to be fair I'm just going to do it for people who I feel like I have a handle on their writing personalities and some of you I don't know that side of you well enough to make that call.
Julie - thoughtful: I don't think you write a single word without putting a ton of thought behind what you are trying to say, whether it means spending hours researching, watching videos, outlining. You think before you speak!
Rose - collaborator: I associate you with co-writing. I also blame you for this because you constantly call yourself a collab whore! LOL You have a natural ability to work well when writing with someone else and you can also blend with those people's styles flawlessly.
Ritz- Promising: I have only had the chance to read the one story from you but you have a lot of talent and I'm looking forward to reading even more down the line.
Steph - Honest: Your stories come from a very natural and honest type place. You write to please you and for the fun of it. Lots of people say that but don't really mean it, you do and it comes across in your writing and your personality. :)
Tracy - conflicted: You are always doubting your writing and abilities when there's no reason to. You are a good writer. Accept that and move away from comparing yourself to other people because somewhere out there someone is comparing themselves to you!
Julilly - Perfectionist: A trait that makes things you write outstanding but also a trait that keeps you from working on your outstanding stories! LOL
Saka Steph - Spontaneous: You seem to go where the wind takes you. If that happens to be BSB you're there. If it's 1D off you go. Feel like writing a slash, okie dokie then. You're not afraid (at least don't' seem to be) to try new things.
Emily - Personal: Like Ritz, I've only read one story from you but in that one story I saw you. I feel like maybe you put a lot of yourself in your work and that's what helps bring your characters to life.
As I think of more I will add! :)
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I'm enjoying reading all these words and descriptions, too! Everyone's choosing great words, and they're all so true!
Mare, thank you! I may OVERthink things sometimes, but I appreciate what you said! And Steph, I love that you chose the same thing as I chose for myself! LOL
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If you could only use one word to describe yourself as a fanfic writer, what would it be?
I really don't know what to say...perhaps the word simple as my stories are never that complex.
What about one word to describe other fanfic writers?
This is so hard!
Mare - Bromance. Your stories always show the brotherly love the boys share, you write them so well and I often think of them as being like the way you write them. You're confident and are not afraid to say what you like and don't like, which I admire in people. Oh, and you are also the Cliffhanger Queen, but I do love a good cliffy!
Julie - Perfectionist. I can tell that every story of yours has had a lot of research put into it and that's what makes them so believable and hooks me in from the start. I always know that I'm going to enjoy a story written by you, you even made me enjoy a slash story, which is something I never thought would happen.
Lore - Complex. Your stories are never straightforwar d and I never know what's coming next (and I do like to guess). You're not afraid to write the kind of stories you like, and write to please yourself.
Rose - Torture. You do love to make your characters suffer. Whether you're killing them off, making them lose their identity or giving them Alzheimer's, it's always very enjoyable.
Tracy - Diverse. You're willing to give anything a go, but worry too much about pleasing people when you have no need to worry about things like that. Write for yourself :)
Steph - Dramatic. I've read a few of your stories and they are always packed full of drama, like Forever Like This, which could've just been a straightforwar d romance (and still been great). I can't believe anyone would think of you as not clever. That's not what I see at all.
Julilly - Confident. I've read most of your stories on here and love your confidence and how you get straight to the point of the story, without lacking anything in your storytelling.
Emily - Realistic. I've only read one story so far, but loved how natural and real the romance was, and I do love a good romance!
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^ Those are great, Steph! And thank you! :)
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I'm also enjoying everyone's words and descriptions, and thanks for the words about me :)
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Steph - Multifaceted. You can pretty much blend into any genre. I love that about you because I know going in that no matter what it is, there's a really good chance I'm going to love it.
Tracy - Unsure. You always question yourself when you start new things. Possibly because you'll do practically any story. But you shouldn't! You've got the talent all you need to do is try being a little more confident.
Julilly - Unique. I remember when all your old stories were up and they were always a little left of center. In a very good way obviously. I wish you'd finished them but even so the fact I remember them? (Like the one where Nick was an android) should say a lot for how good you are.
SakaSteph - Diamond. I say that because you're basically the diamond in the rough. People may not realize how talented you are but you should be recognized more! Because yes, you are that awesome!
Lore - Fearless. You write what you want but without really caring if anyone else likes it or not.
Emily - New. I may not have read your stories yet but it's okay. I like how you've jumped into things here! I love new people and their viewpoints :).
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Same here, thanks everyone! We have been very warm and fuzzy lately! LOL
So here's the next question: Who do you think is the worst fanfic writer ever?
LMAO just kidding! Don't answer that!
I was thinking this morning though, I wonder who was the very first person that ever actually posted a BSB fanfic and I wonder what it was about. I wonder if there's anyway to find out that information. I mean it might not even be online anymore. In fact chances are it isn't, but after reading about the trends and such, you can't help but wonder who was the very first person that kicked it all off and what ws the very first story! :shrug:
Get on that one, Julie! LMAO
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What was your very first fanfic about? Was it BSB or some other fandom?
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So here's the next question: Who do you think is the worst fanfic writer ever?
LMAO just kidding! Don't answer that!
Oh gosh, a name came up in my mind but, thankfully, you guys will never know her because she writes only in Italian. :D :D
What was your very first fanfic about? Was it BSB or some other fandom?
It was a Sailor Moon fanfic, though I don't remember title or what was about.
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Aww! Warm fuzzies for everyone! Thanks so much to all of you who included me and described me as a writer (very well, I might add!) I agree with most of these descriptions! Great question and great answers!
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If you could only use one word to describe yourself as a fanfic writer, what would it be?
Complex. I never settle for the simple thing, I always have to go and try to find every reason possible behind every behaviour.
What about one word to describe other fanfic writers?
It's really hard, especially because I'm fairly new here. Aside from adding that you girls are amazing, I agree with everyone else.
And thanks Julie. Though I will erase the "secretly" and "might" and replace them with "they're certainly in love". LOL
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Same here, thanks everyone! We have been very warm and fuzzy lately! LOL
So here's the next question: Who do you think is the worst fanfic writer ever?
LMAO just kidding! Don't answer that!
I was thinking this morning though, I wonder who was the very first person that ever actually posted a BSB fanfic and I wonder what it was about. I wonder if there's anyway to find out that information. I mean it might not even be online anymore. In fact chances are it isn't, but after reading about the trends and such, you can't help but wonder who was the very first person that kicked it all off and what ws the very first story! :shrug:
Get on that one, Julie! LMAO
LMAO! If I thought I could find out the answer to that, I would! I may Google anyway and see what I can find! :)
I started reading them in 1999, but I'm sure people were writing them years before that, especially the European fans. It could have started as early as 1996, which is basically the dawn of the internet as we know it. I think 1996 is the first year I remember having internet. So BSB fanfic has basically been around forever!
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LMAO! If I thought I could find out the answer to that, I would! I may Google anyway and see what I can find! :)
I started reading them in 1999, but I'm sure people were writing them years before that, especially the European fans. It could have started as early as 1996, which is basically the dawn of the internet as we know it. I think 1996 is the first year I remember having internet. So BSB fanfic has basically been around forever!
Well, after 5 seconds of googling, here is one that claims to be written in 1996 LOL. http://archiveofourown.org/works/819013/chapters/1551017 Obviously it's been reposted, but if you read it, it looks like it was written in 1996! LOL It definitely has that teenybopper feel.
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LMAO at you tracking that down.
Also, in response to Steph's question...my first fanfic is an old story about Nick, his twin sister opening for them named Nikki (yes I went there lmao), and how they were once test tube babies before they were adopted by the Carters and always had these powers. Yeah...it was a whole mess of cliches and teeny writing lol.
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Well, after 5 seconds of googling, here is one that claims to be written in 1996 LOL. http://archiveofourown.org/works/819013/chapters/1551017 Obviously it's been reposted, but if you read it, it looks like it was written in 1996! LOL It definitely has that teenybopper feel.
LOL!
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LMAO at you tracking that down.
Also, in response to Steph's question...my first fanfic is an old story about Nick, his twin sister opening for them named Nikki (yes I went there lmao), and how they were once test tube babies before they were adopted by the Carters and always had these powers. Yeah...it was a whole mess of cliches and teeny writing lol.
LMAO!!! That sounds awesome!
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I didn't even have internet in 1996! I didn't have it until about 2001, wow, I wondered what I did before then lol.
My first story was a Take That one, it was actually so bad I can't really remember it very well (it's long gone, thank god!). I'm pretty sure it was about Jason meeting a waitress who happens to be called Steph, they fell for each other after she spilled a drink down him. It was awful :D
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LMAO!!! That sounds awesome!
LMAO yeah it was my twist on the "girl opens for bsb" plot.
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You guys are making me all emotional over here <3
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What was your very first fanfic about? Was it BSB or some other fandom?
This is my first fanfic: http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q289/joolligan/1stfanfic1_zpsca1222db.jpg
It was a Brian story, apparently originally titled "Many Years of Grace: My Miracle" LOL, which I eventually just shortened to Years of Grace when I rewrote it later. It was basically a childhood-best-friends-becoming-more-than-friends story that started when Brian was five... which is as far as I got on the original handwritten version, but the version that is on my site is finished and goes until he's an adult. The female lead was originally named "Juli," which I forgot until I pulled this out - that was before Julie was my pen name, but it's kind of fitting I used the name of my first original fanfic character. Her name is Grace is the finished version.
Anyway, here's how you can tell that this is my writing and that I was still an angsty little drama queen back then: http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q289/joolligan/1stfanfic2_zps56bdb7ae.jpg (http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q289/joolligan/1stfanfic2_zps56bdb7ae.jpg)
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And thanks Julie. Though I will erase the "secretly" and "might" and replace them with "they're certainly in love". LOL
LMAO!
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LMAO at you tracking that down.
Also, in response to Steph's question...my first fanfic is an old story about Nick, his twin sister opening for them named Nikki (yes I went there lmao), and how they were once test tube babies before they were adopted by the Carters and always had these powers. Yeah...it was a whole mess of cliches and teeny writing lol.
That is definitely a twist on the whole "let's give Nick a long-lost sister named Nikki" cliche. Do you still have it? LOL
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I didn't even have internet in 1996! I didn't have it until about 2001, wow, I wondered what I did before then lol.
My first story was a Take That one, it was actually so bad I can't really remember it very well (it's long gone, thank god!). I'm pretty sure it was about Jason meeting a waitress who happens to be called Steph, they fell for each other after she spilled a drink down him. It was awful :D
Aww... :)
I know, it's hard to remember a world without the internet! I know we got AOL in about 1996; I remember I was in 6th grade, and my username had something to do with my cat Freckles, which was my mom's idea. I don't remember actually using the internet much until Titanic came out, and then I started going on Titanic sites... which eventually led to BSB sites later that same year (1998)... which eventually led me to fanfic in 1999! That is when I really got obsessed with the internet.
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How did I get so far behind?
Thanks for all the comments, I never thought of myself as any of those words before (except maybe complex lol) but after reading them I can see how they do fit me.
I am trying to think of the one word for the authors I have read but I will have to think about it, I'm never very good at these "one word description" type things but I will think about it.
My first fanfic was BSB though it was never posted online. It was only written in a notebook with my friend and it was very much a soap opera! It was how the guys were convinced that Brian and Lore were meant to be but they were too shy to do anything about it so they, with the help of Lore's friend Amanda, trapped them in an elevator to force them to talk. Suffice to say they did, and they hooked up, Amanda got together with AJ and then they moved into a house together and Lore and Brian eventually had a massive breakup and then Lore was in a car accident... it was... uh ... yeah.... lol
The first I published online was the original version of Messing With Magic (have since rewritten from memory as I'd lost the original).
I don't think I've started any trends ... my ideas are too far out there for many people to want to duplicate... but I have jumped on the bandwagon of others. I have vampire stories, I have a story with one of the guys with amnesia (guess which one that is heehee), I have a bus break down story. I'd like to think I took those trends and melded them into stories that suit my own style but who knows, I did enjoy writing them all though. :)
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My first fanfic was BSB though it was never posted online. It was only written in a notebook with my friend and it was very much a soap opera! It was how the guys were convinced that Brian and Lore were meant to be but they were too shy to do anything about it so they, with the help of Lore's friend Amanda, trapped them in an elevator to force them to talk. Suffice to say they did, and they hooked up, Amanda got together with AJ and then they moved into a house together and Lore and Brian eventually had a massive breakup and then Lore was in a car accident... it was... uh ... yeah.... lol
I love how teenybopper all our first fanfics were! These descriptions are cracking me up. It sounds cute, though!
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That is definitely a twist on the whole "let's give Nick a long-lost sister named Nikki" cliche. Do you still have it? LOL
I do cause eventually I got the floppys on my comp. But they have not resurfaced on the face of the internet LMAO.
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I do cause eventually I got the floppys on my comp. But they have not resurfaced on the face of the internet LMAO.
Gee, why not?! LOL jk
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I love how teenybopper all our first fanfics were! These descriptions are cracking me up. It sounds cute, though!
I feel so left out. I've never wrote a teenybopper fanfics. Bad Cinzia. lol
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My first fanfic was one of those "written in a notebook in middle school" fics. I actually don't remember which one came first, but my friends and I had these little lives planned for ourselves, where each one of chose a favorite BSB and was married with kids to him. We wrote stories about that. LOL. I started writing the back story to that eventually. and later on, I starting re-writing that as "Forever," just to have something that tied all those little vignettes I wrote way back when all together. Subsequently, that became the first BSB fanfic I published online, oh, 14 years or so later. The first fanfic I actually published online was a Grey's Anatomy fic on fanfiction.net .
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I feel so left out. I've never wrote a teenybopper fanfics. Bad Cinzia. lol
LOL This is probably a good thing! :)
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How many of you have put a story on hiatus for a long time and then eventually finished it? How long was it on hiatus? How were you able to get going on it again?
I've mentioned this a dozen times but Hawk and a Handsaw was on hiatus for four years before I picked it back up and finished it in six months. I have no idea how I was able to get it going again except that it was really hard and I couldn't have done it without the amount of interest there was in seeing in completed.
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As for something unique, it didn't start a trend (not sure it could lol), but I feel I did that with "Remember Me This Way". No one had ever considered giving one of the Boys something like Early Onset Alzheimer's to strike in the prime the way I did. That's actually part of what scared me when I wrote the chapter revealing it. Because it was definitely brand new to the fandom. I'm proud of myself for not only coming up with it but doing my best to tackle my nerves when I wrote that story.
I must confess... I was writing a Huntington's Disease medical fic at the same time you started posting Remember Me so I put the story on the backburner because the two illnesses have similarities and I didn't want anyone to think I was trying to rip you off. I actually just read the 10-or-so chapters I had written the other day and wondered to myself whether I should get back into it.
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I must confess... I was writing a Huntington's Disease medical fic at the same time you started posting Remember Me so I put the story on the backburner because the two illnesses have similarities and I didn't want anyone to think I was trying to rip you off. I actually just read the 10-or-so chapters I had written the other day and wondered to myself whether I should get back into it.
DO IT!!! I would read that. :)
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I must confess... I was writing a Huntington's Disease medical fic at the same time you started posting Remember Me so I put the story on the backburner because the two illnesses have similarities and I didn't want anyone to think I was trying to rip you off. I actually just read the 10-or-so chapters I had written the other day and wondered to myself whether I should get back into it.
I wouldn't have thought that about you. You should write it! I'd read that in a heartbeat.
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The very first fanfic I ever wrote is actually Mizpah. I was totally inspired by Ground Zero, Seven Days, and On The Run so yeah, I jumped right on the kidnapping bandwagon for that one. I have never written a teenybopper fic probably because I was not a teenybopper when I became a fan! But I have been loling at the fact that you all had your female's named after yourselves! LMAO
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I must confess... I was writing a Huntington's Disease medical fic at the same time you started posting Remember Me so I put the story on the backburner because the two illnesses have similarities and I didn't want anyone to think I was trying to rip you off. I actually just read the 10-or-so chapters I had written the other day and wondered to myself whether I should get back into it.
You should! Did you ever finish Ataxia? I don't remember if you did or not. Was that the name? Did I get that right?
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You should! Did you ever finish Ataxia? I don't remember if you did or not. Was that the name? Did I get that right?
YES! It was! :) I didn't finish it. I actually ended up starting this one in an effort to get going on Ataxia again. I was trying to come up with ideas and they didn't fit the mold for that story and ended up morphing into a different story entirely. Crazy that you remember that haha
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I know, it's crazy what my brain chooses to remember! LOL
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DO IT!!! I would read that. :)
I wouldn't have thought that about you. You should write it! I'd read that in a heartbeat.
It's AU right now (because I'm a creature of habit) but I was thinking about turning it into a canon-fic. Saka-Steph is the only person who has read it as of yet. It may one day see the light of day, you never know! :) It's in the completion queue LOL
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It's AU right now (because I'm a creature of habit) but I was thinking about turning it into a canon-fic. Saka-Steph is the only person who has read it as of yet. It may one day see the light of day, you never know! :) It's in the completion queue LOL
I would read it either way, but I would prefer it as a canon fic! Having him be a celebrity going through something like that just adds another dimension of angst to it. Is this a Nick story?
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Has anyone else ever stopped writing or refrained from posting a story because someone else beat you to it and posted a story that seemed too similar? If you don't mind sharing, what was the idea, and what was the story that stopped you? I wonder how often this happens!
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I would read it either way, but I would prefer it as a canon fic! Having him be a celebrity going through something like that just adds another dimension of angst to it. Is this a Nick story?
It's a Frick & Frack story, actually. :)
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back in my fanfiction.net days I believe the first story I posted was either a early version of Incomplete, where Brian and AJ try to sing Nick out of a coma. Either that or it was a BSB/NSYNC crossover, I wrote my own version of Survivor from the Outback season. I still have it written on paper, never reposted it anywhere.
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I put my story Forces Of Nature on Hiatus, it's only eight chapters long and I was really into the stormchasing idea. I might need a second opinion.on it cause I'd actually like to make it less of a romance and more of a drama/,action. The characters and premise are kind of interesting and I wonder if I could make it better.
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It's a Frick & Frack story, actually. :)
Even better! :)
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Has anyone else ever stopped writing or refrained from posting a story because someone else beat you to it and posted a story that seemed too similar? If you don't mind sharing, what was the idea, and what was the story that stopped you? I wonder how often this happens!
I actually had a zombie story forming for a brief amount of time before Song for the Dead went up but it was barely worked out and Rose and Julie with Zombies...lol no competition. Not saying I won't ever use zombies...lol
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Has anyone else ever stopped writing or refrained from posting a story because someone else beat you to it and posted a story that seemed too similar? If you don't mind sharing, what was the idea, and what was the story that stopped you? I wonder how often this happens!
I don't think I've ever refrained from posting something. I would hope that even if a story idea was similar, my writing style and take on the actual idea would be different. Now, if I were to read a few chapters of the other story and see they were very similar, I would most likely make changes to mine but not hold off entirely mainly because it would drive me crazy if i did that! LOL
I actually do enjoy reading similar plots just to see how different authors interpret the same idea. That's why I love this fairy tale challenge so far. There are four stories and as of right now, four totally different takes on the same exact storyline! I think that's so awesome to see!
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I actually had a zombie story forming for a brief amount of time before Song for the Dead went up but it was barely worked out and Rose and Julie with Zombies...lol no competition. Not saying I won't ever use zombies...lol
Aww, I never knew that! Well, it's not like we came up with the idea of dead people coming back to life and eating brains, so zombies are fair game.
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I don't think I've ever refrained from posting something. I would hope that even if a story idea was similar, my writing style and take on the actual idea would be different. Now, if I were to read a few chapters of the other story and see they were very similar, I would most likely make changes to mine but not hold off entirely mainly because it would drive me crazy if i did that! LOL
I actually do enjoy reading similar plots just to see how different authors interpret the same idea. That's why I love this fairy tale challenge so far. There are four stories and as of right now, four totally different takes on the same exact storyline! I think that's so awesome to see!
I agree; it is interesting to see how completely different all of the fairy tales have been so far!
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I have only held off on writing (or at least developing) a story idea once because someone posted something similar. It was Kelly with her story Fan Friction, which I can't even find on AC anymore, so now I'm wondering if she took it down because it was never finished. Anyway, I don't remember all the details anymore, but it was a suspense that played on fan fiction. I'd had a similar-sounding idea that was inspired by Signal to Noise way back in like 2001, but I'd never done anything with it - it was always just one of those ideas I'd had on the back burner to write someday. I never had a solid outline for mine, but it was one of the ideas I was considering trying to tackle after I finished BMS. If I'd gone ahead and written it, it probably would have been a lot different from Kelly's, but it's just as well that I didn't.
I remember Hannah started posting Something Beautiful four days after I started working on Curtain Call, and even though she didn't reveal it for awhile, I got that "cancer story" vibe about it right away and was like, "Are you kidding me?!" But since SB and CC are like two polar opposite takes on the same basic premise, it worked out fine. There was room for two cancer stories that summer (the more, the merrier!), and I enjoyed reading SB as much as I enjoyed writing CC.
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There was a story being posted on the site around the same time that I was posting Falling in Love Again that felt oddly similar in some ways, though I felt there were enough differences to see that they were two totally independent story ideas. It didn't hinder me from posting my own story, but I did find myself wondering once if people who were reading both saw the similarities and wondered if I'd taken her general idea or vice versa. I agree with Mare in that I hope my writing style and my own spin on things would make mine stand out as original. I LOVED the other story by the way. I hope she finishes it someday!
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Have you ever worried that one of your stories was too similar to something that was posted before it, maybe even another story that helped inspire it?
I know I was worried about that with Broken, because it's never been any big secret that Swollen Issues is what inspired me to write Broken. It's not like Swollen Issues was the first cancer story in the fandom - I'd read others, and I'd even written one before - but SI is the first one I remember reading that tackled that storyline really well, and that was what inspired me to want to write another. That is where the whole choppage idea came about, actually, because I knew if I was going to do cancer, I had to find a way to make mine different. I remember actually brainstorming types of cancer and going, "Hm, if I did bone cancer, he could lose a limb..." and there was the different direction I needed to set mine apart.
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Aww, I never knew that! Well, it's not like we came up with the idea of dead people coming back to life and eating brains, so zombies are fair game.
I have had so many other ideas I haven't even thought about that story until this question lol. B
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Have you ever worried that one of your stories was too similar to something that was posted before it, maybe even another story that helped inspire it?
I was a little worried about that for Mizpah mainly because no one knew me from a hole in the wall. I was really worried I was going to be accused of copying Ground Zero to the point that I almost didn't post it. It wasn't until I saw the other kidnapping stories like the two I mentioned somewhere up there, that I felt like it was okay to post because as long as it wasn't the same exact thing, it was all going to work out which it did, thankfully LOL
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I think the kidnapping plot is just one of those universal storylines that is so well-loved and can be taken in so many different directions, it doesn't matter how many of them there are. As long as it's written well, that's a storyline I almost always enjoy reading. The medical dramas and bus/car crash stories are like that for me too. I don't care how many of them I've read; I'll always read another one if it's done well.
I think that's why I've found myself even recycling some of my own plots from old stories that were not done well, because I know I can put a fresh spin on the storyline and write it a lot better than I did 12-13 years ago.
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I think the kidnapping plot is just one of those universal storylines that is so well-loved and can be taken in so many different directions, it doesn't matter how many of them there are. As long as it's written well, that's a storyline I almost always enjoy reading. The medical dramas and bus/car crash stories are like that for me too. I don't care how many of them I've read; I'll always read another one if it's done well.
I think that's why I've found myself even recycling some of my own plots from old stories that were not done well, because I know I can put a fresh spin on the storyline and write it a lot better than I did 12-13 years ago.
I know, I feel the same way. I'm always a sucker for a great kidnapping story depending on who is the kidnapped person etc...) Same with the bus crash and medical dramas. I haven't really seen a bus crash, trapped in the wilderness or good old fashioned Nick gets kidnapped story in a long time! So any takers, feel free! LOL Include all three in one, even better!
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So someone just needs to write a story where the Boys' bus gets hijacked, then crashes in the wildnerness, which turns into a survival story in which they're also trying to get away from the hijackers. If anyone's looking for a new novel idea, take it, it's yours!
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I do have both a bus crash story and another medical drama in the works, but I have been so writing ADD lately that who knows if I'll ever make enough progress on either of them to post anything. And I'm still hesitant to post anything new without finishing Guilty Roads or the Harry Potter crossover first, and since neither of them are anywhere near completion... UGH! I hate WADD!!!
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Just be like me and have three in progress stories going at one time.... Technically, I guess it's four. Sigh. Peer pressure, Julie. Make me feel less alone. lol
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Just be like me and have three in progress stories going at one time....
I wish I had three! I have so many in progress stories with like 10 chapters I just stopped counting lol
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LOL We'll see. If I really get on a roll with one of them, I won't be able to hold back on posting because I have no self-control.
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Just be like me and have three in progress stories going at one time.... Technically, I guess it's four. Sigh. Peer pressure, Julie. Make me feel less alone. lol
LOL Just saw your edit. I have four too, when you count collaborations ... and that's only the four that I intend to actually keep writing, not including the ones that are not done but discontinued. And when you include all the stories I've started but not posted, it's a lot more than that! So you're not alone. :)
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I had started a sci fi idea with aliens at the.time when Hannah posted White Noise. I then didn't post.it because i got too nervous someone would say I copied.
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Aliens are another idea that can be done in SO many different ways, I'd say go for it! Especially now that White Noise isn't all over the Most Recent page. I didn't even know that story was about aliens, so I would have never known, Tracy! LOL
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So someone just needs to write a story where the Boys' bus gets hijacked, then crashes in the wildnerness, which turns into a survival story in which they're also trying to get away from the hijackers. If anyone's looking for a new novel idea, take it, it's yours!
If I was a novel writing woman, I might just have given this one a go! I'd call it the 8th day! LOL
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If I was a novel writing woman, I might just have given this one a go! I'd call it the 8th day! LOL
You should!!! Now that Kevin's back, it'd be the perfect opportunity to get back into the novel-writing game! :)
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Jeez, what is wrong with all you guys? Do you need me come up with schedules for you or something? LOL
You know I'll do it! ??? because I'm like :crazy: :D
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You should!!! Now that Kevin's back, it'd be the perfect opportunity to get back into the novel-writing game! :)
With my luck, once I started getting into it again, he'd quit! LOL
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Jeez, what is wrong with all you guys? Do you need me come up with schedules for you or something? LOL
You know I'll do it! ??? because I'm like :crazy: :D
Wasn't that how I finished H&H? With Mare deadlines? Lol
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Jeez, what is wrong with all you guys? Do you need me come up with schedules for you or something? LOL
You know I'll do it! ??? because I'm like :crazy: :D
LOL Are you talking about us writing too many stories at once or us coming up with the same ideas at the same times?
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Wasn't that how I finished H&H? With Mare deadlines? Lol
Maybe I need to set this up for Guilty Roads! I feel like I would need to be bribed though. Did you get rewarded when you met the deadline... or punished when you didn't? LOL
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With my luck, once I started getting into it again, he'd quit! LOL
Don't say that!!! Kevin can never leave again! None of them are allowed to leave!
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I have been trying so hard for a canon idea, I want to try more of that because I write so much AU i want to try something new. I'm always challenging myself when I write because it helps me grow I think.
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Wasn't that how I finished H&H? With Mare deadlines? Lol
I do believe you are correct on that one!
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LOL Are you talking about us writing too many stories at once or us coming up with the same ideas at the same times?
I mean having all these stories going at once and not updating any of them! LOL
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Don't say that!!! Kevin can never leave again! None of them are allowed to leave!
True! I shall never speak of this again! LOL
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I mean having all these stories going at once and not updating any of them! LOL
LOL Gotcha. Guilty as charged!
I have always liked having two stories going on at the same time, a main project and a side project, so that if I get stuck on the main one or just need a break from it, I have something else to fall back on. My ideal situation would be to have a main story of my own and a collaboration as my side project.
Unfortunately, I have double that right now - two main stories, two collabs, and then several other stories I've started but haven't posted anywhere yet (so those don't count ;) ). It's not my turn to write on either collab, so it's really just Guilty Roads and the Harry Potter story, which are total opposites - one is serious, and one is fun, so you'd think that depending on my mood, I should be able to focus on at least one of them! But I haven't. I haven't really been able to focus on any one story in a few weeks, though, so it may be just a general case of WADD instead of too many stories. Who knows. I was trying to eliminate some of my options so I'd be forced to focus on Guilty Roads, but that hasn't worked out quite like I hoped it would. I've just been writing one-shots instead to get out of it without feeling guilty... cause, hey, I'm participating in a challenge! LOL
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Maybe I need to set this up for Guilty Roads! I feel like I would need to be bribed though. Did you get rewarded when you met the deadline... or punished when you didn't? LOL
There was a public shaming if I didn't lol
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Maybe I need to set this up for Guilty Roads! I feel like I would need to be bribed though. Did you get rewarded when you met the deadline... or punished when you didn't? LOL
I believe she got a few gold stars if she managed to say on track and a lot of gentle' nudges from me if she didn't. You know me and the 'gentle' nudging! LOL
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There was a public shaming if I didn't lol
right, aka gentle nudging! LOL
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There was a public shaming if I didn't lol
Hm... I'm not sure that would have any affect on me, sadly, since everyone already knows I've been stuck on this same story for the last three years. :( Angry readers could come and throw tomatoes at me, and I'd just be like, "Yeah, yeah... I know... blame Curtain Call."
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I believe she got a few gold stars if she managed to say on track and a lot of gentle' nudges from me if she didn't. You know me and the 'gentle' nudging! LOL
Well, now, gold stars...
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Maybe if someone waves some chocolate or Nick Carter in my face I may write more lmao
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Hm... Nick Carter... now there's a reward I'd write for!
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Jeez, what is wrong with all you guys? Do you need me come up with schedules for you or something? LOL
You know I'll do it! ??? because I'm like :crazy: :D
You should write that story Mare. Come on! It screams you!
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That sounds like a Mare story. I would definitely read that!
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I did some thinking and here is what I came up with:
Rose: Deep. A lot of her stuff has that dark, angsty feel that I like mixed in with the occasional humor here and there. She writes a lot of powerful emotion driven stories and I really admire her description and sense of character.
Julie: Skilled. She is such an amazing writer. She has a way with writing first person that one day I hope to achieve, she creates these scenes and I am constantly in awe. A lot of the time she writes something that I can picture in my head.
Saka Steph: Funny. I really like how realistically she writes Nick and the other boys, especially in Running Up That Hill. I really love that she takes situations and tries to find the humor in them.
Mare: Inspiring. There is not much more I can say about her that I haven't....she really inspires me as I read her work to do my best. I want to write canon as well as her one day.
UK Steph: Twisted. Bot Flies, need I elaborate any more LOL.
Lore: Intriguing. I love that she tries to write what most people wouldn't, science fiction. She thinks outside the box and isn't afraid to try anything. I admire that a lot.
Cinzia: Friendly. She seems like she is easy going and doesn't object to creative input....she is dedicated to writing slash and supoorting her genre. I like that she tries to get along with everyone. I am also impressed with her translating skills.
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I always end upmissing the fun because of this damn time difference. :(
Have you ever worried that one of your stories was too similar to something that was posted before it, maybe even another story that helped inspire it?
Mh...I'm always inspired by other stories, stories that I've read and that I loved. So, yes, I'm always worried that someone would read one of mine and say "Ehi! It's similar to mine!". Thankfully it never happened. I think some topics or trend are bound to be written by several authors, it's just a matter of how you write them.
So someone just needs to write a story where the Boys' bus gets hijacked, then crashes in the wildnerness, which turns into a survival story in which they're also trying to get away from the hijackers. If anyone's looking for a new novel idea, take it, it's yours!
I have too many stories/translations going on right now but, if I had the time, I would definetely trying to write it.
I did some thinking and here is what I came up with:
Rose: Deep. A lot of her stuff has that dark, angsty feel that I like mixed in with the occasional humor here and there. She writes a lot of powerful emotion driven stories and I really admire her description and sense of character.
Julie: Skilled. She is such an amazing writer. She has a way with writing first person that one day I hope to achieve, she creates these scenes and I am constantly in awe. A lot of the time she writes something that I can picture in my head.
Saka Steph: Funny. I really like how realistically she writes Nick and the other boys, especially in Running Up That Hill. I really love that she takes situations and tries to find the humor in them.
Mare: Inspiring. There is not much more I can say about her that I haven't....she really inspires me as I read her work to do my best. I want to write canon as well as her one day.
UK Steph: Twisted. Bot Flies, need I elaborate any more LOL.
Lore: Intriguing. I love that she tries to write what most people wouldn't, science fiction. She thinks outside the box and isn't afraid to try anything. I admire that a lot.
Cinzia: Friendly. She seems like she is easy going and doesn't object to creative input....she is dedicated to writing slash and supoorting her genre. I like that she tries to get along with everyone. I am also impressed with her translating skills.
Thank you. :bighug:
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Cinzia - Sweet. You're always so nice on here and even though not many read your genre in this fandom you stick with it because it's what you love. :)
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So, it took me awhile to come up with all the descriptions. I'm bad with those kinda of things so I apologize if they sounds weird.
Rose, Julie, Mare: Teachers, in the sense that I've always look up to all of your works and you're all my top3 BSB writers. And through your stories I've learned so many new words and, especially thanks to Julie, my medical dictionary is a lot bigger.
Tracy: Creative. I've read some of your works and they're always unique and original. As others have said, don't bring yourself down because you're damn good.
Carter - Orange: Twisted. I've only read "Save a Prayer" and that's why I've come up with that word.
Ritz: I can't come up with one word but you've managed to make me read and love a Nick-centered story so kudos!
Julilly: Original. All of your stories are so different from each other and they stand up from the normal genre.
And a colletive word for everyone: friendly. Once I got past my shyness and fear to post, I've found myself in a place where it's so easy to talk and share this passion we all have. So thank you. :)
Cinzia - Sweet. You're always so nice on here and even though not many read your genre in this fandom you stick with it because it's what you love. :)
:bighug:
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Aww, thank you!! And thank you, too, Tracy!
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Thanks, guys! Cinzia I had no idea you read my stuff! I'm flattered by the compliment.
You guys are all the best! Group hug! :bighug: :patpat: :wave:
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I forgot we put all those smilies on here! LOL
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You should write that story Mare. Come on! It screams you!
That sounds like a Mare story. I would definitely read that!
Thank you both for saying that! Maybe if it were the beginning of June and not the end of July. There's always next summer though! LOL
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Thanks, guys! Cinzia I had no idea you read my stuff! I'm flattered by the compliment.
You guys are all the best! Group hug! :bighug: :patpat: :wave:
"It stays with you" is probably the one of the first stories that I've read here on AC and it's still one of my favorite angst ever.
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"It stays with you" is probably the one of the first stories that I've read here on AC and it's still one of my favorite angst ever.
Aww, well of course you would like that one! Duh me! LOL and thanks! I tried my best to torture Brian as much as possible in that one!
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Aww, well of course you would like that one! Duh me! LOL and thanks! I tried my best to torture Brian as much as possible in that one!
:D I'm easy to please: torture Brian and I'll be forever a fan. :D
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:D I'm easy to please: torture Brian and I'll be forever a fan. :D
Words to live by! Maybe we can have Leighanne make those shirts for her wylee franchise! LOL
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LMAO!! I'd buy one!
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Me too, even if the shipping will cost me more than the shirt itself. LOL
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LOL!
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Maybe she'll throw some Wylee parties during the European tour! Don't know if she'll be able to get the Wylee trailer across the ocean, though LOL.
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lol I doubt it. Too much expensive. lol
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It's AU right now (because I'm a creature of habit) but I was thinking about turning it into a canon-fic. Saka-Steph is the only person who has read it as of yet. It may one day see the light of day, you never know! :) It's in the completion queue LOL
I'm still getting caught up on this thread but I can attest to the fact that this story is fantastic!
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Has anyone else ever stopped writing or refrained from posting a story because someone else beat you to it and posted a story that seemed too similar? If you don't mind sharing, what was the idea, and what was the story that stopped you? I wonder how often this happens!
I have two chapters of a story where Nick goes insane from all the Lauren hate and starts killing his fans. I never continued with it or posted it because of the 1000 ways to kill Nick Carter and Revenge of the Slaughtered collabs! I didn't want anyone to think I was trying to capitalize on the popularity of those.
This has also happened with the soccer AU I'm writing, but I'm still writing mine anyway because I care a lot less about offending people in 1D fandom LOL. I even came up with the same title (which I might change, haven't decided yet) but I figure it's not a big deal since I'm posting on another site and my actual story is quite different.
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Aww! There is always more room for stories with Nick as a raging homicidal maniac! It's kind of hot! Though if you're not going to continue the novel, you could always just add your fan deaths to Revenge of the Slaughtered.
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Aww! There is always more room for stories with Nick as a raging homicidal maniac! It's kind of hot! Though if you're not going to continue the novel, you could always just add your fan deaths to Revenge of the Slaughtered.
Haha thank you! It didn't even make it to any fan deaths yet, but I might continue with it when I attempt to write BSB again after IAWLT comes out!
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What was your very first fanfic about? Was it BSB or some other fandom?
First of all I should thank you guys for all your kind words about me and my writing! Seriously grinning over here. :bighug:
Like Cinzia, I believe my first fanfic was about Sailor Moon. It wouldn't have been posted online, but it was in one of those notebooks with little comic drawings to accompany it, ha! I don't even know what it was about. Probably my thoughts on what happened in the rest of the series that hadn't been dubbed into English yet.
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Maybe I need to set this up for Guilty Roads! I feel like I would need to be bribed though. Did you get rewarded when you met the deadline... or punished when you didn't? LOL
I would bribe you to write GR :D
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This question was inspired by the reading challenge thread where Ritz was talking about hating the female character's name in the story she read.
Have you ever been so turned off by something in a story that had nothing to do with the actual storyline or writing style that you stopped reading or at least thought about stopping? Feel free to share specific examples of little things that have annoyed you like that, as long as you're not going to hurt anyone's feelings!
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I would bribe you to write GR :D
I will work for Nick Carter if you can bribe me with that. Any Backstreet Boy will do, actually. Brian is preferable. :)
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Going along with the names thing, the first time I tried to read Cover Me With Dreams, which is now like my favorite fanfic of all time, I was so turned off by the name of the female lead, Ciara. I am not a big fan of the name to begin with, as it's one of those trendy names, but the fact that it had the Mary Sue spelling instead of being Sierra made it even worse! It grew on me as I got into the story and got to know her character, though. I don't mind it now. But it definitely made me roll my eyes the first time! No offense to any Ciaras/Sierras, both fictional or otherwise. :)
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I will work for Nick Carter if you can bribe me with that. Any Backstreet Boy will do, actually. Brian is preferable. :)
If I could offer you him I would lol, all I've got to bribe with is chocolate :D
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If I could offer you him I would lol, all I've got to bribe with is chocolate :D
Could you mold me a chocolate Brian? I would probably write for that. LOL
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Have you ever been so turned off by something in a story that had nothing to do with the actual storyline or writing style that you stopped reading or at least thought about stopping? Feel free to share specific examples of little things that have annoyed you like that, as long as you're not going to hurt anyone's feelings!
I know this probably sounds horrible for me to say, but if Leighanne is featured in a story and is not the villian, I will totally skim over her parts! LOL I do the same with whenever a Carter family member shows up in a story unless it's just a brief thing. I don't think I have read a story where Leighanne is featured, or have gotten through one anyway lol but I can give an example of a Carter one!
In one of the Swollen Issues stories, I don't recall which one. Aaron showed up and it appeared as though he was never ever going to leave. I admit I had the hardest time getting through those chapters and did end up skimming most of those. That's my thing, I guess. I won't stop reading, but I'll skim. LOL
I also skim sex scenes and physical torture scenes.
None of those have to do with the way things are written, it's just my own comfort level with all of the above!
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Could you mold me a chocolate Brian? I would probably write for that. LOL
Can I have one too? *puppy eyes*
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I know this probably sounds horrible for me to say, but if Leighanne is featured in a story and is not the villian, I will totally skim over her parts! LOL I do the same with whenever a Carter family member shows up in a story unless it's just a brief thing. I don't think I have read a story where Leighanne is featured, or have gotten through one anyway lol but I can give an example of a Carter one!
In one of the Swollen Issues stories, I don't recall which one. Aaron showed up and it appeared as though he was never ever going to leave. I admit I had the hardest time getting through those chapters and did end up skimming most of those. That's my thing, I guess. I won't stop reading, but I'll skim. LOL
I also skim sex scenes and physical torture scenes.
None of those have to do with the way things are written, it's just my own comfort level with all of the above!
I wished Aaron would go away from Swollen Issues too! I think that was the third one; he was in it a lot. I am not a big fan of having the family members around either, although sometimes it's unavoidable if you're trying to keep it realistic. I literally cannot write Jane Carter without taking her to Crazytown (which is really not so far from reality, sadly), so I try to avoid writing her at all costs these days.
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I don't think there are any names that make me say ugh! But once again, I usually stay far away from stories that have that potential anyway LOL I do hate the trendy spellings of things instead of the traditional ones!
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I wished Aaron would go away from Swollen Issues too! I think that was the third one; he was in it a lot. I am not a big fan of having the family members around either, although sometimes it's unavoidable if you're trying to keep it realistic. I literally cannot write Jane Carter without taking her to Crazytown (which is really not so far from reality, sadly), so I try to avoid writing her at all costs these days.
Exactly. Sometimes you need them in there. It made sense that Aaron was there and Jane to for a brief time, I just wanted them to go away after a chapter or two! LOL
I really don't mind when the family members pop up in stories as long as they don't make themselves too comfortable. I'd be that person who was secretly trying to find them a hotel room instead of letting them stay with me! LOL
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LOL!
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Have you ever been so turned off by something in a story that had nothing to do with the actual storyline or writing style that you stopped reading or at least thought about stopping? Feel free to share specific examples of little things that have annoyed you like that, as long as you're not going to hurt anyone's feelings!
Bad spelling. Literally. Bad spelling. It doesn't take too much to use Google and still, in the Italian fandom, there are so many bad spelling of names (Bryan. ??? ??? ??? How can you mistake one of the BSB's name? How?), cities... that I can't keep on reading.
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Misspelling one of the Boys' names is the worst!!! I see it most often with Brian's last name; a lot of people only put one L at the end. Even Howie did it the other day on Twitter!!!
A lot of people used to misspell Millennium back in the day and only put one N. The reason I know that Millennium has 2 Ns is because IT'S THE NAME OF THEIR ALBUM, so I LEARNED HOW TO FREAKING SPELL IT! No excuse! And don't even get me started on "Don't Wanna LOOSE You Now." I am so fanatical about that one, I made a freaking avatar about it!
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Misspelling one of the Boys' names is the worst!!! I see it most often with Brian's last name; a lot of people only put one L at the end. Even Howie did it the other day on Twitter!!!
A lot of people used to misspell Millennium back in the day and only put one N. The reason I know that Millennium has 2 Ns is because IT'S THE NAME OF THEIR ALBUM, so I LEARNED HOW TO FREAKING SPELL IT! No excuse! And don't even get me started on "Don't Wanna LOOSE You Now." I am so fanatical about that one, I made a freaking avatar about it!
"Don't wanna loose you now" aka how to transform an angst song into a fun one. LOL
Everytime I see one misspell I so want to reply: "There is this little thing, it's called Google. It's not bad, it doesn't bite you. Even Nick used it! Don't be afraid!"
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Right! There's no excuse. If you're not a good speller, look it up! It's just laziness. I am a pretty good speller, but I google stuff all the time to double check.
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We should start a campaign. LOL
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LOL What should we call it?
"Don't Wanna LOSE a Limb? Learn How to Spell, or Julie Will LOSE Her Freaking Mind and Chop Off All Your Phalanges! Don't Know What That Means? LOOK IT UP!"
There's my suggestion.
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LOL What should we call it?
"Don't Wanna LOSE a Limb? Learn How to Spell, or Julie Will LOSE Her Freaking Mind and Chop Off All Your Phalanges! Don't Know What That Means? LOOK IT UP!"
There's my suggestion.
LMAO!!!!!!!!
Or: "Save a little poor Google from being jobless. Use him and you will make the world a better place."
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LOL Aww, poor little underutilized Google!
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Adopt a Google!
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That's the first time I have ever been told I was "damn good" I really flattered by that compliment so thank you!!!
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It wasn't a fanfic but I just read a book where the girl was sent to the "principle" noooooo.... principle/principal is becoming a major pert peeve of mine. Oh and by read I mean I stopped after that and never really started it again.
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Oh, I think "Don't Wanna Loose You Now" would have sent me over the edge. I've gotta agree with everyone on here and say that bad grammar is definitely going to make me stop reading! Now, if the writing is good and the story is good, I can handle an error here and there, but using the same type of snafu over and over...forget it! The ones that get to me the most are your/you're (sorry, Nick!- there may be a grammar lesson coming soon for you in one of my stories...lol), there/their/they're, and ick- principal/principle would definitely get to me too!
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Could you mold me a chocolate Brian? I would probably write for that. LOL
I can try lol
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There aren't any names that would put me off reading a story, even if the name was really weird. I'm not fussed on family members in stories for too long either, once they've done their bit they can go.
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Bad spelling. Literally. Bad spelling. It doesn't take too much to use Google and still, in the Italian fandom, there are so many bad spelling of names (Bryan. ??? ??? ??? How can you mistake one of the BSB's name? How?), cities... that I can't keep on reading.
This is so irritating! If I saw Bryan in a summary I won't even click into a story. Nicholas, I can forgive (though it still bothers me) but Bryan... come on. That's not even the common spelling of the name.
Maybe they are trying to give in the Mary-Sue version of his name? lol
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This is so irritating! If I saw Bryan in a summary I won't even click into a story. Nicholas, I can forgive (though it still bothers me) but Bryan... come on. That's not even the common spelling of the name.
Maybe they are trying to give in the Mary-Sue version of his name? lol
They even had the nickname Bry. ??? ??? ???
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That's the first time I have ever been told I was "damn good" I really flattered by that compliment so thank you!!!
;) Your welcome.
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About the name of characters, I honestly can stand any names. The 'Rowena' thing is personal. That's the name I never wanna hear for the rest of my life, if possible. LOL. And since I hate her (the real person), I don't want her to be associated with Nick Carter. :D
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If you could only use one word to describe yourself as a fanfic writer, what would it be?
What about one word to describe other fanfic writers?
Ok catching up! So, reading the comments you guys all said about me... I was seriously blushing. You're all far too generous with your praise but thank you!!
I would describe myself as ambitious. It's both a good thing and a bad thing as far as my writing goes. I'm ambitious enough to take a chance on an idea that would otherwise never make it to the page but it can also get me into trouble because I often jump in too quickly and don't think things through enough to make sure I can make it through to the end.
As for the rest of you... I wish I could say things about more writers but unfortunately I haven't been much of a reader as of late (as I've previously mentioned) so there's a lot of people that I chat with on the forums that I'm not overly familiar with as writers. Some day I will hopefully be able to add more to this list based on writing, but I will add some based on what I know of you as people. :)
Mare: Consistent. I always know what to expect with Mare. I'm not saying she's predictable, far from it! She's consistent in the sense that I always know that her stories will be brilliant, dialogue-driven, (often) full of suspense, (always) with an air of humour and most of all - completely unpredictable.
Saka-Steph: Expansive. She's the only person I know who seems to have an easy time crossing over into different genres without damaging the integrity of the fandoms. For me, it would be hard to remember all the little traits about all the members of BSB then write a 1D fic and remember the same things about the guys in that group. Steph doesn't make generic characters that could fit as anyone, she really knows these guys.
Julie: Confident. In my mind there aren't a whole lot of authors on AC that are as solid as Julie. She's a fantastic writer with an uncanny ability to learn an extensive amount about the subject of her stories and write it as though it were second nature to her. She could be making it all up but I would believe that it was true because her words are so believable and real, I wouldn't question it.
Rose: Bold. Rose doesn't back down when the subject matter may get controversial or uncomfortable. She is willing to go with the flow and let the story dictate where it should go rather than restricting it to the confines of what may be considered more conventional.
Hannah: Sincere. There's a certain amount of honesty that you can feel in Hannah's writing. She has her moments where she can be silly and can write some really humourous moments but there's other times, when it gets more serious, that you can tell she puts a lot of personal experiences into her words and lets her own feelings come through the mouths of her characters.
UK-Steph: Imaginative. Similarly to Rose, Steph is another one that doesn't let convention hold her back. Her mind is a little bit twisted and she just goes with it. She and I are very similar in our love of historical fanfic and I love that she is another person who is willing to go into writing something knowing that it won't be most people's cup of tea, but do it anyway because it's something she would want to read.
Tracy: Silly. From what I've read of Tracy's work, she has an ability of injecting humour into a serious situation. It can be hard to read serious situations but Tracy has a talent for keeping an lightness about it.
Cinzia: Unwavering. A lot of the writers from Cinzia's genre have disappeared and it's not an overly popular genre anymore. While that might be an excuse for anyone else to move on, Cinzia has clearly used this as an opportunity to inject new life into things and revive it. That's just awesome. :)
Emily: Real. I've said in my attempts at writing romance in the past that I wanted to achieve a realness about it that it would seem to anyone reading who had ever been in a relationship like something that could happen to a regular couple. Emily completely achieves this. I haven't had an opportunity to really get into her stuff yet (though I've bookmarked it for completion!) but from what I've seen she has achieved "real".
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Ah, thank you! You are too kind :)
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Aww sweet! Thanks, Julilly! But you knew I would come in here and say that because I'm consistent! :D
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Thanks Julilly :)
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Aww sweet! Thanks, Julilly! But you knew I would come in here and say that because I'm consistent! :D
Yeah, I might have been anticipating it... not that you're predictable, just consistent LOL
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LOL
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I wanted to thank everyone for their one word descriptions! I love you guys ;D.
So, it took me awhile to come up with all the descriptions. I'm bad with those kinda of things so I apologize if they sounds weird.
Rose, Julie, Mare: Teachers, in the sense that I've always look up to all of your works and you're all my top3 BSB writers. And through your stories I've learned so many new words and, especially thanks to Julie, my medical dictionary is a lot bigger.
Tracy: Creative. I've read some of your works and they're always unique and original. As others have said, don't bring yourself down because you're damn good.
Carter - Orange: Twisted. I've only read "Save a Prayer" and that's why I've come up with that word.
Ritz: I can't come up with one word but you've managed to make me read and love a Nick-centered story so kudos!
Julilly: Original. All of your stories are so different from each other and they stand up from the normal genre.
And a colletive word for everyone: friendly. Once I got past my shyness and fear to post, I've found myself in a place where it's so easy to talk and share this passion we all have. So thank you. :)
:bighug:
Awww! Thanks! I'm a lil shocked I'm grouped with Mare and Julie. Even now because I remember the days where they were what I looked up to, wanted to be writing wise.
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Thanks for the kind words everyone. I am in a really good mood today cause of that!
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Thanks for the kind words everyone. I am in a really good mood today cause of that!
And thank you for saying I inspire you! I really appreciate that! :)
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It wasn't a fanfic but I just read a book where the girl was sent to the "principle" noooooo.... principle/principal is becoming a major pert peeve of mine. Oh and by read I mean I stopped after that and never really started it again.
In a book?! As in, published fiction?? That's bad! I mean, you still find the occasional typo in published books, but to not catch something like that is a major fail on the editor's part!
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Now that I'm done catching up - thank you, Julilly! That was a really great question, Mare - it was fun to come up with a word to describe everyone, and it was equally fun to see how other people described me.
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I've been actually just sitting here trying to figure out something else to ask I I've got nothing! LOL
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I have one!
I know a lot of us post as we write, but this question more applies to stories you're keeping to yourself. Have you ever gone back and restructured a story to change where the chapter breaks are?
It's kind of a weird question, but I'm thinking of doing that now because as I'm writing I'm finding some of my chapters seeming too short and like there's not enough happening in them.
I guess another question to ask is, how do you decide where to end and how to begin a chapter?
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It depends on the story, but I try to make each chapter about one "thing" - so it'll either be one long scene or several shorter scenes that go together. That's in stories with one storyline. In a story like Guilty Roads, where I basically have three different groups of characters in three separate situations, I may have several things happening in the same chapter, but I still try to tie them together somehow, even if it's only through how I transition between them.
I don't worry about length too much; I just let my chapters go as long as they need to go to finish the scene(s). If I do have several shorter scenes in a chapter and notice it getting long compared to the other chapters, I do sometimes restructured it to bump a scene or two into the next chapter. I do like my chapters to be "about" the same length, but I have a few thousand word range that's acceptable to me, so it's not too hard to fit most of them into that range.
Sometimes there's not much you can do, though. One of the stories I've started that I'm keeping to myself for now is the continuation to my Nowie slash, and I'm writing it in first person and alternating between Howie's and Nick's POVs. I wanted to keep it balanced like that from the beginning, but I'm finding that Howie's chapters are a lot longer than Nick's so far because Howie's scenes are the ones setting up the rest of the story, whereas Nick is just kind of waiting in the wings for his moment to become an important part of the story. I don't want to write pointless fluff just to make his parts longer, so I've just kind of accepted that I'm going to have a few short Nick chapters compared to the longer Howie ones in the beginning, but I know it will even out once I get further into it. I'm only on Chapter 4.
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I have one!
I know a lot of us post as we write, but this question more applies to stories you're keeping to yourself. Have you ever gone back and restructured a story to change where the chapter breaks are?
It's kind of a weird question, but I'm thinking of doing that now because as I'm writing I'm finding some of my chapters seeming too short and like there's not enough happening in them.
I guess another question to ask is, how do you decide where to end and how to begin a chapter?
Questions like this one make me really stop and think about how truly spontaneous and under-thought out my writing process is. Zoinks!
Since I don't really write from an outline and just kind of wing it, I never really go into a chapter thinking about where I'm cutting it off. I sometimes don't even know what's going to happen until I'm halfway through writing them. As I'm writing that's when I start to see the clearer picture of where I want the break to happen and since generally I tend to write stories with multiple layers and points of view, I start to get a sense of "Okay I'm not sure when this will happen but my goal I think is to get to this point with this person saying these words!" and then I write until I hit that goal. I like to end things with a cliffy most times so right before my guy jumps over that cliff, I'll stop! LOL
I never really make a conscious effort to hit a certain number of words or pages but most of the time, the chapters do end up being similar in length. For me working this way avoids any filler. I really try to avoid the useless filler chapters or filler paragraphs as much as possible. Ironically the more thought I put into something the harder that is to avoid.
As far as works in progress and reworking chapter breaks etc... I do that more with my OF than my fanfics. I tend to have a harder time making those decisions mainly because I don't trust my abilities to write anything more serious then the Backstreet Boys and their zany adventures!
I have to say I have changed things completely around though, when I've waited to post things. Sometimes entire plot ideas if characters have come and gone if I wait too long!
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In a book?! As in, published fiction?? That's bad! I mean, you still find the occasional typo in published books, but to not catch something like that is a major fail on the editor's part!
Yes a published book. I know occasionally you find them in published books but they aren't as obvious to me at least. I work with loan payments at work and cringe when someone says they want principle reduction.
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Principle reductions and moral cutbacks for all!
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You know something, I almost want to write that bus crash idea you guys had LOL. I was just thinking about it.
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You should do it, Tracy! That would be a fun story!
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I have one!
I know a lot of us post as we write, but this question more applies to stories you're keeping to yourself. Have you ever gone back and restructured a story to change where the chapter breaks are?
It's kind of a weird question, but I'm thinking of doing that now because as I'm writing I'm finding some of my chapters seeming too short and like there's not enough happening in them.
I guess another question to ask is, how do you decide where to end and how to begin a chapter?
I've gone back and rewritten a story but I never went back and changed where the chapter breaks were. When I start writing a chapter, I usually know from the start where I want to end it and how, usually with a sort of cliffhanger.
My chapters are usually really really long (aside Love Story, but that because it was due to the particular type of story that required 500 words each chapter), the averare is like 10 pages and that's because I want to tell everything that it's gonna to happen.
My problem is always with the beginning of a chapter. I always leave it as the last part to write and I never know how to start it.
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I think I just might. I have been looking for a canon fic to write to bring me out of my slump. This may do the trick!
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Go, Tracy! I'd love to read it!
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I'm just deciding whether I want to go old school or new school ;)
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Old school!
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I started to argue new school, because I'd like to see something about this upcoming tour, but that might be kind of hard to do since they all have their own buses now.... Just go wherever the wind blows you!
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I started to argue new school, because I'd like to see something about this upcoming tour, but that might be kind of hard to do since they all have their own buses now.... Just go wherever the wind blows you!
Yeah that and all the family would be there too, but it's your story Tracy lol No matter what at least it will be nice to see a bus crash story on the most recent page.
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Old school, new school, doesn't matter to me either way! Go with whatever you wanna write, Tracy. I'll read it either way!
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Go with whatever you feel like writing Tracy :)
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In honor of the new album! Which song do you think has the most potential to become a fanfic? And yes Cinzia we KNOW you want Take Care, so you have to say something other than that song! LOL :D
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In honor of the new album! Which song do you think has the most potential to become a fanfic? And yes Cinzia we KNOW you want Take Care, so you have to say something other than that song! LOL :D
LOL Am I so predictable? LOL
Wait, there are more songs other than Take Care? LOL
To me, it's "Breathe". I can see one of the characters remember little scenes of their love story (and there can be the twist that they're allergic to something so... there! They can't breath! LOL)
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LMAO! There's your asthma story!
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LOL
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I think Take Care could be a good one for a story where one of them is ill, or something like that.
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Well, there's a few lines about "Feels Like Home" coming up in the next couple chapters of Run...
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I think Take Care could be a good one for a story where one of them is ill, or something like that.
As I said somewhere, everywhere, to me it's so related to what Brian is going through right now.
Wait... it can be the new "Don't wanna lose your now" aka song to sing when one is in coma! LOL
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That one doesn't really ring as an a capella!
Can you imagine?
"Okay guys before we wake Howie up, we just have to set up this studio equipment in here. Make sure you don't accidentally unplug the respirator! It'll just take a second. Hang on Howie, we love you!! Yeah put the Mics there!" LOL
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IAWLT screams bromance to me. I'm using it as.kind of the theme song for my new story, it seems to speak to me on that level.
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I think Take Care could be a good one for a story where one of them is ill, or something like that.
Right?!
Take Care makes me miss Broken and By My Side so much. Had it been released ten years earlier, that sound would have been on my soundtrack in a heartbeat!
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That one doesn't really ring as an a capella!
Can you imagine?
"Okay guys before we wake Howie up, we just have to set up this studio equipment in here. Make sure you don't accidentally unplug the respirator! It'll just take a second. Hang on Howie, we love you!! Yeah put the Mics there!" LOL
LMFAO!!!
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In honor of the new album! Which song do you think has the most potential to become a fanfic? And yes Cinzia we KNOW you want Take Care, so you have to say something other than that song! LOL :D
Obviously, Take Care SCREAMS hurt/comfort fic! I WILL use that song as inspiration for at least one story, if not several LOL.
I could see Make Believe inspiring a story, too. There's just something about the lyrics that speaks to the writer in me. I was actually thinking of writing a one-shot about a certain pair of characters from one of my novels while I listening to this song in the car earlier, but I don't know if that will happen or not. This song definitely gets the gears in my mind turning, though!
Those are the two I'm personally most inspired by right now, but I predict Madeleine will soon be a popular Mary Sue female character's name in the fandom. I could see Love Somebody inspiring a lot of fluffy romances, too. It's such a cute love song!
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Make Believe man. That song speaks to me on a few levels as a writer. That's part of why I love it so much. Not just lyrically but the otherworldly feel of the song.
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but I predict Madeleine will soon be a popular Mary Sue female character's name in the fandom.
??? ??? Oh gosh, you're right. ???
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If my prediction comes true, I think we should change Mary Sue to Maddie Sue for our fandom LOL.
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I'm terrified.
I'm already predicting the storyline: "Poor Madeline was a beautiful girl, no one treated her right until a shining knight (Nick, of course) noticed her and saved her."
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Right?! I'm surprised there haven't been any (that I know of) yet, considering we've known about this song since April.
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Right?! I'm surprised there haven't been any (that I know of) yet, considering we've known about this song since April.
Shh.... don't wake them up. LOL
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Obviously, Take Care SCREAMS hurt/comfort fic! I WILL use that song as inspiration for at least one story, if not several LOL.
I could see Make Believe inspiring a story, too. There's just something about the lyrics that speaks to the writer in me. I was actually thinking of writing a one-shot about a certain pair of characters from one of my novels while I listening to this song in the car earlier, but I don't know if that will happen or not. This song definitely gets the gears in my mind turning, though!
Those are the two I'm personally most inspired by right now, but I predict Madeleine will soon be a popular Mary Sue female character's name in the fandom. I could see Love Somebody inspiring a lot of fluffy romances, too. It's such a cute love song!
I don't know! Then how could they self insert? But I bet it made all the Madeline, Maddies and Lynnes happy campers!! LOL It is very close to Marianne. I almost made it! LOL
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I don't know! Then how could they self insert? But I bet it made all the Madeline, Maddies and Lynnes happy campers!! LOL It is very close to Marianne. I almost made it! LOL
LOL! That was how I felt with Poster Girl, when we all thought it was Julie at first, and then it turned out to be Jodi. So close!
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LOL! That was how I felt with Poster Girl, when we all thought it was Julie at first, and then it turned out to be Jodi. So close!
They say a name in that song? Lol ...yeah I skip it a lot or barely listen when it plays
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They say a name in that song? Lol ...yeah I skip it a lot or barely listen when it plays
LOL I tried SO hard to like it when I thought it was Julie (and cause I knew they were going to sing it on the club tour), but once the actual album came out and I found out it was Jodi, I gave up on it. It's my token skip song on Never Gone!
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^ That's a good question for this thread.
What if any are your token skip songs for each of the albums?
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Another fanfic related question:
In the genre you feel most comfortable writing in (Can be more than one) offer five tips to what you consider makes a great story work in that particular style.
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^ That's a good question for this thread.
What if any are your token skip songs for each of the albums?
I'm going to give my favorites too, just to be fair! LOL
I don't own the red album
Millennium
Skipp-able: There are pretty much no skip songs for me. I can really listen to the entire album from start to finish. The only two songs I'm not crazy about are "I Need You Tonight" because of the lack of the rest of the guys and "No One Else Comes Close" but I like them enough not to skip them. Maybe after more than one listen in a row, I'd press the skip button.
My favorite off of Millennium is and will always be "I Want it That Way!"
Black and Blue
Skipp-able: There are a few on this one. I Promise You, Yes I Will, and It's True. For some reason the ballads did not work for me on this record.
Favorite: More Than That
Never Gone
Skipp-able: Poster Girl
Favorite: I Still
Unbreakable LOL
Skipp-able: You Can Let Go, Treat Me Right, Love Can Keep You Up All Night
Favorite: Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon
This Is Us
Favorite: Bigger
Skippable: Everything else except Shattered and maybe Masquerade
In a World Like This
Skipp-able: Nothing really. Kind of like Millenium. I can easily get through this entire album without skipping anything but after a while I tend to hit skip for Try and One Phone Call. Hot Hot Hot is even growing on me now LOL
Favorite: Madeline
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^ That's a good question for this thread.
What if any are your token skip songs for each of the albums?
That's a hard question for me because it depends on which song I'm obssessed with.
Millennium
"No one else comes close"
I think I've listened to it like two times at all. And I know it might be a shock, considering that I'm not a Nick's girl, but I love "I Need You Tonight" but only because I use it as inspiration while writing.
Black&Blue
"Shining Star".
Sorry, it's just horrible. lol I admit that I don't listen that much to B&B but when I do that's the only song that I skip as quick as possible.
Never Gone
I think it's one of my favorite album so the songs might change between "Poster Girl" and "Weird World".
Had to mention: "Siberia" is, hands down, my favorite song ever. I have it as ringtone too. lol But, seriously, I will die if I would ever have the chance to hear it live (maybe when Brian's voice is better, though)
Unbreakable
Love this album too, mostly because it was the first concert I went to. I usually skip "Everything but mine", I'm not that fond of that song.
Had to mention: "Unmistakable". I'm in love with this song. When I went to the concert, I didn't know all the songs, i guess you can call it my "non fan period" so, when I left the concert, all that I could remember was that song.
This Is Us
"Masquerade." Just... no. I'm like Brian with this song: it's horrible. LOL
Had to mention: Shattered. What always gets me is that "Can't believe you left me so shattered" at the end. And Brian's "so shattered" always make me feel shattered.
LOL I guess I'm the only one who loves Bigger. It's fun.
In A World Like This
Permanent Stain. After only one listening, I start sing the Christmas song. LOL
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What if any are your token skip songs for each of the albums?
Backstreet Boys
Skip - I skip a lot of it!
Favourite - Quit Playin Games
Backstreet's Back
Skip - A lot of it!
Favourite - Everybody
Millennium
Skip - The Perfect Fan
Favourite - Show Me The Meaning
Black & Blue
Skip - I Promise You, Time, Yes I Will, It's True
Favourite - More Than That
Never Gone
Skip - None of it :)
Favourite - Incomplete (favourite BSB song ever)
Unbreakable
Skip - One In A Million
Favourite - Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon
This Is Us
Skip - PDA, She's A Dream, Bye Bye Love, All Of Your Life, If I Knew Then
Favourite - Undone
In A World Like This
Skip - Hot Hot Hot
Favourite - Make Believe
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That's a hard question for me because it depends on which song I'm obssessed with.
LOL I guess I'm the only one who loves Bigger. It's fun.
Nope it's my favorite on that album too! One of the only songs I'll listen to.
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Nope it's my favorite on that album too! One of the only songs I'll listen to.
Yay! Some love for the poor "Bigger". ;)
This Is Us
Skip - PDA, She's A Dream, Bye Bye Love, All Of Your Life, If I Knew Then
Favourite - Undone
I forgot that "Bye Bye Love" exists. LOL
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LOL I've probably only heard it a handful of times, it's one of those songs I don't want to remember.
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:D I only like it during the concert, just for the little FrickNFrack scene during it.
But, yes, let's pretend it doesn't exist. :D
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Yes, I liked everything at the This Is Us concert, even She's A Dream didn't seem so bad, but I'll put that down to seeing the boys quite close and being over excited LOL
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As much as we can pretend that This Is Us doesn't exist, I loved that tour. :)
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Me too, I even love about half of that CD. The only thing about that tour was the dancers, they could've done without them, and I would've preferred a live band, but other than that I loved it.
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The little movies were the best part of the show!
I still can't watch "Enchanted" without adding Brian's dialogue. Actually, I know them by heart. LOL
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My seats were so horrible for that tour I hardly could see the moves LOL
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Yay! Some love for the poor "Bigger". ;)
Bigger is one of my favourite BSB songs!! :)
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What if any are your token skip songs for each of the albums?
Backstreet Boys
Skip - Darlin'. Boooring.
Favourite - We've Got It Goin On (But I actually love a lot of this album lol despite it's cheesyness)
Backstreet's Back
Skip - Set Adrift on Memory Bliss
Favourite - That's The Way I Like It
Millennium
Skip - The Perfect Fan
Favourite - I Want It That Way
Black and Blue
Skip - Shining Star. Somehow I forgot to copy this over to my iPod and I didn't even miss it and forgot it existed LOL
Favourite - Get Another Boyfriend
Never Gone
Skip - I don't have any skip songs on this album. Maybe Safest Place To Hide.
Favourite - Climbing The Walls. It's my favourite out of all their songs!
Unbreakable
Skip - Trouble Is
Favourite - Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon
This Is Us
Skip - Honestly I skip most of them
Favourite - Well I never skip PDA when it comes on LOL so I guess PDA?
In a World Like This
Skip - Try. Zzz
Favourite - It's too early to pick a favourite! It was Solider on Tuesday, it was Light On yesterday, today it's Love Somebody.
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Backstreet Boys
Skip - Anywhere For You, I'll Never Break Your Heart, Just To Be Close, Every Time I Close My Eyes, Darlin', Don't Leave Me (!!!!),
Favourite - Let's Have A Party, OBVIOUSLY! Probably Get Down.
Backstreet's Back
Skip - All I Have To Give, Like A Child, If I Don't Have You, Set Adrift
Favourite - Hey Mr. DJ and Everybody are tied. No joke. LOL
Millennium
Skip - Show Me The Meaning, I Need You Tonight, Don't Wanna "Loose" You Now, Back To Your Heart, Spanish Eyes, No one Else Comes Close, The Perfect Fan... most of it, really lol
Favourite - Don't Want You Back
Black & Blue
Skip - I Promise You, The Answer To Our Life, Time, Yes I Will, It's True, What Makes You Different, How Did I Fall...
Favourite - Get Another Boyfriend
Never Gone
Skip - Never Gone, Safest Place To Hide, Lose It All,
Favourite - Just Want You To Know
Unbreakable
Skip - Treat Me Right
Favourite - I can't pick a favourite. I love so many songs on this album. If I have to though... I'll pick... the INTRO, baby (So by default, Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon)
This Is Us
Skip - She's A Dream, Helpless
Favourite - Bigger (This may be my all-time fav BSB song now), Undone is a close second
In A World Like This
Skip - Breathe, Make Believe, Try, Feels Like Home and of course Hot Hot Hot (hothothothotho t)... although.. Hot Hot Hot is really starting to grow on me LOL So is Breathe, though, so...
Favourite - Permanent Stain
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Black and Blue
Favourite - Get Another Boyfriend
YEEEAH! HIGH FIVE!
I'd say high-high five but I don't know if you can jump that high. :P
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Wow, we really do have total opposite tastes in music! But it seems like none of us Like "Yes I Will" LOL
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Wow, we really do have total opposite tastes in music! But it seems like none of us Like "Yes I Will" LOL
That song makes me want to push the q-tip in just a little bit further, if you know what I'm sayin'. :P
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Backstreet Boys
Skip: Just To Be Close, Anywhere For You
Fave: I Wanna Be With You, Get Down, We've Got It Going On
Backstreet's Back
Skip: That's What She Said
Fave: 10,000 Promises, Like A Child, As Long As You Love Me, Hey Mr. DJ
Millennium
Skip: Perfect Fan
Fave: Don't Want You Back, Larger Than Life, It's Gotta Be You, No One Else Comes Close
Black and Blue
Skip: It's True, I Promise You, How Did I Fall In Love With You
Fave: Get Another Boyfriend, Shining Star, Yes I Will, Answer To Our Life
Never Gone
Skip: Incomplete, Crawling Back To You, Lose It All, Just Want You To Know, Climbing The Walls
Fave: I Still
Unbreakable
Skip: Love Will Keep You Up All Night, Trouble Is
Fave: Downpour, Any Other Way, Panic, Everything But Mine
This Is Us
Skip: PDA, Bigger, Bye Bye Love
Fave: All Of Your Life, This Is Us, Undone
In A World Like This
Skip: (I don't have one yet)
Fave: *flails* I can't choose! I'm thinking Make Believe but that can change LOL.
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...I'm gonna hide since apparently everyone loves Bigger, hates Yes I Will and I'm the opposite LOL.
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That song makes me want to push the q-tip in just a little bit further, if you know what I'm sayin'. :P
I do know what you mean! LOL
I have figured out I tend to not like AJ written songs. At least the older ones.
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...I'm gonna hide since apparently everyone loves Bigger, hates Yes I Will and I'm the opposite LOL.
Yeah, that's pretty kooky!
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Yeah, that's pretty kooky!
I'm sorry! :P
It's like how NG has the most skip tracks for me LOL.
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^ Also pretty kooky! LOL
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...I'm gonna hide since apparently everyone loves Bigger, hates Yes I Will and I'm the opposite LOL.
No that's fine, they cancel each other out. We still have balance! :P
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Backstreet Boys
Skip: Darlin', Roll With It
Fave: I Wanna Be With You, Get Down, We've Got It Going On
Backstreet's Back
Skip: Set Adrift on Memory Bliss, Like a Child
Fave: If I Don't Have You, That's the Way I Like it
Millennium
Skip: Perfect Fan, No One Else Comes Close
Fave: Don't Want You Back, Back to Your Heart
Black and Blue
Skip: I Promise You, The Answer to Our Life, Yes I Will
Fave: More Than That, Everyone, Get Another Boyfriend
Never Gone
Skip: Weird World, Poster Girl
Fave: I Still, Crawling Back to You
Unbreakable
Skip: Intro, Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon
Fave: Unmistakable, Downpour, In Pieces... I know the other two are bonus but yeah.
This Is Us
Skip: PDA, She's a Dream
Fave: Bigger, Shattered, Undone
In A World Like This
Skip: Trust Me
Fave: as of right now... Breathe and Make Believe
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Skips and faves!
Backstreet Boys (red album)
Skip: Anywhere for You, I'll Never Break Your Heart, Just to Be Close to You, Every Time I Close My Eyes, Darlin, Don't Leave Me (basically half the album LOL)
Faves: We've Got It Goin On, Quit Playing Games, Get Down, Boys Will Be Boys, I Wanna Be With You, Roll With It (basically the other half of the album!)
Backstreet's Back
Skip: Hey Mr. DJ
Faves: Like a Child, As Long As You Love Me, Everybody, That's the Way I Like It
Millennium
Skip: (sometimes) Spanish Eyes and No One Else Comes Close (but not always)
Faves: Don't Wanna Lose You Now, The One, Show Me the Meaning, I Want It That Way
Black & Blue
Skip: Shining Star, I Promise You, Time, Yes I Will, and sometimes It's True
Faves: Answer to Our Life, Everyone, How Did I Fall in Love With You, Get Another Boyfriend
Never Gone
Skip: Poster Girl
Faves: Siberia, Incomplete, My Beautiful Woman, Climbing the Walls
Unbreakable
Skip: You Can Let Go, Trouble Is, Love Will Keep You Up All Night
Faves: Something That I Already Know, Treat Me Right, Unmistakable, Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon
This Is Us
Skip: Bye Bye Love, PDA, She's a Dream
Faves: Straight Through My Heart, If I Knew Then, This is Us, Masquerade
In a World Like This
Skip: Try
Faves: In a World Like This, Madeleine, Show 'Em, Make Believe, Love Somebody, One Phone Call, Feels Like Home, Soldier, Take Care (9 favorites, for real!)
In compiling this list, I realized three things:
1) I have a love/hate relationship with the red album.
2) Of all the albums, Unbreakable is the one with the most songs I used to like and am now sick of. I listed my original skip songs, but truthfully there are several more that I skip nowadays.
3) In a World Like This is better than Never Gone and right up there with Millennium!
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Red Album:
(Skip) Darlin, Set Adrift On Mempry Bliss, Every Time I Close My Eyes, Don't Leave Me, Anywhere For You
(Faves): Let's Have A Party, Quit Playing Games, Roll With It, Get Down, Boys Will Be Boys, I'll Never Break Your Heart, We Got It Goin On
US Debut:
(Skip): Darlin, Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, Anywhere For You
(Faves): Hey Mr. DJ, As Long As You Love Me, I'll Never Break Your Heart, Everybody
Millennium:
(Skip): The Perfect Fan, Spanish Eyes, I Want It That Way (only because I got sick of hearing it) Show Me The Meaning
(Faves): The One, I Need You Tonight, Larger Than Life, Don't Wanna Lose You Now
Black And Blue: (Skip): It's True, Yes I Will (Basically the slower songs)
(Faves) The Call, Shape Of My Heart, Get Another Boyfriend, Answer To Our Lives, I Promise You, Shining Star
Never Gone
(Skip): I can't really say I have one that I skip completely, because there are some that I'll listen halfway and then skip, so I'll leave this blank. I loved Never Gone.
(Faves): Weird World,.Poster Girl, Never Gone, Just Want You To Know, Siberia, My Beautiful Woman, Climbing The Walls
Unbreakable:
(Skip): Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon, Helpless When She Smiles, You Can Let Go
(Faves): Trouble Is, Panic, Treat Me Right, Unmistakable
This Is Us:
(Skip): Undone
(Faves): PDA, This Is Us, She's A Dream, Straight Through My Heart, Bigger
In A World Like This:
(Skip): Breathe, Try, Make Believe, Show Em What You're Made Of
(Faves): Feels Like Home, Trust Me, Soldier, Hot Hot Hot, In A World Like This, Permanent Stain
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It is so interesting seeing everyone's tastes! and my fanfic writer self is trying to match that with your styles and what you write about but not really having that much luck. lol
~ Most of you only half like the first two albums.
~ There's not a whole lot of love for Try, The Perfect Fan, Poster Girl, Yes I Will, PDA, She's a Dream and Bye Bye Love but there is a ton of love for Never Gone.
~ Most of us are still trying to figure out the last album lol
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I seem to always like songs most people don't lol. I like bad music for some reason :p
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I actually like She's A Dream, not for the lyrics, hell no lol. But I like the melody and the vocals.
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I actually think the lyrics are fun, but yeah the melody and vocals drew me n.
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I seem to always like songs most people don't lol. I like bad music for some reason :p
At least you can admit it's bad! That's a step in the right direction! LOL
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I always love songs after everyone isn't into it anymore, like in high school I didn't follow trends, I'd pick up the stuff after everyone stopped liking it. So I noticed the same goes for my taste in music too.
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I always love songs after everyone isn't into it anymore, like in high school I didn't follow trends, I'd pick up the stuff after everyone stopped liking it. So I noticed the same goes for my taste in music too.
In a way I'm like you, I've never followed trends. I was the rebel, the one who would always have to be different. Though I usually love things before they become a trend, especially in music and tv shows. When they starts to become popular and adored by everyone, I start liking them less and less.
That's one of the reason why I have a love/hate relationship with Nick. Everyone loved/s him. lol
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Though Tracy, I bet a lot of our skips/favs were different back when those earlier albums came out! More of us might have been on your page at one point lol
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That's what I mean LOL I always catch on late and people are like "Why on earth do you like that?" I like cheesy stuff, it's my comfort music.
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In a way I'm like you, I've never followed trends. I was the rebel, the one who would always have to be different. Though I usually love things before they become a trend, especially in music and tv shows. When they starts to become popular and adored by everyone, I start liking them less and less.
That's one of the reason why I have a love/hate relationship with Nick. Everyone loved/s him. lol
I didn't have a fave BSB until maybe 1998. I kind of was into Brian first but Nick got me with that smile in the AIHTG video.
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I forgot I love If I Knew Then off of This.Is Us. I absolutely loved that album.
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In 1998 I wasn't that much of fan because... yeah, everyone was loving them and I was in my Enrique Iglesias's phase because no one in Italy knew about him. I mean, I loved them, I loved the music but I wasn't as crazy as I am now. And all my classmates were all about Nick so, of course, I was the only one who would go and say "But Brian is much better" and they were all looking at me like I was an alien. lol
And, of course, I started really following them with Never Gone, when no one here would give a damn about them. LOL
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And all my classmates were all about Nick
I made my boyfriend in grades 7 & 8 get a bowl cut to look more like Nick LOL
That leads to my question... Have you ever had a crush on someone in your real life because they resembled a Backstreet Boy?
(I'm totally finding a picture of that guy to show you what I made him to do his hair, too lol)
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I made my boyfriend in grades 7 & 8 get a bowl cut to look more like Nick LOL
That leads to my question... Have you ever had a crush on someone in your real life because they resembled a Backstreet Boy?
(I'm totally finding a picture of that guy to show you what I made him to do his hair, too lol)
LOL
Mh... it wasn't a Backstreet Boys but I had a crush on a boy met during holiday because he looked like the lost twinf of Enrique Iglesias. LOL
Actually... I've never met here in Italy someone who looked like Brian. Another reason why I have to move to USA. LOL
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I made my boyfriend in grades 7 & 8 get a bowl cut to look more like Nick LOL
That leads to my question... Have you ever had a crush on someone in your real life because they resembled a Backstreet Boy?
(I'm totally finding a picture of that guy to show you what I made him to do his hair, too lol)
One of my ex's kind of resembled Brian which again is funny because I don't really find Brian the least bit attractive, but they had the same smile and eyes. Jeremy also reminded me of Nick with his love for being a kid, video games, basketball etc... he was a blend of Nick and Brian I guess. He was a musician as well. Drummer but he did give me a guitar LOL
My brother in law looks a bit like AJ, well if AJ was also a terrorist LOL
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I made my boyfriend in grades 7 & 8 get a bowl cut to look more like Nick LOL
That leads to my question... Have you ever had a crush on someone in your real life because they resembled a Backstreet Boy?
(I'm totally finding a picture of that guy to show you what I made him to do his hair, too lol)
I have this issue where I like blonde guys now and I feel like that happened because of Nick LOL.
When I was in grade 7 (I think) I dated this guy because he had blonde curtain hair like Nick. But his hair was already like that, I didn't make him change it :P
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My brother in law looks a bit like AJ, well if AJ was also a terrorist LOL
That made me LOL.
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Fun fact: I had a huge crush on Devon Sawa back before I knew who Nick was....but none of my boyfriends have looked like him, I just noticed.that I really.tend to go for nerdy guys. I love geeks.
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Brian already fit the type of guy I found attractive which is likely why I gravitated looking him first. I have never even had a crush on a "real" guy that is similar in appearance to Kevin. Hubby has med brown hair and blue eyes which (at least for me) explains why I like Nick Moore when his hair is brown.
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Hubby totally has the Kevin brows, except lighter! I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. Lol. He also has that "Littrell" nose. Heck, maybe they're related and don't know it! Haha.
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That leads to my question... Have you ever had a crush on someone in your real life because they resembled a Backstreet Boy?
No, I've not come across anyone who really looks like the boys, except my old boss who looks a little like Howie (he's Spanish and short lol)
My sister's boyfriend in 1998 had the blond bowl look lol, she thought he looked like Nick but he didn't, apart from the hair.
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I was totally going to find a picture for you guys but I think my yearbooks are sitting in a storage locker somewhere LOL Likely to end up on Storage Wars some day...
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I will scan some pictures tomorrow and post them so you can see my sister's old boyfriend 'Nick' lol
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I made my boyfriend in grades 7 & 8 get a bowl cut to look more like Nick LOL
That leads to my question... Have you ever had a crush on someone in your real life because they resembled a Backstreet Boy?
(I'm totally finding a picture of that guy to show you what I made him to do his hair, too lol)
I tend to be attracted to guys who look like Brian... not because they look like Brian specifically but just because that is my type. I love blue eyes, curly hair, and that cute boy-next-door type of look. I had crushes on boys who looked that way before I knew of Brian's existence.
However, the answer to your question is still yes because I did have a slight crush on a football player my senior year of high school because he sort of reminded me of Nick (chubby ghetto Nick from 2003). It was not a strong resemblance at all, but there was just something about him that was vaguely Nick-like, and that intrigued me.
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Since it appears that suspense and action/adventure are making a comeback, here's a question for those of you who read it and or write it.
What do you think are the most important elements of a good suspense story? And as a reader what do you enjoy most about them?
related lol
How do you feel about cliff hangers? Do you enjoy reading stories with them or writing them? Or do you generally like things resolved at the end of chapters?
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What do you think are the most important elements of a good suspense story? And as a reader what do you enjoy most about them?
Strong characters and good description! Obviously if the characters have a lot of depth, then as a reader I'll feel more connected to them and care more what happens to them, which is obviously important in suspense. Description is important to me as well, I need to be able to picture in my head what's happening as I read. This is easier to do with description that flows nicely.
How do you feel about cliff hangers? Do you enjoy reading stories with them or writing them? Or do you generally like things resolved at the end of chapters?
Love them! Love writing them and love reading them. They're always a fun way to end a chapter, if just for the reader reactions LOL and I love reading them because it makes me that much more excited for the next chapter. I love the excitement that comes with a cliffhanger that I don't think would be there if there was another scene sitting after it, instead of the review box.
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Another fanfic related question:
In the genre you feel most comfortable writing in (Can be more than one) offer five tips to what you consider makes a great story work in that particular style.
I don't think anyone ever answered this one, did they? Too busy talking about music, which is great! And since I'm too busy listening to said music to be able to focus enough to write, I will answer it!
The genre I feel most comfortable writing in is medical drama, so here are my tips for that.
1. Research! I don't believe in the old mantra of "write what you know," but you shouldn't write something you know nothing about without trying to learn something about it first. Google is a medical drama writer's best friend! (Actually, EMedicine is an even better friend if you want all the gory technical details.)
2. Don't get so bogged down in facts that you forget about the emotional stuff. Try to put yourself in your characters' shoes, but if you're finding it hard to relate to what they're going through, you can research that too - I find blogs and online support groups/message boards helpful places to go for more personal accounts of what it's actually like to go through stuff.
3. Medical professionals are not supposed to become romantically involved with their patients, even when said patients are hot Backstreet Boys. It's especially creepy/inappropriate when they're lusting after Backstreet Boys who are in comas or dying of cancer or something. If you want that to happen, you need to find a loophole (see: Curtain Call).
4. When someone is on a ventilator, that means there is a tube down their throat that's forcing air into their lungs, which means they are unable to talk. Don't write your characters having a heartfelt conversation while one of them is on a vent.
5. Contrary to popular belief, Backstreet Boys songs are not a cure-all for comas.
LOL Okay, so really I just have two serious tips for writing this genre, and that is to research and try to put yourself in your characters' shoes - which is just part of good writing anyway!
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What do you think are the most important elements of a good suspense story?
I think the two most important elements of a good suspense story are pacing and motivation. The pacing is important because you want things to move slowly enough to build that suspense, but quickly enough to keep your readers clicking ahead to the next chapter or wanting more. Whether it's action-packed from the beginning or the suspense builds slowly, you don't want to bog it down with a lot of unnecessary details and subplots.
Character motivation is also important. If you have a villain, you should make sure you know what their motive is, even if you don't do the Scooby Doo thing and have them reveal it all to your protagonists in a climactic monologue. Sure, sometimes people commit random crimes, but more often, there is a reason. Also make sure your protagonists have motivation for acting the way they do. If they're running up the stairs when they should be running down, there better be a good reason why; otherwise, they're just going to seem stupid!
And as a reader what do you enjoy most about them?
I love suspense stories because they tend to move quickly and catch my interest from the beginning. I love stories that keep me guessing or dying to find out what's going to happen next! I also love reading about Backstreet Boys in peril, and suspense stories are usually good for that kind of drama!
How do you feel about cliff hangers? Do you enjoy reading stories with them or writing them? Or do you generally like things resolved at the end of chapters?
I love cliffhangers! I may complain about them when I'm reading, but I do so out of love. It's frustrating to be left hanging and have to wait to find out what happens next, but at the same time, it gives me something to look forward to, and I like that. I love writing cliffhangers when appropriate; I always especially look forward to the readers' reactions on those chapters.
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I don't think anyone ever answered this one, did they? Too busy talking about music, which is great! And since I'm too busy listening to said music to be able to focus enough to write, I will answer it!
The genre I feel most comfortable writing in is medical drama, so here are my tips for that.
1. Research! I don't believe in the old mantra of "write what you know," but you shouldn't write something you know nothing about without trying to learn something about it first. Google is a medical drama writer's best friend! (Actually, EMedicine is an even better friend if you want all the gory technical details.)
2. Don't get so bogged down in facts that you forget about the emotional stuff. Try to put yourself in your characters' shoes, but if you're finding it hard to relate to what they're going through, you can research that too - I find blogs and online support groups/message boards helpful places to go for more personal accounts of what it's actually like to go through stuff.
3. Medical professionals are not supposed to become romantically involved with their patients, even when said patients are hot Backstreet Boys. It's especially creepy/inappropriate when they're lusting after Backstreet Boys who are in comas or dying of cancer or something. If you want that to happen, you need to find a loophole (see: Curtain Call).
4. When someone is on a ventilator, that means there is a tube down their throat that's forcing air into their lungs, which means they are unable to talk. Don't write your characters having a heartfelt conversation while one of them is on a vent.
5. Contrary to popular belief, Backstreet Boys songs are not a cure-all for comas.
LOL Okay, so really I just have two serious tips for writing this genre, and that is to research and try to put yourself in your characters' shoes - which is just part of good writing anyway!
For those three, I love you! lol
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LOL I had to; those are just my personal pet peeves! Well, maybe not the coma thing; I love me some Don't Wanna Lose You Now coma scenes!
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The ventilator one is one of mine too. lol
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LOL That is my worst one! I will click out of the story when that happens.
I think the worst I've seen was in this story where Brian got Nick's heart transplanted into him, and then Nick's girlfriend was sitting in his hospital room at the end, and the heart monitor started talking. Like, the words "I love you" or something went scrolling across it like it was a damn screensaver, and that was supposed to be Nick's heart talking to her. I was like, OMG, WTF?! But it was a long time ago, and the author (who is actually one of my old favorite authors) was very young when she wrote it, so I'll forgive her for that. It was funny!
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LMAO!!!!! The talking heart! LOL
Aside talking while still having the ventilator, one of mine is when someone, after waking up from a coma, is all ready to jump around (or have sex) like they've only slept for a few days. LOL
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LMAO!!!!! The talking heart! LOL
Aside talking while still having the ventilator, one of mine is when someone, after waking up from a coma, is all ready to jump around (or have sex) like they've only slept for a few days. LOL
Well, why not?! They've got that creepy nurse who's been lusting after them while they were in the coma ready and waiting to jump their bones.
OMG, I am so sad because that whole story is archived except the last chapter. I swear it happened though! :( http://web.archive.org/web/20040501211308/http://expage.com/page/yourheartchapters
Oh, I was wrong - it was Nick's girlfriend that was killed, and Brian got her heart, and it was her heart talking to Nick, apparently.
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Well, why not?! They've got that creepy nurse who's been lusting after them while they were in the coma ready and waiting to jump their bones.
OMG, I am so sad because that whole story is archived except the last chapter. I swear it happened though! :( http://web.archive.org/web/20040501211308/http://expage.com/page/yourheartchapters
Oh, I was wrong - it was Nick's girlfriend that was killed, and Brian got her heart, and it was her heart talking to Nick, apparently.
LOL I've read that story! Though I think I've skipped the Nick's part... lol
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LOL I've read that story! Though I think I've skipped the Nick's part... lol
Aww, I loved JJ's stories; she was the first fanfic author I ever read! So appropriate, since her stories were right up my alley!
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I don't know how many hours I've stayed up thanking the replay web machine! Sigh, why didn't I find out BSB fanfic sooner? Damn me!
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Yes, I love the Wayback Machine! I just hate when it has like all but one chapter of a story.
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Especially when the one missing is the most important one.
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I know!
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I don't think anyone ever answered this one, did they? Too busy talking about music, which is great! And since I'm too busy listening to said music to be able to focus enough to write, I will answer it!
The genre I feel most comfortable writing in is medical drama, so here are my tips for that.
1. Research! I don't believe in the old mantra of "write what you know," but you shouldn't write something you know nothing about without trying to learn something about it first. Google is a medical drama writer's best friend! (Actually, EMedicine is an even better friend if you want all the gory technical details.)
2. Don't get so bogged down in facts that you forget about the emotional stuff. Try to put yourself in your characters' shoes, but if you're finding it hard to relate to what they're going through, you can research that too - I find blogs and online support groups/message boards helpful places to go for more personal accounts of what it's actually like to go through stuff.
3. Medical professionals are not supposed to become romantically involved with their patients, even when said patients are hot Backstreet Boys. It's especially creepy/inappropriate when they're lusting after Backstreet Boys who are in comas or dying of cancer or something. If you want that to happen, you need to find a loophole (see: Curtain Call).
4. When someone is on a ventilator, that means there is a tube down their throat that's forcing air into their lungs, which means they are unable to talk. Don't write your characters having a heartfelt conversation while one of them is on a vent.
5. Contrary to popular belief, Backstreet Boys songs are not a cure-all for comas.
LOL Okay, so really I just have two serious tips for writing this genre, and that is to research and try to put yourself in your characters' shoes - which is just part of good writing anyway!
Nope, you're correct! This question for whatever reason, was completely ignored.
I loved your tips! LOL I was especially fond of 3 and 4. I have to say I've never read a fic where the person on a ventilator was talking but sadly I have read plenty of number 3s!
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LOL I had to; those are just my personal pet peeves! Well, maybe not the coma thing; I love me some Don't Wanna Lose You Now coma scenes!
I admit that I did this in my story Incomplete LOL. Brian and AJ attempt to sing Nick out of his coma but it was 10,000 promises LMAO.
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What do you think are the most important elements of a good suspense story? And as a reader what do you enjoy most about them?
Since I also think this plays into my specialty, although I am on the fence about that, I am being a bit more specific.
~ Visualization: It's really important to be able to see what's happening as it's happening. If the characters are running, I want to feel like I'm running right beside them. If something is going to jump out at them, I need to hear that creepy music in my head just based on the words being used. I notice that when I have something happening that's fast paced, I tend to type a mile a minute just to keep up with my characters which brings up the next point...
~ Pacing: I think a suspense needs to keep a very steady pace in order to work. You want your readers to know that the story is going to be loaded with drama and action but if you aren't showing that by the flow of the actual plot, especially within the first few chapters, it's going to lose that momentum. There really should be NO filler chapters in a suspense story. It's one of the few genres that really shouldn't call for them. Any unnecessary moments like the obligatory Nick and girlfriend go to the store scenes once again just interrupt the flow of point A to point B unless that scene becomes vital somewhere down the road which leads to...
~ Foreshadowing: Throwing subtle hints to your readers about what will happen down the road, just gets them guessing enough that they might want to continue to read to see why you said what you just said. I love when someone says that at first they didn't see it coming but after going back and re-reading it, the clues were there all along and they just missed them. No one on earth does that better than Stephen King. The man is a master at foreshadowing.
~ Understanding your villain: Giving your villain depth of character is so important. They should be treated like any other original character in a story. Just as you would put thought into a female lead, or supporting character, the same needs to be done for the villain. There has to be a reason why they act the way they do and it's up to you to explain that to us. I also think making them more than one dimensional is key. You should hate them but also feel for them and heck, maybe in some cases even root for them! Let's call this the Walter White villain dilemma! You're just so bad I love you! LOL
~ Cliffhangers: Every suspense needs those few moments where you are left saying "NO! Come back!!" and those come in the form of the good old fashioned cliffhanger. How many you use should depend on how many things are happening in your story. If it's one of those stories packed with action and plot twists, they should be used more frequently then lets say one that has one general plot and then a huge climactic scene. That would be the perfect place to put your cliffhanger, right before or after that scene just once again to get the reader to want to click the next button or tirelessly check for updates! It's no fun if you resolve the situations right after they happen. The build up is only half the fun, the reaction makes it all worthwhile and the best reaction comes from...
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How do you feel about cliff hangers? Do you enjoy reading stories with them or writing them? Or do you generally like things resolved at the end of chapters?
Obviously I love them to bits!! I absolutely love unresolved chapters and endings. I am one of those people who don't necessarily like having things wrapped up in a tidy bow at the end so for me, leaving people hanging is par for the course. I know sometimes I go a little too far when it comes to writing them, but I can't help myself!
As far as reading, the only time I find them annoying is when the author just suddenly falls off the face of the earth and we are left eternally hanging! (and yes, I've done that too!) LOL I'm not proud! :-[
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What do you think are the most important elements of a good suspense story? And as a reader what do you enjoy most about them?
~ Cliffhangers: Every suspense needs those few moments where you are left saying "NO! Come back!!" and those come in the form of the good old fashioned cliffhanger. How many you use should depend on how many things are happening in your story. If it's one of those stories packed with action and plot twists, they should be used more frequently then lets say one that has one general plot and then a huge climactic scene. That would be the perfect place to put your cliffhanger, right before or after that scene just once again to get the reader to want to click the next button or tirelessly check for updates! It's no fun if you resolve the situations right after they happen. The build up is only half the fun, the reaction makes it all worthwhile and the best reaction comes from...
Having to wait for the resolution! LOL
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The ventilator one is one of mine too. lol
Just throwing it out there that it's possible to talk over a ventilator. I was at work the other day, and one of my co-workers was like, "Go ask that patient what pharmacy he uses." Excuse me? He's on a vent! "He's awake. Can tell you if it's Rite Aid or whatever." My mind was blown. Apparently, once they've been on one for a while, and if they're not completely sedated, it's possible to have a conversation over a ventilator tube. Granted, not a long, heartfelt one, but a conversation nonetheless. Now, that might make for an interesting medical drama scene. LOL.
And man, this suspense writing stuff is tough! I'm liking reading all these tips, though.
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Hm, well, I stand corrected then! LOL
Suspense is so hard! Those were great tips, Mare!
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Yes, thanks you guys for the great tips! :)
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Hm, well, I stand corrected then! LOL
Suspense is so hard! Those were great tips, Mare!
I probably could have kept that to myself. lol. It's a little creepy. Not as creepy as Brian carrying around a bloody head, but that's a different thread :D
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LMAO!
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Speaking of Brian and his bloody head, Mare's post about One Phone Call in the new music thread...
You know my twisted self has figured out a way to listen to One Phone Call without skipping it and that's all thanks to Brian and his line about carrying her head on his shoulders! It's clear he has decapitated someone and now he's in jail because of it and now he needs his one phone call! He wants her to come home but she can't because he hacked her to bits. LOL
...gave me an idea for a new question.
Do you associate any other BSB songs with some twisted underlying meaning, either because of a fanfic or because you, yourself, are twisted and deeply disturbed?
I don't have any as twisted as Mare's, but fanfic (usually my own) has warped a lot of good BSB songs for me! Pretty much any song that I have used or referenced in a story, I now associate with that story. I used some lyrics from My Beautiful Woman in BMS not long after that song leaked back in the summer of 2004, and ever since then, I cannot listen to it without thinking of poor one-legged Broken Nick LOL. Along the same lines, Just Want You To Know now makes me think of dead Nick instead of Sphynkter, and Hologram and I'm Taking Off (actually, a lot of Nick's album) I also associate with Curtain Call. Burning Up makes me think of Nick literally burning up in the recording studio cause of that one death I wrote for 1000 Ways. In Pieces makes me think of severed Backstreet Boy body parts, Song for the Unloved makes me think of zombies, and, of course, Don't Wanna Lose You Now makes me think of comas! LOL
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Speaking of Brian and his bloody head, Mare's post about One Phone Call in the new music thread...
...gave me an idea for a new question.
Do you associate any other BSB songs with some twisted underlying meaning, either because of a fanfic or because you, yourself, are twisted and deeply disturbed?
I don't have any as twisted as Mare's, but fanfic (usually my own) has warped a lot of good BSB songs for me! Pretty much any song that I have used or referenced in a story, I now associate with that story. I used some lyrics from My Beautiful Woman in BMS not long after that song leaked back in the summer of 2004, and ever since then, I cannot listen to it without thinking of poor one-legged Broken Nick LOL. Along the same lines, Just Want You To Know now makes me think of dead Nick instead of Sphynkter, and Hologram and I'm Taking Off (actually, a lot of Nick's album) I also associate with Curtain Call. Burning Up makes me think of Nick literally burning up in the recording studio cause of that one death I wrote for 1000 Ways. In Pieces makes me think of severed Backstreet Boy body parts, Song for the Unloved makes me think of zombies, and, of course, Don't Wanna Lose You Now makes me think of comas! LOL
HEY!! I resemble that remark! Um...I mean resent! I resent that remark! It's not me that's twisted, it's Howie. He's the one that wrote Brian carrying around random heads on his shoulders!
As far as answering your question. I don't think I've actually ever done that with any of their other songs. lol Well there was the scissors one aka This Is Us! Whenever I hear it I picture them all sitting around a table and cutting paper.
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In case you haven't heard, "Back To Your Heart" is about me-- or at least my self-insert fanfic character alter ego.
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In case you haven't heard, "Back To Your Heart" is about me-- or at least my self-insert fanfic character alter ego.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that one! LOL
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I used "Just One Kiss" in a story, and had Nick using it as a pick-up line. I also like to use songs as story titles. Even if they don't make an appearance in the stories themselves, they might have some sort of relation to the story line, and not just with song fics.
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Well there was the scissors one aka This Is Us! Whenever I hear it I picture them all sitting around a table and cutting paper.
LOL!!
I like to sing the chorus of This Is Us with a lisp. It amuses me. "Thith ith uth, thith ith uth, thith ith uth, thith ith uth, thith ith love, thith ith love..." Try it, it's fun!
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In case you haven't heard, "Back To Your Heart" is about me-- or at least my self-insert fanfic character alter ego.
LOL!
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In Incomplete (my first fanfic) AJ snd Brian sing.10,000 Promises to Nick to revive him from a coma.
In one of my Revenge Of The.Slaughtere d stories I had Nick sing Straight Through My Heart but changed the lyrics up to say something along the lines anout the girl stabbed and bleeding.
I used I Need You Tonight in a AU where Nick wrote it for the girl he loved.
In Weird World.the boys are brainwashed to murder Nick when they hear Everybody, Brian drives his car.off a cliff LOL.
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In the genre you feel most comfortable writing in (Can be more than one) offer five tips to what you consider makes a great story work in that particular style.
I'm going to give tips for Angst and for Horror.
Be Descriptive! - Whether it's angst or horror this applies. With angst, you need to really go into detail into how someone's feeling with whatever obstacle you throw at them. What makes a good drama is knowing that it was so real it's affecting your readers. Tears? They're trophies! (Sorry to everyone I've made cry before.) As for horror? If you're going for gore you gotta give every detail. You want to gross people out with just how far you (or your villian) are willing to go in terms of torture. Why? Because while gore shouldn't be the sole point, it does help make it more memorable and realistic feeling.
Put Yourself In Your Character's Shoes - You can't skimp out on characterizati on. Because the character is key, especially in terms of angst. People aren't going to care if you kill off someone's family member unless you get them to really know and love the main character it affects. Even in fanfic, give details because then it feels like you're truly telling their story. Assume the reader knows nothing. This way you'll know how the character will react to whatever life decides to throw at them.
Get creative - This is more for horror. It can't be the same every time. Whether it's some psycho or some zombies, get creative in how you want the people to fight back. Get creative in how you want the villains to strike out at them. You will be remembered for it. Case in point? "MINE".
Find the RIGHT amount of Cheese - Brotherly bonding in angst stories? Sometimes it's cheesy. But real life can be cheesy and that's okay. Stories need those awwww moments to help the reader survive through the OMG!!!! *CRY* moments lol. So say two Boys hanging out and being nerds? (See RMTW: Brian/Nick) Okay. Singing a BSB out of a coma? (See practically every old school angst) It's mock worthy LOL.
Write What You Want Whether You Know It Or Not - Like Julie I don't always write what I know. RMTW okay, I've taken a slew of psych courses so it helped. But I've also written what I don't know. (Like say zombies attacking in places I'd never been to). Google is your friend. You can research whatever you don't know and write it like you do. You can always tell if a writer is writing something because they want to, it just shows somehow.
Bonus: Don't Be Afraid To Go There - No matter how screwed up it is, break boundaries.
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In the genre you feel most comfortable writing in (Can be more than one) offer five tips to what you consider makes a great story work in that particular style.
Bonus: Don't Be Afraid To Go There - No matter how screwed up it is, break boundaries.
I think this little nugget is so important for all genres. It will separate your story from everyone else's. It's so easy to conform to the same formulas as all the other stuff out there but when you take a minute to step outside of the box, sometimes it's worth the payoff. I mean not always, but sometimes.
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I agree, and I love this line too:
Tears? They're trophies!
LMAO That is totally how I feel, too. When someone tells me in a review that something made them cry, I'm like, "YES!" That is one of the highest compliments an angst writer can receive, same as a comedy writer hearing they made someone laugh out loud, or a horror writer hearing that they gave someone nightmares.
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I love that whole you made me cry thing too! Awesome!
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Thanks! It was fun to write. LOL I love making people cry. Warped, but true.
I think this little nugget is so important for all genres. It will separate your story from everyone else's. It's so easy to conform to the same formulas as all the other stuff out there but when you take a minute to step outside of the box, sometimes it's worth the payoff. I mean not always, but sometimes.
Exactly. Sometimes that unknown territory is the best way to put yourself out there.
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Don't really feel I can give anyone tips for writing what I write
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I'm way behind on here, will have to catch up :)
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Time for another question because we know what happens when school starts LOL
I was talking to Tracy about this last night, but what do you find the most complicated thing to describe when writing?
For me, it has been the small actions you wouldn't otherwise have to really describe to people. My new story has a lot of action going on and some of the stuff has come very naturally to me but it's the smaller things, like subtle movements etc... that sometimes stump me. Things I can picture in my head but then can't find the proper words to describe what I want to say!
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Another question
When you decide to use song lyrics, quotes or anything else as a header for a chapter, do you tend to pick that first and then write the chapter around it or after the chapter is written do you go in search of the best lyrics, quotes etc... that would best fit what you just wrote?
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What do you find the most complicated thing to describe when writing?
As Mare said, I do think subtle movements, facial expressions, and body language can be hard to describe. In real life, those are nonverbal cues that we interpret without needing words, so trying to put them into words can be difficult.
I also find it challenging to describe performances - any scene that involves singing, dancing, or playing instruments. It's hard to find the words to describe something that is really meant to be heard or visualized. That is why if I'm writing about a real performance or song, I will often include a link to YouTube. It's like, "Okay, here is my interpretation of this performance... now go and watch the real thing so you get it." That happened a lot in Curtain Call.
When you decide to use song lyrics, quotes or anything else as a header for a chapter, do you tend to pick that first and then write the chapter around it or after the chapter is written do you go in search of the best lyrics, quotes etc... that would best fit what you just wrote?
I don't do this very often. Actually, I think the last and only story I've used song lyrics as a header for every chapter was Years of Grace back in 2001. For that one, I came up with what the chapter was going to be about first, then picked song lyrics that would fit it.
For Song for the Undead, Rose and I start each chapter with an excerpt of a journal entry written by whichever character the chapter centers on, and it's funny because the way we go about writing those is completely opposite. Rose usually writes the journal entry first, knowing what the chapter following it is going to be about, and then writes the chapter to fit the tone of the journal entry. I almost always write my journal entries last, after finishing the chapter. I usually don't have an idea for the journal entry before I write the chapter, but when the chapter is done, I can go back and mine it for ideas and find some theme I can write about in the journal entry.
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I did the same thing as Rose for my journal entries for Mel's.
The very first thing I ever did for that story before even writing the actual story was come up with the journal entry it was all going to be based on and then I dissected it and fit each person with that part of the journal. LOL
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What do you find the most complicated thing to describe when writing?
Lately I am having a hard time with action and movement. It's difficult because most of my stories before this were very thought based and in first person, so I didn't bother a lot with that. But now that I'm writing one that is very centered around action, I'm finding it to be quite the challenge. I'm taking a different approach to writing it than I usually do - I just type whatever's in my head without worrying if it sounds good, then when it comes time I post the chapter I re-read it and re-write it to actually sound good. So far it's helping.
When you decide to use song lyrics, quotes or anything else as a header for a chapter, do you tend to pick that first and then write the chapter around it or after the chapter is written do you go in search of the best lyrics, quotes etc... that would best fit what you just wrote?
The only story I did this with was Running Up That Hill, and it's because I have a mega-angst playlist for when I write that story LOL. I also have specific snippets that I know I will use for specific chapters. If it's a chapter without something specific already picked out for it, I'll probably add it after. Otherwise, I'll add it before.
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What do you find the most complicated thing to describe when writing?
All the non verbal things such as facial expressions, gestures, looks. I think they're so much important because, most of the times, those are the ways to describe perfectly moods and emotions.
I always picture my stories as movie scenes so I usually try to be as much descriptive as possible so that even other people can see what I have in mind. And it's never easy, especially if half of the times you think it just sucks. LOL
When you decide to use song lyrics, quotes or anything else as a header for a chapter, do you tend to pick that first and then write the chapter around it or after the chapter is written do you go in search of the best lyrics, quotes etc... that would best fit what you just wrote?
It depends. If it's an oneshot, then it's usually inspired by a precise song and lyrics. If it's a chapter, most of the time I've already in mind the lyrics to use. Only with a story I had to go and search for a perfect quote.
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It's 5:45 and I've been up since 4 because of an anxiety filled dream! So why not ask a question?
This is once again about reviews. If you can, answer both as a reader and a writer. This is an issue I have in general and it's probably because I know I spend far too much time thinking about stuff like this! LOL
When you read something new, do you review right away or wait until you're ready to commit to reading the entire thing before you review? If you do review right away, do you then feel an obligation to see the story through even if you don't enjoy it? Do you ever go into the story and in a review explain why you stopped reading?
As a writer, Do you prefer anyone who read your stuff reviewed even if they just suddenly disappear and if they do just suddenly disappear, do you ever find yourself wondering if they just stopped reviewing but are still reading? Would you like it if someone came into your story and explained why they stopped reading or do think that might hinder your writing and make you doubt yourself?
I go back and forth about what to do when reading something new and now that there's a lot of new stuff to read, I think more about this kind of crap and have been doing it both ways! LOL
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And just to clarify, I want to say I'm not reading anyone's stuff out of a sense of obligation. The thing I am doing both ways is either leaving reviews immediately or not saying anything at all. After I posted that I thought, "Well now half the board probably thinks I'm talking about them..." lol
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When you read something new, do you review right away or wait until you're ready to commit to reading the entire thing before you review? If you do review right away, do you then feel an obligation to see the story through even if you don't enjoy it? Do you ever go into the story and in a review explain why you stopped reading?
I've always said that I'm a shy reader but I'm trying to get out of my shell. Aside that, if a story catch my attention, I'll review right away and, usually, I stick to it and not because I feel an obligation to read the entire story. I'm a picky reader so if I chose a story it's because I know I'm gonna like it.
As a writer, Do you prefer anyone who read your stuff reviewed even if they just suddenly disappear and if they do just suddenly disappear, do you ever find yourself wondering if they just stopped reviewing but are still reading? Would you like it if someone came into your story and explained why they stopped reading or do think that might hinder your writing and make you doubt yourself?
If some readers disappear, I guess it's because they don't like the story anymore (and yes, this might hurt.) or it's because they're busy and don't have the time to sit down and review. As for the review explaining why someone stopped reading, I'm torn: in a way it would be good to know why someone stopped, whether is because of lack of time or issues with the story (as long as they are costructive critics, I don't mind and I guess everyone here is always open to know where she/he is wrong so that could be better) but I think it would be better doing it in private, with a message and not through a comment that everyone will see.
And just to clarify, I want to say I'm not reading anyone's stuff out of a sense of obligation. The thing I am doing both ways is either leaving reviews immediately or not saying anything at all. After I posted that I thought, "Well now half the board probably thinks I'm talking about them..." lol
Don't worry! lol
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When I start a new story, I usually read what's there or, if I'm discovering it late, at least a few chapters to get a feel for it, and if I like what I've read and could see myself reading more, I'll review. I do feel somewhat committed to the story once I review, but that doesn't always mean I'll stick with it till the end. I usually continue reading, but sometimes the story takes a turn that makes me lose interest in it, or sometimes I just get busy and fall behind. I feel bad when that happens, and sometimes I will let the writer(s) know so they won't think it was their story. If it was their story, I usually don't say anything unless asked directly. I don't think I've ever left a review explaining why I won't be leaving any more reviews LOL.
As a writer, I'm used to people reviewing and then disappearing. Sometimes the opposite happens - I'll get a review on the end of a story from someone I had no idea was even reading it. I wish everyone who read would review, even if it means some of them might stop somewhere along the way. I would be curious to know why they did. I think I have enough confidence in my writing nowadays to not be offended if someone explained why they weren't going to read anymore. I know sometimes the reason has nothing to do with my writing or that aspect of the story at all.
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When you read something new, do you review right away or wait until you're ready to commit to reading the entire thing before you review? If you do review right away, do you then feel an obligation to see the story through even if you don't enjoy it? Do you ever go into the story and in a review explain why you stopped reading?
I usually review right away if it's something I actually read and didn't just skim the first chapter to see if it's something I'd like. I feel a bit of obligation, yeah. I never go into a story and explain why I stopped reviewing, because usually the reason isn't "I didn't like it." It's "I fell really behind and now I'm just waiting until it's over to read it all at once." As I've said before I do this with TV shows too. Currently waiting out Breaking Bad LOL.
As a writer, Do you prefer anyone who read your stuff reviewed even if they just suddenly disappear and if they do just suddenly disappear, do you ever find yourself wondering if they just stopped reviewing but are still reading? Would you like it if someone came into your story and explained why they stopped reading or do think that might hinder your writing and make you doubt yourself?
If people who are reading my stuff suddenly disappear, it'd be nice to know what they didn't like about the story, but honestly I usually can figure it out for myself. A lost a lot of readers on one of my 1D stories because I waited a few months to update it. One girl let me know she stopped reading because the slash didn't happen soon enough, and one other girl was also a writer, and through her writing I knew the pairing that she liked reading/writing had changed.
I don't mind people telling me that stuff, it doesn't bother me. The only time it has hurt is when people aren't nice about it about the actual writing. Disliking a plot, a character, a chapter, even a banner doesn't hurt as much as being bluntly told the writing isn't good. It's honestly very discouraging.
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Ugh, I can't believe people would even tell you the writing is bad, Steph because you are a great writer.
I know as a writer, I would love to know why someone stopped reading my stuff halfway through but I also know there's no way for us to really tell if that is actually what has happened. Sometimes people still read even if they suddenly stop reviewing. I think for me, I'd like someone to tell me what it was that made them stop reading. Was it a plot point? Or did it take too long for an update or did it end up going in a way you weren't expecting and know you just wouldn't enjoy? I guess that's why I'm torn what to do as a reader, because as a writer I would like those answers but I know not everyone would.
As far as reviewing, I used to wait until I knew for sure I wanted to commit to a story but like I said there's so much on AC that's readable now, I've just been leaving reviews for things that look promising and I know that some of them aren't things I'll stick with because of the directions they are taking. I couldn't' figure that out by the first chapters though.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of stories where I already know I won't read all the way through but do read that first chapter because it's a name I know or want to read something by them but I'm afraid if I do review it'll be a commitment I'm unwilling to make but then I also see those people sometimes complaining about lack of reviews so I'm at a standstill. Do I tell them I read your first chapter even though I know in the end I won't like this? LOL
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Thanks Mare :)
To your point about people complaining about a lack of reviews on twitter. This actually will turn me off of reading altogether. And if I did start reading the story, I'd feel really obligated to continue because I'd fear if I fell behind/stopped reading I'd get passive aggressive tweets/tumblr blogs written because I stopped.
I'm not going to lie and say I've never tweeted about a lack of reviews, I'm sure that I have. But I try not to because whenever I see that it turns me off of reading so much. I don't think anyone looks at those kinds of tweets, feels bad for the person and then goes and checks out their stuff. And even if that is the case, I wouldn't want people to read anything I wrote because they felt bad for me, I want them to read it because they are enjoying it and are genuinely excited for the update.
Additionally, I see my friends reblogging their own stories on tumblr (I don't know if any of you use tumblr, but doing that is basically the same as retweeting yourself) That drives me insane and it creates an illusion of arrogance.
I'm going to stop now before I turn into a ranty mcranterson LOL
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I can become ranty mcranterson about that too! LOL I don't use tumblr because I don't really understand it, but that would annoy me! I hate when people RT themselves saying they updated a thousand times. LOL We know we get it!
And yes, I'm pretty sure at one point or another we have all whined about lack of reviews but I am the same way. I won't go search out your story just because I feel bad, in this particular case though, I did take the time to read this first chapter and when the whining started I didn't know what to do. It's like well do I go in there and say "Look I read it and it was good, but I know this isn't going to entertain me. I knew it when I clicked on it. I was just curious to see what you came up with." Or do I just not say anything and act like I am one of those people just ignoring a story?
I'll probably just act like I never read it and keep doing that with most of the things I tend to just click on out of curiosity. LOL
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I don't tend to review until I'm committed. Now, that being said, I will sometimes go ahead and review after a first chapter because I can already tell I'm going to really like following the story. If said story starts to go in a direction that's not really my cup of tea, I'll stick with it for a few more chapters anyway. Occasionally, I'll be pleasantly surprised and end up finishing anyway. Now, I've admitted before that I'm really bad about leaving reviews. I'm doing better, because I really think reviews help me to stay motivated as a writer, but if the writer isn't responding to my reviews, I end up making them fewer and farther between-- or maybe stop all together. I think the dialogue with the writer is part of what makes leaving reviews fun.
As far as the question about what to do when you stop reading, I think it depends on how well you know the writer. If it's someone that you're somewhat comfortable with because you've had an ongoing dialogue, I think it's perfectly fine to say, "I'm not reading any more because, ________. " Of course, if the reason is, oh, the writing sucks, I think that may be better left unsaid. This is one of the reasons I tend to be a little inconsistent with leaving reviews on the stories I'm not 100% committed to finishing. I'd hate to be leaving reviews for every chapter then just all of a sudden stop with no explanation at all. As a writer, that kind of thing hurts, even if it's not personal.
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I don't think I ever whined on Twitter. I just feel bad when I tweet that I made an update because I don't want people to read it only because I put a link and they clicked not knowing what it was. I'm weird, I know. LOL
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I'm way behind, so you'll probably see a lot of posts from me!
When you decide to use song lyrics, quotes or anything else as a header for a chapter, do you tend to pick that first and then write the chapter around it or after the chapter is written do you go in search of the best lyrics, quotes etc... that would best fit what you just wrote?
I don't think I've ever used lyrics or quotes as a header for a chapter, but I think if I did, I'd write the chapter first and then find something which fits.
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When you read something new, do you review right away or wait until you're ready to commit to reading the entire thing before you review? If you do review right away, do you then feel an obligation to see the story through even if you don't enjoy it? Do you ever go into the story and in a review explain why you stopped reading?
I review right away if I like the first chapter. I don't feel obligated to carry on reading and won't carry on if I don't like the story. But if I've read the first few chapters and enjoyed them, then I'll carry on reading until the end. I might not read as it's posted because sometimes I lose track, but I'll go back to it and read a load in one go eventually (I have a few like this currently). I would never tell someone why I stopped reading, but it would have nothing to do with the writing and more my own personal taste.
As a writer, Do you prefer anyone who read your stuff reviewed even if they just suddenly disappear and if they do just suddenly disappear, do you ever find yourself wondering if they just stopped reviewing but are still reading? Would you like it if someone came into your story and explained why they stopped reading or do think that might hinder your writing and make you doubt yourself?
If someone stops reviewing then I just think that the story isn't their thing, I can't please everyone. I wouldn't like someone to explain why, it would be awful to see a review saying "Hey Steph, I stopped reading because your story is crap and I hated where it was going" lol.
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How do you feel about cliff hangers? Do you enjoy reading stories with them or writing them? Or do you generally like things resolved at the end of chapters?
I love a good cliffhanger! I might say things like "noooo you can't leave it like that" but I say that out of love for the story.
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I used "Just One Kiss" in a story, and had Nick using it as a pick-up line. I also like to use songs as story titles. Even if they don't make an appearance in the stories themselves, they might have some sort of relation to the story line, and not just with song fics.
I like to use songs or lyrics as story titles too, not just BSB songs either. I try to pick something that is relevant to my story.
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I don't think I ever whined on Twitter. I just feel bad when I tweet that I made an update because I don't want people to read it only because I put a link and they clicked not knowing what it was. I'm weird, I know. LOL
Oh, don't worry about that! I think we all use twitter as a way to say we updated. I think we're referring more to people who tweet about the same update a thousand times lol
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Don't really feel I can give anyone tips for writing what I write
Neither can I!
But I will say, write for yourself, not for the reviews :)
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I don't tend to review until I'm committed. Now, that being said, I will sometimes go ahead and review after a first chapter because I can already tell I'm going to really like following the story. If said story starts to go in a direction that's not really my cup of tea, I'll stick with it for a few more chapters anyway. Occasionally, I'll be pleasantly surprised and end up finishing anyway. Now, I've admitted before that I'm really bad about leaving reviews. I'm doing better, because I really think reviews help me to stay motivated as a writer, but if the writer isn't responding to my reviews, I end up making them fewer and farther between-- or maybe stop all together. I think the dialogue with the writer is part of what makes leaving reviews fun.
As far as the question about what to do when you stop reading, I think it depends on how well you know the writer. If it's someone that you're somewhat comfortable with because you've had an ongoing dialogue, I think it's perfectly fine to say, "I'm not reading any more because, ________. " Of course, if the reason is, oh, the writing sucks, I think that may be better left unsaid. This is one of the reasons I tend to be a little inconsistent with leaving reviews on the stories I'm not 100% committed to finishing. I'd hate to be leaving reviews for every chapter then just all of a sudden stop with no explanation at all. As a writer, that kind of thing hurts, even if it's not personal.
This is a good point too. I think the better you know someone, the easier it is to let them know why you stopped and I think in almost all cases it has absolutely nothing to do with the writing but more the personal taste because I know I wouldn't even bother to click on it, if I knew the writing was bad and honestly sometimes you can just tell by the way the summary is formed.
And I am with you! I love it when the writer responds to reviews. Sometimes I enjoy getting an author response from one of my reviews then I do getting an actual review. LOL! I don't feel the least bit guilty when I stop reading a story if the author doesn't take the time to respond to what I say.
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Oh, don't worry about that! I think we all use twitter as a way to say we updated. I think we're referring more to people who tweet about the same update a thousand times lol
I know but I'm weird. lol
And I am with you! I love it when the writer responds to reviews. Sometimes I enjoy getting an author response from one of my reviews then I do getting an actual review. LOL! I don't feel the least bit guilty when I stop reading a story if the author doesn't take the time to respond to what I say.
I agree. I think it's a matter of education, the reader had taken its time to read and actually reviewing (and not the simple "Update!") so I think it's fair that the writer takes a little bit of time to reply.
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I hate seeing Twitter posts going on about reviews and posting over and over about their new chapter. One tweet to say you've posted a new story/chapter should be enough really.
I'm useless at promoting myself so never tweet about my stories.
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I sometimes forget to tweet about an update but I almost always remember to update my thread here. I just know me and know if I don't do it the second I update, I completely forget! LOL!
That's also why I respond to reviews pretty much as soon as I get them because if I shut the email and move on to something else, I will forget!
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LOL Mare I'm the opposite! I always tweet about my updates but I forget to update my thread here.
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but if the writer isn't responding to my reviews, I end up making them fewer and farther between-- or maybe stop all together. I think the dialogue with the writer is part of what makes leaving reviews fun.
I am the same way! That's the only time I will continue reading but stop reviewing, is if the author doesn't even acknowledge my reviews. That tells me she either isn't bothering to read them, doesn't care, or is just rude, so why waste my time writing them? I don't review stories because reviewing itself is fun. I review because 1) it's polite, and 2) like you said, the dialogue back and forth is fun. And sometimes I genuinely need to gush or scream or react in some way after reading something, and a review is a good way to get all the feelings out LOL. But if I don't think the author's going to read it or care, I'll just save it for Twitter.
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^ See, that would and most times does turn me off reading the story completely, even if I was enjoying it, if I think the author is a giant tool, I have a hard time wanting to care about the story at all lol
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Sorry I haven't been around much....been so busy lately. I need to play catch up on here and reading.
I have stopped reading some authors because they do not respond to reviews ir they say if a chapter gets no reviews they wont update. This always irks me.
About the twitter stuff, I hope I'm not the one being annoying. Sometimes I just get excited. I'll try not to talk about my chapters there anymore.
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^ See, that would and most times does turn me off reading the story completely, even if I was enjoying it, if I think the author is a giant tool, I have a hard time wanting to care about the story at all lol
I won't stop reading a story I've already started if I'm genuinely enjoying it, but it would dissuade me from wanting to read more from that author in the future.
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I hate the "I expect x amount of reviews before an update" threats! So annoying.
Tracy, being excited doesn't bother me. I get excited on twitter too and post that I'm writing or enjoying what I'm writing.
It's the "oh, no one has reviewed, :(" tweets that I was specifically talking about that bother me, no matter who they come from. Like I said, I'm sure I'm not innocent in that either but I do try to curb it.
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I wasn't talking about you either, Tracy. Really if any of you bothered me that much on twitter I'd just unfollow your asses so as long as I'm still following you, you haven't' annoyed me yet. Congrats! LOL
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I apologize to anyone if I sounded snarky. I was going through a bit this morning, one of my friends attempted suicide last night and I am a bit emotional.
Leads me to a question...do any real life events ever hinder your writing, or is it more of a release when you are not having a good day? When you're down, do you write, read or just avoid fanfiction together
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I apologize to anyone if I sounded snarky. I was going through a bit this morning, one of my friends attempted suicide last night and I am a bit emotional.
Leads me to a question...do any real life events ever hinder your writing, or is it more of a release when you are not having a good day? When you're down, do you write, read or just avoid fanfiction together
I'm sorry about your friend. :bighug: :bighug:
As for the question. I'm an emotional writer. Writing as always been my release/escape so, when I'm down, I project my sadness/feeling depressed/hurt on my characters (mostly Brian lol) to feel better.
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I apologize to anyone if I sounded snarky. I was going through a bit this morning, one of my friends attempted suicide last night and I am a bit emotional.
Leads me to a question...do any real life events ever hinder your writing, or is it more of a release when you are not having a good day? When you're down, do you write, read or just avoid fanfiction together
I'm sorry to hear that! And actually with all the crap and drama going on my life, writing has been a big help as a distraction. I think maybe that's why I'm a writing machine because when I take the time to stop and think, I turn into an emotional wreck.
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Sorry to hear about your friend, Tracy.
It depends on what the real life events are, I suppose. For instance this week at work has been incredibly busy, so each day I come home so tired that I don't have the brainpower left to write. Sometimes if bad things are going on in other aspects of my life, writing can be a good escape, I've definitely done that before.
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Tracy, I'm sorry about your friend. I hope she's going to be okay.
I usually can't write when I'm stressed out or upset about something, but if I'm able to focus, it can be a good way to either channel my feelings or distract me from them. A friend of mine from work was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer while I was halfway through writing Curtain Call, and I wondered how that would affect my ability to write that story because it suddenly hit close to home, but I think it actually helped me deal with my feelings about it and maybe even helped me prepare myself for her death because I just channeled everything into Cary. My friend died the day after I posted the end of CC, and I think that was a relief because even though I knew it was coming, it would have been hard to still have to finish the story after it actually happened in real life.
As far as distractions go, I started Secrets of the Heart one weekend when I was upset about something related to work, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it that weekend, so I just needed a way to take my mind off it, and starting a new story totally worked! It's one of the few times that has happened. Like Steph said, writing can be a good escape.
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The writer's dilemma question:
Due to the recent disabling of the review function on the site, I figured this was the perfect time to ask this question because I know as a writer I am having a hard time lol
Now that reviews are no longer an option, will you still continue to update your stories? Or do you plan on waiting until the review function is up and running again?
Be honest! Because I know... I know... we write for ourselves blah blah blah... and we do. I have written 16 chapters of my new one just for me but the second half of that sentence is but we post to get a response from the people reading it!
I am kind of torn what I want to do. A big part of the joy of posting a chapter is the reaction the reader's have to it especially when it's a big chapter. You know, we've all had them. The ones where you can't wait to see what your readers will say when they read it?
I feel like the one I was going to post today is one of those and it'll kill me if and when I don't get any reaction lol Now that I have hit the meaty part of this story there are more chapters like that than not, so honestly, I might wait to post until the review function comes back.
I still might go ahead and post anyway, but it will bother me not to know the reactions the chapters are getting. I mean people can go into the update threads and review there but when you consider how few people take the time to review with the box right there... lol Anyway, just being completely honest about things. I hope you guys are too. What you say might help me make my decision.
Just for the love of GOD don't say I only write for myself and don't care about the reviews because you all care about reviews! LOL that drives me bananas! I have seen everyone mention reviews, even people who claim not to care! So just quit it!
Just so you know, if you do continue to post your stories I will take the time to leave you reviews in your update threads a long as you have them! Because that's how I roll!
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I'm torn too and thank God I'm not the only one.
Though I already know that, with my pace, by the time I will be able to post the chapter the review option would be up again. lol But yes, in a way I thought about not posting without being able to know if the chapter will be well received.
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I'm still reading! When the review function comes back I'll go and review too :)
By the time I get around to writing anything, I'm sure this review issue will be long forgotten. But I would still post (if I had anything to post).
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You are not alone, Cinzia I'm sure most of us feel like this. I am just curious what everyone plans on doing. LOL
And Steph you need to get your mojo back! LOL
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I do need to Mare, I don't know where it's gone :( Maybe I need some excitement in my life LOL
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LOL you and me both!
I hate when that happens. Hopefully it'll come back soon. Maybe watching some BSB interviews etc... would help.
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If I was writing hardcore on a story like some of you (Mare) are right now, I'd probably keep updating and hope that people would come into my thread to leave feedback or just review on my site. But since I'm not, I probably won't update again until reviews are back (assuming we're not talking months here). I still have a few unposted chapters on a couple of stories, but since I don't know when I will have time to write again, I'm not in any big hurry to post them.
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I will still post my chapters and hope people take time to review on my update thread, comment pn twitter, something. I really do enjoy feedback because it motivates me. Hopefully it will be working agaIn soon.
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Oh, how I wish I had a good answer to this question. On one hand, I'm a big fan of getting reviews. On the other, it's still nice to see the read count go up. It would probably be wise of me to get back ahead a few chapters on my current story (and maybe work on some others!) before I post any more updates, so depending on how long this lasts, that's probably what I'm going to do for now. I had never really thought of using an update thread for reviews, so I may set one of those up now! My story was the first on the most recent page both when the site went down a couple days ago and when reviews were disabled this morning. See? All my fault somehow! lol. I think (or at least hope!) that maybe I've missed out on a few reviews because of that.
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I hope you saw my review! I left you a really long one this morning and then when I hit send it didn't go through so I left ANOTHER long one and then about ten minutes later the reviews were disabled. So on my third attempt I'm just going with "Great job!" LOL
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I did! And oddly enough, as I just explained in my new update thread, I was able to respond to it by clicking on the link in my e-mail. Very weird. And also, I apologize for any new site snafus that may arise now that I've been causing trouble again. ;)
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I'm not sure what else could possibly happen but when it does at least we'll know who to blame! LOL
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I have been busy this week at work with overtime, and moving at the end of this month so my writing has been put on hold anyway.
I was actually going to post another new chapter of Cruel Angel since I'm pretty far ahead in the posting, but with the way AC's been lately, I've held off. The reason I post is obviously to get comments, I wouldn't post if I didn't care about people reading. I'll definitely keep writing it but I might wait to start posting again until the site is back to being fully functional.
It's just irritating to have only a half functional site. Also I saw in one of the other threads that you can still link to reviews, just not post new reviews. This just proves me to how badly and half-assed eFiction is coded, that disabling reviews doesn't truly disable reviews. *end programmer rant* lol
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The reviews are a HUGE part of the writing process for me. As some of you know, I post as I write and I don't usually storyboard the entire story, like I have the general idea mapped out but a lot of things I leave up to the characters and readers as I go. The reviews a lot of times help direct which direction the story will move in. It also helps me correct inadvertent character flaws. Plus, it's just freaking awesome seeing everyone react like crazy to the cliffhangers.. ...
I know it sounds insane, but I'd seriously be taking a creative hit without the reviews and feedback.
I already post on MyConfession.n et and accept reviews via email and twitter (@writerbrat) to keep the lines open to get as much feedback as possible to each of my stories.
I guess I could make an update thread here on the forum, but the way I go on update binges that would be much harder to keep up with for both me and the readers. It could be tough keeping track of what they're responding to, and harder to keep spoilers from happening on other readers... For example, someone's read up to chapter 10 and wants to post a review, logs in and sees the review of someone who's read through chapter 30 and the huge cliffhanger's resolved by then and they know how everything's gonna turn out! And let's face it, my stories ALWAYS have a TON of spoilers. The threat of spoilers might keep people from posting reviews until they've finished the entire story. And like I said, feedback throughout is very important to my writing style.
I mean I'll make an update thread, but I really liked the way AC's review options work. Having the responses in line with the portion of the story that they are about is a great way to keep them organized and avoid spoilers since readers post and it only goes to other responses to the same chapter, not the motherboard of reviews.
I also don't see how posting reviews on the forum saves space compared to posting it inline. Doesn't it generate the same amount of bytes on the host server?
SAVE THE REVIEWS!!!!
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I missed the review outage I think. I would probably go back and forth whether to update without the review functionality. In the end I would likely update since I get so few reviews in the first place and I would want my readers to have something to read.
I don't tweet about my updates as often anymore but I still usually do twice a day since Twitter feedsget full. I also try to post here.
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I honestly had no idea how to answer till I had an update ready for the first time in forever. Then I realized I was so excited to update I didn't care if the review feature was down or not. I wanted to share it and knew that while harder, some would find a way to get some feedback my way. And I found the thread worked just fine for me.
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In the end, it was the briefest outage we've had compared to other outages LOL
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New question!
I just read this article written by Anna Gunn, the actress who plays Skyler White on Breaking Bad. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/opinion/i-have-a-character-issue.html?_r=0 In it, she talks about the widespread hatred of her character and similar female characters on other shows. You can read the article even if you've never seen Breaking Bad; it explains the issue without giving away any major spoilers (other than the overall premise of the show).
Reading it made me think of the polarizing effect female characters tend to have in our fandom. Have any of you written a female character who was hated by your readers? (Villainesses don't count, since they're supposed to be hated.) Do you think that hatred was justified, or were you surprised by it? Have you ever felt like your readers' reaction towards one of your characters spilled over to affect their feelings about the overall story? As a reader, have you ever felt that way about someone else's character, and did it affect your feelings toward the whole story?
Just wanted to get us talking again! :)
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Yay! New question! I read that article when it was first posted and I loved it. I never thought to tie it into this though, smart thinking, Julie! Although I probably didn't think about it because I really don't write many female characters.
As a writer, I don't think I've ever had anyone hate my female characters because in honesty, I don't really think any of my female characters were the least bit memorable. I know it's sad to admit, but it's true. I suck at writing females, except maybe when they are a little nuts or moms. I think I'm pretty good with moms. I would almost wish someone would hate one of my female characters because maybe that would mean I gave them substance? lol
As a reader there have been many females I know people loved and I have not. Probably because once again, since it's BSB fanfic and not random girl fanfic, I tend to be incredibly picky when it comes to a girl who I'm supposed to care about. If I feel like they are trying to steal the thunder away from my boys or if they are overly weak, whiny, or annoying, I am easily turned off. I bet if some of these characters were to stand on their own and had nothing at all to do with BSB, I'd feel differently. I actually enjoy reading strong female characters independently, in a novel setting.
And honestly, yes in those cases where I did not enjoy the female, it did factor into my overall enjoyment of the story to the point where I would skim all the female's parts which in turn makes you miss out on possible vital information and plot.
I can also say though, that many of the stories where I have not liked the female have been incredibly well written and beautiful overall and I have also let the authors know that as well. Sometimes not so much...
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Let's take Julie's question and expand it to the actual male characters as well, in particular BSB or 1D or NKOTB or whoever else you guys write about.
Have you ever been surprised by people's reactions to the way you are writing the guys? Has anyone ever told you, your portrayal of them is inaccurate or too disturbing or any other thing that made you say "Woah!" lol
Have you ever read a story where you find you aren't enjoying the portrayal of one or all of the boys so much that you have stopped reading? What was it exactly that made you stop? The subject matter, the boy being too out of character, too boring etc?
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To answer the first part, people on 1DFF hated Brittany from Forever Like This, and the prequel story (which was purely 1D), I Wish. It was a basic love triangle premise - Brittany was dating Harry and Niall had this creepy obsession with her... and people hated her! It was so funny to me because Brittany, though not perfect, didn't do anything nearly as bad as Niall did in that story, but no one said a bad word about him LOL. That kind of answers the other question as well, but he was king douchebag in that story, going behind Harry's back, kissing and confessing his love to his best friend's girlfriend, and then when she told him no, not leaving her the hell alone.
But people hated Brittany lol
Some readers were not cool with how I portrayed Niall in other ways in that story. They didn't have a problem with him being completely selfish in the Brittany situation, but they did have a problem with me establishing his character as kind of womanizing.
I stopped reading most 1D fic except for a few authors who I know will write quality stuff because of this issue - I can't stand it when the guys are out of character and super one dimensional. There are a few BSB stories that I have read where the guys don't act like themselves - I find this with Nick in particular, but that could also just be because I mostly read Nick-centered fic. But for Nick to stop being womanizing and settle down, I find that I need there to be a reason for that. I can't picture him as anything but the nerdy, vulgar popstar I see him as in real life. For me to enjoy a story and see Nick differently, I need a transformation from that to happen within the story, not just be there right at the beginning. I need to watch him change from his recognizable self and grow from that as a result of what happens to him in the story.
I wasn't thinking of any story in particular in that wall of text lol, just the endless Nick stories I have clicked on in my life, because I shamelessly love Nick romance lol.
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Let's take Julie's question and expand it to the actual male characters as well, in particular BSB or 1D or NKOTB or whoever else you guys write about.
Have you ever been surprised by people's reactions to the way you are writing the guys? Has anyone ever told you, your portrayal of them is inaccurate or too disturbing or any other thing that made you say "Woah!" lol
Have you ever read a story where you find you aren't enjoying the portrayal of one or all of the boys so much that you have stopped reading? What was it exactly that made you stop? The subject matter, the boy being too out of character, too boring etc?
No one's ever told me my portrayal of the guys was inaccurate, but sometimes when I think about or even go back to read my old stories, I think it myself LOL. It's such a subjective thing because they are all real people with many layers beyond their stage personas, and they have also grown and changed a lot over the past twenty years, so depending on what era you're writing about and the situation you put them in, there are many different ways to write the guys that are all believable. That said, I think I used to draw on my own feelings too much and make them more feminine in the way I portrayed them - too romantic, too angsty and emotional, and so on. I think I do a better job at writing them as grown men now, maybe because I'm also an adult and know grown men, whereas when I started writing I was a melodramatic teenage girl who only interacted with hormonal high school boys outside of the men in my family LOL. I think character development, like any other writing skill, gets easier with experience.
I have definitely read stories where I haven't enjoyed the way the guys were portrayed. I try not to let it bother me if the rest of the story is well-written and entertaining, but it is a turn-off. I remember reading a story for an award or something way back in the day in which Nick was a rapist, and I hated that. Like Steph said, if there is a valid reason in the story for them to go out of character, that's fine, but I don't like when they're completely different for no reason.
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As far as female characters go, I haven't written any that were universally hated, but I think the most polarizing one I've written is Claire in the Broken series. Claire was well liked or at least accepted in Broken, when she was just a supporting character who was introduced slowly, but after I upped her to main character status in By My Side, some of my readers turned on her. I would get emails ending in "Kill Claire!" - and they weren't from Mare! LOL I don't think it happened until after she left Nick, and I'm not sure if it was because she hurt him or because she went out of character to do it. I'd prefer to think it was the latter, but like Steph insinuated with her Brittany/Niall example, I do think there is sort of a double standard when it comes to female characters vs. our boys. Nick hurt Claire (and went out of character) first, and no one turned against him. As long as they're not out raping women, I think the guys can pretty much get away with anything (including serial killings) and still be liked, whereas female characters walk a fine line.
For me, I think it's less about whether or not the female character is supporting her man and more about whether or not she's doing dumb things. To reference Breaking Bad, I am one of those viewers who roots for Walt and does not like Skyler, but I did not turn on her until she started doing dumb things. I really liked her in the first couple of seasons, until the Ted Beneke storyline happened, and that's when she lost me. When she jumped in the pool, I wanted her to drown. I don't like women (especially strong women) who suddenly get weak and start doing dumb things. For that reason, I can understand why some of my readers turned on Claire.
I will only read romance in which I like the female lead, so annoying female characters acting dumb is a deal-breaker for me. I have definitely stopped reading stories because I could not stand the female lead.
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I stopped reading most 1D fic except for a few authors who I know will write quality stuff because of this issue - I can't stand it when the guys are out of character and super one dimensional. There are a few BSB stories that I have read where the guys don't act like themselves - I find this with Nick in particular, but that could also just be because I mostly read Nick-centered fic. But for Nick to stop being womanizing and settle down, I find that I need there to be a reason for that. I can't picture him as anything but the nerdy, vulgar popstar I see him as in real life. For me to enjoy a story and see Nick differently, I need a transformation from that to happen within the story, not just be there right at the beginning. I need to watch him change from his recognizable self and grow from that as a result of what happens to him in the story.
I wasn't thinking of any story in particular in that wall of text lol, just the endless Nick stories I have clicked on in my life, because I shamelessly love Nick romance lol.
I love that you said this, I think it's so interesting because as a reader, I would find all those qualities out of his character because when I read, it's never from the romance angle, it's from the interaction he has with the other guys so when I'm writing/reading there's never really a reason to portray him as any of those things you mentioned.
I think it's so interesting that depending on our perceptions of the guys, something that might seem so normal for one person may seem so WTF? to another. LOL I LOVE that!
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As far as female characters go, I haven't written any that were universally hated, but I think the most polarizing one I've written is Claire in the Broken series. Claire was well liked or at least accepted in Broken, when she was just a supporting character who was introduced slowly, but after I upped her to main character status in By My Side, some of my readers turned on her. I would get emails ending in "Kill Claire!" - and they weren't from Mare! LOL I don't think it happened until after she left Nick, and I'm not sure if it was because she hurt him or because she went out of character to do it. I'd prefer to think it was the latter, but like Steph insinuated with her Brittany/Niall example, I do think there is sort of a double standard when it comes to female characters vs. our boys. Nick hurt Claire (and went out of character) first, and no one turned against him. As long as they're not out raping women, I think the guys can pretty much get away with anything (including serial killings) and still be liked, whereas female characters walk a fine line.
For me, I think it's less about whether or not the female character is supporting her man and more about whether or not she's doing dumb things. To reference Breaking Bad, I am one of those viewers who roots for Walt and does not like Skyler, but I did not turn on her until she started doing dumb things. I really liked her in the first couple of seasons, until the Ted Beneke storyline happened, and that's when she lost me. When she jumped in the pool, I wanted her to drown. I don't like women (especially strong women) who suddenly get weak and start doing dumb things. For that reason, I can understand why some of my readers turned on Claire.
I will only read romance in which I like the female lead, so annoying female characters acting dumb is a deal-breaker for me. I have definitely stopped reading stories because I could not stand the female lead.
I felt the same way about Skylar although I never really was a full fledged fan of hers, she really didn't start bothering me until she decided to stick with Walt and send the kids away. That pool scene annoyed the crap out of me as did the way she acted in the last episode they showed last Sunday. I agree with the strong turned weak female character. I hate when I feel like I'm really enjoying someone and they suddenly get all dumb! It annoys me and yay to ME not being the one who wanted Claire dead!! I have always liked her but then again I didn't read By My Side. LOL
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Let's take Julie's question and expand it to the actual male characters as well, in particular BSB or 1D or NKOTB or whoever else you guys write about.
Have you ever been surprised by people's reactions to the way you are writing the guys? Has anyone ever told you, your portrayal of them is inaccurate or too disturbing or any other thing that made you say "Woah!" lol
Have you ever read a story where you find you aren't enjoying the portrayal of one or all of the boys so much that you have stopped reading? What was it exactly that made you stop? The subject matter, the boy being too out of character, too boring etc?
Aside from the rude comment that I should write things more appropriate, the only time that a comment had made me say "woah" was about this little short inspired by a Nick's videochat where a fan asked him if he missed Brian. Of course my story was slash and this girl (the same of the first comment) told me that I misunderstood Nick's reply. I was like "so? What the hell do you want from me?" LOL
But, in reality, no one has ever said me that my Nick and Brian were out of characters or such. Actually, most of the time, they asked me if I know Brian because of the way I describe him. lol
As for the second question, I usually hate stories that made the guys look bad only for the sake of the story and not because of certain reasons. Usually, this happens in romance and romantic triangle, where one of them has to be the bad guy so the other would look like the hero. LOL And, usually, I always end up loving the bad guy.
It might appear strange, since I'm not a Nick's girl, but I absolutely hate stories where the author make him look like an idiot, stupid or really really childish. I love making fun of him, especially his love for Google (lol) but some sotries I was like: "He is 18 year old, why are you making him look like a ten year old?" O.o As for Brian, I usually stop reading a story where he's the jerk of the situation without giving him a reason for his behaviour.
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To answer Julie's original question, I don't think I've ever had any readers (at least the ones who actually give feedback) not like one of my female characters. Quite the opposite, actually. I had a lot of people reading FILA tell me how much they really liked Annie. I actually worry that any new readers for Run are having a hard time liking Annie because they just don't "know" her the way the FILA readers do, because the previous story is the one that really developed this character. In Forever, I can see that some readers simply don't care for the more minor female characters, because they know the narrator female character so well. If anyone doesn't like that character, they've not told me about it. I've already discussed the fact that I do like to write more "female-centered" stories, so I think it's important that the female character IS someone who is likeable. In my own reading, I have a hard time liking female characters who are really needy, too forgiving (or too unforgiving) of the Boys. I hate those characters who become sort -of a victim to one of them-- who will give up her own morals or beliefs to satisfy the needs/wants of her guy.
As far as writing or reading the Boys out of character, I think I am still trying to figure how to write them, myself. I feel like I keep them in character most of the time, but I'm still working on that. I've said before that I tend to lean towards female characters because I think I can do a better job of characterizing a fictional female than I can characterizing one of the guys. That being said, I can only think of one time that a reader commented on a particular scene and insinuated that I was writing my Backstreet Boy out of character. That was Mare during the reading challenge, and she said something like "I have a hard time believing that he is more worried about X than he is about Y (the more pressing issue at the time)." I was actually really taken aback by it at the time, because that wasn't my intent at all in the particular scene she was reading. Though, looking back and re-reading, I could definitely see how she interpreted it that way.
Which brings me to another question: Have you ever been surprised by a reader's interpretation of something in your story? Maybe they read into something way more than you intended, or they just got a different vibe from the story than you were intending to give off? Did you modify your story after that feedback (if you were still in the process of writing) to better explain said situation, or try to explain in your response to the review, or neither and just let them interpret it as they interpreted it? I think one cool thing about writing /reading in general is that there can be so many different viewpoints on a single piece.
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I think it's so interesting that depending on our perceptions of the guys, something that might seem so normal for one person may seem so WTF? to another. LOL I LOVE that!
That's so true! That's why I said the whole portrayal question is so subjective, because the guys have so many layers that we all tend to focus on different sides of them. You tend to portray Nick as the little brother, whereas Steph tends to focus on him as a romantic partner. That's definitely going to result in two different portrayals that are both still believable.
I think we've had a question similar to this, but this seems like a logical follow-up:
How do you usually portray the guys you write about most? Have you ever intentionally taken them "out of character" over the course of a story, and if so, what caused them to change?
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Which brings me to another question: Have you ever been surprised by a reader's interpretation of something in your story? Maybe they read into something way more than you intended, or they just got a different vibe from the story than you were intending to give off? Did you modify your story after that feedback (if you were still in the process of writing) to better explain said situation, or try to explain in your response to the review, or neither and just let them interpret it as they interpreted it? I think one cool thing about writing /reading in general is that there can be so many different viewpoints on a single piece.
Absolutely. Usually when this happens, I do try to explain my intentions in my response to their feedback, but I don't mind readers interpreting something differently. If I'm still writing the story, I will try to clear up any misunderstandi ngs that I want to be cleared up in future chapters, but if it was just that my readers had a different take on something than I did, that's fine. Fiction, like any art form, is open to interpretation, and that's cool. And sometimes, when I step back and look at a story as a whole after I've finished writing it, my own interpretation changes.
Like with the Claire thing... When I was writing BMS, I worked so hard to justify the decisions my characters made, to slowly build the tension until they hit their breaking points, but looking back, I can see now that despite all my effort, I had to take them out of character to make what I wanted to happen happen. In Broken, I had established Nick and Claire as two characters who would do anything for each other and be there for each other through anything, but in BMS, I made them abandon each other so that I could break them up... just so that I could eventually get them back together in the end. I can see why that made some of my readers mad. It should have been a character-driven story, but I let my intended plot drive the characters' actions instead of their own feelings. I learned from that, though, and I think that's partly why I tend to struggle with plot-driven stories (like Guilty Roads) nowadays.
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Have you ever been surprised by a reader's interpretation of something in your story? Maybe they read into something way more than you intended, or they just got a different vibe from the story than you were intending to give off? Did you modify your story after that feedback (if you were still in the process of writing) to better explain said situation, or try to explain in your response to the review, or neither and just let them interpret it as they interpreted it? I think one cool thing about writing /reading in general is that there can be so many different viewpoints on a single piece.
Wow. I'm really having trouble wording what I want to say for this answer. It keeps coming out sounding wrong-ish! Don't you hate when that happens?
Yes, I am sometimes surprised by how people interpret certain things that take place in a story. I think the read way more into things thing happens to me the most. When I see that happening, it does make me consider the possibility of exploring that avenue (only if I was still updating the story though)
I know for me, because of the nature of how I write, I always encourage my readers to ask me questions if they get confused because I want to make sure what I'm saying is making sense to more than just me. If I see a lot of people asking the same thing or interpreting it differently than I had intended, it makes me realize I wasn't clear with my descriptions and for that I'm thankful for the feedback and I will make changes. Although it sucks when the story is already complete.
Other times what I find intriguing is how, after laying all of these complex plot points out, in feedback it's something so small and insignificant that the reader will bring up that makes me sometimes :shrug: It's like I just admitted that AJ was a psycho killer clown who ate babies but uh yes...Brian did wear purple shoes with orange pants. LOL
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How do you usually portray the guys you write about most? Have you ever intentionally taken them "out of character" over the course of a story, and if so, what caused them to change?
When I write the guys, I tend to write them in relation to each other so how they are portrayed relies heavily on the time period I'm writing about. Howie and Kevin never really seem to change for me, personality wise no matter what year we are talking about. Except my current Kevin is a lot more mellow than younger Kevin. Howie in my world is always, loving, caring and sympathetic and Kevin is always in control, the problem solver and looks out for everyone.
The other three however, tend to change based on when we're talking. Brian's changes are slightest. If we're talking younger Brian, he's more playful and goofy versus the married with kid version who I make more serious and business minded. Then there's AJ pre rehab and post rehab, but probably the one that changes the most depending on the year is Nick. Young Nick is a whiny baby, teenager to early 20's Nick is an angry mess late 20's Nick is very Emo and self destructive and then current Nick has his crap together.
I very rarely take them out of character, at least for what I consider to be out of character. I just can't channel them when they aren't them. LOL
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One more question then it's back to school work for me. :( lol
This is from what Julie said in her last post.
When you write, do you tend to write more plot driven stories or character driven stories? Which do you prefer as a reader?
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When you write, do you tend to write more plot driven stories or character driven stories? Which do you prefer as a reader?
I think I used to write more plot-driven stories and am moving towards being a more character-driven writer, but both as a reader and a writer, I think my favorite type of story is a plot-driven story guided by strong characters. Mare's new story Hope Is The Last Thing Ever Lost is a good example of one. It's plot-driven in that a van accident is the catalyst for the whole plot to unfold, and there are a lot of outside forces (a crazy hermit, hungry wolves) affecting the characters, but there is a lot of emphasis on those characters' feelings and relationships with each other as well. The way the characters react to the situation they're thrown into is believable based on the type of people they are and their relationships with each other, and their decisions seem to be based on what would make sense for those characters in that situation, not necessarily just what Mare, the goddess of her story world, wanted to happen.
I like plot-driven stories because I like action, and I like to make bad things happen to my characters that are beyond their control, but I want them to react in believable ways and change as a result of their circumstances, and that is where the character-driven element comes in for me.
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I like plot-driven stories because I like action, and I like to make bad things happen to my characters that are beyond their control, but I want them to react in believable ways and change as a result of their circumstances, and that is where the character-driven element comes in for me.
This.
I usually have a basic plot, I know where the story starts and how it should end. During the story, there are some elements and things that have to happen but, aside those, it's how the characters react and deal with what happens to them that lead towards the end of the story. So I guess it's both.
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I like that! Mare, the goddess of her own story world! LOL I would like to be the goddess of my own world world as well!
Thanks, for using Hope as an example. :)
I do like to write plot driven stories but my character development is also a huge part of the storytelling for me. I feel like you can't really have one without the other when you come from the plot driven side, whereas maybe the other way around it might be easier to live without a plot and just depend on characters.
When I read, it's all about the plot for me, but again the characters need substance or even if it's the best idea ever, it won't work for me.
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Again I am having wording issues. WTF? LOL Nothing is coming out right today.
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I like that! Mare, the goddess of her own story world! LOL I would like to be the goddess of my own world world as well!
LOL That is how I feel about writing fiction. We are all the gods and goddesses of our own fictional worlds; we create them, and we create the characters (or, in the case of BSB fanfic, our own fictional versions of real people) in them, but we (should) also give those characters free will. That means that while we can make both good and bad things happen to them, we have to let them decide how to respond. That is what strikes the balance between plot and character. We may create the catalyst that gets the story started, but the characters should be the ones to dictate how the rest of their story unfolds. We can guide the characters one way or the other when they're not sure what to do, but we should never force them to do something that goes against every grain of their being.
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I agree!
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LOL That is how I feel about writing fiction. We are all the gods and goddesses of our own fictional worlds; we create them, and we create the characters (or, in the case of BSB fanfic, our own fictional versions of real people) in them, but we (should) also give those characters free will. That means that while we can make both good and bad things happen to them, we have to let them decide how to respond. That is what strikes the balance between plot and character. We may create the catalyst that gets the story started, but the characters should be the ones to dictate how the rest of their story unfolds. We can guide the characters one way or the other when they're not sure what to do, but we should never force them to do something that goes against every grain of their being.
I love this post. Every single word.
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Thanks! :)
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Have you ever found yourself using the same phrases over and over again or the same descriptions? What are some of the things you are notorious for overusing? I ask this because I have had to delete the words "Once again" about a thousand times per chapter and almost always I'll still find at least one or more in every chapter I write! Now I know you'll all be looking for it! :( lol
Which boy if any do you find the hardest to channel? For that one, do you find yourself just not writing them as much as the others? How do you get over that block?
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I use the phrase "sick sense of deja vu" (and variations) a lot. I realized, in searching for that phrase in some of my stories, that I use variations of "So-and-so got a sick feeling in the pit of their stomach" even more often! That was the one that came to mind, but I'm sure there are others.
I think each story has its own set of overused words and phrases. In Undead, I know I repeat a lot of my zombie descriptions.. . mottled skin, skeletal hands, gnashing teeth (I love the word "gnashing," and that's the only story I really get to use it in), shambling horde, etc. In Broken, it's probably the colorful puke descriptions - there are only so many ways to describe someone vomiting, and I used them all, but I'm sure there are repeats LOL. Between Broken, BMS, and Curtain Call, there's probably a LOT of repeat phrases and descriptions. I know I used the same stupid pun about nicking Nick's head with the razor in both Broken and Curtain Call without realizing it at first. LOL
As far as which boy is hardest to channel... I guess my default answer would be Howie and Kevin, only because I don't really write much about Howie or Kevin. I don't know if it's because they're hard to channel or just because I'm not interested in writing about them. Truthfully, they should be the easiest for me to channel because I think they're most similar to me in terms of personality, especially Kevin. I don't know that any of the boys are necessarily easier for me to channel; I just write about the ones who fit my ideas and the ones I care to write about. With any of them, I try to put myself in their situation and end up tapping into a lot of my own instincts as well.
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I don't know that I can pick out specific overused phrases, although I'm sure there are a lot, but I'm going to say that I'm a total adverb overuser. (i.e.- "he admitted clumsily," "she answered quietly," "he shrugged nonchalantly," etc etc.) It bugs me, but I struggle to describe certain actions without the adverbs. They're not bad, but it's easy to overuse them instead of actually showing what's going on with action words. I'm totally guilty of that.
As far as which guy I have the most trouble channeling, I'm going to say AJ, and that's really evident in my writing. Poor guy doesn't show up a whole lot compared to the others. Why? I'm not sure. He was never really one of my "favorites," and to be honest, I just had a really hard time connecting with him late-90's, early 2000's when he was going through all the drug/alcohol abuse. I also think he had a bit of a an identity crisis at that time, too. Now, he actually seems the most approachable out of all of them, so you'd think I'd gotten over that "writing him," problem, but I just haven't. He's really multi-dimensional, so you could do so much with him as a character-- I just don't. My second answer to this question is actually Nick, which is surprising since he's the main character in three of my four major stories. I think I focus so much on writing "now" Nick as opposed to "then" Nick that I make him a little too mature and serious.
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Which boy if any do you find the hardest to channel? For that one, do you find yourself just not writing them as much as the others? How do you get over that block?
Howie. Poor little and always forgotten Howie. :D I guess it's because I've never really paid attention to him so a lot of times I realize that someone is missing from my stories. Still now I don't know exactly how to describe or what role I'm supposed to give him in my stories.
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I am horrible with the overuse of he and him as well, especially in the new one! I am so used to writing in first person that sometimes coming up with all the added descriptions is tough! LOL
As far as which boy is hardest for me to channel, I would have to agree with you Emily and say AJ. For a guy who should be layered, I tend to have a really difficult time finding those layers to write about. In my head I really only see AJ as this guy who cusses too much and is really girly. I have a hard time portraying him as anything more than that. It's hard for me to ever put him in a hero or lead type role for that reason. He's usually just my comic relief. I sometimes have a hard time with Brian too but I can channel him pretty well depending on who I'm writing with him. When he's alone, he's tough for me.
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I would say AJ. I have such a hard time writing him as anything but an angry, cussing smartass. In my new story I am trying to avoid thar, hopefully I am. I have a problem with Howie as well, I tend to forget him altogether. I guess because it is hard for me to relate to them.
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New question!
I just read this article written by Anna Gunn, the actress who plays Skyler White on Breaking Bad. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/opinion/i-have-a-character-issue.html?_r=0 In it, she talks about the widespread hatred of her character and similar female characters on other shows. You can read the article even if you've never seen Breaking Bad; it explains the issue without giving away any major spoilers (other than the overall premise of the show).
Reading it made me think of the polarizing effect female characters tend to have in our fandom. Have any of you written a female character who was hated by your readers? (Villainesses don't count, since they're supposed to be hated.) Do you think that hatred was justified, or were you surprised by it? Have you ever felt like your readers' reaction towards one of your characters spilled over to affect their feelings about the overall story? As a reader, have you ever felt that way about someone else's character, and did it affect your feelings toward the whole story?
Just wanted to get us talking again! :)
I'm late answering, but yes, I had a female character called Rowena in one of my stories and she was absolutely hated by Ritz lol. Although I don't mind because it was the name she hated and not my story :)
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Let's take Julie's question and expand it to the actual male characters as well, in particular BSB or 1D or NKOTB or whoever else you guys write about.
Have you ever been surprised by people's reactions to the way you are writing the guys? Has anyone ever told you, your portrayal of them is inaccurate or too disturbing or any other thing that made you say "Woah!" lol
Have you ever read a story where you find you aren't enjoying the portrayal of one or all of the boys so much that you have stopped reading? What was it exactly that made you stop? The subject matter, the boy being too out of character, too boring etc?
On one of my Take That stories, one person actually told me that she didn't like the way I'd written Gary and that she wouldn't be reading my story because I made him look like a horrible person (or something like that). But the thing is, I don't see them as being Mr Perfect all the time. I know that Gary has even said of himself that he was ruthless at times. I think the story was even an AU too. Oh well, I didn't lose any sleep over it because I enjoyed writing it at the time.
When reading, I don't care if they are out of character if I'm enjoying the story. The only thing that will stop me reading is if I don't like the story.
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How do you usually portray the guys you write about most? Have you ever intentionally taken them "out of character" over the course of a story, and if so, what caused them to change?
I usually have Kevin as the one in control, the big brother who looks out for everyone. AJ is usually dramatic, Brian is usually in the background, Howie kind of took over from Kevin's role for a while, and Nick is either a mess or a hero depending on what I'm writing.
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Have you ever found yourself using the same phrases over and over again or the same descriptions? What are some of the things you are notorious for overusing? I ask this because I have had to delete the words "Once again" about a thousand times per chapter and almost always I'll still find at least one or more in every chapter I write! Now I know you'll all be looking for it! Sad lol
Which boy if any do you find the hardest to channel? For that one, do you find yourself just not writing them as much as the others? How do you get over that block?
Hmm, I'm not sure what phrases I use a lot. I've never really noticed, but I'm sure there must be something.
I find Brian hardest to write and therefore shove him into the background.
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Hi ladies!
So I have a question...it's kinda weird and I'm not sure I'm going to ask it the right way. Here it goes...
If you were writing a sequal, but you didn't see it going anywhere and you suddenly had a new idea for it. Would you delete it and go with the new idea or would you just leave it alone?
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I kind of ran into that with my FILA sequel, and ended up basically scrapping the original sequel for the new idea, with just a couple elements of the original sequel thrown in. I was able to do that easily because I hadnt started posting anything yet. The way you worded this question makes me think maybe that's not the case for you. Is there any way to maybe make your new idea some kind of big plot twist? It may be confusing to readers if they've already started reading one sequel, then there's a completely different new one. I think it's really hard to keep writing on something you're just not feeling any more, so I totally understand where you're coming from!
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Hi ladies!
So I have a question...it's kinda weird and I'm not sure I'm going to ask it the right way. Here it goes...
If you were writing a sequal, but you didn't see it going anywhere and you suddenly had a new idea for it. Would you delete it and go with the new idea or would you just leave it alone?
I think it depends on like Emily said, if you have already begun posting it or not. If you haven't, then I think changing the direction you were going is fine, but if you have already posted, I think it might be confusing for people reading if you suddenly change what's happening. Unless it's so early on in the story that the primary plot points haven't happened yet.
This is why I'm against the idea of sequels in general unless when you are writing the original you foresee a multiple story arc. I think this tends to happen to a lot of people.
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After seeing what Nijintje posted in the AC confessional, about Nick not being her favorite but her story being about him, I thought this was be a good question.
Do you think people would be able to tell who your favorite BSB is just based on your fanfic writing? Are people ever surprised when you tell them who your favorite BSB is? What about if there is one you aren't particularly fond of? Do you think your writing shows it or do you think you can mask your personal feelings about the guys well enough so people can't tell one way or another?
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My nickname is still giving you trouble, Mare? ;)
As far as answering the question, no, I don't think people can guess who's my favorite. That is, unless you have read "Memories" (please don't, it sucks big time, I just don't have the heart to delete the thing).
Most of my stories have Nick as the main character. I think that is because he's just easy to torture ;)
When I started writing, I often chose him, because to most people he is/was the cutest/hottest, so I got more reviews (which helped me improve my writing). Nowadays, I choose him, because to me, he's still the most complex, naive, clumsy one AND the one without the whole complication called "a family". Although I could leave the wives and kids out, for some strange reason it doesn't seem fair. Did I mention I am a bit crazy sometimes?
Since Nick is somewhat my least favorite (although I usually don't categorize them as such anymore), I hope I am doing a nice job at hiding that fact.
Edit; I forgot to answer one of your questions!
Back in the day when it was really important to have a favorite, people were always surprised to find out that for me, it was and still is Kevin. Nowadays, I rarely discuss my fandom with people who aren't fans themselves. My colleagues were surprised though, seeing as my ex-boyfriend looked a lot more like Nick LOL.
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Yes it is! I want to just call you Bob! Can I call you Bob? lol
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LOL, you and only you can call me Bob ;)
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Excellent! I could call you winky! ;) LOL
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If it weren't for my screen name, people who were judging me only by the stories I've written in the last ten years would probably assume Nick is my favorite, since he is the one I've written about the most. I probably have more Brian stories than Nick overall, but most of them were written circa 2000-2002, and then I started reading and writing more about Nick. Brian will always be my favorite, but Nick is right up there too nowadays.
Truthfully, I love all five of the guys almost equally nowadays, even though I still don't write a lot about Kevin or Howie. I don't dislike them; I just don't find them as interesting to write about. AJ I will write about occasionally, but I prefer him in a supporting role or paired with one of the other guys. He tends to play off the other guys well.
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I often imagine my stories as though they were films and I think that casting a fic is just like casting a movie. In my mind, Nick is a leading man. He's got the flexibility to take on different types of roles, he has so many different sides to him that he's a believable character in a variety of scenarios. Brian is the same way in that aspect. So I don't know that it would make a difference if Nick was my favourite or not, when it came to my writing.
There are some actors who will spend their entire careers in supporting roles, whether major or minor, and I think (for me) the other three fit into those roles better. AJ will always be my comedic sidekick, Howie is usually my surprise antagonist, and Kevin normally has a cameo role.
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I'm late answering, but yes, I had a female character called Rowena in one of my stories and she was absolutely hated by Ritz lol. Although I don't mind because it was the name she hated and not my story :)
Just the name, Steph. But I like how you wrote her character-wise. lol
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I only have 3 posted fanfics and two of them are about Nick. But I am an AJ girl forever. I actually hated Nick way back in high school just because everyone loves him. It was so hard to find someone who can understand why I like AJ and not Nick. lol
But as Julilly said Nick is a leading man material. He can be flexible and fit most roles. He is easy to write, too. He could be a mean guy or a perfect gentleman and it would be easy to the readers to believe either of the two. I believe AJ is the perfect supportive best friend to the lead.
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After seeing what Nijintje posted in the AC confessional, about Nick not being her favorite but her story being about him, I thought this was be a good question.
Do you think people would be able to tell who your favorite BSB is just based on your fanfic writing? Are people ever surprised when you tell them who your favorite BSB is? What about if there is one you aren't particularly fond of? Do you think your writing shows it or do you think you can mask your personal feelings about the guys well enough so people can't tell one way or another?
I think it's very easy to find out who is my favorite BSB just on my stories, since I've always written Brian's stories. As Julilly said, he's very flexibile: he can be the clown, the friendly guy but he can be serious and quite scaring when he has his pissed off gaze. What I love most about writing him is the fact the he hides a lot from us fans (just think about his voice's issues: no matter what, he still smiling and act like nothing is wrong) so there is a lot you can write about him. And it's so easy to torture. LOL
Though he isn't my favorite, I've found myself quite enjoing writing Nick. I guess it had to do with the fact that I started writing him paired up with Brian so, as a supportive character, I had to make sure that he was up with Brian so to have two strong lead characters. But people are always surprised when I tell them that no, I'm not a Nick fan. LOL
The other three... sadly Howie is always forgotten. Poor Howard. Aj is always the supportive friend, the one Brian/Nick goes to ask for advice. Kevin is on the same level, though he's always the overprotective cousin. LOL I'm sorry, Howie. I really like you. I just don't like writing you. LOL
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That's an interesting way of putting it, Julilly, but I agree with you. I go about developing my story ideas much the same way - I get the idea first, then "cast" it with the Backstreet Boy that will fit it best. Often times that is Nick because, as many of you have pointed out, he is very flexible and can be molded to fit almost any role. I will be curious to see if that changes once he's married, especially if he and Lauren decide to have kids. I think the "baggage" is partly what moved me away from writing about Brian all the time; I just got tired of finding ways to write Leighanne and Baylee out of the story.
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I think of my stories as TV shows when I write them and I try to not have a lead and just count on it being an ensemble piece. I find the only person I struggle with when it comes to highlighting them is AJ. All the others can hold their own, but when it comes to him for some reason, I just feel like he needs to be a supporting character. Even in any chapter I write with him as the lead, it really ends up being about whoever he's with at the time. LOL Sorry, AJ.
I'm not sure what it is about him, maybe because I can't seem to relate to him at all? All the others there's at least one facet of their personality that I say "okay, I get that!" But with him I'm always like "Hrmm you're a weird one!" I really do love him though, it's not that I dislike him at all, it's just that he's Eh? lol
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I find AJ is very guarded. Even though we all know a lot about him it's very superficial. All we really get from AJ is what's on the surface, it's really tough to tell what kind of person he really is.
Because he's the weird one. Obviously. lol
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That's true. I think AJ is most likely to be written as a stereotype - the cursing, smoking, womanizing, nailpolish-and-sunglasses-wearing, alcoholic bad boy.
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I really hope there is more to him than that. Part of me thinks that's all there really is to AJ. One giant, stereotype lol
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I think people reading my stuff would think Nick or AJ is my favourite as I've written Nick and AJ romance. AJ is not my type at all (although I love his eyes and his voice), but he's interesting to write as you can make him do anything lol. But Kevin was always my favourite boy until he left and then Nick took over and now they are both my faves :)
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I really hope there is more to him than that. Part of me thinks that's all there really is to AJ. One giant, stereotype lol
LOL!
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I'm sure people reading my stuff would be able to tell that Nick is my favourite. I don't think I have any stories that don't have him in a leading role - even my one-shots feature him for the most part. It's not that I dislike the others, I just don't find them interesting enough to write about.
Besides the fact that Nick is the lead, I don't know if my writing actually shows that. My whole attempt with Running Up That Hill was to try and showcase each of the guys equally (besides AJ for obvious reasons). I don't know that I can entirely put my personal feelings about the guys aside when I'm writing - because it's my perception of them that drives how they act in the story.
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Not sure if people would guess my favorite from my stories. I have more Nick centered stories. ..
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This thread is sort of dead but I have a question for you guys that I don't think has been asked yet.
How do you feel about people translating your stories into other languages? I have had two of my fics translated, a BSB one and a 1D one. The BSB one was totally fine, but the 1D one is beginning to bother me a little. Not the translation itself (because I obviously can't understand it), just the way its being handled.
Thoughts?
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To my knowledge no one has ever wanted to translate my stuff into another language but as long as it was done properly and not changed at all, I would have no problem with it.
What are they not handling right?
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I might be getting annoyed over nothing, but I feel like the story isn't being given proper credit. She has my S/N on the site, but I have asked her to additionally link my name back to the original English version of the story and she hasn't yet. Also when people comment on it and compliment the actual story, I feel like she should at least make some mention of me as the author, but that doesn't happen.
There is also the matter of people commenting on it and saying they read it in English and while the story was good, the writing wasn't so they're happy to see a beautiful translation. That obviously isn't the translator's fault but it's bothering me all the same.
It is entirely possible I am getting annoyed over nothing, but that story was my baby and to feel like someone else getting way more love for it than I did is really upsetting.
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Though someone who is able to read it in another (their first?) language may not have gotten English nuances that are better reflected in the other language? I know I've read things in French that have had phrases and such that would have made better sense to me in English.
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I might be getting annoyed over nothing, but I feel like the story isn't being given proper credit. She has my S/N on the site, but I have asked her to additionally link my name back to the original English version of the story and she hasn't yet. Also when people comment on it and compliment the actual story, I feel like she should at least make some mention of me as the author, but that doesn't happen.
There is also the matter of people commenting on it and saying they read it in English and while the story was good, the writing wasn't so they're happy to see a beautiful translation. That obviously isn't the translator's fault but it's bothering me all the same.
It is entirely possible I am getting annoyed over nothing, but that story was my baby and to feel like someone else getting way more love for it than I did is really upsetting.
My situation is a little different since I translate my own stories from Italian to English. I think Julilly is right in saying that they might understand it better in their own language opposite to when they read it in English. The translating process isn't translating word per word but trying to translate the image or the situation or the general idea of what the author wanted to say, hence why most of the time Google translator sucks because it translate word for word, without giving importance to the context.
For example, it has happened a lot of time that I've to add things, words or entire sentences when I was translating because I wanted to give the perfect idea.
So, to answer your question, I don't think I'll ever be quite alright with someone else translating my stories because I can't control how they would translate them. It'll be flattering but... no, I wouldn't be able not to check it and have a say. LOL
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That's a good point, how would you ever know that they were properly reflecting the imagery or feelings that you'd originally written without being able to read it? That would be awkward.
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I let someone translate Curtain Call to include on a Portuguese fanfic site, and I was fine with it because she promised to credit it back to me. I figured it would open my writing up to a wider audience, which is always a good thing. Unfortunately, she never got past Chapter 4 in translating it, so that's all that's there. Luckily, there is a link to my site and the original story on my site, so readers can get to the English version if they want to continue reading it.
You guys make good points about the quality of the translation. From what I can tell without speaking Portuguese, it seems like my story was translated not word-for-word like the online translators would do, but for meaning, because when I translate it back into English, it's not written the way same way I wrote it, but similar enough that the meaning is still there.
I would allow more translations, as long as I was credited and my original, English version of the story linked.
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I think I'd be OK with it, as long as I was mentioned as the writer and no one else was trying to claim it was their work.
Steph, they probably meant that they were able to understand it better in their own language. No one could say your writing isn't good!
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Thanks guys, that makes sense! I didn't even think about them not totally getting the English nuances if it wasn't their native language.
I'm trying to think of another question to ask in here but nothing is coming to me lol
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This thread is sort of dead but I have a question for you guys that I don't think has been asked yet.
How do you feel about people translating your stories into other languages? I have had two of my fics translated, a BSB one and a 1D one. The BSB one was totally fine, but the 1D one is beginning to bother me a little. Not the translation itself (because I obviously can't understand it), just the way its being handled.
Thoughts?
Whoah, I didn't realize this had ever been done! Cool. If someone wanted to translate one of my stories, it would make me feel famous and I would think it was pretty neat. lol
I'm sorry the 1D one isn't being handled right though!
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Haha, it's cool. She stopped translating it midway through because it wasn't getting enough comments. Which sort of made me laugh because she had double the feedback I got on the original. It was definitely cool to have someone offer to do that for me though! That way it can reach more of an audience :)