Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => Featured Story of the Month => Topic started by: mare on March 01, 2015, 05:44:22 AM
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This month is devoted to my partner in crime. The girl I share a brain with, Julilly.
I was thrilled when I saw the amount of love thrown her way when I asked for you all to vote for the top ten. She lands very firmly as our third all time favorite author.
Everything about Julilly is complex. Her writing style is well above average. Her storylines and plots are completely intricate, exquisetly executed, and her dialogue is believeable and precise. No one can write a crime drama as well as she can. Her detectives and crime-speak, is amazing. As a writer, she sails far above most of us on the site but yet, if you were to tell her this, you'd get one of these :crazy: in return.
Julia likes to make everyone think she's a hard, Kevin hating meanie but the truth is, she is one of the kindest, sweetest people I know. She is intensely passionate and caring and willing to help anyone who needs it. When several of our stories were plagiarised a few years back, she spent hours of her time getting proof together and defending us from the boneheads that refused to care. When our site wigs out, it's Julilly who jumps all over it while pretty much all I do is nod and look pretty.
She's not afraid to try new things. She bravely tried sugared tomatoes over ice cream when I mentioned it during one of our sillier conversations. She moved cross country to make a better life for herself. She would probably try to ride a mechanical bull if given the chance cause that's how she rolls...
I am so proud and honored to call her my friend. I know long after this fandom disappears our friendship however odd at times, will remain.
Congrats on your month. I hope you enjoy all the gushing without feeling too uncomfortable. And if not...too bad. Deal with it! Lol
Here is the link to "It's Complicated."
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11339
Feel free to come in and ask questions or comment ;D
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Since we have officially hit the top three, I'm stepping up the love and praise. I know you've been curious as to who would be speaking about you. I figured I'd start with your oldest friend.
When I was asked to write something about Julilly, I jumped at the chance. Then when it came down to it, I had no idea where to start. I have known her for most of my life, well at least half of it. How does one summarize a friendship that has spanned so long? How do you explain how much one person means to you when they have been there for you through so much? I'm almost at a loss for words but as anyone who knows me, knows that I ramble on without any problem. This will no doubt be one of those times and I am not even the slightest bit sorry. Julilly is an amazing person who deserves to shine in the spotlight, even if it's just for a month at Absolute Chaos.
The first time I interacted with Julilly was when we were both in high school and signed up for a role playing group on Yahoogroups. We got paired up together and the rest was history. The group kind of died off then continued on a message board. We followed but soon realized that we didn't really seem to fit in and split off to do our own thing. We start to write in an aim chat room while talking via ims about what we were writing or what we were going to write. As teens, we wanted drama all the time and wrote things that we shouldn't have been writing at that age. I don't even know how we knew some of the dramatic stuff we came up with. There was a four hour difference between us so on the weekends, I would wake up early and go to the family computer to wait for the dial up to log in so I could start writing with Julilly. During the week, I would rush home and she'd be waiting. Her parents would tell her to go to bed and once she was sure that her parents were asleep, she'd sneak out to write some more. There would be times she would go quiet because her dad would go downstairs and when we look back now, it is pretty hilarious. At the time, we were both scared to get the computer/internet taken away.
The first time I met Julilly was when she flew to Florida where I was living. Many people asked if it was weird and I can honestly say that it wasn't. As soon as we saw each other, it was as if we had seen each other our whole lives. There were so many memories on that trip. The mysterious way my car stereo died, playing arcade games in skirts, her Mexican flag taco salad, all of Disney World in one day, whale piss and a getting smoked in the eye by a bee. There were so many others but I would be here awhile if I was to tell them all. We had a lot of fun, even if there was a moment where my roommate and a friend came home late at night singing about wearing their sunglasses at night at the top of their lungs. I did get to eat fresh lobster and stink up the apartment though. It was here that we got matching tats, ones that were nicknames
I wouldn't see Julilly again till I told her that my sister and I were going with my mom to New York City for my mom's birthday. She ended up going with her mother. It was nearly two weeks of fun with a few patches that we both would rather not think about. I had a horrible trip to Washington DC and she got really sick but we made the best of the time. We ate at some great restaurants, saw a show on Broadway and bought more things than we should have. It was great to finally meet her mom and she was able to meet my mom and sister. There were some great memories made and I wasn't sure when I'd see her again. It was a few years later when I made the journey from Washington to Nova Scotia. It was my first international flight and I managed to survive the layover in Toronto. Nova Scotia reminded me a lot of Washington and I was able to eat all the seafood I could get. It was wonderful. There were some that thought I had an accent and I ended up highly amused. Whale watching, good food, museums and an amusement park were on our to do list that we conquered. There was also animal sanctuary with the Godfather Llama that I have a picture with. Just be careful of the crazy emus.
Throughout all the years that we knew each other, the times we saw each other, we always joked that the one thing that brought us together was not something that we had ever done together. I had gone to a handful of Backstreet Boys concerts and went to nearly all of Nick's solo shows for his first album. I sent her my pictures, told her of my adventures and vice versa. We joked about me taking a stick Julilly to the Black and Blue shows I went to. It wasn't till we were on the same BSB cruise that we went to the same Backstreet Boys' concert. It was a decade after meeting and we had a blast. We went to the next cruise together and roomed together. Steph was included in the roomie. There were so many memories from that cruise that all I have to do is text Julilly a quote from the cruise and I know she's laughing as much as I am.
These last few years I've seen her the most. Most recently, she made the journey to Seattle where we saw Nick and Jordan perform before making our way up to Vancouver to see the show there. She was able to meet my dad finally and see my mom and sister again. I showed her around where I grew up and all the places I referenced when we wrote together. It was a short trip but now that she lives closer, I hope I get to see her more when the weather is nicer. She's so close yet so far. There were so many times we talked about being roommates and looked into trying to see if we could make it work but it isn't easy for Canadians to come to the States or vice versa. We used to joke that we'd just live on either side of the border and be able to yell at each other over the invisible line that divided the countries.
While we started out as strangers, writing Backstreet Boys fanfiction and continued to write many stories that we called chats, we developed into more than just writers. We became good friends and I am proud to say she is one of the best ones I've ever had. There were periods of our lives where communication crawled to a halt but we could always pick it up as if nothing kept us apart. When we were younger, we fought much like sisters do but now that we're older things are much more chill. She refused to let my stubbornness pull us apart. There have been so many challenges in life for both of us and there still is. I know that there are times when we both wonder when we're going to catch a break. I do my best to keep positive thoughts because she really deserves it for how hard she works and for all that she has been through.
It has been years since we've written together but that doesn't matter. We've both continued to write, her more so than myself. I think it's wonderful that she's being featured this month. I hope she can get an idea how great she is, both online and in person. I'm blessed to have her as a friend and she will forever be the Lippy to my Angel.
Karen
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And now we'll move on to another person important in your life.
"I'm out front of the hotel."
"Where? I'm out front of the hotel."
I looked out my window and my eyes met with Julia's looking out her vehicle window, too, directly across the street from me. We'd both pulled up in front of the Best Western in Montreal at exactly the same moment from opposite ends of the street. This was no little feat, by the way, seeing as we'd each traveled for half a day from our respective homes - her from Nova Scotia and me from New Hampshire. It was the first time we'd met, both of us thinking that we might be in for a weekend of Oh-God-What-Did-I-Get-Myself-Into proportions (as we'd both had experiences with Batshit Crazy Fans in the past, this wasn't an unfounded fear). We'd talked some on the Internets, of course, prior to this fateful meeting, but never on the phone or in any capacity other than Twitter, AC Message Boards and - oh God was it long ago enough that LiveDaily was still around? I think it might've been.
We parked and hauled our stuff into the hotel, which was very, very beige excepting for the jewel tone carpeting in the hallways and rooms and began the awkward getting-to-know-you phase that starts all weekends of this sort. Upon discovering that, though I'd been to Montreal before I'd never really experienced some of the quintessential Canadian things, Julia all but dragged me the equivalent of about 20 million city blocks to the nearest Tim Horton's and to a CVS to obtain the now legendary bag of Ketchup Chips that has since become a symbol of our friendship (I've gotten a bag of Ketchup Chips for Christmas for like four or five years running now). I experienced Poutine for the first time during that trip, too, thanks to her insistence that, no, it's not weird to have gravy on french fries with cheese curds. Really.
Despite how odd this all might seem to an outsider, it was really awesome, damn it, and the roots to one of the coolest, albeit long distance, friendships ever. (Admit it, people, you're jealous.) From "destination weddings" aboard the BSB Cruise in 2011 (where I became an honorary member of the "ey team" after my assigned room mate turned out to be a nudist hobbit) to ninja-style shopping for Whoopie Pies in Boston grocery markets, we've had our share of exciting adventures.
But Julia's awesomeness isn't limited to our friendship. Nay, she's all around awesome and now your votes have proven that for generations of BSB fan fic writers to marvel upon. Put her lights up in name, AC, because Julia is your number three author of all time (that officially makes her twice as awesome as me, your number six). She also happens to be one of the two incredible mods on this site, working tirelessly on the upkeep, keeping this amazing outlet for all our crazy Backstreet fan fics alive. Where would we be without Julia? Sad, with a lot less great stuff to read, no place to post our stories, and my text message inbox would be hella boring.
And also we wouldn’t have #SparkleyPenises in our lives.
So Julia, thanks for all the amazing times we’ve spent together and all the hard work you put into this website and your stories. You are truly a wonderful person, a great friend, and a talented writer.
May you ever be on the top of the Most Recent list, my friend.
I’ll guard your position there with my spork army.
And one day I’ll send you all those Pop Tarts I bought you for Christmas, I swear.
xoxo,
Hannah
(and Llama, too)
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And of course...
It’s hard for me to believe that Julia and I have been friends for less than five years, I feel like I’ve known her my whole life! We have done so many things together. Our initial meeting was through the Toronto NKOTBSB show, which she already talked about in my month. Over the years our trips have become less about the Backstreet Boys and more about visiting with each other. I have a lot of fond memories from our adventures, but the one that sticks out in my mind the most as I write this was our 13 hour road trip from Halifax to Boston. That might sound like a long time, but I can’t imagine a better way to spend half a day - laughing and talking and listening to music with someone I wish I got to see in person far more often than I do.
It’s difficult to form a close bond with someone when you live halfway across a very big country, but we’ve done it. I think the key to that is our similar brand of snarky comments towards Nick’s instagram photos.
All joking aside, Julia is a fantastic writer and well deserving of a spot in the top ten. I’ve had the pleasure of having early access to a number of her stories. She’s always looking for an honest critique and while I try to the best of my ability to find things to improve on, the fact is I’m constantly blown away by her writing. Her characters are so real and so developed. It’s like she knows every one of these people inside and out. Her writing is honest and all of her stories come out sounding so fresh. She’s not one to sugarcoat in real life or in her writing - she tells it like it is and I think that’s what’s so great about her stories.
Her most recent works It’s Complicated and 30 Days come to mind, with characters that were gritty and relatable. When reading It’s Complicated I had no problems understanding every individual character’s motives. I wanted to smack and hug all of them at the same time because they were layered so well.
This is not only true of her recent stories, but older ones as well. Before she and I were close friends I read Satin and Silk and had the same thoughts. Historical fiction has never been a favourite genre of mine, but I was pulled into that story so effortlessly and really enjoyed it.
I suppose I’ll finish this off by simply saying congratulation s to Julia, who is a great writer and an even better friend.
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And here is some more love for you :)
Hachi aka Chris had this to say about Julilly via twitter:
"She's one of those people who can write a compelling story no matter the genre."
In particular, her suspense stories will keep you up reading late into the night to find out what happens next. And If you haven't read one of her fics yet, then do it because you're missing out!"
And...
I've got to admit that when I first met Julilly she inimidated me; but she's actually a really cool, helpful and down to earth person. She's a very talented writer with unique ideas and I really enjoyed her story, Stockholm Syndrome.
Also...
I've been a fan of Julilly's stories since I joined the site, I think the first one I read was Hawk and a Handsaw or My Mind's Eye (which was written under another name at the time). I loved both stories and so read just about everything else she had on here.
What I love is that they are so diverse and well told. Julilly has written historical romance (which is something I also have a love for) and then stories involving murders or kidnapping. But whatever she writes, she does it so well.
Well done Julia, you so deserve to be where you are!
And lastly...
Her stories suck you in and keep you wanting to know more. As soon as you read one chapter, you're checking repeatedly the rest of the day for another one. She makes me keep my pointy sticks sharpened. :)
This is the case with a few authors on here for me - lol. But right now, it's Julilly's that has caused my pointy sticks to be sharpened and at the ready.
~Lenni~
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Congrats, my friend. Enjoy your month!
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Congratulation s, Julilly!! You are a fantastic writer and an amazing friend as well!
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Congrats!
I've been a fan of yours forever and happy to say a friend as well. :).
I remember loving your stuff all the way back to AUs where you had Nick be a android LOL.
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Mare called it correctly when she predicted that the gushing would make me uncomfortable. It most certainly has, but in a good way I suppose.
I've actually been staring at this blinking cursor (not unlike my experience in writing! LOL) for nearly thirty forty-five ninety-seven minutes trying to think of words. As I mentioned in the top ten thread, I don't take compliments well but for the first time in my life I'm going to try. The amount of thought and consideration that went into all of these notes is just astounding to me. I am grateful to have all of you in my life. It's hard to believe that I "met" Karen mere months after I moved to Canada from Europe 15 years ago, Mare 12 years ago when we both volunteered to moderate AC and most of the rest of you roughly 8 years ago when this board came to life.
Those of you who know a bit more about my upbringing know that I moved around a lot as a kid so these friendships, as long-distance as they may be, are the longest ones I've ever had. You all have such varied backgrounds and experiences, I can't begin to tell you how much I've learned from all of you.
This is me saying thanks, I guess. To everyone who felt I was worthy of a vote and worthy of your nice sentiments. You're swell. I may just have to keep you around for a bit. Now stop trying to make me have the feels.
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Wow, I can't believe it's been 15 years! No wonder we share a brain lol
Nothing makes me happier than giving you feels :)
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Wow, I can't believe it's been 15 years! No wonder we share a brain lol
Nothing makes me happier than giving you feels :)
It does sort of make me happy that you get satisfaction out of squirming discomfort. I just wish it wasn't mine lol
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I've been making people squirm for the past 7 months and I'm proud of that. Although I'm sure some are more squirmy than others lol
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So, tell us about this story. How did you come up with the idea & how long have you secretly been working on it before you posted it?
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This is one story by Julilly that I haven't read, so will be onto it this month :)
Well done and very well deserved!
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Just spent the last couple of hours reading It's Complicated and have to say, I loved every moment of it!
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So, tell us about this story. How did you come up with the idea & how long have you secretly been working on it before you posted it?
I don't really remember the moment when I came up with the idea for this story, to be honest. The concept was actually a secret love child subplot of an AU story I had been working on and I kind of plagiarized myself lol This is one of the stories I would work on when I wanted something "easy" to write. The crime dramas, although fun for me to conceptualize, are hard to write. They take a lot of research and planning, and I'm very particular about getting details right and not just making things up for the sake of convenience. I prefer using things that happen in real life.
To write a short, 10 chapter, drama or romance just sort of flows out of me easier. It doesn't take much plotting or research because it's real life and I can relate back to my own experiences. That's not to say I didn't do any research for It's Complicated because I did. There were themes that are explored that I have no personal experience with so I read a lot of blog posts and forum discussions to get an idea of the emotion and experiences of other people so I could relate it better to the characters.
I started writing it at the beginning of May, then left it roughly half finished for a while and came back to it this January. I completed it in two days at the end of January, had Saka-Steph read it and let me know her thoughts, then I went back and edited it, let it sit for a few more days and edited it again. So it has undergone a few revisions. Nothing major but I would realize 'oh, I wanted dialogue about [ x ] to happen' and I'd go add it, or 'I used that phrase too many times, gonna cut it out.'
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Just spent the last couple of hours reading It's Complicated and have to say, I loved every moment of it!
Thank you! When I scrolled past the story today and saw there were some reviews I figured they must have been from you. You're very reliable when it comes to reviewing :D I was happy to see that you found the themes relatable and genuine, also. Since that's sort of what I was going for LOL
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I give you so much credit for being able to write these stories in ten chapters.
Why do you prefer AU? When you come up with a story idea, do you automatically picture the guys in the rolls or does that come after your characters have been developed?
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I give you so much credit for being able to write these stories in ten chapters.
Why do you prefer AU? When you come up with a story idea, do you automatically picture the guys in the rolls or does that come after your characters have been developed?
I actually find it easier most times to wrap things up quickly. I often worry that I haven't fleshed stories out enough and push myself to add more to them.
It's Complicated isn't AU, neither is History Repeating...wh ich is super weird for me to not have any current AU stories on the go. I find canon stories a lot more complicated to write than AU. I love the freedom of being able to work outside the restrictions of five guys in a boyband. Though I am working on a non-AU story that manages to get around that LOL
To answer your question, when I come up with a story idea the characters are usually set. I don't develop the roles then fit the "actor" into the role. I try to find at least something, even if it's a really small part, in the boys' personality that they share with the AU character. It's not random. Whether I successfully execute that remains to be seen :P
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I didn't realize that your latest ones were not AU. lol
I think you're pretty good at giving us the perfect amount of detail in your stories.
What is the longest story you've ever written and have you ever considered writing in another fandom?
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I didn't realize that your latest ones were not AU. lol
I forgive you. LOL I actually thought a bit more about your AU question when it comes to "assigning roles" to the guys. One of the complaints about AU that I've read over the years is that it can't be fanfic if the boys are out of character.
I think that the goal of writing AU is not to just write whatever you want, but to take that character, personality traits and all, and change their surroundings. I've read an equal amount of canon stories where the boys are out of character as I have AU stories. I don't think it's just their occupation that makes it true to life.
One thing I hate is the late 90's stereotypes that everyone read in Teen Beat that have held up all these years even though we've seen that the boys have so many more sides than we ever got to see before. I've always tried to see the other side of the coin, to bring out the parts of their personalities that we don't see on the surface. For example, I have often made Brian a villain in my AU stories, which years ago would have seemed out of character but these days we've seen that he has a dark, angry side and can be a bit of a self-righteous dick. Deviating from him being the class clown, silly, goofy, cartwheeling buffoon doesn't necessarily mean it's out of character.
So I can find something in most of them to fit a variety of character types.
/ENDRANT lol
What is the longest story you've ever written and have you ever considered writing in another fandom?
I regretfully admit that my longest story is... 63 chapters long. The secret of my success when it comes to keeping my stories short is a singular focus, telling only one story without getting sidetracked with other needless dramatic subplots. That is where I went wrong with that behemoth. There are way too many subplots, the story arc went somewhat like this: Beginning - Introduction of characters - Apparent conflict - Full crisis - Resolution - Full crisis - Resolution - Full crisis - Resolution - End A few too many crises!
I've never considered writing in another fandom. Not sure why, probably because there isn't another fandom that I'm really interested or involved in. I think if I hadn't have started doing this when I was a teenager I probably wouldn't get into it at this age. I just don't get as passionate about things these days, plus the internet is such a time suck! :P
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I always thought Brian was a self righteous dick lol
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I always thought Brian was a self righteous dick lol
Much in the same way I've always felt Kevin was a dirtbag lol
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Yes, but you were wrong. Lol :-p
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I am hardly ever on here anymore but I wanted to congratulate Julilly on the top ten. Congrats! I loved Stockholm Syndrome when I read it and Hawk and a Handsaw.
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Are you working on anything else at the moment?
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Are you working on anything else at the moment?
I wish I could say yes, but alas. I'm just hoping to finish my last few unfinished posted stories so I can hang up my hat for good.
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I'm sorry to hear that you are stopping for good. Which stories do you plan on completing or are they not posted on the sire yet?
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I'm sorry to hear that you are stopping for good. Which stories do you plan on completing or are they not posted on the sire yet?
I need to finish history repeating. There's obly a few chapters left. After that one, whether the rest I have unfinished get completed and posted remains to be seen.