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Author Topic: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)  (Read 52554 times)

nicksgal

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Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #45 on: February 10, 2021, 05:13:56 PM »

So this is the first week when I didn’t have a plan of what to talk about! Maybe now that we’re not all enjoying PBox updates anymore, the first question should be: “How’s it going?” So how is it going? We’ve been talking about series over in 2 Writing 2 Thread and I honestly don’t have a lot of answers on the questions for PBox et al., specifically because I’m still writing it. I’ve mentioned that I didn’t know it was a series when I started (late 2005), but I did know that it was a series around the time I wrote ch. 24 “The Endless Ice of Rubiihoppou,” so halfway through the first book (some time in early 2006). And I felt like I was able to create a novel’s complete story that stood on its own and laid the foundation for a larger story that wasn’t quite finished. If anyone doesn’t think so, you should probably tell me, haha.

You can go read it in my featured story thread from July 2007 (so long ago), but at that point I was pretty sure it would be four stories: PBox, this current one (which was always PNecklace, even back then), the prequel type one (if it’s interesting enough; it was just called Pandora back then), and a fourth one (at the time, I liked the name Ragnarok, as it says in the thread). But as you know, I took a break from PBox et al. after finishing PBox and now it’s been many years. Around 2015ish is when PNecklace and Pandora started to exist on paper and out of my head, but only in very tiny pieces (which is still five years after I began this journey; I sound like I’m on the Bachelor).

When I originally envisioned Pandora in 2006/2007, it started out as a “let’s talk about the warring states era and all that fun background information that I have about the story and their little fantastical world.” Which I think is really interesting, but it’s got nothing to do with any of our main characters, not even Nick -- who’s kind of the thread that ties everyone together, as you’ve probably noticed. In 2015, Pandora became more of the “what’s happening to our friends from the moment the story really starts” that it is these days. It also got a name change based on where our characters were at the time in their lives and motivations; it’s not really about any Pandoras per se (though our gals in Rubiihoppou and Topazuseihou do have more to do then since that’s when they’re actively Pandora-ing), it’s about their legend. So before our main characters (and Nick specifically) care about the “Box,” they care about the “Legend,” if that makes sense. I’m still kind of on the fence about posting that one; it’s all interesting, but not as fun as enjoying our Boys together, you know? So I’ve been trying to decide if I just hang on to it or if it’s a “here’s some more fun stuff when I feel like writing it” type story. It has most of the first and second chapters and the last chapter written. Though I feel like the last chapter might be better served overall as pieces in an upcoming yet-to-be fully written chapter of PNecklace, similar to what happened with a sooner upcoming chapter of PNecklace (you’ll be jazzed when you get there, I hope). We’ll see.

I think I’ve mentioned it, but PNecklace ch. 1 was originally envisioned as ch. 1 - ch. 3. But again, not as much fun as when everyone’s back together. This was honestly probably my hang up when I started rewriting. It needed to be there, but I was dragging it out more than necessary. It’s all much better as one chapter (or at least, I think so anyway). It was exciting to see that a lot of people (or a lot of spam bots) were curious about PNecklace when it first appeared (or “a lot” by my standards, I’m pretty used to not having hoards of readers), but I lost about half of them once we got to ch. 3. That’s probably the time when they were like “They’re not the Backstreet Boys, they’re demons? WTF!” Or they hadn’t read PBox and thought, “Well, I’m not reading another 50 chapters so that this story makes sense!” haha. Thanks to everyone who stuck around; we’re embarking on a fun new adventure together.

It’s weird not getting any feedback, not that I ever got a lot, and still have no idea how many people hated me for Backstreet deaths. So without feedback, I’m trying to base enjoyment on the read counter. If someone is clicking on it, then I figure it’s going okay? I never really looked at the read counter before, but I guess it’s helpful now. The PBox one is wild. Of course the first chapter has the most hits, but the one with the second most is ch. 32 “Stone Soldier.” Why? Who knows! Of the chapters focusing more on an individual Boy, ch. 7 “The Demon King” actually has more hits than ch. 2 “The Hidden Demon,” which is also kind of wild to me. Go Howie! (I guess?) Or maybe everyone took it to heart when I suggested rereading and enjoying when Nick met the other Boys (complete with anxious shouting, growling, and fist shaking). There’s an upcoming chapter of PNecklace that I’m actually pretty nervous to post (and excited), so I might specifically mention at the end of that one, “Please tell me! Any way you can! Forum, snail mail, telepathy, whatever!” Otherwise, I’m just over here meandering because I really started writing this story for me and our friend stubborn, persistent, plucky Nick; if anyone else is enjoying it, it’s really just a bonus for me, but I appreciate anyone who is enjoying it. So thank you once again for enjoying and continuing on this journey with us.

Overall, PNecklace is going well! I feel less concerned about long writer’s blocks because y’all are on ch. 9 (or will be as of this week anyway) and I’m writing ch. 22/25. Now, if I get stuck here and don’t figure it out by May 5th or so (longer if I decide to post some PLegend for a few weeks), then we’ll have a problem! Keep sending me good vibes, basically. I’m a little stuck on ch. 22, but I wrote some more yesterday and haven’t been forcing it if I’m not feeling inspired -- no blank page guilt or anything over here. Meanwhile, I have also written some more to fill in what was already “interesting things that begged to be written down,” so ch. 24 is done and ch. 25 is taking shape (and as I mentioned, I originally thought ch. 23 was ch. 22, so that’s been done since early December along with ch. 1 - ch. 21). The next few upcoming chapters (post-ch. 24) feel like they’ll just fall into line nicely as well; I’ve been filling in even more interesting things that beg to be written from them since finishing the PBox edits. Hopefully ch. 22 isn’t what does me in and holds off an entire rest of a novel from being posted, basically! I’m sure that it’s all going to be okay; I have a good feeling about how this is going.

Oh, we also briefly discussed “noodle incidents” in 2 Writing 2 Thread and I couldn’t think of any I’d added, even though I think they’re fun. And then I realized that there’s probably at least a few things in PBox that y’all think are noodle incidents, but I know that they’re not. So, here’s a fun game (Julie doesn’t read this thread, but I’m sure she’d call me fanfic Jigsaw again for that): tell me about anything in PBox that you think is a noodle incident. When I answer, I will either say “oh, oops” or I will cackle and pet my plot bunnies. I’d be willing to bet money that you’d get more of the latter than the former.

I don’t really have an idea for next week’s author talk either, so if there’s something you’ve been dying to know about PBox or PNecklace, just ask! Of course, I will not reveal spoilers, as you know (unless they’re 10 year old spoilers from PBox -- no one has said they don’t like them). But any background information, anything about the characters, themes, settings, clothing, daily life in Safaiananpou/the other countries, whatever. Ask away. I’m always here to chat.
Logged
~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

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Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #46 on: February 10, 2021, 05:21:25 PM »

No pictures for the time being, so this part is just links.

If you would still like to read PBox, I will include both location links below. While all fifty chapters of PBox are complete, it is undergoing the tiniest cursory edit where I change the paragraph alignment of the "~*~" and fix a couple errant commas, but otherwise it's all there. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

Pandora's Box on Absolute Chaos

Pandora's Box on AO3

Please find updates as follows (links included in titles):

Chapter Nine ("Misgivings") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos

Chapter Two ("Kiresaseru") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (If you wanted to leave feedback on the physical story instead of chatting here. You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since December.)

Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers. Our blast from the past continues... Nick's matured so much since PBox; I'm proud of him! :) And now this series may finally pass the Bechdel test every now and again! (Does anyone care about that in their BSB fanfics?) This is wild; all done with updates before 4:30pm. What do I do with the rest of the day now?
Logged
~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

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Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #47 on: February 10, 2021, 06:24:17 PM »

Of the chapters focusing more on an individual Boy, ch. 7 “The Demon King” actually has more hits than ch. 2 “The Hidden Demon,” which is also kind of wild to me. Go Howie! (I guess?) Or maybe everyone took it to heart when I suggested rereading and enjoying when Nick met the other Boys (complete with anxious shouting, growling, and fist shaking).

I posted this and Nick's introductory chapter (ch. 2) jumped about 10 views. Someone (or something) out there wants Nick to have the most views on his introduction, obviously. lmao It's not me, I swear.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

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Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #48 on: February 17, 2021, 09:15:00 PM »

This week marked the first time I’ve really felt frustrated with PNecklace. I started working on the most recent chapter I finished (ch. 22) back on January 30th. It typically takes me anywhere between one day (if I’m particularly inspired) and three days to finish a chapter. Five days would be the maximum. I decided not to push writing it to avoid the frustration, but I constantly found myself worrying about why it was so difficult. What was it about this chapter? It wasn’t even a particularly weighty one, it was just the lead up to a few other events. I’m hoping that this isn’t a repeated pattern. I remember my frustrating times with PBox and they were absolutely abysmal. I don’t know that I could handle that again and especially not this early in the writing process.

I also had a heck of a time editing this week’s chapter for the update. I can usually do that in a few hours, but it took me three days. I think I’m just really nervous about how this one comes across. I mentioned in the 2 Writing 2 Thread that there were some PBox chapters I originally worried about posting for various reasons and Beta Sigma Beta as a whole. I also mentioned there was an upcoming PNecklace chapter that I was both nervous and excited about. This week's update is that chapter. I’m hoping this long editing time is just me wanting to make this chapter the best it can be before handing it off to you all and not the new normal (again, not sure I could handle the abysmal PBox frustrating times again).

I know I normally have a lot to say, but I think this week, I just want to send PNecklace off into the world after these frustrations. So… I guess, continue to send me good vibes. I still have a semi-decent chapter hoard and will continue to add to it as I update for you all.

And now for your updates!

If you would still like to read PBox, I will include both location links below. While all fifty chapters of PBox are complete, it is undergoing the tiniest cursory edit where I change the paragraph alignment of the "~*~" and fix a couple errant commas, but otherwise it's all there. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

Pandora's Box on Absolute Chaos

Pandora's Box on AO3

Please find updates as follows (links included in titles):

Chapter Ten ("Fear") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos (Eagle eyed fans who have paid attention to all my musings may notice that I listed "Fear" as a chapter in PNecklace that may be among my favorites. I'm sure those same people are curious to know why... Now you'll know. Maybe you'll be as excited as I am about it.)

Chapter Three ("Unbroken") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (If you wanted to leave feedback on the physical story instead of chatting here. You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since December.)

Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers. And if you have opinions on this week's chapter, I'd love to hear them. I rarely fish for feedback and probably won't afterward, but... yeah, I'd love it for this one.
Logged
~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

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Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #49 on: February 24, 2021, 06:13:05 PM »

This week, I'd love to talk about our favorite Woobie -- Destroyer of Worlds, Nick. That's hardly true, if anything, Nick is a Woobie -- Savior of Worlds (if such a thing existed, since the first trope is more of a villain trope) or, realistically, an Iron Woobie by the time PBox really gets going. However Woobie -- Destroyer of Worlds is just fun to say, that's why I thought I'd roll with it... But Iron Woobie -- Savior of Worlds is equally as fun and more accurate!

As some of you know, I'm currently toying with the process of editing the fanfic out of PBox (and it is a process, even in an AU and fantasy story). I've recruited a couple of friends to help me through the process (fresh eyes, if you will) and one of them recently commented on Nick's mood whiplash between ch. 3 and ch. 4; I could tell they were not expecting "Yeah, he's a bit of a prickly porcupine in the beginning.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

  • Supreme Time Waster
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  • Posts: 10984
  • Fool, said my Muse, look in thy heart and write
    • Could You Do Me Right?
Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #50 on: February 24, 2021, 06:19:12 PM »

And now for your updates!

If you would still like to read PBox, I will include both location links below. While all fifty chapters of PBox are complete, it is undergoing the tiniest cursory edit where I change the paragraph alignment of the "~*~" and fix a couple errant commas, but otherwise it's all there. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

Pandora's Box on Absolute Chaos

Pandora's Box on AO3

Please find updates as follows (links included in titles):

Chapter Eleven ("Truth") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos (Eagle eyed fans who have paid attention to all my musings may notice that I also listed "Truth" as a chapter in PNecklace that may be among my favorites. I'm sure those same people are curious to know why... Now you'll know. Maybe you'll be as excited as I am about it.)

Chapter Four ("Back to Safaiananpou") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (If you wanted to leave feedback on the physical story instead of chatting here. You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since January.)

Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers. I'm going to keep on assuming that anyone reading is loving everything and carry on my merry way!
Logged
~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

  • Supreme Time Waster
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  • Fool, said my Muse, look in thy heart and write
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Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #51 on: March 03, 2021, 08:27:17 PM »

This is a continuation from last week, I suppose, since we're deep in the "Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick" portion of PNecklace. Though last week, we talked a little about Nick's character development; I guess this week is "Nick as a tiny muse."

I've said before that I usually get “spark of lightning” ideas and depth for plans while focusing on AJ, and I have no idea why that is. He's not particularly bossy or picky. He's really calm actually. Like the newest chapter I've been writing, I started from one place, got maybe a sentence and a half in, then stopped. Then wrote a conversation later in the chapter, then skipped ahead to another bit, then skipped ahead again. And then I was sitting and contemplating on Sunday afternoon when AJ said, "Hi, let's chat about [character development thing]." Oh hey, AJ! Fancy meeting you here. I think he was a little jealous of Howie getting some spotlight, to be honest.

I've been curious why the other Boys just aren't as loud, picky, obnoxious, nagging, persistent, and chatty as Nick. To be fair, he's gotten a little quieter after I engaged with his initial hellos. That makes him sound so polite. It was definitely more "*loud and long inhale* HHHHHHIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!! IIIIIIII'MMMMMMMM BAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAACCCCCKKKKK!!!!!!! AAAAAAALLLL~RRIIIIIIIIIGGGHHHTTT!!!! *dramatic exhale* Time to write!" Again, he’s very loud, persistent, and chatty. He’s pretty quiet at the moment though. Either because he knows it’s not his time to shine or he’s gotten his way and doesn’t have strong opinions about it anymore. I’m hoping that he’s trying to share the spotlight instead of focusing on gloating.

I was thinking over that article I’d posted, about the automation of character, and I wonder if that’s it. Is PBox Nick so fleshed out in my mind that he’s become this automated entity who’s headspace I can get into? I wonder if he’s deviated and grown that much from the realm of “background information Backstreet characterizati ons” that he just is an entity. Maybe that’s why he’s louder than the others. Something I’ll have to explore once I get to editing the fanfic out of Howie and Brian.

I don’t like to think of him as an automated entity though. “Good job brain” is way less fun than “We did it, buddy!” I like to think of him as the tiniest muse, cheering me on and giving me the inspiration to finish a magnum opus. And I guess, thank goodness he is loud and picky. His way has always been better than whatever I came up with initially, though he is trying to grow out of his Leeroy Jenkins antics. You’ll see what I mean.

I guess there’s a part of me that’s grateful the other Boys are a little quieter. It would be really cacophonous around here if they were as loud as Nick! But then I worry, are they relying too much on “background information Backstreet characterizati ons”? Are they less individual entities and more a collective entity? Maybe that’s why AJ finally spoke up. “If it’s not too much trouble, I’ve got some stuff to do.” It’s never any trouble, AJ! Speak up whenever! You too, Kevin, Howie, and Brian.

I’ve probably made a mistake and opened a Pandora’s Box of my own… It’s about to get really loud over here! (As always, pun intended.)
Logged
~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

  • Supreme Time Waster
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Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #52 on: March 03, 2021, 08:30:34 PM »

And now for your updates!

If you would still like to read PBox, I will include both location links below. While all fifty chapters of PBox are complete, it is undergoing the tiniest cursory edit where I change the paragraph alignment of the "~*~" and fix a couple errant commas, but otherwise it's all there. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

Pandora's Box on Absolute Chaos

Pandora's Box on AO3

Please find updates as follows (links included in titles):

Chapter Twelve ("Onward") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos (There might be a pattern from PBox in what happens in this chapter, haha.)

Chapter Five ("The Crater") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (If you wanted to leave feedback on the physical story instead of chatting here. You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since January.)

Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers. I'm going to keep on assuming that anyone reading is loving everything and carry on my merry way!
Logged
~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

  • Supreme Time Waster
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  • Posts: 10984
  • Fool, said my Muse, look in thy heart and write
    • Could You Do Me Right?
Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #53 on: March 10, 2021, 05:40:30 PM »

Hello from Safaiananpou? haha I’m all over the place in this novel. I have about six scenes and most of the next chapter written from various bursts of inspiration (I’m a little over a third of the way finished with the current chapter I’m working on, for reference, and about a fifth of that was a pre-written burst of inspiration). I also have about four scenes written past the end of this novel. And the last chapter of what would be the prequel, plus bits and pieces of the first three chapters of that one. Meanwhile, I’m deep in the chunk of the first few chapters of PBox as OF. The amount of times that I’ve edited this thing, I feel like I’ll eventually be able to orally retell the entire thing verbatim from memory. Go ahead, ask me the first line of the OF version; I’ve got that on lock down. It’s been kind of weird hopping back into the beginning, but there were a few bits in the current written run of PNecklace that “called back” to a part that I’d recently felt was missing in the beginning. So I thought, "Write it and see what happens? Write it and see what happens." But then that means that the next little chunk of the beginning might need some more drastic changes, especially as we spend more time in Nick’s head and get more deeply connected to his evolving motivations and opinions. Like chapter eight seems especially harsh compared to where he’s at in that new chapter. So who knows what that first fifth of the story will end up looking like when it’s all said and done. It feels like it will be fairly different!

I mentioned this briefly in one of the Writing Threads, though I can’t remember which one, that I was thinking of posting Pandora’s Legend. I recognize that it may not be as enjoyable as a fanfic, since our Boys aren’t together during it at all; however, it does have merit as a part of the story, namely, getting to see some past things they all mention in real time and getting the full character arcs of our favorite demons. Especially Nick, since we just kind of get dropped into his “amnesiac with PTSD” persona and miss out on his time in his “scared and anxious child” and “teenage hot head” phases. Though to be fair, you do get to enjoy bits and pieces of both of those as he defrosts in the beginning, since he’s “sour outside, sad inside” before the plot really kicks off (as you know). I digress a bit, the point of this portion was really… is this of interest to anyone? Does anyone want to read about the Boys pre-Pbox? I don’t know yet if I’ll commit to writing the whole thing in one sitting (like with PNecklace or the next one) or if I even envision it as a regularly updated type thing, but if it was something I updated sometimes, would anyone be interested in seeing that? This is probably a better place to ask and reach everyone where they’re checking for my updates. Is it something you would want to see as a regularly updated novel or just whenever it feels interesting? Or not at all? This isn’t to say I wouldn’t end up still posting it if I felt like sharing it, y’all know I mostly write PBox et al. for me and Nick anyway, but I figure it’s worth asking if anyone is itching to see it. It could help me make a decision on “when” instead of “if.”

A related question, as you know, I’m doing some major rehaul type additions to the beginning of PBox that do get referenced in PNecklace. While I have no intentions of posting the entire novel for PBox as OF (for obvious reasons, in addition to the fact that on a fanfic website, you can enjoy the fanfic version instead), I recognize that there’s been value in sharing “related chapters to revisit” as I post PNecklace. And I figure, since I’ve felt the need to write these “call back chapters” that existed in the time skip, you might feel the need to read them! So if there were little added scenes or chapters like this, would anyone be interested in reading them? Kind of like a short little companion book. I can’t guarantee how many times this would happen, but I know at least once for this aforementioned chapter (it’s what would be in the middle of chapter five between the battlefield and the capital). Anyway, so that’s kind of where we are in PBox et. al right now. You’re reading about Nick growing as a character; I’m writing the turning point in the novel’s direction, re-frolicking along in the beginning, and writing interesting things wherever as inspiration strikes.

I do have one more question for my readership. I’m hoping to bounce something off of someone who has read PBox. It’s not a spoiler for anything that’s going to happen, but it would help me finalize some things in the OF version, mostly based on the major thing I had to remove from the beginning due to it no longer being a fanfic. So, if anyone is interested in being that sounding board, please let me know! I would appreciate it immensely! It’s a short question, so it would take very little out of your regular schedule.

Appreciate you all! See you in the updates! Remember, if there’s anything you want to hear me talk about, just ask! I’ll answer just about anything. I’m also slowly running out of ideas of things to share with you all each week. I might talk about clothing next week? That could be fun.
Logged
~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

  • Supreme Time Waster
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  • Posts: 10984
  • Fool, said my Muse, look in thy heart and write
    • Could You Do Me Right?
Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #54 on: March 10, 2021, 05:46:02 PM »

And now for your updates!

If you would still like to read PBox, I will include both location links below. While all fifty chapters of PBox are complete, it is still undergoing the tiniest cursory edit where I change the paragraph alignment of the "~*~" and fix a couple errant commas, but otherwise it's all there. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

Pandora's Box on Absolute Chaos

Pandora's Box on AO3

Please find updates as follows (links included in titles):

Chapter Thirteen ("Light") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos

Chapter Six ("Alliance") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since January.)

Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers. Last week we got some Frick & Frack, just like in Chapter 12 of PBox. It doesn't mirror it all the time, but there's definitely a couple times something gets mirrored. I wonder who the Nick & _____ might be this week...  Hmm!
Logged
~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

  • Supreme Time Waster
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  • Posts: 10984
  • Fool, said my Muse, look in thy heart and write
    • Could You Do Me Right?
Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #55 on: March 17, 2021, 07:46:41 PM »

Happy one-ish year anniversary of the world ending? I’ve gotten back up to 15 chapters ahead in my writing, good for me! It’s taking a little longer now since I have less “interesting bits” to pull from these days, mostly because all of the “interesting bits” I’m furiously writing down are in the next part of the story and not this one! What am I going to do when I get there? Haha This next portion, I may be writing a little differently, depending on what’s more interesting, so I hope I stay ahead even when I write unconventional ly. I know I said I was going to discuss clothing, but I have nothing prepared for that, what with the vaccine, some other life things, and being fairly useless with snow days. So I think I want to discuss rereadability. What makes PBox something worth revisiting?

This is partly inspired by this week’s chapter, probably the one I reread the most from PNecklace as I work. The first scene did need some editing after I initially wrote it, but overall the second scene is virtually unchanged from when I first committed it to paper. I don’t know what the reason is. Maybe because it’s something I’ve spent a long time thinking about. One of the longest things I’ve ever spent time thinking about in all of PBox et al., actually. And this chapter only reveals part of it. Y’all are in for a real treat eventually, when we get there! It’s really hard keeping big secrets, but I’ve been trying my best.

And even having spent so much time thinking about it, and researching it, once the time to start unraveling it came, I went back to research. Of all the things I’ve spent time researching in PBox, I think this one has been the most time consuming, but it’s also most fundamental to two of the biggest questions about the entire story. Why demons/what are demons? How does this magic system work? I’ve talked a lot about world building in the various writing threads because it’s most of what I spend most of my non-writing time on. And I’ve mentioned, of course, that I’ve researched everything under the sun from martial arts to parts of weapons to climate to architecture of castles to how birds/bats/etcetera fly (if you missed the videos of ducklings hopping out of trees, you should probably go watch them because they are hilarious). And all of these things get lovingly put into PBox in ways that I hope are interesting, but not overbearing. That you can enjoy the research without it being overwhelming. I hope y’all enjoy the little pieces of research that pop up in appropriate places, and I hope that it makes something with so many fantastic elements seem believable. Though, as I’ve said many times, I realize the amount of times the Boys “basketball jump” into flight is not at all realistic; call it laziness for a quick transition. Whenever you see them getting a running start, that’s much more realistic for their size. That or climbing a tree and jumping out of it, but I don’t think I’ve ever had them do that even when it would make sense? Something to revisit in OF PBox perhaps.

Besides moments with great research and effort shining through, I guess the parts I like rereading the most are the ones where the characters shine. Whether that’s in relation to each other or themselves over the course of the story. I’m not even sure it’s Nick chapters that I’m partial to, there’s just a lot of them compared to the other Boys. Either because he’s a spotlight hog or I just let him hog the spotlight. It’s something I’m trying to work on, albeit poorly. I’ve said it many times as well, the number one reason to read this story is the characters. The plot is also pretty interesting, but the characters are the ultimate drivers of what goes on and what happens. I’ve ultimately let them take the wheel as long as they’re developing and growing. Really, Nick’s the best (or most demanding) bus driver of this story. Anyway, hope y’all enjoy this one! It’s one of my favorites.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

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Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #56 on: March 17, 2021, 07:50:07 PM »

And now for your updates!

If you would still like to read PBox, I will include both location links below. While all fifty chapters of PBox are complete, it is still undergoing the tiniest cursory edit where I change the paragraph alignment of the "~*~" and fix a couple errant commas, but otherwise it's all there. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

Pandora's Box on Absolute Chaos

Pandora's Box on AO3

Please find updates as follows (links included in titles):

Chapter Fourteen ("Soul") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos (I said I really liked this one way back when, but it's probably one of my favorites overall.)

Chapter Seven ("Melt") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since January.)

Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers. Last week we got some Nick & Kevin! Which you should have expected if you've been reading all of my PBox background information posts. I wonder who the Nick & _____ might be this week...  Hmm!
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

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  • Fool, said my Muse, look in thy heart and write
    • Could You Do Me Right?
Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #57 on: March 24, 2021, 06:14:47 PM »

I finally got going on some PNecklace again yesterday! It's not very far yet, but I think it's what was missing before we all continued on. So good news! I've also committed to doing Camp NaNo through NaNoWriMo with the goal of finishing PNecklace next month. Wish me luck! I'll update y'all as I go along. Right now I've got twenty chapters left to write, so about 60,000 words. These epics, I tell ya! If I'd actually started this in November, I wonder if I would have written that much then too (since I got through 21ish chapters and about 51,000 words).

Meanwhile, I've been hard at work on that early new chapter of OF PBox that I'd mentioned. And it was just as fun as I was hoping. It took a while, but I enjoyed getting back into early Nick. He's a fun insecure, flinching, mood-swinging mess. But, he still has all of his determination, spunk, and Leeroy Jenkins-tendencies. Plus his sarcasm and naivety. I think it's what the beginning has been missing, so I'm happy with it. Let's see what my betas... (gammas? deltas? PBox has gone through a lot of revisions over the years) think of the addition. I'm interested to see what they think once I get to Howie, but I've already added/changed about 7,000 new words before handing it over to them. And made revisions since, so it's a process. They've only seen the first three chapters though (or chapter two through four of the version you can read). I was rereading a thread here recently about publishing and I think one of the things in it was "do you put in the work if you don't know if you'll get published?" And I suppose, you never know until it's all finished and you try. Wouldn't that be nice if you could just pitch an idea and have people decide based on that? I'll have to get better at writing summaries, haha. I told some of my friends I was writing a novel and when they asked what it was about, I just said "demons." Clearly a great summary of the whole of PBox.

Did everyone enjoy last week's chapter? I told y'all that I would be revealing big things for several weeks! I wonder what's next. Hmmm... This is has been this week's addition of "I have nothing to talk about so now I will ramble, lol." And now for your updates!

If you would still like to read PBox, I will include both location links below. While all fifty chapters of PBox are complete, it is still undergoing the tiniest cursory edit where I change the paragraph alignment of the "~*~" and fix a couple errant commas, but otherwise it's all there. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

Pandora's Box on Absolute Chaos

Pandora's Box on AO3

Please find updates as follows (links included in titles):

Chapter Fifteen ("Confidence") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos

Chapter Eight ("Bewitched") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since February.)

Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers. Last week we got some Nick & Howie! So I'm guessing you've assumed that this week much be Nick & AJ; sorry that you're always last, AJ.
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

  • Supreme Time Waster
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  • Posts: 10984
  • Fool, said my Muse, look in thy heart and write
    • Could You Do Me Right?
Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #58 on: March 31, 2021, 10:03:53 PM »

No chats this week, it was very busy!

If you would still like to read PBox, I will include both location links below. While all fifty chapters of PBox are complete, it is still undergoing the tiniest cursory edit where I change the paragraph alignment of the "~*~" and fix a couple errant commas, but otherwise it's all there. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

Pandora's Box on Absolute Chaos

Pandora's Box on AO3

Please find updates as follows (links included in titles):

Chapter Sixteen ("Earthquake") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos

Chapter Nine ("Misgivings") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since February.)

Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers!
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey

nicksgal

  • Supreme Time Waster
  • *******
  • Posts: 10984
  • Fool, said my Muse, look in thy heart and write
    • Could You Do Me Right?
Re: Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
« Reply #59 on: April 07, 2021, 11:34:36 PM »

My apologies for another week without chats! I have something interesting in the works for next week, so please look forward to it. This chapter ended up taking slightly longer to edit than I had planned as Brian begged for some humor to be added and he does not disappoint! (I hope.)

If you would still like to read PBox, I will include both location links below. While all fifty chapters of PBox are complete, it is still undergoing the tiniest cursory edit where I change the paragraph alignment of the "~*~" and fix a couple errant commas, but otherwise it's all there. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

Pandora's Box on Absolute Chaos

Pandora's Box on AO3

Please find updates as follows (links included in titles):

Chapter Seventeen ("Den of Demons") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos (You'll notice it's one I listed as a favorite and I think it only became more so after the little edit I gave it this week.)

Chapter Ten ("Fear") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since February, but if you had wanted to comment on it back then and didn't, now's a great time to do so. I will now stop being shameless in my updates thread.)

Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers! Thank you to everyone who helped get PBox to ~40,000 reads and PNecklace to ~1,000! I appreciate you all!
« Last Edit: April 14, 2021, 08:56:33 PM by nicksgal »
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~*Dee*~

People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.

From "And Now, Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey
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