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Author Topic: The Writing Thread  (Read 146082 times)

nicksgal

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #180 on: January 04, 2021, 09:44:16 PM »

LOL Here's the Hamilton/writing connection to get us back on topic:  Lin-Manuel Miranda is an absolute genius!  I discovered my grandparents had a copy of the Alexander Hamilton biography that inspired him, so I borrowed it and have been slowly (very slowly) reading it bit by bit (it's incredibly long).  It's fascinating to see the connections to the musical and think that a biography like that could have inspired such a cool musical.

So here's a related question for everyone:  What has been the weirdest or most random/obscure/unexpected source of inspiration for one of your story ideas?

Ooh... I love it.

LMM is a national treasure. In the Heights is also great!

Hmmm... I can't think of one right now. Dreams happen to me most often. I can't think of a time something tangible inspired a whole story, but different bits and pieces of them... Hmm...

I have to think and come back to this one. You?
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RokofAges75

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #181 on: January 04, 2021, 09:50:29 PM »

Do! I haven't seen the Disney+ version, but live theatre is a spectacle.  My bff and I have season tickets to the broadway shows that roll through here and we've seen many great ones that we wouldn't have originally bought tickets for, so it's been fun. Although, the one we had scheduled in March was Spongebob the Musical and we were both dreading it, so... But then April was Mean Girls! Still sad about that. Is Hamilton still in residency in Chicago?

You definitely need to watch the Disney+ version if you can!  I love that it allows you to see close-ups of the actors' faces so you can see their facial expressions better than you would in a theater, depending on your seats.

I think Hamilton was in Chicago before the pandemic, but not sure if it's still going to be or not.  That would be the best place for me to see it short of going to NYC, but if it's not, hopefully I can catch the touring version at some point.

How did you like Mean Girls?  I haven't seen the musical, but heard it was good.
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nicksgal

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #182 on: January 04, 2021, 09:54:26 PM »

You definitely need to watch the Disney+ version if you can!  I love that it allows you to see close-ups of the actors' faces so you can see their facial expressions better than you would in a theater, depending on your seats.

I think Hamilton was in Chicago before the pandemic, but not sure if it's still going to be or not.  That would be the best place for me to see it short of going to NYC, but if it's not, hopefully I can catch the touring version at some point.

How did you like Mean Girls?  I haven't seen the musical, but heard it was good.

Our seats were only about ten rows back, so we had a pretty good view. But yes, I've heard the close ups of the OG Broadway cast are phenomenal.

The movie is awesome. The show was postponed unfortunately. I really want to see the Heathers musical too.

Ones I saw that were great were Come From Away, Margaritaville, the Donna Summers musical... I'm blanking on some others. Obviously Les Mis, Hamilton, Phantom, I liked Legally Blonde a lot (but it's not for everyone), The Book of Mormon, etcetera.
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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

RokofAges75

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #183 on: January 04, 2021, 10:01:29 PM »

Hmmm... I can't think of one right now. Dreams happen to me most often. I can't think of a time something tangible inspired a whole story, but different bits and pieces of them... Hmm...

I have to think and come back to this one. You?

Hm...  One of the saddest stories I've ever written was directly inspired by an Adam Sandler/Seth Rogen movie, which seems kind of unexpected.

I guess probably my weirdest example is that I got the premise for one of my novels from remembering a clip from a medical fetish porn I accidentally came across on YouTube while researching for another story.  Rule #34 of the internet!
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~Julie

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RokofAges75

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #184 on: January 04, 2021, 10:05:30 PM »

Our seats were only about ten rows back, so we had a pretty good view. But yes, I've heard the close ups of the OG Broadway cast are phenomenal.

The movie is awesome. The show was postponed unfortunately. I really want to see the Heathers musical too.

Gotcha!  I hope they bring back Mean Girls so you can go see it.  I love the movie.

The only "downside" to having Hamilton on Disney+ is that I will inevitably be slightly disappointed it's not the original Broadway cast when I see a live version of it.  That was hard for me with Book of Mormon too.  I never saw it on Broadway, but I had every word of the original Broadway cast recording before I ever saw it live with a different cast in Chicago.  I've seen it a number of times now, and it's always phenomenal, but the original cast is still the best.
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~Julie

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nicksgal

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #185 on: January 04, 2021, 10:21:24 PM »

Gotcha!  I hope they bring back Mean Girls so you can go see it.  I love the movie.

The only "downside" to having Hamilton on Disney+ is that I will inevitably be slightly disappointed it's not the original Broadway cast when I see a live version of it.  That was hard for me with Book of Mormon too.  I never saw it on Broadway, but I had every word of the original Broadway cast recording before I ever saw it live with a different cast in Chicago.  I've seen it a number of times now, and it's always phenomenal, but the original cast is still the best.

Book of Mormon is the only show I've ever seen on Broadway (and long after the original cast was gone), so even if I love the OCR, I know full well that it's never going to be quite the same seeing a touring production. I think it would be different actually seeing it with the original cast (even a recorded version) before seeing another one rather than just listening to the album. The tour actors are still awesome. One of them was originally from here too, so that was neat. He was the driver behind the "Youth and Broadway" program they put on for that show. Les Mis is one that always sticks out to me on this. Of course no one else is Val Jean except Colm Wilkinson, but the other Val Jeans have still been awesome.

Seeing a show in its "home theatre" is unreal though!

Also, not sure why I missed mentioning Dear Evan Hansen before, because that one was also amazing!
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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: The Writing Thread
« Reply #186 on: January 04, 2021, 10:22:31 PM »

Hm...  One of the saddest stories I've ever written was directly inspired by an Adam Sandler/Seth Rogen movie, which seems kind of unexpected.

I guess probably my weirdest example is that I got the premise for one of my novels from remembering a clip from a medical fetish porn I accidentally came across on YouTube while researching for another story.  Rule #34 of the internet!

Which movie?

Omg, which stories might be the better question!
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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

RokofAges75

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #187 on: January 04, 2021, 10:28:37 PM »

Which movie?

Omg, which stories might be the better question!

My story Curtain Call was inspired by the movie Funny People.  A Heart That Isn't Mine was inspired by YouTube LOL.
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~Julie

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nicksgal

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #188 on: January 04, 2021, 10:44:32 PM »

My story Curtain Call was inspired by the movie Funny People.  A Heart That Isn't Mine was inspired by YouTube LOL.

Ah, those were both during my hiatus, yes?
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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

RokofAges75

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #189 on: January 04, 2021, 10:47:53 PM »

Ah, those were both during my hiatus, yes?

Yeah, 2010-2011 and 2019, respectively.
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~Julie

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nicksgal

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #190 on: January 04, 2021, 10:56:04 PM »

I love when inspiration comes randomly. There's just something great about milling over something minute and then lighting strikes. It's funny that one was a rule #34, though.
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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

RokofAges75

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #191 on: January 04, 2021, 11:01:04 PM »

Yeah, I had that lightning strike of inspiration with both of those stories, and they're both stories I finished in a reasonable amount of time and am happy with the result.  I wish I had those bursts of pure inspiration more often!  I don't have as good of luck staying inspired with story ideas that I force, compared to the ones that come naturally.
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Rose

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #192 on: January 04, 2021, 11:01:50 PM »

1. How has your writing changed over the years?

I'd say I've gotten stronger in getting in a character's mindset and more descriptive. When I do write, I think more about what I'm trying to convey and I plot ahead so everything connects.

2. Is there something you wrote that you wish you hadn't? Is there something you never finished, but wished you had? Is there a genre you've always wanted to try?

Not really, most of my unfinished stories I am actually working on even if it's slower than I used to be.

3. What's most motivating for you? How do you keep the motivation going? What do you do when the motivation wanes (any particular rituals)? What does your inspiration station look like? (e.g., desk, location in your home, not your home at all, etcetera)

My desk is my happy place. It's surrounded by VIP pics, pics with friends, a pinboard with random BSB things, and signed posters. When inspiration wanes I try not to force it because by forcing it I get more frustrated.

4. What are everyone else's rabbit holes? Either in general or a particularly memorable one from the past?

YouTube. It's death by black hole.

5. Does anyone have any writing-related resolutions this year?

To be more focused on fic writing. I started blogging for fun back in 2015 and talk about the music and it definitely pushed me away from fic. Cause it blew up into something I never expected. But fiction is my true love writing wise and my first love so I want to balance it better.

6. So what do you do if you're feeling motivated to write and/or edit, but your brain is just spent on staring at your computer or red/green walls of edits. Do you keep going because you're feeling inspired? Do you take a short recess then come back? In general when you're inspired to write, do you keep going as long as inspiration strikes or do you set yourself time limits? Has that changed at all since quarantining and stay at home orders have happened (increased or decreased)?

I keep going as long as inspiration strikes. If I hit a wall I take a break cause forcing it for me never helps.

7. On the reverse, if you're in an "open/stare/close" mood, how long do you stare before you close? Do you leave it on in the background while you do something else or is a permanent close for the day? How many times a day would you open a document?

I open documents a LOT lol.

8. Where do you fall on the planning scale? Do you have everything planned before you write a single word? (planning) Do you just start writing and let the muses takes you? (pantsing) Are you some combination of the two? (plantsing)

I used to just start writing, now I usually have lots of notes or an outline before I even start.

9. If you're writing away perfectly contentedly and a great idea pops up for far down the line, what do you do to keep it at bay? Would you drop everything to write it? If you have an outline, do you ever go back and change it or are you very rigid about it? Same with characters?

I'm flexible about my outlines. Characters change and I let them go where the story leads them. When I'm inspired, I go with it.

10. What do you finalize first? Characters or plot?

Usually plot. But I never change the characters to fit the plot.

Questions asked in the context of a conversation that can be answered by all:

1. Do you find it hard to keep perspectives balanced? And do they tend to lean toward anyone in particular in any of your writing?

Nick. I live in his head LOL.

2. It seems like you've run the gambit on challenging yourself with your writing. What was your favorite challenge to yourself? What was your least favorite? Is there something you haven't tried yet that you wanted to try?

My favorite challenge to myself was my Remember Me This Way story. I'd never done a full angst on my own before that one and I realized I loved writing it and I was good at it lol. My least favorite challenge was trying to do romance. I did it to see if I could and I did alright but it's not something I'd try again.

3. Can leg choppage be in a YA novel? What pushes it out of YA rating?

LMAO this is great.

4. How do you un-BSB [a fanfic] enough [to publish without getting sued] but not too much that it's an entirely different story?

I think certain stories can do this. Maybe change a few names, it's easier to do with AU but I can think of a few ways to do this with non-AU fics as well. You just have to be more general with the BSB references.

5. I wonder how many other things [The Boys have] done that are more fanfic of them? eg. renting the house in London while working on IAWLT.

I'd love to know this.

Off-topic Questions:

1. Y'all and Twitter, am I missing out?

Yes lol.

2. Camp NaNo Writing group... Should it be named "The Backstreet Project" or something related to AC?

I like both ideas.
 

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nicksgal

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #193 on: January 04, 2021, 11:04:15 PM »

Yeah, I had that lightning strike of inspiration with both of those stories, and they're both stories I finished in a reasonable amount of time and am happy with the result.  I wish I had those bursts of pure inspiration more often!  I don't have as good of luck staying inspired with story ideas that I force, compared to the ones that come naturally.

I had a couple on Sunday, so I think just being here pulling them out of me, but they're more for plot points than whole stories.

Except my joke fics I keep posting. The only one that seeped into my conscious was the "fanfic as The Neverending Story" one and only because I attached it to a character. See? Characters will get me every time.
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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

RokofAges75

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Re: The Writing Thread
« Reply #194 on: January 04, 2021, 11:06:41 PM »

My favorite challenge to myself was my Remember Me This Way story. I'd never done a full angst on my own before that one and I realized I loved writing it and I was good at it lol. My least favorite challenge was trying to do romance. I did it to see if I could and I did alright but it's not something I'd try again.

2010, the summer of sadness!  That was one of my favorite fanfic summers ever, when we were all writing super angsty dramas.

You know, I used to write romance a lot as a subplot, but I think my romance days may be over.   The last real romance I wrote was my slash LOL.  It's harder now that all the boys are married.  I'm more into the platonic bromance these days.
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~Julie

"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling
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