Fic Talk > Updates
Drop it like it's hot! Or... Updates from Dee. :o)
nicksgal:
Tiny persistent Nick, you're the worst! (I'm kidding, you're my absolute favorite -- though that should be abundantly clear by now.) So as you all know, I've been employing the backlog since I unretired/found my love for writing again. Everything you've been seeing and reading in PNecklace these past few months, I had written before December when I started posting it (except last week's chapter). And now, this week's chapter is finally the last one I wrote any part of during NaNoWriMo (except for maybe a tiny scene here or there, but I think we're almost through most of those ones). I started it on the very last day, to be specific.
I then completed this week's chapter when December hit and I said "Now what? Guess we keep writing, Nick?" "Yup!" It initially included parts of last week's chapter in its original plans as well, but I ended up focusing on two of the things I wanted to include more than the other two, so I pushed those other bits back. And then I actually took most of December and January off from PNecklace in order to edit PBox fully and write my holiday story, with a tiny bit of PNecklace editing and a very tiny bit of writing interesting bits. And then when I came back, I realized that last week's chapter was actually before this week's chapter when I added the first scene.
While I was editing, I was still vaguely plantsing the rest of PNecklace (I wrote a tiny snippet of the very end and a few other bits, planned some team dynamics, fleshed out the big bad, worked on our main heroes' character arcs, etcetera), and came to the conclusion that getting to that planned final end wouldn't happen in the next twenty loosely planned chapters, but the arc our demon buddies were currently on could end, so... there would likely need to be another installment. Ugh, Nick... Why do you have so much story to share? ("I'm really interesting!" "You're right, I know.")
At the beginning of this, I thought I was crazy rereading some stuff here where I said that this would originally be four stories, but no, I was right, it will be (but probably for different reasons than I thought back then, the story has definitely departed from what I thought might be the plotline back then a little bit over these past few years). However, if it creeps into five stories, so help me, Nick! We've gotta do something else! I think part of this thinking is that I would rather have all the stories be close to 50 chapters instead of letting PNecklace become unruly and "go on for as long as it takes" so it's only a sequel. But also knowing that if I figured there is more to come that I want to make sure that PNecklace feels satisfying at the end and not just "this should have been longer, but I didn't want it to be, so I chopped it in half" and now it's just contingent on the last part being finished to be satisfying. I guess the point of this author talk/update is to confirm there's more coming? Unless I finish PNecklace, give up again, and re-retire? Wish me luck? I think it’ll be fine because
And that's where I stopped when I wrote this Author Note in December. I think I really wanted to be able to tell you all that I'd finished PNecklace and had started writing "Pandora's Demons" (that's its title), but, as you know, I haven't finished PNecklace... yet. But it's close. Only about eight and half chapters left to go! I hope those of you reading have enjoyed it so far. You know I'm always here to chat.
nicksgal:
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 Twenty-Three ("Memories") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos (I think this is one I listed as a favorite. It's me nerding out on rites and rituals again, which is always fun. You've seen a wedding. I wonder what you'll see next...)
Chapter Sixteen ("Earthquake") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since March, but feedback is always appreciated.)
Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers! Thank you again to everyone reading! See you next Wednesday!
nicksgal:
Happy Wednesday!
So I wanted to talk about Five Man Bands this week and specifically Five Man Bands with fantasy tropes. So I’ve said before that I love a good Five Man Band and honestly… this is probably because of the Boys more than anything else. So your key players in five man band are as follows:
* The Leader/The Hero: In PBox&Co, you could argue this is Nick. He’s the protagonist, one of our most frequent viewpoint characters, and the story starts (for us) when Nick’s hero’s journey starts.
* The Lancer: The one made to foil the hero. If Nick’s the hero, this is obviously Brian. There’s no way around this. I’ll discuss it more below.
* The Smart Guy: To be fair, compared to hot-headed and impulsive Nick, literally any of the others can assume the role of Smart Guy. (Nick’s learning and trying, lol). However, strategic Howie with his military prowess is the most likely filler of the role.
* The Big Guy: This is Kevin. A sheer powerhouse, physically imposing compared to most of the others, even though in PBox, his powers are most often utilized in a defensive nature rather than sheer offense. I honestly think it’s telling that Nick himself (actual Nick, not PBox Nick) envisioned Kevin as The Powerlord in the Backstreet Project -- to Nick, Kevin is The Big Guy personified. (As an aside, what did Nick want to be in the Backstreet Project? He suddenly puts on an amulet and knows how to fix a spaceship, never mind that he couldn’t fix an Earth spaceship, let alone one with alien technology… Nick clearly wants to be the Smart Guy with shades of the Leader. I’ll be honest, he didn’t fanboy enough about getting super powers; that was one of the first things I promptly fixed in Gobosei -- you just know he would.)
* The Heart: The one cheering the others on, making impassioned speeches about friendship, AJ of course. (Though he did have shades of Sixth Ranger when he first appeared and Minako filled in this role both as is and in its more gender-biased “The Chick.”)
But honestly? Nick’s not your typical High Fantasy Hero. He’s not necessarily all-loving, if anything he’s a bit of a curmudgeon despite his youth. He’s more than happy to start a fist fight with whoever. He’s pretty selfish. He has his flaws in spades, as you know. And while he definitely loves his friends and would risk hell for them, he’s really not into the whole “because destiny says so” shtick. But there’s a character who is…
Howie. A sword-wielding King who loves his people, is descended from a protected demonic lineage, and considers his duty the most important thing he is. And he obviously rallies the other to heroics. A textbook High Fantasy Hero. I told you I wanted to make Howie important. (I’m a relic of my time, really. Is this that much of an issue anymore?)
Then… What’s Nick? Well, he could be The Lancer. He and Howie have a lot of opposites about them, but in a story where Howie’s the Hero, his Lancer is probably AJ. He could be The Big Guy. His first solution to most problems is “hit it?” But, Kevin’s probably still The Big Guy, or possibly The Smart Guy. We’ve already established that Nick is not The Smart Guy in PBox, but he has his moments as he grows. Brian’s probably Howie’s Smart Guy. That makes Nick The Heart -- again, a bitter, selfish, hot-headed Heart, but caring for his Five Man Band is his m.o. Truthfully, PBox is really a story where The Heart/Lancer/Big Guy is our protagonist rather than the typical Hero.
And because of this, the classics of Five Man Bands are muddled. Anyone as a Lancer to Howie is kind of wishy-washy because of the forethought that went into Nick being in The Hero role. If you ever had any doubts, Brian is Nick’s Lancer, 100%. Where do we find Nick at the beginning of the story? Questioning his faith and purpose among other things. And Brian? Assuming the role of a priest. I mentioned this in the demon powers discussion already, but Nick uses his fists to attack (and is clueless about his powers) whereas Brian uses defensive barriers and is, arguably, a master of his craft (he wavers a bit over time, but everybody has their character arc). Orphaned Nick to den of demons Brian. Hot-headed to calm. Doer to analyzer. I could go on, but I think you get the point. In a PBox world where the others are placed in The Hero role, there could be some fluidity on who serves The Lancer role for each of them, but not for Nick and, as that case stands, probably not for Brian either.
Anyway, what’s fun about Five Man Bands is their character dynamics. They’re not necessarily about any one member, but how they play off each other to form a unit. What separate units can and can’t do based on who’s missing. What happens to the team when one member is gone. I’m thinking a lot about this now as I’m ending the story and maybe you’ll see what I mean once you’re where I am, but this was stuck in my head and I wanted to discuss it.
So, now it’s your turn. Is Kevin unequivocally The Big Guy? Just what is Nick if we switch perspective and accept that Howie is the classic standard for The Hero? Are AJ’s shapeshifting powers muddling how I feel about his role? Are you still focused on me giving you a mild spoiler about Brian and not addressing it? Or are you wondering why I wanted to bring up the Backstreet Project in a discussion about PBox and not Gobosei? Always here to chat. See you next Wednesday.
nicksgal:
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 Twenty-Four ("Exchange") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos
Chapter Seventeen ("Den of Demons") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (You've been able to read this chapter here at AC since March and it's probably sill one of my favorites; feedback is always appreciated.)
Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers! Thank you again to everyone reading! See you next Wednesday!
nicksgal:
I have no Author Talk this week, because it has been a week, but I decided to start adding some more little author notes to the end of the chapters. Here's the one from AO3's update this week because it's not particularly spoilery:
When I initially posted PBox, a friend/reader said I was "cruel" for letting AJ interrupt Nick and Minako's wedding night (in Chapter Twenty-Nine: Demonic Heart), so I suppose I continue to be cruel, haha. Anything I can do to keep our hero celibate, right? I wonder if that will ever change! (She said possibly facetiously.)
Nick's dreams have played an important part in PNecklace since the beginning. Much of the story is focused on Nick figuring things out and piecing together his memories and self. Realistically, they've probably been there all along, he just buried them in an attempt to forget his pain. Trauma is difficult when you're a child, but he also figured out at some point that he didn't really want the box or any divine miracle, he just wanted anyone to accept him as is (and that's the thing he really needed despite wanting differently in the beginning). In PNecklace he grapples with wanting to be stronger; wonder what the thing he really needs is? I ask this facetiously as always -- of course I know the answer.
Thanks for reading! See you on Sunday for the first Sunday Sizzlin' Summer extra update! Anyone else have thoughts on Nick's dreams? I'd love to hear them! :)
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 Twenty-Five ("Cost") of Pandora's Necklace on Absolute Chaos (I'm posting this slightly early, it will be up in the next half hour or so.)
Chapter Eighteen ("Centered") of Pandora's Necklace on AO3 (You've been able to read this on AC since April.)
Enjoy! Continue to feel free to ask me anything and get answers! Thank you again to everyone reading! I'll be posting Chapter Nineteen on AO3 on Sunday, but won't be updating this thread then since you've been able to read it here on AC since April. See you next Wednesday! Feedback is always appreciated as I catch my two cross postings up to each other (or if you're loving what's currently on AC). :)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version