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[RokofAges75]

Writing quirks.

I tend to forget Howie a lot. Like he'll be there for the beginning and then he's hardly mentioned at all the rest of the story. I finally got over this when I wrote Finding Carter, I actually gave him a bigger role as the villain type role in the story. I am trying to get better. I also use a lot of references to movies and songs lol

I think it can be hard to keep a balance between all five boys unless you make a conscious effort to do so, like by alternating between each of their perspectives or something.  Most of my stories seem to focus mainly on one or two of them, so the others are just sort of in the background. 

[mare]

Wow, thanks for all the love, Tracy! I actually had to go back and look at Lurks to see how I ended it lol I do remember for a brief minute almost naming it The Blueberry Pig and knowing that if I didn't call it that I'd have to put it in there somewhere. I had forgotten that that's how I chose to end it though . Too funny.

I still have to go back and reread some things to find my answers. I know I also kind of feel the need to incorporate the title of my stories somewhere into the actual story itself. I think did it as a last line more than once lol I'm pretty sure Scars Run Deep and Wide and Seasons of Change were some of my favorite last lines but like I said, I'll need to check.

I'm totally on the Swollen Issues bandwagon as well. That story really helped me feel the brotherly bond the fictional boys had with each other. I remember being so angry at the ending of the last story, but that just shows how invested I was in the actual series.

I'll answer the rest of the questions later but all the Swollen Issues talk made me think of a question because I almost didn't read it based on it's title. Is there a story you might have skipped based on it's title? Or is there a story you read just because the title drew you in? For your own stories, what was your favorite title you came up with and why? Was there a certain meaning behind it?

[FrickingKaos]

My favorite story title was totally Finding Carter hands down. Not only was it a perfect fit for the Disney theme I had going on in the story, it was a play on Finding Nemo and had a meaning about Nick finding himself during the story, which was apparent when it finished. Finding Carter is probably my favorite story I've written. I did it in first person which was something I hadn't done before. I like to challenge myself.



In response to Julie, I am finding I can write more freely this way and go back to edit. My chapters are actually longer and I find that I feel more satisfied with them without posting. It's been definitely a different experience.

[mare]

I really couldn't think of any really memorable first lines that I've written and I truly can't think of any fanfics either, but two novels that came to mind for me were:

"This is a story about a man named Eddie and it begins at the end, with Eddie dying in the sun." - The Five People You Meet in Heaven

I LOVE this book! lol it draws you in right from that first line and keeps you going until the end.


And I know this is cheating, but it was more like an opening paragraph than a sentence, that sucked me completely in and that was for the book Nineteen Minutes. When a paragraph can give you chills, you know the story is going to be epic.


"In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn; color your hair; watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five.
Nineteen minutes is how long it took the Tennessee Titans to sell out of tickets to the playoffs. It’s the amount of time it takes to listen to the Yes song Close to the Edge. It’s the length of a sitcom, minus the commercials. It’s the driving distance from the Vermont border to the town of Sterling, NH.
In nineteen minutes, you can order a pizza and get it delivered. You can read a story to a child or have your oil changed. You can walk two miles. You can sew a hem.
In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world; or you can just jump off it.
In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge."

I think finding good last lines is a lot harder so I'll be cheating on those too. I think final paragraphs are much more likely to stay with you.

I'll be back lol

[RokofAges75]

My favorite story title was totally Finding Carter hands down. Not only was it a perfect fit for the Disney theme I had going on in the story, it was a play on Finding Nemo and had a meaning about Nick finding himself during the story, which was apparent when it finished. Finding Carter is probably my favorite story I've written. I did it in first person which was something I hadn't done before. I like to challenge myself.

LOL I feel so dumb for never making the connection between Finding Carter and Finding Nemo.  Duh!  That makes sense.  Although you know there was a show on MTV called Finding Carter a couple years ago?  I never watched it, but I would see it on my guide and always thought of your story.

[RokofAges75]

I'm totally on the Swollen Issues bandwagon as well. That story really helped me feel the brotherly bond the fictional boys had with each other. I remember being so angry at the ending of the last story, but that just shows how invested I was in the actual series.

I'll answer the rest of the questions later but all the Swollen Issues talk made me think of a question because I almost didn't read it based on it's title. Is there a story you might have skipped based on it's title? Or is there a story you read just because the title drew you in? For your own stories, what was your favorite title you came up with and why? Was there a certain meaning behind it?

Good questions!  I will have to give some more thought to the title things, but I just wanted to comment on what you said about Swollen Issues.  I remember feeling the same way about the title when it was just the one story.  I think I did read part of it and thought, "Oh, this is just a comedy about Nick having mumps" - which, let's be honest, is not my cup of tea.  If I'm going to read a disease story, it better be dramatic!  But when they wrote a sequel, something made me go back and give it another try - I don't remember if it was just curiosity or word of mouth, but I did reread it and went on to the sequel, and WOW!  The second and third story are totally different from the first.  And that ending still makes me upset, but I can appreciate the realism of it.

[RokofAges75]

And I know this is cheating, but it was more like an opening paragraph than a sentence, that sucked me completely in and that was for the book Nineteen Minutes. When a paragraph can give you chills, you know the story is going to be epic.


"In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn; color your hair; watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five.
Nineteen minutes is how long it took the Tennessee Titans to sell out of tickets to the playoffs. It’s the amount of time it takes to listen to the Yes song Close to the Edge. It’s the length of a sitcom, minus the commercials. It’s the driving distance from the Vermont border to the town of Sterling, NH.
In nineteen minutes, you can order a pizza and get it delivered. You can read a story to a child or have your oil changed. You can walk two miles. You can sew a hem.
In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world; or you can just jump off it.
In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge."

I think finding good last lines is a lot harder so I'll be cheating on those too. I think final paragraphs are much more likely to stay with you.

I'll be back lol

Ooh, I love the Nineteen Minutes one!  That is one of Jodi Picoult's books that I have yet to read.

A better question might have been about last paragraphs or even last scenes or chapters, so cheat away!

[RokofAges75]

Is there a story you might have skipped based on it's title? Or is there a story you read just because the title drew you in? For your own stories, what was your favorite title you came up with and why? Was there a certain meaning behind it?

No offense, but I think "The Importance of Fly Fishing" was one of those stories that I wouldn't have clicked on if it wasn't written by you, because of the title.  Not that it's a bad title, but a fanfic that sounds like it's all about fly fishing just wouldn't have interested me.  Luckily I gave it a chance because I liked all your other stories I'd read, and it was great - and about so much more than fly fishing.

A couple other examples of stories that I might not have read just based on their title are "Garden" by Louise and "The Market" by Susan.  They're both actually great titles once you read the story and understand the meaning of them, but out of context, they seem kind of boring.

I'm usually drawn in by summaries more than titles, but any title that sounds like it could be a medical drama is likely to draw me in.  "Cardio" by Trinity is an old one that comes to mind.  It's not about exercise. LOL

I am very unoriginal when it comes to naming my own stories.  Most of my titles come from songs, and the ones that don't are usually either 1) one word, 2) some cliched phrase, or 3) a vague combination of dramatic-sounding words, like "Cry of Despair."

My favorite titles are the ones with more than one meaning, like a literal meaning but also a figurative one.  For example, "Beside the Ocean" literally does take place by the ocean, but that title also comes from the song "I Hope You Dance" ("I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean..."), which was my inspiration for that story.  In "Broken," Nick really did have a broken leg at the beginning, but I broke his spirit as well as his body LOL.

I also like titles that sound figurative, but are actually just very literal.  I loved the title "Sick as My Secrets" for the song before I borrowed it for my story, but it fits perfectly because the story is literally about sickness and secrets LOL.  "Secrets of the Heart" sounds like some kind of Harlequin romance title, but it's literally about a human heart that's transplanted from one character to another and the secrets those characters have.

[FrickingKaos]

LOL I feel so dumb for never making the connection between Finding Carter and Finding Nemo.  Duh!  That makes sense.  Although you know there was a show on MTV called Finding Carter a couple years ago?  I never watched it, but I would see it on my guide and always thought of your story.

Lol yeah the story was literally about allowing yourself to grow up like Nemo's father had to let Nemo grow up. I know about the show and every time I saw tweets about it I would laugh. I often compared Nick to Peter Pan in the story because he wasn't ready to grow up until the end when he had children and named his son Peter. Andrew was named after Andy in Toy  Story for the same reason, I did a lot of things on purpose hoping someone would get it.

[mare]

Last lines are generally my favorite things to read and write.

This first one is from Season's of Change: I posted the final paragraph to put it in context, but I had posted segments of  his commencement speech as a header for each paragraph and the epilogue was the full speech and final thoughts

Many years later when giving speeches had become second nature to me while doling out advice or getting honorary doctorates, I found myself talking more openly about my father and my theories about his unhappiness. Our families overall sadness, but at that moment, I kept those words as a silent thought as I exchanged a quick thoughtful glance with my father.

"Strive to become the best person you can be and never forget the people who helped get you there. Because in the end that's all that really matters. Thank you"

I stepped away from the podium to the sounds of silence followed by a roar of applause. People were standing up for me. My family was cheering. AJ making whistling sounds. I wasn't sure when I should walk away, so I waited for Mrs. Christopher to give me a cue which she finally did.

As I walked back down to my chair I took one final look at the crowd, how different things were going to be for me now. I was terrified but open for the challenge. That's what life was all about.


The other one I like that I've written is from Scars Run Deep and Wide:

He glanced up and looked at his family. They had been through so much and there were times he didn’t think they would make it, but one thing he realized, was even though scars run deep and wide, only one thing runs deeper…

 And that’s love.

And yup, there's the title. In fact if I had posted a little more of Seasons, the title would have been there too. I'm very guilty of doing that. lol

As far as other people's last lines, I generally sigh when I'm done with a great story. I most enjoy endings that leave things open, like this little nugget from Ground Zero:


And that purpose was to bind the handcuffs I was wearing to the earth.

That wasn’t the worst realization though.

That came later.

When someone placed a board over the entrance of the…cave or hole or whatever it was we were in. And when the sound of dirt raining down on the wooden plank made me realize that we were being sealed into our tomb.

The End

Um....the end? Really? lol

But there's nothing wrong with wrapping things up with a little bow as well like this suspense On the Run:

Anyway, I am glad that everyone is back to their usual self. I never thought I would say this but I'm thankful for AJ's blunt, corky remarks. Howie's peace maker manners. Kevin's bossy, responsible adult attitude. Nick's unpredictable pranks. I was actually looking forward to all of it. I realized that all these things, makes the Backstreet Boys. That's what keeps our pride alive.


Wrapping things up nicely there after taking us on a suspenseful ride. 

[mare]

No offense, but I think "The Importance of Fly Fishing" was one of those stories that I wouldn't have clicked on if it wasn't written by you, because of the title.  Not that it's a bad title, but a fanfic that sounds like it's all about fly fishing just wouldn't have interested me.  Luckily I gave it a chance because I liked all your other stories I'd read, and it was great - and about so much more than fly fishing.

No worries, none taken lol I think I've had more than one uh...wtf is that about? Titles I'm glad you gave it a try.

[mare]

Has anyone else discovered any writing quirks or habits they have (or had), like the "eternal/eternity" thing I mentioned in one of my earlier posts?  Anything you do or did often in stories that you didn't even realize?

For me, besides getting the name of each story in there somewhere, I think putting quotes or naming each chapter is one of my things. I also tend to make AJ my comic relief all the time which is kind of funny because I truly believe in real life, he's probably the least funny out of them all. I'm not sure why I started doing that, but it's something I've kept up all the way to the end. Weird lol

[Rose]

You know, I tend to make AJ my comic relief too. I agree it's probably not likely but I use his quirks to ease the tension of a story, or give him THE most off the wall things to say.

[FrickingKaos]

Man... Ground Zero. That takes me back cause it was one of the first fics I ever read here. I loved that story. I guess to this day I still like that torture suspense drama mystery kind of story. Which makes me want to ask a question....


If you still read, has your taste in story genre changed or stayed the same over the years and why?

[FrickingKaos]

You know, I tend to make AJ my comic relief too. I agree it's probably not likely but I use his quirks to ease the tension of a story, or give him THE most off the wall things to say.

I kind of do the same thing. If the boys had a sitcom AJ would be the master of the lean in or the unexpected jokes. I usually give those to Nick or AJ. Depending on my mood.