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Author Topic: 2 Writing 2 Thread  (Read 122550 times)

nicksgal

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Re: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #330 on: February 11, 2021, 10:58:24 PM »

I also have a side note... Back on our sex topic: what's the least stupid way to write "If you keep looking at me like you want me, I'll have sex with you again right now." Because I have been trying different things for months and they all sound so stupid... (including that)

  • "I’ll do it again if you keep looking at me like that."
  • "Keep looking at me like that if you want seconds."
  • "Keep looking at me like that and I'll have you again."
  • "$&@%!"

I've given up, basically, haha.

I forgot to include "Keep looking at me that way and I'll impale you with my throbbing member." LMAO. (Not one I'd written, but let's all laugh about it together.)
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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: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #331 on: February 11, 2021, 11:39:05 PM »

You guys! This is not writing related, but I am so excited! I just got scheduled for my first dose of the COVID vaccine! YAY!
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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

FrickingKaos

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Re: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #332 on: February 12, 2021, 12:10:50 AM »

Hooray!!!
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RokofAges75

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Re: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #333 on: February 12, 2021, 07:18:48 PM »

You guys! This is not writing related, but I am so excited! I just got scheduled for my first dose of the COVID vaccine! YAY!

Yay!!
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~Julie

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

nicksgal

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Re: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #334 on: February 13, 2021, 03:27:30 PM »

It's been twenty pages, so we are due for a question recap thread!

The Questions:

1. While writing, if you had to give up snacks and drinks or music, which would be harder to give up and why?

2. Which is your favorite season to write in and why?

3. If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a full year while writing a book, but your book had to take place there, where would you choose?

4. What is your favorite word and why?

5. What book from your childhood has shaped you most as a writer?

6. Do you believe in the concept of a muse? What is yours like?

7. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

8. Do you guys tend to read or watch things that are similar to what you're writing (in terms of genre or subject matter) to inspire you, or do you stay away from things that seem similar to avoid inadvertently copying ideas?

9. What has been your strangest or most unexpected source of inspiration?

10. How's everyone's day going (for writing)? or How's everyone's writing life going this week? or Anyone else trying to do some serious writing today?

11. If I were to write an AU about the Boys working in a school, what would their roles be?

12. Which is better:  finishing a story you've been working on for awhile, or getting a really good piece of feedback?

13. Favorite punctuation mark?

14. Has anyone ever forced themselves to finish a story they didn't enjoy writing just to please their readers?

15. Is it "Chapter One" or "Chapter 1"?

16. If you have more than one scene in a chapter, what kind of scene break do you use to split them up?

17. If you want to designate that something is a flashback or happened in the past, how do you designate it?

18. Bold, italics, or underlining?

19. Anyone else tend to gravitate towards writing what's comfortable, even if it's not as interesting?

20. What story or chapter were you most nervous about posting?

21. For those of you who have written a series, which do you think was the strongest and weakest story?  Do you think any stories were unnecessary?

22. What do we feel works to make a series strong overall even if we personally say "I guess x is the worst?" Clearly "contractually obligated to write x amount of books" is a good indicator that they may decline over time.

23. At what point you really have to decide something is a series for the whole thing to feel satisfying?

24. Do you guys define a series just more than one story/book?

25. What about creative rights for movies? Or multi-parter movies for one book?

25. To Write or Not to Write! What do you do during those times when you feel like you have motivation or inspiration, but know that you'll have to stop writing to do something else at a specific time? Do you write with the time that you do have or do you wait until the thing you have to do is over and hope the inspiration/motivation sticks?

26. What are some other odd places we all write in our homes?

From the "Characters" Discussion:

1. How do you come up with character names for your stories? (Other than the obvious, "Well, Nick is "Nick.")

2. What are the essential characteristic s of a hero you can root for? Are there certain aspects of the Boys you play up if they're in the hero role?

3. What do you do to get inside your characters' heads?

4. If you could be a character from one of your stories, who would it be and why?

5. What's the trickiest thing about writing characters of the opposite gender?

6. Does one of your characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?

7. Now describe that character in three words.

8. Which of your characters do you relate to the most?

9. Do you often put aspects of yourself into your characters?

10. And just for fun: Go back to that character you said holds a special place in your heart and think about the other characters in their story. They can only use each character once, so which character from their story would they pick to:

a. be trapped in the wilderness with? (can be frigid or tropical wilderness) Why?

b. spend the night in a haunted house with? Why?

c. have for a boss? Why?

d. pull off a heist with? Why?

e. be on the Amazing Race with? Why?

11. And because these are fun anyway, just answer for yourself with the Boys. You can only use each one once.  :D Which Boy would you pick to:

a. be trapped in the wilderness with? (can be frigid or tropical wilderness) Why?

b. spend the night in a haunted house with? Why?

c. have for a boss? Why?

d. pull off a heist with? Why?

e. be on the Amazing Race with? Why?

From the "Beginnings, Middles, and Endings" Discussion:

1. Beginnings, Middles, or Endings: What is your favorite part to write in a story and why?

2. Same question, but least favorite?

3. When you're writing a beginning, how much time do you like to devote to backstory or do you intersperse it throughout the story?

4. What are backstory elements you know, but don't include? Are these conscious choices or more along the lines of "We're BSB fans reading BSB fanfics"?

5. Do you always know your main character's (or characters') motivation when you start a story or does it come up later?

6. "I won't start the beginning of the story until I know: ____________."

7. What's the easiest thing about beginnings and the most challenging?

8. "In the middle of the story, I often: ______________ ."

9. What's something overrated about middles? What's something underrated about middles?

11. What's the easiest thing about middles and the most challenging?

12. What's the easiest thing about endings and the most challenging?

13. "I won't end the story until I know: ____________."

14. Do you always know the end of a story when you start it? If not, when's the last possible point you must decide the ending?

15. Do your stories always have an ending or do you leave them open-ended just in case?

16. What types of endings leave you feeling most satisfied with your story? (Interpret that as you will.)

17. Do you ever leave noodle incidents in your story without a resolution for fun?

Questions Posed in the Context of a Conversation:

1. To Tracy (re: Boxcar Children and Goosebumps): Do you remember your favorite book from each series?

2. To Dee (re: Babysitters Club): Which girl did you most identify with?

3. What is it you enjoy about writing parodies?

4. Do you find that having parodied something makes you see the original a little differently?

5. To Julie: How does it feel officially starting a new thing?

6. re: the Boys being teachers in an AU: Is this a high school, an elementary school, or a middle school?

7. To Julie (re: fanfic dreams): What don't you like about fanfic related dreams? Is it that yours are less "interesting plot elements" and more "I forgot table 34's ranch!!"?

8. To Dee (re: word choice): What word did you go with?

9. Do you often find you project your stronger characteristic s onto your characters or do you tend to give them characteristic s you wish you had?

10. re: characters with a soft spot in our hearts: It is like they take up residence in our brains next to a nice, cozy synapse, isn't it?

11. Can anyone remember alternate names they considered for original characters?

12. I wonder if all the "Mary Sue" characteristic s are the same or if they've changed over the years?

13. I never stumbled on any, but now I'm wondering if there were ever any "sixth Backstreet Boy" Gary Stu stories?

14. Does [fanfic writing and posting] still get busier when the guys get busier or is it just increasingly quiet?

15. I wonder if [decline of fanfic writing] happens more in the RPF fanfic circles than the fictional ones? Like are NKOTB fans still writing fanfic? What about NSYNC fans? Also now I want to know how many NSYNC fanfics have BSB as villains? I assume so many. Was it more or less than the ones where Lou Perlman was the villain?

16. How did the ER fans feel about the BSB crossover? (Or, in equal weight crossovers, how did the other fandom feel about the Boys being crossed over with their fandom?)

17. To Tracy (re: naming characters): How does it feel writing the story with characters named after people you know? Do you put aspects of those people into them or is it just a name for the sake of a name?

18: To Tracy (re: characters connected with): I noticed that you said your Nicks end up most like you. Why would you say that is over other characters?

19. You wanna talk burn out? I am an expert in burn out!

20. How is it working on two stories at once?

21. To Tracy: How close are you to finishing?

22. To Julie: How's that feel, starting a new novel during a busy time?

23. Do people really have demanding readers like that?

24. To Julie: How do your regular readers react when you go from weekly to nothing?

25. To Mare: How was updating multiple stories at a time with specific days? Did that make it easier to keep up with writing? More difficult?

26. To Tracy: Did you feel like the multiple developing drafts were helpful in your planning process and do you find them preferable to an outline? Or do you consider the timeline to be your outline? Did you have the Finding Carter outline from the beginning or just once you got to the point where you figured it out?

27. Is [not designating a thought with formatting] bad? Should I start doing that?

28. To Julie: So do middles lean more toward like or dislike for you?

29. How many times could we all read about Nick talking about the first time he met Brian [if every fanfic had to start with BSB backstory information]?

30. To Julie: Would you say, in general, you write more plot-driven stories or more character-driven stories? Or different types at different periods in your body of work?

31. To Julie: Do you set writing goals for yourself once you've reached an ending or does it just kind of happen that you're writing all the time? (You mean once I've reached the beginning of the ending? LOL)

32. Deciding on an end for a story at the last chapter sounds stressful! How would you properly build up to it?

33. Would you be opposed to a sequel if you ever had an idea for a story that did seem like it had more story than the current arc your were working on? Or do you try to avoid those ideas?

34. To Dee: So with PBox, do you remember what your original idea was?  My ideas tend to come about like, "I want to write a survival story," or "Maybe the Boys quarantine together in some remote location to work on the Christmas album, and something bad happens."  What does that sound like for a character-driven idea?

35. Does everyone feel [like they would rather someone else was writing their stories that they really like so they could reread them and be surprised]?

36. To Julie (re: being 1/4 of the way through BMS): How did you stay so motivated?

37: To Dee: What about the stuff that isn't interesting, but necessary?  Do you ever find yourself stuck on the scenes that are needed to fill in the gaps between what you've already written?

38: To Dee: Have you ever had that happen, where you want to change your ending before you write it but feel like you can't?

39. To Dee: Do you ever find that when you're busy and have no time to write or other obligations you need to fulfill before you can write, all you want to do is write... but then when you finally find yourself with free time to write, you waste it?

40. To Tracy (re: writing in odd places): I would be so paranoid about coworkers reading over my shoulder.  Do yours know what you're doing?

41. What's the payscale for [getting paid to read fanfics]? Is it salary? Hourly? Is it like freelancing where you're paid by the fanfic? Or is it chapter to chapter? Maybe a flat rate based on the word count?

42. To Julie: Any ideas for what 2021's April Fool's joke will be? What haven't you done yet over twenty years, basically?

43. To Tracy: Are there any other titles you're considering?

44. Back on our sex topic: what's the least stupid way to write "If you keep looking at me like you want me, I'll have sex with you again right now."?

Off-Topic Questions:

1. Did you watch the new Netflix series that came out last summer?

2. You're offered $10million today. Catch is you now have a killer snail out to get you -- if it touches you, you die. It always knows your location, cannot die, and its sole mission in life is to find you and kill you. Do you take the money? Why?

3. I wonder if that happens to other fandoms? Like, do Harry Potter fanfic writers just stop writing fanfic now that it's been finished for however many years?

4. To Julie (re: characters ER fans write about): I would think it would be the original cast, but I'm guessing it's not?

5. OMG!  ??? How many people are actually reading it and how many are clicking on it just for the tags?!?!

6. Oh noes, where did the nostalgia thread go??

7. Also, can we play Binog again?

8. When was cancer discovered and when did it start getting widely treated?

9. Didn't Nick originally want to be the creature from the black lagoon in the Everybody video?

Back to the Joke Fanfic Challenge:

1. Mare writes a story about Leighanne or any of the Backstreet wives.

2. But why did Nick ask so anxiously? Unless... he killed her?!? It's "How To Get Away With Murder" Backstreet style! Fanfic Nick: It's easy because Mare wrote the story and doesn't write about wives. No one would suspect a thing...

3. Nick totally killed her cause he wants Brian to himself. Obviously.  Nick has never liked Leighanne because she stole Brian away from him.  That's motive.

4. However, I also noticed that "Took the money, stalked by snail intent on killing him" was not listed as a death Nick has experienced yet. So maybe instead of telling you all what I think, I should save it and add it to 1,000 Ways instead? [A note from me, Dee: I am planning on writing/adding this, but it felt wrong to not include it in a comprehensive list of joke ideas.)

5. The Shape of Water, but every character is Nick.
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: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #335 on: February 13, 2021, 03:28:31 PM »

Sending good writing vibes to everyone today! I think I figured out why Kevin was feeling so grumpy (finally) and it's 3* outside, so it feels like a good day for writing (and then I took a stupidly long time recapping the questions in the thread).

I'm trying to ponder on a topic for this weekend. We've chatted characters, beginnings/middles/endings... I know we've discussed genres many times over the years, but that feels like it may be the next place to take our discussions since these broader ones or the "just for fun" ones seem to get more people involved in chatting.
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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: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #336 on: February 13, 2021, 03:52:43 PM »

I decided I wanted to listen to a couple more songs at a blaring volume, so here are some genre questions:

1. What genre do you consider your wheelhouse?

2. Do you find that you utilize common tropes from that genre a lot in your writing? Any particular favorites? (If you're feeling brave, give us a list to reference from tvtropes.org!)

3. What other genres do you tend to include in your writing (as sub-plots, for character development, etcetera)? Would any of these seem surprising to other people?

4. Outside of your "wheelhouse" genre, which others do you write most often?

5. What is easy about your "wheelhouse" genre? What is difficult or challenging?

6. Which genre(s) do you write the least or not at all? Is that because they don't interest you personally or because you find them challenging to write? (Feel free to answer both if you have a different answer for both of those reasons.)

7. Are there genres that you thought you wouldn't like that ended up surprising you?

8. Do you feel like there are genres BSB lend themselves better to than others?

9. Are there genres that used to be more prevalent than they are now or vice versa?

10. Have you ever tried to write a main plot in a genre because that genre was trendy?

11. Do you feel like genre determines the readership of your work?

12. Give a compliment to your "wheelhouse" genre and to your least written or never written genre.
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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: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #337 on: February 13, 2021, 05:38:11 PM »

Sending good writing vibes to everyone today! I think I figured out why Kevin was feeling so grumpy (finally) and it's 3* outside, so it feels like a good day for writing (and then I took a stupidly long time recapping the questions in the thread).

I'm trying to ponder on a topic for this weekend. We've chatted characters, beginnings/middles/endings... I know we've discussed genres many times over the years, but that feels like it may be the next place to take our discussions since these broader ones or the "just for fun" ones seem to get more people involved in chatting.

Thanks!  It's gonna be a good weekend to write here too, weather-wise.  I will be hibernating in my house all weekend!  Sending good writing vibes your way too.

I wrote a little bit last night.  Then I got back to my weekend routine of getting up first thing this, making coffee, and going back to bed to write.  It sort of worked, in that I spent a few hours working on my story.  Only some of that was actual writing, and the rest was researching, but hey, I'll take it if it keeps me inspired.

I keep going back and forth on whether I need to revise my last two chapters of My Brother's Keeper.  As of this morning, I thought I was good to go keeping it as is, and now I'm back to thinking I need to change it.  I probably just need to make myself rewrite some of it and see which version I like best.  This story is going to take forever LOL.
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~Julie

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

nicksgal

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Re: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #338 on: February 13, 2021, 05:52:25 PM »

Thanks!  It's gonna be a good weekend to write here too, weather-wise.  I will be hibernating in my house all weekend!  Sending good writing vibes your way too.

I showered when I got up this morning and asked my husband how sexy my Backstreet Boys shirt (perfect clothing to inspire some super productive fanfic writing) and messy bun were; he told me "You look like a sexy conehead hermit." So... that's where we're at!  I wrote 695 words so far, did a tiny bit of research as I settled on a "plant used for medicine that grows at sea level," and did a little rereading inspiration to get back into this chapter and not the upcoming chapters. I think I'll finish it today (and possibly in the next hour as I already have parts of the next scene written).

Also a fun game. I wrote this line, who is "you": “You and Nick are really similar sometimes. Really stubborn, but really devoted to everyone you care about.”

I wrote a little bit last night.  Then I got back to my weekend routine of getting up first thing this, making coffee, and going back to bed to write.  It sort of worked, in that I spent a few hours working on my story.  Only some of that was actual writing, and the rest was researching, but hey, I'll take it if it keeps me inspired.

I keep going back and forth on whether I need to revise my last two chapters of My Brother's Keeper.  As of this morning, I thought I was good to go keeping it as is, and now I'm back to thinking I need to change it.  I probably just need to make myself rewrite some of it and see which version I like best.  This story is going to take forever LOL.

I still say as long as your research is productive and inspiring, keep researching! If I'm really going back and forth on something, I will write two different versions and compare them. If there's too many varying ideas, I'll try to narrow it down without multiple drafts, but just two it's almost better to get both of them out of your head and onto paper so you can really see the difference. Stay motivated! Length of time spent doesn't matter.
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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: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #339 on: February 13, 2021, 07:12:49 PM »

1. What genre do you consider your wheelhouse?

Medical drama!


2. Do you find that you utilize common tropes from that genre a lot in your writing? Any particular favorites? (If you're feeling brave, give us a list to reference from tvtropes.org!)

I'm looking at the list of medical drama tropes: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MedicalDrama  I have definitely used some of these multiple times.  My favorites...

"Billy Needs an Organ" - Replace "Billy" with any Backstreet Boy's name.  I find the whole concept of transplants fascinating, so I have used that quite a few times in fanfics.  I've done heart transplants, liver transplants, bone marrow transplants, and stem cell transplants.

"CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable"/"Flatline"/"Magical Defibrillator" - I'm lumping these three together for obvious reasons. I would like to think I am better than these tropes because I have researched this and tried to make my resuscitation scenes more realistic than "clean, pretty, and reliable."  No shocking flatlines in my stories!  My overall success rate is still much higher than reality, but I have also written stories where the resuscitation efforts don't work, even though the characters spent more than two minutes trying.

"Convenient Coma" - Can you even call yourself a medical drama writer if you've never put a character in a coma?  And yes, mine usually do wake up from their coma and go on to make a full recovery, but not always.  And yes, I have had the Boys sing one out of a coma too. LOL

"Definitely Just a Cold"/"Incurable Cough of Death"/"Radiograph of Doom" - Definitely used these in my cancer/disease stories LOL.

"Dream-Crushing Handicap" - I've used this one several times (a couple times recently), but my boys usually either overcome said handicap or at least figure out how to keep performing anyway, which is probably a trope in itself.  


3. What other genres do you tend to include in your writing (as sub-plots, for character development, etcetera)? Would any of these seem surprising to other people?

Usually romance and/or suspense/horror.  I don't think these would seem surprising to people who have read several of my stories, but sometimes I do like to make stories seem like one main genre and then twist them into another genre.  Romance into medical drama... medical drama into horror...  I don't think I've done horror into romance, but maybe someday! LOL


4. Outside of your "wheelhouse" genre, which others do you write most often?

I guess it would be the same genres I mentioned in the last question.  I used to write more romance, and now I'm more into the horror/suspense realm.  I also enjoy writing comedy on occasion.


5. What is easy about your "wheelhouse" genre? What is difficult or challenging?

The easiest thing is staying inspired because it's always been my favorite genre.  The hardest thing is coming up with new ideas and finding ways to keep it fresh.  I had fun with The Road to Bethlehem because it was kind of a medical drama set outside a hospital, which was nice because I get sick of writing hospital scenes.  It became less fun once they finally made it to the hospital LOL.


6. Which genre(s) do you write the least or not at all? Is that because they don't interest you personally or because you find them challenging to write? (Feel free to answer both if you have a different answer for both of those reasons.)

Fantasy and sci-fi.  I have written both before and enjoyed the experience, but they will never be my favorite genres to read or write.  From a reading perspective, I have always preferred realistic fiction.  (Harry Potter and horror that also contain elements of fantasy or sci-fi are the exceptions.)  From a writing perspective, I'm not creative enough to come up with many traditional fantasy or sci-fi ideas, let alone pull off writing them, even if I wanted to.  Kudos to those of you who do!


7. Are there genres that you thought you wouldn't like that ended up surprising you?

Slash!  As I've said here before, I wrote Unsuspecting Sunday and Sick as My Secrets as a challenge to myself to see if I could write a slash and take it seriously, and I loved the experience!  I may never write another because I feel like I put everything I had into those stories, but I wouldn't say no if I had a good enough (and different enough) idea.

AU is another one I never used to like but have since enjoyed writing.  00Carter and Song for the Undead were both really fun to write.  I enjoyed writing a solo AU with Secrets of the Heart as well.


8. Do you feel like there are genres BSB lend themselves better to than others?

Not really.  I think they work well in any genre with the right idea.  Romance is harder now than it used to be if you like to stick to canon/reality just because they're all married, but there are plenty of ways around that.


9. Are there genres that used to be more prevalent than they are now or vice versa?

Judging by AO3, slash seems to be more mainstream than it used to be, whereas het romance has gotten less popular.  There used to be a lot more supernatural vampire/ghost/angel stories back in the day than there are now.  I also don't see as many accident/illness stories, although I'm doing my best to keep the medical drama alive!


10. Have you ever tried to write a main plot in a genre because that genre was trendy?

My desire to write a relationship-based sequel to Broken was probably based in part on how popular Nick romance was at the time.  I would never have made that decision or dedicated that much time to writing it solely based on what was trendy, but I read a really good Nick romance around that time ("Cover Me With Dreams," which is still one of my all-time favorite fanfics) that inspired me to want to write a story with romance as the main plot rather than just a subplot.  Making it a sequel to a cancer story that came with two characters I already loved and a bunch of built-in drama was probably the best way for me to pull that off.  I think I would have gotten bored writing romance otherwise.

I don't know if this counts, but the idea for My Brother's Keeper actually came from a mini trend that popped up in the summer of 2013 (I think) here on AC and then promptly went away.  I won't say what it was, but there were two stories with a specific premise posted here by different authors that summer, and I was like, "Huh... I've never written one of those before.  Maybe I should."  Eight years later, I still haven't, but it's in progress and no longer "trendy" LOL.


11. Do you feel like genre determines the readership of your work?

To an extent, yes.  I'm known for writing medical drama, so my work tends to attract readers who like that kind of thing too.  But I also have a small base of loyal readers who will try just about anything I post, even if it's outside my wheelhouse.


12. Give a compliment to your "wheelhouse" genre and to your least written or never written genre.

Medical drama is compelling and offers a lot of opportunities for sweet, brotherly moments between the boys.

Fantasy is creative and can put the boys in cool, unique places and situations.
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~Julie

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

RokofAges75

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Re: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #340 on: February 13, 2021, 07:26:56 PM »

I showered when I got up this morning and asked my husband how sexy my Backstreet Boys shirt (perfect clothing to inspire some super productive fanfic writing) and messy bun were; he told me "You look like a sexy conehead hermit." So... that's where we're at!  I wrote 695 words so far, did a tiny bit of research as I settled on a "plant used for medicine that grows at sea level," and did a little rereading inspiration to get back into this chapter and not the upcoming chapters. I think I'll finish it today (and possibly in the next hour as I already have parts of the next scene written).

A BSB shirt is the best fanfic-writing hermit uniform!  I am wearing a Harry Potter sweatshirt that says "I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I don't exist," which is my favorite "Leave me alone and let me write" winter wardrobe item.

Sounds like you had a good blend of researching, rereading, and actual writing!


Also a fun game. I wrote this line, who is "you": “You and Nick are really similar sometimes. Really stubborn, but really devoted to everyone you care about.”

Hm... the description sounds like Brian, but I don't feel like someone would say he and Nick are really similar sometimes, being that they are/were Frick & Frack.  So my guess is Kevin!


I still say as long as your research is productive and inspiring, keep researching! If I'm really going back and forth on something, I will write two different versions and compare them. If there's too many varying ideas, I'll try to narrow it down without multiple drafts, but just two it's almost better to get both of them out of your head and onto paper so you can really see the difference. Stay motivated! Length of time spent doesn't matter.

Thanks!  That's my thought too.  This story is going to require a lot of research, so the more I can get out of the way early, the less likely I am to get derailed going down a rabbit hole when I actually get on a roll with the writing.  It really is like world-building with this one.

I am gonna try rewriting some without getting rid of the original so I can compare.  I think if I can get going on a new version, I will like it better, but the mere idea of having to scrap at least half of two chapters and rewrite them has kept me from working on this damn story in three years.  I just need to get over this hurdle, and then I think I'll be back on track with it.  I really like the idea; I just hate rewriting.
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~Julie

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

RokofAges75

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Re: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #341 on: February 13, 2021, 07:34:30 PM »

Here are a couple of questions related to our last posts:

How much do you have to write in a day/session to consider it a successful one?  Are you happy if you write anything, or do you have a certain number of words/pages/scenes you have to write before you feel productive?

Do you think researching, outlining, rereading, revising/editing, and similar parts of the process count as "writing," or do you only consider it "writing" when you actually add new words to where you left off in a story?
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~Julie

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

nicksgal

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Re: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #342 on: February 13, 2021, 08:01:59 PM »

A BSB shirt is the best fanfic-writing hermit uniform!  I am wearing a Harry Potter sweatshirt that says "I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I don't exist," which is my favorite "Leave me alone and let me write" winter wardrobe item.

Sounds like you had a good blend of researching, rereading, and actual writing!

Haha, that Harry quote always makes me laugh, also perfect for writing in the winter. I think I'm going to wear my BSB holiday shirt tomorrow since it's going to be sub zero and it's a surprisingly warm shirt.

Hm... the description sounds like Brian, but I don't feel like someone would say he and Nick are really similar sometimes, being that they are/were Frick & Frack.  So my guess is Kevin!

Interesting that you thought it was Brian! But you're correct, the "sometimes" is important in the sentence; it is Kevin.

Thanks!  That's my thought too.  This story is going to require a lot of research, so the more I can get out of the way early, the less likely I am to get derailed going down a rabbit hole when I actually get on a roll with the writing.  It really is like world-building with this one.

I am gonna try rewriting some without getting rid of the original so I can compare.  I think if I can get going on a new version, I will like it better, but the mere idea of having to scrap at least half of two chapters and rewrite them has kept me from working on this damn story in three years.  I just need to get over this hurdle, and then I think I'll be back on track with it.  I really like the idea; I just hate rewriting.

I always hate those rabbit holes where you need to go back later to research, because I inevitably get derailed for days when I was in the groove. But, I know that any time I feel like I'm needing more research, I also know that it's not quite as good as it could be. So, it's a catch 22, I guess.

As someone who recently went back and scrapped a lot of already written things, rewriting for the benefit of the story is always better for it in the long run. At least you're at a point where you can decide between two possibly very different things without having to keep a similar vibe and over plot in the chapters. But it does suck when something like that keeps you from writing a story. I feel you.
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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: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #343 on: February 13, 2021, 08:26:16 PM »

How much do you have to write in a day/session to consider it a successful one?  Are you happy if you write anything, or do you have a certain number of words/pages/scenes you have to write before you feel productive?

I guess it depends on what my goal is that day. In some ways, I miss NaNo where my goal was "write something every day," because it didn't matter how many words, scenes, pages, or chapters as long as I wrote something down. Here where my goal has been "finish ch. 22" since last weekend, it does feel kind of unproductive that it's been a week and the chapter still isn't finished (nevermind that I wrote the entirety of ch. 24 during that same time). I guess I have been getting a little down on myself as my hoarding lead dwindles away, especially since I started writing this chapter on January 30th; I would probably feel more comfortable being twenty chapters ahead of whatever I'm posting. And no matter how far ahead of this chapter I write, if it's not done, it could be really derailing. That being said, it is almost done. So I will call this day productive and then probably make my goal for February to continue building back my hoarding lead.

Do you think researching, outlining, rereading, revising/editing, and similar parts of the process count as "writing," or do you only consider it "writing" when you actually add new words to where you left off in a story?

I would like to meet a writer who writes without any researching, outlining, rereading, revising/editing, etcetera. Because I can't think of anyone (here, famous, whatever) who doesn't do those things and they're often necessary to either write new words on the page or get a story ready for publication/posting. I think it's all writing as long as you're actively engaging with the story in some way (unless you're rereading your own work for fun?). If you're scrolling twitter or instagram and saying "I should probably write instead," that's not writing. Sometimes y'all inspire me, so I'll call here a fine line. Depends on how focused we are on discussing writing and how long the break to chat here is from the actual writing related work. Obviously several hours here is not writing popping in for twenty minutes: maybe.
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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: 2 Writing 2 Thread
« Reply #344 on: February 13, 2021, 08:43:47 PM »

How much do you have to write in a day/session to consider it a successful one?  Are you happy if you write anything, or do you have a certain number of words/pages/scenes you have to write before you feel productive?

I guess it depends on what my goal is that day. In some ways, I miss NaNo where my goal was "write something every day," because it didn't matter how many words, scenes, pages, or chapters as long as I wrote something down. Here where my goal has been "finish ch. 22" since last weekend, it does feel kind of unproductive that it's been a week and the chapter still isn't finished (nevermind that I wrote the entirety of ch. 24 during that same time). I guess I have been getting a little down on myself as my hoarding lead dwindles away, especially since I started writing this chapter on January 30th; I would probably feel more comfortable being twenty chapters ahead of whatever I'm posting. And no matter how far ahead of this chapter I write, if it's not done, it could be really derailing. That being said, it is almost done. So I will call this day productive and then probably make my goal for February to continue building back my hoarding lead.

I totally get this.  I was feeling this way toward the end of Bethlehem because the climactic chapters and their aftermath took me much longer to write than they probably should have, and instead of being ten chapters ahead of myself, I only had a few hoarded and was starting to feel a bit of pressure to be productive enough to make sure I could stick to my posting schedule.  It obviously didn't turn out to be a problem, but I understand that worry.  It sounds like you're still in good shape, though, and I have faith in you that you'll finish this chapter and start amassing your hoard again!

For me, it depends on the day and how long I've spent in front of the computer.  If it's a weekday and I write ANYTHING, that's a success!  If it's a weekend, and I've been on the computer with my story open for most of the day and still haven't hit 1000 words, that's a fail.  Obviously any number of words is better than nothing, but I waste a lot of time not-writing.


Do you think researching, outlining, rereading, revising/editing, and similar parts of the process count as "writing," or do you only consider it "writing" when you actually add new words to where you left off in a story?

I would like to meet a writer who writes without any researching, outlining, rereading, revising/editing, etcetera. Because I can't think of anyone (here, famous, whatever) who doesn't do those things and they're often necessary to either write new words on the page or get a story ready for publication/posting. I think it's all writing as long as you're actively engaging with the story in some way (unless you're rereading your own work for fun?). If you're scrolling twitter or instagram and saying "I should probably write instead," that's not writing. Sometimes y'all inspire me, so I'll call here a fine line. Depends on how focused we are on discussing writing and how long the break to chat here is from the actual writing related work. Obviously several hours here is not writing popping in for twenty minutes: maybe.

That is very true.  Those are all important parts of the writing process.  That being said, at some point, you have to stop researching, rereading, etc. and actually write.  No one wants to read a summarized version of a story in an outline; they want to read the actual scenes with action, dialogue, description, and all that jazz.  Researching, rereading, and revising help me stay engaged with a story, but I don't feel truly productive unless I've actually put new words down on the page that move the story forward.  The rest just feels more like "getting ready to write" to me than actually writing.  Still better options than wasting time on social media, which I do a lot of too.  This forum can go both ways; it can be distracting, but it also makes me feel more connected and invested in fanfic, which is important.  Talking about fanfic on here is definitely motivating.
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~Julie

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