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Author Topic: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)  (Read 94132 times)

RokofAges75

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #255 on: July 27, 2021, 11:51:05 AM »

Hey, at least you're still writing!  Write what you feel inspired to write, even if that means jumping around between stories.

Yesterday was not very productive for me, but I did at least get a start on the next chapter.

I finished hanging artwork in my Shining bathroom this morning, and I love it so much!  I tweeted some pictures here: https://twitter.com/RokofAges75/status/1420063096283017225
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mare

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #256 on: July 27, 2021, 06:41:39 PM »

Love it!
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Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye contact while doing it. ~ John Green

RokofAges75

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #257 on: July 27, 2021, 09:06:46 PM »

Thanks!
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~Julie

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RokofAges75

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #258 on: July 27, 2021, 09:35:31 PM »

I saw this Reddit thread about "sandbox books," stories or series that you keep playing in even if you'll never finish or publish them.  https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/osn2l5/do_you_have_a_sandbox_bookseries_one_that_you/   Do you have (or have you ever had) any sandbox stories?  If so, tell us about them.  Are they published online?  Do you see yourself finishing them someday?

00Carter definitely seems like a sandbox story to me.  I doubt it will ever be finished, but it's fun to play in from time to time.  Some of my most creative writing has come from that story, and it has definitely challenged me and broadened my horizons as a writer.

I don't have any stories like this that aren't posted.  I eventually post everything that makes it past the first few chapters.
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"Sometimes writers and sociopaths are hard to tell apart." -J.K. Rowling

nicksgal

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #259 on: July 27, 2021, 10:36:32 PM »

Hey, at least you're still writing!  Write what you feel inspired to write, even if that means jumping around between stories.

Yesterday was not very productive for me, but I did at least get a start on the next chapter.

I finished hanging artwork in my Shining bathroom this morning, and I love it so much!  I tweeted some pictures here: https://twitter.com/RokofAges75/status/1420063096283017225

Yeah, I don't know what it is about the other one... Maybe the five structured POVs? The two Nick chapters I've written so far were just so easy. I don't get it. Although, now that I think of it, I've also been pretty meticulous about tracking everything I do writing-wise to kind of see how my work on stories varies (all the things NaNo normally asks about like times and mood and such). However, I think it's sucking the fun out of it. I think the only thing I really like tracking is my word count, so I think I may go back to just tracking that as I keep writing.

I subbed in an infant classroom yesterday and then had the last session of a PD I signed up for in the evening. I took a twenty minute nap between, wrote one sentence, and went to bed, lol. But the streak lives!

I think you did a great job! :) It's a work of art. Now Rose needs to show us her redone bathroom too.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2021, 10:41:09 PM by nicksgal »
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nicksgal

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #260 on: July 27, 2021, 10:49:33 PM »

I saw this Reddit thread about "sandbox books," stories or series that you keep playing in even if you'll never finish or publish them.  https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/osn2l5/do_you_have_a_sandbox_bookseries_one_that_you/   Do you have (or have you ever had) any sandbox stories?  If so, tell us about them.  Are they published online?  Do you see yourself finishing them someday?

00Carter definitely seems like a sandbox story to me.  I doubt it will ever be finished, but it's fun to play in from time to time.  Some of my most creative writing has come from that story, and it has definitely challenged me and broadened my horizons as a writer.

I don't have any stories like this that aren't posted.  I eventually post everything that makes it past the first few chapters.

I guess PBox is kind of sandboxy? But here I am attempting to finish it, so I don't know if it is a full sandbox story.

I think the fun thing about enjoying a character or a world is that there's a ton of fun writing exercises to do with familiar characters that just bring some "writing for the joy of it" aspects into it. One of my favorites that I've played around with recently is to rewrite pieces of scenes from other characters' perspectives. Sometimes I do this anyway when trying to pick the best POV character for the scene, but there are other times when I know the POV character I want to use and just do it for fun afterward. Like that "funny mundane Nick moment" I asked for ideas on here back in May, I ended up writing the version of that from his POV just for fun because it made me laugh. Maybe I'll share it once I get to that chapter. I also sometimes write little things that are referenced in the story, but that don't actually end up in the narrative. (Or sometimes they do eventually if I like them enough, lol.)

I guess when I say it like this, PBox is a sandbox story. Or maybe it's like those sand art sculptures, where you play in them, but eventually it's a finished product.
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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: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #261 on: July 27, 2021, 11:01:12 PM »

Yeah, I don't know what it is about the other one... Maybe the five structured POVs? The two Nick chapters I've written so far were just so easy. I don't get it. Although, now that I think of it, I've also been pretty meticulous about tracking everything I do writing-wise to kind of see how my work on stories varies (all the things NaNo normally asks about like times and mood and such). However, I think it's sucking the fun out of it. I think the only thing I really like tracking is my word count, so I think I may go back to just tracking that as I keep writing.

Sticking to a specific structure and switching POVS can definitely be challenging.  Really, the premise of Nick trying not to be the main character sounds like a challenge for any writer who tends to gravitate toward Nick.  Sometimes it's hard to come up with interesting ideas for the other guys and get into their heads.

I can also see how all the tracking would get tedious and take time away from actually writing.  I enter the start and stop times and all that on Nano when it's convenient, like when I've had a pretty focused writing session, but when I'm just writing a sentence here and there while doing other things, I don't worry about recording the time because it will just skew my average word count even lower than it already is.  And trying to keep track of all the tiny increments where I'm actually writing, while subtracting my focus fails, would take way too much time, effort, and math for me LOL.  At the end of the day, the date and word count are the stats I care about.

One thing I do wonder about Nano is why it doesn't show any stats for "how" I write (by hand, on a laptop, etc.).  I've been noting whether I wrote on my laptop (Chromebook) or desktop just to see if it made a noticeable difference in my productivity, but that is not included in the stats it gives at the bottom.  Oh well... I'm pretty sure I'm a lot more productive on my Chromebook because I can be physically more comfortable, which affects how long I'm willing to sit and stare at the screen.


I subbed in an infant classroom yesterday and then had the last session of a PD I signed up for in the evening. I took a twenty minute nap between, wrote one sentence, and went to bed, lol. But the streak lives!

That sounds tiring!  I'm glad you were able to keep the streak alive.


I think you did a great job! :) It's a work of art. Now Rose needs to show us her redone bathroom too.

Thanks!  She posted some pics of it the other day: https://twitter.com/ForeverRebel/status/1419573467448373257
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~Julie

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RokofAges75

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #262 on: July 27, 2021, 11:11:57 PM »

I guess PBox is kind of sandboxy? But here I am attempting to finish it, so I don't know if it is a full sandbox story.

I think the fun thing about enjoying a character or a world is that there's a ton of fun writing exercises to do with familiar characters that just bring some "writing for the joy of it" aspects into it. One of my favorites that I've played around with recently is to rewrite pieces of scenes from other characters' perspectives. Sometimes I do this anyway when trying to pick the best POV character for the scene, but there are other times when I know the POV character I want to use and just do it for fun afterward. Like that "funny mundane Nick moment" I asked for ideas on here back in May, I ended up writing the version of that from his POV just for fun because it made me laugh. Maybe I'll share it once I get to that chapter. I also sometimes write little things that are referenced in the story, but that don't actually end up in the narrative. (Or sometimes they do eventually if I like them enough, lol.)

I guess when I say it like this, PBox is a sandbox story. Or maybe it's like those sand art sculptures, where you play in them, but eventually it's a finished product.

All that makes sense.  I would consider PBox a sandbox story because, even though you do plan on finishing the series, it's such a vast world that you've spent so many years building and playing in.   

I agree about having those characters or that story world that you write just for the joy of it, even if it's not something you post.  I guess my Footprints series of shorts would qualify as a sandbox story in that way.  They are one-shots written in Broken/BMS Claire's POV, written just for the fun of it because I wanted to explore more of her back story and how she felt during the big moments that were written from Nick's perspective.  I haven't written one in years and put the "completed" label on it because I didn't have any more planned that I definitely wanted to write, but if I felt inspired to write another one, I would.  I still love those characters and their relationship and all their drama LOL.
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nicksgal

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #263 on: July 27, 2021, 11:19:11 PM »

Sticking to a specific structure and switching POVS can definitely be challenging.  Really, the premise of Nick trying not to be the main character sounds like a challenge for any writer who tends to gravitate toward Nick.  Sometimes it's hard to come up with interesting ideas for the other guys and get into their heads.

It is a challenge! The idea was too funny not to write, but it's not going as easily as it was at first. Except for the jokes. Now if only I could string the random jokes into a cohesive narrative, lol. This is how I know that I would struggle with a Kevin story, so I'm glad I didn't jump on that trend when it was trendy. Someone tell Nick to stop being the main character, lol.


I can also see how all the tracking would get tedious and take time away from actually writing.  I enter the start and stop times and all that on Nano when it's convenient, like when I've had a pretty focused writing session, but when I'm just writing a sentence here and there while doing other things, I don't worry about recording the time because it will just skew my average word count even lower than it already is.  And trying to keep track of all the tiny increments where I'm actually writing, while subtracting my focus fails, would take way too much time, effort, and math for me LOL.  At the end of the day, the date and word count are the stats I care about.

I thought it might be helpful for my WADD to see if I was spending a lot of time devoted to a certain story over another one or if the time I spent trying to write a story was not reflected in its word count. It only takes a few minutes, but it has felt tedious and you're right, it's really just word count that I care about. I do like seeing word count by story, so that's something I might keep tracking, but I think I'm putting the kibosh on all the other stuff unless I have an active NaNo goal going, which I also think I'll stop after this camp NaNo session for the time being. That being said, when I have only had a minute to write, I usually end up writing 7-8 words, so I have proven that I consistently write 7-8 words in a minute, lol.


One thing I do wonder about Nano is why it doesn't show any stats for "how" I write (by hand, on a laptop, etc.).  I've been noting whether I wrote on my laptop (Chromebook) or desktop just to see if it made a noticeable difference in my productivity, but that is not included in the stats it gives at the bottom.  Oh well... I'm pretty sure I'm a lot more productive on my Chromebook because I can be physically more comfortable, which affects how long I'm willing to sit and stare at the screen.

I've always wondered why it asked that if it doesn't have a statistic for it. It doesn't make sense anymore now that you can just track your own word count and they don't verify it. I think it made more of a difference back then, so maybe it's a holdover from the old platform/rules. I'm not sure where I'm more productive. I don't think it's a "physically where" for me, so much as a where in the story I am.


That sounds tiring!  I'm glad you were able to keep the streak alive.

Gotta get to 150 days just to say that I can! ;)


Thanks!  She posted some pics of it the other day: https://twitter.com/ForeverRebel/status/1419573467448373257

Oh good! I missed that in my lurking. (It looks great/artful too, Rose, but you need more things for your shelf.) My phone has decided that I must get notifications about your tweets, Julie, but no one else's, lol.
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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: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #264 on: July 27, 2021, 11:27:23 PM »

All that makes sense.  I would consider PBox a sandbox story because, even though you do plan on finishing the series, it's such a vast world that you've spent so many years building and playing in.   

I agree about having those characters or that story world that you write just for the joy of it, even if it's not something you post.  I guess my Footprints series of shorts would qualify as a sandbox story in that way.  They are one-shots written in Broken/BMS Claire's POV, written just for the fun of it because I wanted to explore more of her back story and how she felt during the big moments that were written from Nick's perspective.  I haven't written one in years and put the "completed" label on it because I didn't have any more planned that I definitely wanted to write, but if I felt inspired to write another one, I would.  I still love those characters and their relationship and all their drama LOL.

I like that too! Just a little series of connected shorts with a different twist from the original. What made you decide to share them instead of just hanging on to them for yourself? I think what really makes a good story compelling is the characters, so I think with really compelling character dynamics, it's easy to get attached to them and keep them around in the sandbox for next 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: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #265 on: July 27, 2021, 11:52:13 PM »

It is a challenge! The idea was too funny not to write, but it's not going as easily as it was at first. Except for the jokes. Now if only I could string the random jokes into a cohesive narrative, lol. This is how I know that I would struggle with a Kevin story, so I'm glad I didn't jump on that trend when it was trendy. Someone tell Nick to stop being the main character, lol.

I'm sorry it's not going as easily as it was in the beginning.  Hopefully you'll get back into a groove with it and find a way to string all those jokes together.  I believe in you! 

I don't know if you'll find this helpful, but one of my recommended videos on YouTube today was this one of Trey Parker and Matt Stone giving advice on story structure to a writing class: https://youtu.be/vGUNqq3jVLg  They are great at being able to string those jokes together into a cohesive story.  I liked the way they explained their outlining process.  I'll have to try their tip of making sure I can use the words "therefore" or "but" between each scene instead of "and then" when I outline to make sure every scene is important and moves the plot forward.

What I have learned about writing the other boys that are not Nick and Brian is that I can write a story about any of them, but only with a compelling enough idea.  I really enjoyed writing Howie in SAMS, but that may be the only Howie novel I ever write.  Same with Kevin in MBK.  I've actually enjoyed writing his chapters more than Nick's, but only because he has the more interesting storyline and most of the angst and medical drama stuff I like writing.  I'm sure it's hard to come up with interesting ideas for all five in the same story, especially when it's more of a comedy than a drama.  Comedy is fun, but for me, drama is more compelling.  Nick needs to stop being so damn interesting and let the other guys steal the spotlight!


I do like seeing word count by story, so that's something I might keep tracking, but I think I'm putting the kibosh on all the other stuff unless I have an active NaNo goal going, which I also think I'll stop after this camp NaNo session for the time being. That being said, when I have only had a minute to write, I usually end up writing 7-8 words, so I have proven that I consistently write 7-8 words in a minute, lol.

That sounds like a good plan.  I am also going to take a break from Nano goal-setting in August.  I will try to keep the streak alive as long as I can, but I can track that on my own without needing to set a word count goal.  That is just pressure I don't need with the stress of going back to school, especially given how far I am below my goal this month.  If I can continue to at least open the story and write something every day and hopefully stay a few chapters ahead of what I'm posting, that's good enough for me.


Gotta get to 150 days just to say that I can! ;)

You can do it!!


Oh good! I missed that in my lurking. (It looks great/artful too, Rose, but you need more things for your shelf.) My phone has decided that I must get notifications about your tweets, Julie, but no one else's, lol.

Aww, that makes me feel special LOL.


I like that too! Just a little series of connected shorts with a different twist from the original. What made you decide to share them instead of just hanging on to them for yourself? I think what really makes a good story compelling is the characters, so I think with really compelling character dynamics, it's easy to get attached to them and keep them around in the sandbox for next time.

I guess it goes back to what I said before about posting everything eventually LOL.  I write for my own entertainment, sure, but if I write something I feel good about, I'm gonna go ahead and post it.  Broken had a big enough audience back in the day that I thought other people might enjoy reading them, too.

It's nice to have a sandbox story and/or characters to play with when you're feeling uninspired on your other projects.  I don't do it very often, but I like knowing I could always come up with another Footprints moment or Nick death for 1000 Ways to get the creative juices flowing if I can't write anything else.
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nicksgal

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #266 on: July 28, 2021, 12:21:41 AM »

I'm sorry it's not going as easily as it was in the beginning.  Hopefully you'll get back into a groove with it and find a way to string all those jokes together.  I believe in you!

I don't know if you'll find this helpful, but one of my recommended videos on YouTube today was this one of Trey Parker and Matt Stone giving advice on story structure to a writing class: https://youtu.be/vGUNqq3jVLg  They are great at being able to string those jokes together into a cohesive story.  I liked the way they explained their outlining process.  I'll have to try their tip of making sure I can use the words "therefore" or "but" between each scene instead of "and then" when I outline to make sure every scene is important and moves the plot forward.

Thanks! I believe too. I restructured it again the other day and had a couple little lines of AJ and Howie inspiration, so maybe I'll be able to get something going this week.

That actually does sound like it might be helpful! I hadn't really thought of it before, but I feel like most of the chapters I find the most compelling could have a "therefore" or "but" between them, rather than "and then." I'll definitely watch this some time this week. :)


What I have learned about writing the other boys that are not Nick and Brian is that I can write a story about any of them, but only with a compelling enough idea.  I really enjoyed writing Howie in SAMS, but that may be the only Howie novel I ever write.  Same with Kevin in MBK.  I've actually enjoyed writing his chapters more than Nick's, but only because he has the more interesting storyline and most of the angst and medical drama stuff I like writing.  I'm sure it's hard to come up with interesting ideas for all five in the same story, especially when it's more of a comedy than a drama.  Comedy is fun, but for me, drama is more compelling.  Nick needs to stop being so damn interesting and let the other guys steal the spotlight!

I think that's part of it too, it's definitely more comedy and satire even though it has some dramatic moments. I agree that the Boys need the right story to get a compelling focus. This may be my problem here. After all, the compelling idea was "Nick avoids being the main character" not "The other Boys take on roles Nick normally plays," so it was flawed from the beginning, lol. In MBK and SAMS, did Kevin and Howie have the more interesting stories from the beginning or did they become that way in the process of developing the story? Nick the spotlight hog allowing other people to take the thing he wants? Seems counter-productive, lol.


That sounds like a good plan.  I am also going to take a break from Nano goal-setting in August.  I will try to keep the streak alive as long as I can, but I can track that on my own without needing to set a word count goal.  That is just pressure I don't need with the stress of going back to school, especially given how far I am below my goal this month.  If I can continue to at least open the story and write something every day and hopefully stay a few chapters ahead of what I'm posting, that's good enough for me.

That's what I think too, I'd rather just keep track of what I'm writing, rather than having a target for anything. It's felt like I've deviated from "write something every day" more than I would like. I just looked and if I include everything I've written this month, I have met the word count goal I set, but not in the one story. I'm still glad I halved it though. I think I'd be a lot more discouraged if I hadn't.


You can do it!!

You can too!!


Aww, that makes me feel special LOL.

Not sure how it determines that, lol.


I guess it goes back to what I said before about posting everything eventually LOL.  I write for my own entertainment, sure, but if I write something I feel good about, I'm gonna go ahead and post it.  Broken had a big enough audience back in the day that I thought other people might enjoy reading them, too.

It's nice to have a sandbox story and/or characters to play with when you're feeling uninspired on your other projects.  I don't do it very often, but I like knowing I could always come up with another Footprints moment or Nick death for 1000 Ways to get the creative juices flowing if I can't write anything else.

That makes sense that you'd share the things you're feeling good about, especially if you post everything eventually. I'm glad you've had so many things you've felt were worth sharing, even if they started as personal entertainment. :)

It is fun to just play. I kind of like hanging on to things for just me because it's fun to look back on them and know that it was just some little spur of the moment thing. I think if I come across prompts I like, that's usually how I end up using them. Or those six word stories I was typing a week or so ago. That just felt like playing too. Speaking of... lol.

"Ugh! Coal again..." Another typical Backstreet-mas.
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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: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #267 on: July 28, 2021, 12:46:22 AM »

Thanks! I believe too. I restructured it again the other day and had a couple little lines of AJ and Howie inspiration, so maybe I'll be able to get something going this week.

That actually does sound like it might be helpful! I hadn't really thought of it before, but I feel like most of the chapters I find the most compelling could have a "therefore" or "but" between them, rather than "and then." I'll definitely watch this some time this week. :)

I had never thought of it that way before either, but it does make sense.  It goes with the "Somebody... wanted... but... so... then" method I teach my students to help them make sure they have a coherent plot for their short stories.  "So" would also work in place of "therefore."  The video's only a couple minutes long, so it's a quick watch.  I wish it was longer; I would love to hear their whole talk!  I think they are creative geniuses.


I think that's part of it too, it's definitely more comedy and satire even though it has some dramatic moments. I agree that the Boys need the right story to get a compelling focus. This may be my problem here. After all, the compelling idea was "Nick avoids being the main character" not "The other Boys take on roles Nick normally plays," so it was flawed from the beginning, lol. In MBK and SAMS, did Kevin and Howie have the more interesting stories from the beginning or did they become that way in the process of developing the story? Nick the spotlight hog allowing other people to take the thing he wants? Seems counter-productive, lol.

You know Nick's motivation in the story, so if you haven't already, maybe you need to take some time to think about the other guys' motivation as well.  What do they want, and what gets in their way?  How does taking on Nick's typical story roles affect them?

In my stories, Howie and Kevin had the more interesting storylines from the beginning, and Nick just got dragged into their drama.  Both of those stories started out more plot-driven, with Howie/Kevin being dealt a crappy hand within the first few chapters, and then became more character-driven as the rest of the story focused more on how they reacted to it and how it changed them.


It is fun to just play. I kind of like hanging on to things for just me because it's fun to look back on them and know that it was just some little spur of the moment thing. I think if I come across prompts I like, that's usually how I end up using them. Or those six word stories I was typing a week or so ago. That just felt like playing too. Speaking of... lol.

"Ugh! Coal again..." Another typical Backstreet-mas.

That makes sense.  I don't really do that; I've never really enjoyed writing prompts or exercises, which I guess is why I end up posting whatever I finish.  Even if it's silly, it's still a complete story, and if I'm entertained by it, I figure someone else might too.  If I wrote more things like the six-word stories or bonus scenes I have no intention of putting in a story, I would keep those to myself too.  I did once write an uncharacterist ically graphic Brian sex scene into a chapter of Undead just to see how Rose would react LOL; I had no intention of keeping it in the story, but I do still have that saved somewhere for my own amusement.
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nicksgal

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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #268 on: July 28, 2021, 09:52:27 PM »

I had never thought of it that way before either, but it does make sense.  It goes with the "Somebody... wanted... but... so... then" method I teach my students to help them make sure they have a coherent plot for their short stories.  "So" would also work in place of "therefore."  The video's only a couple minutes long, so it's a quick watch.  I wish it was longer; I would love to hear their whole talk!  I think they are creative geniuses.

I guess it's possible to consider each chapter in a novel as a short story, but that that just makes it feel really convoluted. But you're right, every novel starts because a character wants something, but something happens to keep them from getting it. I do think sometimes I fall into an "and then" within a chapter, but between each chapter is typically a "but" or a "therefore." But... (lol) I think this is something to look at during editing. It was interesting, it said it premiered a while ago, so I wonder if there's a way to find the whole episode.


You know Nick's motivation in the story, so if you haven't already, maybe you need to take some time to think about the other guys' motivation as well.  What do they want, and what gets in their way?  How does taking on Nick's typical story roles affect them?

I do have all of this, I think I just made the mistake of writing in order when Brian's early arc was less interesting. (Sorry Brian.) It gets better later on, it's just not punchy from the beginning because he has this perfectly normal motivation in the beginning of the story. I think I made Brian too realistic in a story about subverting stereotypes, lol!

I guess I should figure out who's "I want" is the strongest besides Nick's "I want to be a minor character" (or we could call it Nick's "I absolutely do not want," lol) and write that part next. Or just skip ahead to the parts that should be more interesting and circle back instead of focusing on the beginning chapters. I don't know if it really matters if I'm holding on to it until I have some kind of backlog for it anyway.

I updated my word count spreadsheet today since I cracked 1000 words in a day again and I have written my word count goal for this month, just not in this story. My output for it and PDemons is about equal, but I've spent 20 less days trying to write something for PDemons. Is this WADD? I can't tell? lol

Edited to Add:
I finished another chapter of PDemons today. Maybe I am WADDing...


In my stories, Howie and Kevin had the more interesting storylines from the beginning, and Nick just got dragged into their drama.  Both of those stories started out more plot-driven, with Howie/Kevin being dealt a crappy hand within the first few chapters, and then became more character-driven as the rest of the story focused more on how they reacted to it and how it changed them.

Of course Nick got dragged into the drama because he can't just sit still when drama is around, lol! Do you feel like most of your stories switch to character-driven after the inciting incident and/or turning point? Or are there any that feel like they stay fairly plot-driven?


That makes sense.  I don't really do that; I've never really enjoyed writing prompts or exercises, which I guess is why I end up posting whatever I finish.  Even if it's silly, it's still a complete story, and if I'm entertained by it, I figure someone else might too.  If I wrote more things like the six-word stories or bonus scenes I have no intention of putting in a story, I would keep those to myself too.  I did once write an uncharacterist ically graphic Brian sex scene into a chapter of Undead just to see how Rose would react LOL; I had no intention of keeping it in the story, but I do still have that saved somewhere for my own amusement.

I really only look for them if I have a "I want to write, but what" moment. And as I've mentioned, this doesn't work well for my plantsing self for a full story, but it's usually good enough for a little sandbox moment.

These six word stories are hard since each word does count, literally, lol.

LMFAO! But what did she say?! Did she tell you to keep it?!
« Last Edit: July 28, 2021, 10:02:13 PM by nicksgal »
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Re: Writing & Thread (aka The Writing Thread 4)
« Reply #269 on: July 29, 2021, 12:29:55 AM »

I guess it's possible to consider each chapter in a novel as a short story, but that that just makes it feel really convoluted. But you're right, every novel starts because a character wants something, but something happens to keep them from getting it. I do think sometimes I fall into an "and then" within a chapter, but between each chapter is typically a "but" or a "therefore." But... (lol) I think this is something to look at during editing. It was interesting, it said it premiered a while ago, so I wonder if there's a way to find the whole episode.

I didn't mean use "Somebody wanted but so then" for each chapter because, yeah, that would be a lot.  But it has that same idea that every scene should connect and move the story forward.  In a novel, the structure would be more like, "Somebody... wanted... but... so... but... so... but... so..." LOL.

I'll have to look and see if I can find the full thing.  Oh, speaking of Matt and Trey, I saw an article today about them trying to buy Casa Bonita so they can reopen it!  https://www.denverpost.com/2021/07/28/south-park-casa-bonita-denver-sale/  If this happens, I will definitely have to visit Denver!


I do have all of this, I think I just made the mistake of writing in order when Brian's early arc was less interesting. (Sorry Brian.) It gets better later on, it's just not punchy from the beginning because he has this perfectly normal motivation in the beginning of the story. I think I made Brian too realistic in a story about subverting stereotypes, lol!

I guess I should figure out who's "I want" is the strongest besides Nick's "I want to be a minor character" (or we could call it Nick's "I absolutely do not want," lol) and write that part next. Or just skip ahead to the parts that should be more interesting and circle back instead of focusing on the beginning chapters. I don't know if it really matters if I'm holding on to it until I have some kind of backlog for it anyway.

I updated my word count spreadsheet today since I cracked 1000 words in a day again and I have written my word count goal for this month, just not in this story. My output for it and PDemons is about equal, but I've spent 20 less days trying to write something for PDemons. Is this WADD? I can't tell? lol

Edited to Add:
I finished another chapter of PDemons today. Maybe I am WADDing...

LOL Sounds like WADD to me, but at least you're being productive.  Congrats on making your word count goal!  I say write what you want to write, whether it's PDemons or skipping around in the other story.  It will all come together eventually.


Of course Nick got dragged into the drama because he can't just sit still when drama is around, lol! Do you feel like most of your stories switch to character-driven after the inciting incident and/or turning point? Or are there any that feel like they stay fairly plot-driven?

He's gotta get his POV in there!  He has to at least be co-main character LOL.

I think I've got a mix of both.  My medical dramas and romances are more character-driven, but then I have stories like Bethlehem that are more plot-driven.


LMFAO! But what did she say?! Did she tell you to keep it?!

I actually don't remember LOL.  Do you remember, Rose?  I had no intention of keeping it in there, regardless of what she said.
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