The it's a loooooong story thread: Support group for epic fan fic writers - poll 6/14 (red)

This version, yes. Believe it or not, this monster of a story started as a short backstory for this reskin of a KotOR game armor I designed back in May.

Oh hey, that's a sweet reskin! I haven't downloaded any reskins for KotOR. I guess I'm just not motivated enough. And my current character is a guy so that one wouldn't be of much use, except for anybody in my party that might be able to use it... hm... may have to look into some of those reskins, never considered it. Nice work.

Me, I would never do anything like that. Ever. Because I definitely didn't spend almost a whole day this week making skins for the upcoming Sims 2 of Obi-Wan's tunic. Or his eyes. His eyebrows, either. His beard.


.... the moles on his face.... *shifty eyes*


This is why I never have time to write my story. It's all Obi-Wan's fault! He's holding me back!


But really, I got some important plot problems worked out today and I'm quite happy with what I've come up with. So I'll maybe be able to work on it tomorrow. Maybe.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Hey Jonesy, get over the bloody character! And I'm sure that you could take a skin from another game and modify it to the Sims 2... oh and I go over Jodies when I need inspiration... though this does have the interesting effect of wanting me to go running.

 

solojones: Me, I would never do anything like that. Ever. Because I definitely didn't spend almost a whole day this week making skins for the upcoming Sims 2 of Obi-Wan's tunic. Or his eyes. His eyebrows, either. His beard.

As I always say, "If something is worth doing, it's worth being Obsessive-Compulsive over." Of couse, I also talk to cheese -- so take my advice knowing that I'm crazy.

(Not just any cheese! I only speak to Wisconsin Cheese!)

 

I love all kinds of cheese, so no worries here. And I'm pretty much uncapable of just 'doing' something. I'm very OCD so I always do everything to an obsessive extreme. Which is probably why I'm in this thread for really long story writers

I'm working on creating a whole Jedi Temple of characters for the Sims 2, though. And the really, really sad thing is that I've considered doing some experiments where I do something like... putting a young Anakin Sim in a house with Qui-Gon as his guardian and another in a house with Obi-Wan as his guardian, and seeing which one grows up more well adjusted (because they have memories and how they're treated affects that). I wanted to try to solve that 'who would be a better master or would it matter' thing. Help

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Oh, dear. The Sims-2 as a computer-controlled plot-bunny generator.

My sympathies.

 

lol, That was great. So anybody got any advice on how a character should react to a close friend cutting themselves? After a large argument...

 

*waves* Hi all! I'm kind of surprised I haven't poked my head in sooner.

I'm tackling a very long, three-part saga that details the lives of three consecutive crown princes in a dynasty. The one I'm posting on the boards now is the second part, because that crosses over into the known GFFA timeline.

Unfortunately, I'm stuck between stories right now. I'm working long hours and at night I'm tired (and sometimes only have an hour or two to eat and do stuff). Also, my beloved beta is currently just out of grad school and doing a time-consuming internship too. Add to that the planning for my wedding and you've got a recipe for not writing as much as I used to. Oh well, at least I have money so I can buy soft fuzzy clothes and cool CDs. That's an improvement.

So, do any of you have any suggestions on how to get myself interested in writing in the time I have where I could do it? This Sunday night seems like a good time to do some writing, but how can I do it?

Jae

 

Back from a semi crappy weekend where I didn't want to do much writing but I worked on my fic website and created some story artwork, etc... Now I feel kinda guilty. Guess I was feeling creative but not in the way that cranks out chapters.

Suzuki_Akira You asked on page 2 I think if trilogies count. Yes if it's part of a series like a trilogy would be then definitely.

solojones

Anyway, I'm so honoured by the dedication you've shown to catch up with SotC like you have and to keep up with it. It's not *all* that long right now (around 70,000), but by George is it ever going to be... estimates I've made tend to come in at around 364,000 ....

Well, In the Shadow of the Chosen really is a very good character piece. You also have a mixture of elements, like humor, angst, and action which is just oh so appropriate for a Star Wars fic. It really gives you the feeling you are reading something that actually took place off screen from the movies.

How long have you been writing your current long story?

Since August 2003

How many words is it currently?

ugh... Don't know that one. I don't actually write it on word or anything, I write it directly to my web page writing program which doesn't do a word count. I know according to the fanfic.net, that the first Episode was 99,152 . I've probably already gotten close to that for Episode II though it's expected to be longer when finished.

correction: I double checked the ff.net's count for the first episode with Word and that came up 43,730 (give or take a few). Don't know why FF.net had it wrong. And Episode II the Brood (up to Chapter 14, with about 11/12 more to go) is up to 31,710 words.


How much left to go?

A LOT. Um... I think I'm looking at 11-12 more chapters for Episode II and then I've got ideas for 3 or 4 more approx. 20 chapter Episodes after that.

How many words/posts do you write a week?

I try to do at least 1 a week but lately it's been more like 1 every 2 weeks. I know, I'm slow...

Do you stay ahead a few posts?

No, I put it up as soon as it's done. I rarely have many, if any, errors in spelling etc, so I can get away with it. Plus once I've finished a chapter I am just dying to have people read and (hopefully) reply.

What's your favourite thing to do when you get frustrated/go insane from long fic stress?

I like working on the story's website, making images and adding content. That's fun. I also train my dogs for agility trials.

sg

 

How long have you been writing your current long story? About a year now.

How many words is it currently? Um... 15,245

How much left to go? A lot. I'm a little more than halfway done with this current episode, I think, but there are still 8 more episodes in the entire saga.

How many words/posts do you write a week? Oh boy. Not nearly enough. I have huge lapses in my writing. If you divide the number of words I've written so far over the number of weeks in the past year, I've written an average of 293 words per week.

Do you stay ahead a few posts? No. I just...can't.

What's your favourite thing to do when you get frustrated/go insane from long fic stress? Ugh, I don't know, I haven't written enough to figure that out.

 

Ack! I'm trying desperately to stay ahead of my readers, and now I'm sick! This is all I need right now. And this is my vacation month, too! Well, now that I've vented, I'm going to take something for this and hide under my blankets. Could be worse, though, I could have writer's block.


JD.

 

Gah!!! Stupid plot bunnies!!! I'm not more than 3 chapters into my epic Star Wars fic and an idea just popped into my head for an epic Stargate fic. If I ever catch that stupid bunnie I swear to God I'm gonna turn him in to good luck charms!!!

 

Hey, I know exactly how you feel. I have my epic fic and then about 5 other plot bunnies that refuse to leave my head on the side. I'm writing one of them but I've vowed to take all of those shorter side stories one at a time. It takes a lot of will power.

Well, In the Shadow of the Chosen really is a very good character piece. You also have a mixture of elements, like humor, angst, and action which is just oh so appropriate for a Star Wars fic. It really gives you the feeling you are reading something that actually took place off screen from the movies.

Thanks so much sg. That kind of movie feel but more character intensive is precisely what I'm going for, as I'm sure you know. I'm glad at least someone thinks I'm achieving that, though I know some of other very supportive readers do as well; you guys are totally what motivates me to keep going. Well, that, and my OCD.

I know according to the fanfic.net, that the first Episode was 99,152.

I had no idea Knightshift was that long! It didn't *seem* long. Quite an interesting fast-paced read, IMHO. Which I need to read again, too. Ack, but I haven't even read the latest chapter of The Brood, though. So much for reliable readers

How many words is it currently? Um... 15,245

You're just pacing yourself, Greg. Keep telling yourself that But also don't forget that I have the cattle prod and I'm not afraid to use it... you know, after you be my SotC muse for this next chapter

And so now I set out to write the next chapter. *deep breath in*

*deep breath out*

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

solojones

I know according to the fanfic.net, that the first Episode was 99,152.

I had no idea Knightshift was that long! It didn't *seem* long. Quite an interesting fast-paced read, IMHO.

Okay, I thought it seemed long as well so I went through and put all the chapters into Word to see what that came up as and that was about 43,730 (give or take a few). Still long but not as long as FF.net says. I wonder why that came up wrong. Weird.

And Episode II the Brood (up to Chapter 14, with about 11/12 more to go) is up to 31,710 words and 58 pages according to Word. Phew!


Which I need to read again, too. Ack, but I haven't even read the latest chapter of The Brood, though. So much for reliable readers

Don't worry about it, whenever you get a chance.

Questions for all:

Do you make your story also available in Word for readers to download or do you not think that's necessary?

Do you have a website housing your fan fiction saga? If so, do you have any tips or tricks to share? Have you found it helpful having a website as well as posting here?


sg

 

I put the stories in my series up as word documents and link to those in the thread once they're done. In my mind, some people will want to read the whole thing without the replies to scroll through, but maybe no one does. I do it anyway, though.

I'm working on a website for SotC right now. Hopefully I can reach some outside the board readers that way, but I think mostly I just want to be able to have a place for all the stories and some extras I can't really post here.

I had originally intended to keep my whole story in one thread, because people suggested that would be a good idea. I don't think, though, with the magnitude of the story as it's shaping up to be, that this would be a good idea. We've already reached over 500 replies and I'm only halfway through the second episode. So I think I'll keep that thread to episode I and II, then post a new thread for each following episode, since each can kind of stand on its own too.

286 words so far on the next chapter Eh, it's a start

*goes back to writing*

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

I guess I'll answer my own questions...

Do you make your story also available in Word for readers to download or do you not think that's necessary?

I haven't yet, but the reason I was asking the question was because I was thinking about it and wondered if anyone else thought it was worth it or not.

Do you have a website housing your fan fiction saga? If so, do you have any tips or tricks to share? Have you found it helpful having a website as well as posting here?

I do, and I've got 16 people on the story updates list for that so I have had a least some success with it (though I really don't get much feedback that way, at least I know someone's reading). The site's just sort of for fun, and to help me keep track of things like the timeline, my original characters and other elements of the story, as well as trying to get the word out about the story. I think it's been useful.

solojones

I had originally intended to keep my whole story in one thread, because people suggested that would be a good idea. I don't think, though, with the magnitude of the story as it's shaping up to be, that this would be a good idea. We've already reached over 500 replies and I'm only halfway through the second episode. So I think I'll keep that thread to episode I and II, then post a new thread for each following episode, since each can kind of stand on its own too.

As you know, I had done one post in Before the Saga for the first Episode of my story, and then since the second Episode is in a different time period I had a second post for that in The Saga. But I think I will keep doing that and have different posts for future Episodes. I suspect a long fic looks less intimidating at first if it's not all together in one huge thread and it's easy enough to just post a link to previous Episodes anyway.

sg

 

Nah, my disk keeps getting fried, so no Word doc for my readers!

And I just stick with here and FF.N



When my Granny was 92 she did PT better than you!
When my Granny was 93 She did PT better than me!

 

937 words written on the next chapter. Wooh. *writes some more*

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Hey, I know exactly how you feel. I have my epic fic and then about 5 other plot bunnies that refuse to leave my head on the side. I'm writing one of them but I've vowed to take all of those shorter side stories one at a time. It takes a lot of will power.

I'm glad somebody knows how I feel. I admire your determination solojones. I know that if I had that many plot bunnies in my head I'd never be able to finish a story for any of them. Right now I'm lucky I just have the two, my current Star Wars fic Paladin Squadron and my eventual Stargate fic The War Of The Ancients.

I am swearing right now - with all of you as my witnesses - that I will finish Paladin Squadron before I even start the planning stages for The War Of The Ancients.

 

Go solojones go!

sg

 

Do you make your story also available in Word for readers to download or do you not think that's necessary?

I started out posting a PDF, but needed my limited webspace for other things. I'll put up a clean one when I get finished, along with a Word version. It's a bit of a hassle uploading them every time too.

Do you have a website housing your fan fiction saga? If so, do you have any tips or tricks to share? Have you found it helpful having a website as well as posting here?

No I don't. I'm thinking about starting one, though.

 

[Edit] Oh, and, foolish me... my normal user is Agent_Jaid... *sighs* *goes to log out*


[pre-Edit]


*gapes at the thread title*

We have a support group?! *wipes tears away from her eyes* Oh I can't thank you enough Spiritgurl!!! I needed this soo badly...

Heh, my first (and only) fanfic has crossed the 50,000 mark and is almost (or maybe past) the 75,000 mark... I've taken several multipul-month-long breaks from writing and am currently bogged down by beta's having lives. When I crossed the 200 page mark, I finally admitted that I needed a more workable plot outline then "And then he kills himself and Callista, sometime after he meets Jaina and once they're both around 15..." and the only other main thing was "And on their 16th birthday, their grandma pulls them aside and tells them the truth and then they kill her and the boy runs off..."

No seriously!! That's what little plot outline I had!!

Now that i've kicked my butt into gear and gotten down to writing within the set pirameters, I find myself being attacked by Darth It's-So-Blood-Long-I-Don't-Even-Know-If-I-Can-Keep-With-It!! Not that i'd ever stop working on it... just that i sometimes want to run off and hide under my tea cup. Inside joke.

*sigh*

so... Every 100 pages, we get virtual gatorade? I'm all for it!!

*gets doused twice*

Ahhh.... *licks gatoraid off her lips* 300 coming up!! Unless I've already passed it... Did I mention another problem of mine is that I make a new word document for each chapter?... Useful for keeping up with each chapter/post but miserable when you want a bloody word or page count...


*sigh*

Do you have *ANY* idea how good that felt to be able to say all that?!?

 

Hey, how much is a page? Like, how many words or so does everyone consider to be 'a page'? Just whatever comes out in Word or by some number (like most novels are printed around 300 words a page I think).

I'm over 2,000 on this chapter and should be done soon. Thanks for the cheering, sg

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

I have a question for all of you.

What is your epic story about? And please, only go into enough detail to get the point across.

I'll start. Paladin Squadron is a NJO era adventure about a squadron of Jedi X-wing pilots. The majotity of the story is set durring and just after Star By Star. One of the major plot threads focuses on one Jedi who falls dangerously close to the darkside and how her squadmates help her back to the light after her family is killed durring the invasion of Coruscant. Another major plot thread is focused on rescuing Jedi that have been captured by the Peace Brigade and the Vong. In the end everyone will band together and help the New Republic win some sort of small victory.

 

None of my chapters are under 2,300 words - on purpose.

Oh boy... plot... vague...

A Darkened Day (or ADD) is an AU that kills off Luke, Han, and most of the New Republic, splits the twins up at birth so one is raise on Coruscant and one in Hapes, turns Leia to the darkside and describes the slide into chaos and the slow climb out of it... will span three loooooooooong epic novels.

Did I mention that I have like 8 main characters that are OC's?

ugh.... [face_queezy_just_thinking_about_it]

 

My 'epic' story, Betrayal, is actually a sequel to my very short story, But, in the Archives. The plot is -

Qui-Gon Jinn was dismissed from the Jedi Temple when the Senate decreed cost cutting measures. What the Jedi didn't know at the time was that the Senate was under the control of the Sith. It is now 10 years later and former Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn is accused of illegal activities. Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan are forced to investigate.

In it we find out what happened to Qui-Gon and the rest of the dismissed Jedi but we also find out what happened when the Sith secretly influence the Jedi Order.

The website question I do have a website but it's updated so infrequently that I don't encourage people to go there. I update here first. My husband does my website (so I have to wait until he's free to do any updates)