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Post by Dabeagle on Jun 12, 2015 12:44:01 GMT -5
Ryan and I have been working diligently on new work for Sanitaria Springs and we thought it might be fun to see what you thought about a couple of thing. For instance, you've already had some discussion about favorite and least favorite characters, and a variety of reasons for each. Now, we talk about the things that happen in SS, between ourselves, and sometimes a particular scene pushes us one way or another in the future. With that in mind, I wanted to ask you these two questions: 1.) What is your favorite scene/scenes in the SS universe? Feel free to go for something penultimate or a set of favorites or a line or two that really worked for you. 2.) What are your predictions for where we are headed this summer and beyond? I say this knowing there is, now, about three months worth of SS written ahead at a one week posting schedule, so I'd like to get a sense if Ryuan and I are about to surprise you or if we've become too predictable  Comment away! |
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Post by Cynus on Jun 12, 2015 13:33:24 GMT -5
I'm afraid I'd only be allowed to answer question one, considering my inside knowledge of question two, so here goes.
The entire story of "The Ultimate Gift" was exceptionally powerful for me, but there are some winning moments in other stories as well. I loved the scene where Griffin stands up to Devyn's uncle, and I love the scene where Robin stands up to his parents to defend his relationship with Lucien. Pretty much any scene in which one of the characters is fighting from a point of conviction, I'm enthralled.
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Post by ryanbartlett on Jun 12, 2015 15:32:54 GMT -5
Call me a sap but I'd have to say my favorite scene was in Linc when Kale showed up at the park to ask Chase to marry him. Aside from that I'm partial to just about anything with Griffin, he's quickly become my favorite character to write. I love he and Devyn as a couple.
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Post by Lugnutz on Jun 12, 2015 19:37:59 GMT -5
I don't have a favorite. They all hit you at different levels.
How about a story where the guy doesn't win but still has his friends? Everyone gets turned down.
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Post by hoskins on Jun 12, 2015 20:13:43 GMT -5
Favorite snapshots: Alec and his challenges with the basketball team. Kale and his heart problem, and how he worked through them. Alec's uncle and new friend, getting to know each other over a beer in the woods. "Meet the Parents" - the whole story. The pranks. The "kids having fun" stuff.
Things that vex me a bit about the SS universe: it feels a little formulaic in spots: Boy has challenges/meets the gang/challenges get resolved/boy falls in love/new couple formed/the end. Also, it's all gay boys. It's a bit of a rut. Spread out a little! What about the girls... How about a trans character? Isn't anyone actively bi, and really conflicted about it? Where are some old people - meaning older than say, 30 (I say this as a 52 year old lol).
I guess what what I'm saying is that the series seems to be cramping down into younger "generations" of gay boys, and their experiences. There are a lot more people and experiences in SS that don't have to be 16 year olds. Show us some of those. You know what would be interesting to me? Judge Kirkwood, working through a challenging family court case, and the impact of that on his wife and family, from his perspective, and his perspective on all these damn kids that keep hanging around.
Don't get me wrong - I love these characters and the series, and I'll happily soak up whatever you all write, but it would be fun to see you all spread your wings a bit.
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Post by Dabeagle on Jun 12, 2015 21:47:02 GMT -5
Favorite snapshots: Alec and his challenges with the basketball team. Kale and his heart problem, and how he worked through them. Alec's uncle and new friend, getting to know each other over a beer in the woods. "Meet the Parents" - the whole story. The pranks. The "kids having fun" stuff. Things that vex me a bit about the SS universe: it feels a little formulaic in spots: Boy has challenges/meets the gang/challenges get resolved/boy falls in love/new couple formed/the end. Also, it's all gay boys. It's a bit of a rut. Spread out a little! What about the girls... How about a trans character? Isn't anyone actively bi, and really conflicted about it? Where are some old people - meaning older than say, 30 (I say this as a 52 year old lol). I guess what what I'm saying is that the series seems to be cramping down into younger "generations" of gay boys, and their experiences. There are a lot more people and experiences in SS that don't have to be 16 year olds. Show us some of those. You know what would be interesting to me? Judge Kirkwood, working through a challenging family court case, and the impact of that on his wife and family, from his perspective, and his perspective on all these damn kids that keep hanging around. Don't get me wrong - I love these characters and the series, and I'll happily soak up whatever you all write, but it would be fun to see you all spread your wings a bit. Thanks for the feedback, there is a lot in there. With respect to the 'formula' yes, the gang does seem to clear a lot of things up, now that you mention it. I think some of the things that are coming will challenge that a bit. In terms of the cast being gay boys, well, my aim is to tell gay stories. Although some of the stories may come off as a soap opera, I don't h ave any interest in branching out into what straight folks in town are going through - If I wanted that, I could watch a straight soap with a token gay character. Although I've done the 'math justification' before (If there were 1k students in a class, and if ten percent were gay - even five - I'm still no where near the 'limit') I, personally, am not a big fan of writing those stories and have no ideas for them. Maybe that limits me as a writer, but it's really not my forte - and here's why. I crawl in the heads of my characters. I love my guys. I've claimed at least two from Ryan that I just won't give back, ever. Legal papers have been filed. I know that the sexuality shouldn't matter, in a larger sense - and in a public, real world setting, that's true. Unfortunately, to write more realistically, the town of Sanitaria Springs doesn't even have enough people to have an entire school to itself. It has a gas station close to the highway and a church and a used car lot. Maybe it has a gay kid somewhere, but outside of that, it's not much. What I know of being a straight guy wasn't all that good. Now, I suppose, I could change some pronouns and I could make it work. But, for me and for the purposes of the site, I'm interested in telling stories around gay characters. Now, we don't see as much of Alec and the rest of 'Gen 1' since I focus on what's going on in town. You'll get some of them soon. But, once Alec graduates, I think you all know he's coming home and going to be a social worker. So you'll get a more 'adult' perspective as he gets started with that career. As far as Alec's Uncle, well, two things with that. First, since there were some stories that were written before the series kind of exploded, there are a few things that didn't get carried forward - such as Alec's declining smart-assery as shown in Walt's (not hosted here) or the relationship with Uncle Ted. Part of that was that it didn't work for the story going forward. In the first instance, one of the things people seem to like most about Alec is his irreverence. In the second situation, there were two things. One Is I can't write Ted in that style - I never got a feel for him as a character. I don't know his limits, his likes, dislikes, all that and I can't relate enough to it to do it justice. There is also that teens naturally gravitate towards their friends, especially as teens, and leave adults behind - even ones they like. As a teen, as part of natural development, their friends become far more important - not that they don't need their folks anymore, but they are asserting their own independence. I know Cynus has some plans to address the lesbian couple he wrote at some point and there is also a potential trans storyline, and hopefully that will be enjoyable for you. I hope you found my responses useful, even if it wasn't exactly what you might have wanted to hear. Thanks for reading and I really appreciate the comments from you all so far - keep them coming! |
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Post by Cynus on Jun 12, 2015 22:20:33 GMT -5
I will point out that I have two bisexual characters who happen to be in a same-sex relationship, being Seth and Logan. I have no idea if there are any female relationships in either of their futures, but I do know that they're still both bisexual. Maggie and Kristin are lesbians, and will return. I can't write women as well as I do men, so that makes it more difficult, but I intend to try. I have at least one if not two trans characters that are coming to Sanitaria Springs, and I do have a Straight Couple that is highly involved in all things gay that will also be making a stronger appearance. Don't worry, I am here for you, Hoskins. |
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Post by Dabeagle on Jun 12, 2015 22:40:42 GMT -5
Technically Robin is Pan, if you make him choose anything. Travis was bi. Hamster is bi.
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Post by ryanbartlett on Jun 12, 2015 23:37:54 GMT -5
Sam's writing a Christmas story, Tranny Claus |
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Post by Lugnutz on Jun 13, 2015 3:04:22 GMT -5
Sam's characters are based off of Alex Bertie and Jake Edwards is my guess. They have channels on Youtube and are trans.
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Post by Cynus on Jun 13, 2015 10:40:47 GMT -5
I have used them before as inspiration, but I also dated a trans woman a few years ago. I know more than a few, and I enjoy creating protagonists from the less recognized sides of the LGBT community. My ex was bisexual as well, and Alex and Jake both identify as pansexual. There's such a wide spectrum to play with in writing.
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Post by Steve T. on Jun 13, 2015 18:30:52 GMT -5
I don't see the plotlines as formulaic. Some might say they get predictable. but I WANT a happy ending. I LIKE that anyone, troubled or not, who gets pulled into the gravitational pull of "the boys" ends up better off for it. I think that was the intention of the authors. They've created these characters with personalities that may seem bigger than life at times, but I can live with that. I'd rather not read a story where everyone ends up being miserable. Real life has enough of that. I had a hard enough time losing Charlie. I don't need conflict in a story just for the sake of having some conflict.
Steve
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Post by ryanbartlett on Jun 13, 2015 20:41:12 GMT -5
We do tend to give these characters happy endings but I think there is enough reality in the real world. The world is changing, growing more accepting all the time, but there are still hurdles to overcome. It's still scary to be a kid and realize something about you is different. My great hope is that some kid having a hard time of things comes across these stories and draws a little comfort from them. Maybe even comes away with a feeling of hope because if things can work out for these characters, maybe they can work out for him too.
That said, I do think there are some things coming to the series that will surprise you guys. It's going to be an interesting summer in the Springs.
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Post by Dabeagle on Jun 13, 2015 21:31:32 GMT -5
Ryan and I are in agreement - my fondest wish is that there are teens reading who feel better, who can find something of themselves in the stories and that they can give hope, even as Ryan tells me, escapist hope.
I want to thank you all again and ask that you keep up the questions and feedback, I really enjoy you delving in. I've just had a spirited discussion with a reader over what, from their perspective, was a plot hole. I enjoy explaining why I did what I did, what the process was - assuming there was one.
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Post by PaulR5 on Jun 14, 2015 1:16:15 GMT -5
We do tend to give these characters happy endings but I think there is enough reality in the real world. The world is changing, growing more accepting all the time, but there are still hurdles to overcome. It's still scary to be a kid and realize something about you is different. My great hope is that some kid having a hard time of things comes across these stories and draws a little comfort from them. Maybe even comes away with a feeling of hope because if things can work out for these characters, maybe they can work out for him too. That said, I do think there are some things coming to the series that will surprise you guys. It's going to be an interesting summer in the Springs. Ryan and Dave, I don't think there will be any problem with you throwing surprises into the mix. The Rickshaw Run, Part 1 story is an example of a plot twist I didn't see coming. What Samuel said about various categories of sexuality is important as well, as more and more CDs (cross dressers), Trans persons, and others become better known in the world. I know at least one trans woman; she was a good friend as a man and is a good friend as a woman. And I look forward to more straight allies and friends in the SS universe. Just because the gay and bi persons may be more interesting in many ways, the straight friends and allies (of those, the most obvious seem to be Sophie, Gavin, Sean, Jamie, and Chloe at the moment, in the high school student age group) are very important to the gay/bi/pan/trans/other kids. And perhaps the school show band, Sahara, might do a version of the song, "The Navigator" if Samuel agreed? Dave, you asked the following question a few posts above: 1.) What is your favorite scene/scenes in the SS universe? Feel free to go for something penultimate or a set of favorites or a line or two that really worked for you. Answer 1.) There are too many favorites in scenes, we don't have all month for me to list them. Some favorite quotes include-- “Even if you do something courageous because you’re scared, it’s still courageous.” ~ Alec Kutsenko "You survived. That [open heart surgery] scar? Yeah, you may not like it but I guarantee Chase loves it. I guarantee Robin and Jamie and your folks love that scar… That scar means you survived. Every time they see that scar they know they get you for another day. If you didn’t have that scar, if they never saw it then they wouldn’t have you, man." ~ Alec Kutsenko “One of the biggest components of love, Lucien, is that you have to do what’s right for the other person. Sometimes at your own cost.” ~ Alec Kutsenko Ted put his hands together behind his back and set out the itinerary. “Well, we can start with dinner and a movie at the ranch, then wander around the property and discuss the meaning of living. It's way different than the meaning of life. The meaning of life is surviving. The meaning of living on the other hand, well, we'll get to that…” ~ Ted Kutsenko as quoted by Dan Brownstone “Thanks,” he said with a ghost of a smile. “You’re only the second person I told this stuff to. I feel kind of…vulnerable to say it, and that bothers me because I’m your big brother. I shouldn’t be all…hoping you make me feel better.” “Why not? We’re family, remember? … Maybe I don’t have the…wisdom to give you answers, but I promise I’ll still love you when you’re done telling me that you aren’t perfect.” “Whew!” Alec said and let out a little laugh. “I think I needed to hear that, silly as it sounds. I just told Sash about this the other night and I still feel a little out of it. I mean, I knew this stuff, but I try not to think about it.” ~ Lucien Kutsenko and Alec Kutsenko are speaking “…I think you begin to see, now, why Lucien ran to him. He's strong for everyone, but he's also very tender. I've seen the parts of him that hurt and I can tell you, Robin, if I'm ever not around to help you – Alec will not let you down.” “You think so?” I said thoughtfully. “I used to think he liked me okay, but… “Robin,” he said, turning to look at me briefly. “Alec would give any of us a kidney. His emotions run so deep I hope to God none of us ever needs a heart.” I fell silent and thought that over, a little shocked. I decided that, even though I'd always liked Alec, I'd misjudged him a little, too. The change he'd made in my brother was all for the good. I’d always liked him… I resolved to be more thankful to him and for him in the future.” ~ Robin Kirkwood And I could list a bunch more, but this post is already too long. Guys, Alec and the other guys, including Seth and Logan and Grayson, and Lucien and Robin, Griffin and Devyn, Elliot and Scotty-- PLUS Sophia/Sophie-- All come across with some degree of inspiration for me. Good lob, Dave, Pedro, Jeff, Ryan, and Samuel. |
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