Featured Story of the Week: The Fast Times

The Fast Times is an amazing story written by birds ate my face. In this week's Featured Story, we take a closer look at this wonderful work!

Give us a brief summary of your story.

It's basically a teen pregnancy story that evolves into a lot of drama and sadness, with a lot of bad smut.

What inspired you to write this story?

Not 16 and Pregnant, that's for sure. I was just bored one day and I thought, "hmm, I've never done a teen pregnancy story before," and thus, we have The Fast Times.

How long have you been working on this story?

The end of September 2013, it all just hit me and I wrote and rewrote the prologue a billion times.

On average, how much time do you spend writing this story each week?

Nearly everyday I write at least a few lines of dialogue or a scene, my mind is always running with ideas, especially with this story.

How did you choose the title for this story?

The first title was Desperate and Devoted, lyrics from Fall Out Boy's demo of My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark, but I changed it to The Fast Times after listening to The Academy Is...'s album Fast Times at Barrington High. The songs from that album just gave my story a better feel on being a teenager.

What is your favorite thing about writing this story?

I think it has to be writing about Nancy's daughter Holliday; I volunteer with kids in the hospital and even though they're sick, they're all wild and rambunctious, they ask wild questions and keep me on my toes, and I put all that into that little character; that's probably my favorite thing.

What is the most challenging thing about writing this story?

Trying to intertwine all the characters into the story. It's hard to add everyone in when needed and I get frustrated, but it seems to work out pretty well.

Have you ever experienced writer's block with this story? If so, how did you overcome it?

In the beginning I did, but it got easier once I was coming to the point of why I started writing the story. I overcame it by listening to Fast Times at Barrington High over and over again until it hit me. Also, my boyfriend likes to give his input on my weird stories, so I let him read what little I have when I get stuck and he tells me what he thinks.

Do you write with an outline, or just wing it?

I just wing it, I am terrible at planning ahead, I just go with it, honestly. It's a big surprise how I finished any story, because most of them started out as thoughts and had no intended ending at all.

Do you have any pre/post writing rituals?

I have to find a comfortable spot on my or my boyfriend's bed or couch, I have to have my favorite pillow and a glass of pop -that I will ignore until it's watered down- and then I play an album that sets the mood of the chapter I feel like I'm about to write, but I most just play the Smiths. And my dog Sid seems to know when I'm about to write, he lies on my legs.

Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?

You guys are awesome, most of you are phenomenal writers and I can't thank you enough!

Special thanks to broken bells and Maddi; for editing!