asirensrage

[asirensrage]

Physically I'm at work, emotionally I'm screaming into the void, spiritually I'm in bed, mentally I'm writing fanfiction

[asirensrage]

heads up everybody who uses taglists: tumblr's made a change where you can only tag 5 people per line of text. so if you have a taglist like this:

@persononeee @persontwoo @personthreee @personfourr @personfivee @personsixx @personsevenn

the last two people won't be tagged at all! in order to make sure everybody gets a notification, you can do it like this:

@persononeee @persontwoo @personthreee @personfourr @personfivee

@personsixx @personsevenn

remember to check your taglist after posting, preferably on the mobile app, where the difference between tagged and untagged users will be visually obvious.

#that's why all the tags are messed up!? #signal boost

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I've been pretty quiet lately and that's because this fic has consumed me. I'm getting closer to the final arc.... if I ever finish this, I'll be free 😂

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The modern Original Character Creator experience.

Denizens of tumblr, the answers you seek often lay in the tags or the image descriptions…

[asirensrage]

holy...this fic has reached 123 pages and like 68k words...

#and i'm still not yet done #it's still not as long as kate's fic though lol

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Reblog if there's something wrong with you

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(x)

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re-reading my own fic because the author has exactly my taste in tropes, ships the same ships in the right way, and also shares my sense of humour. what a find, what a revelation. i hope they write more of this sort of thing.

[asirensrage]

@staff someone has hacked @ far-shores account and is currently operating in there. Please be advised this is not them.

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#help #i'm in this post and i don't like it #lol

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 “Remember? You wanna try to convince me again that you can’t do this?”  “Can’t and won’t,” she says softly. She reaches up, touching his hair that drapes over his shoulders towards her. “It’s funny, Yuzuha told me I should be a little more selfish…” He reaches up and grabs her hand fiddling with his hair. “So be selfish.” “Ran, I already told you I can’t promise you anything.” “I know. I know you got plans, but it’s not right now, is it? So be selfish. Right now, just…let yourself be selfish with me.” 

i am going to go insane with this fic. he invited her so he could warn her to protect her. he's removing her rollerblades for her...being careful to do it properly and take care of her. and they still aren't end game

#i am going FERAL over them #god damn it #why'd i do this to myself #fic: saudade

[asirensrage]

i am going to go insane with this fic. he invited her so he could warn her to protect her. he's removing her rollerblades for her...being careful to do it properly and take care of her. and they still aren't end game

#this fic is officially over 100 pages

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"This side of the fandom is so annoying."

Worstie, it's fandom. We're all annoying.

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“source?” divine intuition, gut instinct, and cryptic symbolism from my dreams

[asirensrage]

No Such Thing As Filler

Okay, so yes, this is another post based on something I saw that irritated me, but it seems like this idea keeps coming up, so I need y'all to internalize this. There is no such thing as filler in good writing. None. Do not approach your work thinking you have to fill space in a story, I will beat you with this wiffle bat. Don't ask me where I got the wiffle bat. Don't even worry about it.

The idea of filler comes from a very particular place - when an anime or TV show has to fit in a certain number of episodes, but doesn't have enough content (hasn't caught up with the manga, the source material isn't long enough, etc) to cover those episodes. An episode has to be written, but the characters can't really progress, and so are given something else to do. Many a trope has come from these episodes, and they're sometimes necessary. Filler in this context is something that makes sense.

The dark side of filler is the idea that you need some space between Big Event 1 and Big Event 2 in your story, therefore you need throw anything in there to take up space and make your word count. This is a mistake I've made and I've seen plenty of other writers do it too, but it's a huge waste of your time. You do need something between those big action scenes, but you should always be writing to accomplish something.

Instead of thinking of that writing as filler, try to approach it with three things in mind:

Move Forward With Character Development and Backstory - Your characters barely survived a huge gunfight, and they won't encounter the big bad again for another few chapters. How do your characters decompress from that gunfight, and what does that say about them? Did a cocky character go in guns blazing, only to be deeply shaken by how a real fight works? Did that fight spark a moment of deep trauma for the main character that they have to reflect on afterwards?

Filling this space with meaningless scenes is a huge waste of opportunity. Think about how to dive deeper into your characters.

Move Forward With Plot and Subplot Development - The bad guy beat the heroes to the stolen gem, but they left behind a clue to why they want it. However that clue could reveal some painful truths about the protagonist's beloved great aunt... Carmen Sandiego???

A major goal following a big action scene is having the characters figure out what to do with what they've learned and what to do next. It's where romance subplots or secret relative subplots make progress, when truths are revealed and next steps are taken. You can absolutely do this in any setting - a flirty conversation while at the battling cages, a tense moment of feelings while hunting down a wayward chicken - but your main goal is making progress for both the characters and plot.

Move Forward With Worldbuilding - Worldbuilding has it challenges, believe me. You don't want to write a chapter on how an airship works only to have to cut it later. But you should still try to flesh out your world, and you should do so with the perspective of how to use that worldbuilding to your benefit. Maybe a critical scene hinges on the main characters knowing how that airship works, or that lake your main character often stares at is the setting of the big Act 3 Boat Battle. The weather can play into both perspective and emotions. Knowing what the main character's house and car looks like can reflect a lot on their personal character or backstory.

When you're struggling with a scene or a chapter, rather than writing filler, take a few steps back and think. What can you establish with your worldbuilding? What can you reveal about your characters through their dialogue and actions? What subplot could you explore or add in these between moments?

Filler from a fandom perspective - Now let me make this clear - if you're writing a fanfic just to have a cute moment between the characters you like, or you really want to force everyone to do that weird Twilight baseball scene, that's fine. You don't need a grand goal to achieve for every story, there's no need to justify your fanwork in any way other than you wanted to do it.

But I'd also argue fanwork doesn't fall under the filler label either - something you create, be it a character snapshot or a 'what if the gang meets Slenderman' parody, isn't taking up meaningless space. It's something fun you did that you and others enjoy, and there's nothing wasteful or pointless about that.