#I think I struggled to process having docs on word for random scenes and also the actual draft

[thelostboys87]

handwriting the start of lover boy in the official lover boy first draft red notebook healed me btw. handwriting was shit bc I’m on my bed but like that healed me

#basically i spitballed ideas in notes then transcribed them with intentional drafting in mind #then later on typing it all up again on my computer 👍 #I won’t always start in notes but if I have an idea that moves me or in this case was nervous about the paragraph LOL #only did the opening but I feel good abt it i just need to use brain power for the next para cause it’s the weakest of the scene #a refresh my goal with the lover boy notebook is a handwritten draft where I’m not allowed to cross any lines out I just have to let it #happen and I also have to keep it completely linear #so if I want to skip around I have to do it in my free writing #like I said above if I want I can play with the scene before writing it in the notebook but the notebook is the official first draft #separating draft writing and free writing is saving my life btw 👍 #I think I struggled to process having docs on word for random scenes and also the actual draft #so separating them like this seems to be helping my brain

[a-pale-azure-moon]

WIP Wednesday

It's done.

There will be revisions and tweaks to make between now and when I post it in a few days, but I have finished the final chapter of Someday We'll Shine Together. At long last, it is complete.

I'm struggling to distill all of my emotions into words at the moment. This fic has been a part of my life for about three years now. I'm feeling accomplished and proud of myself for really and truly finishing it despite the fact that when I first had the idea, I was convinced this was another of those fleeting inspirational flashes that would never go anywhere and would forever languish in my WIP folder. I got very attached to this story in the process of creating it, and I got even more attached to it when it was one of the things that helped see me through a very difficult time in my personal life. As such, I'm also grieving that it's over and that I now must let it go. Sure, it'll always exist for me to revisit whenever I want, but that feeling is never the same as the one derived from actively working on it.

While I'm still digesting all of these emotions, here's a rough timeline and some background of the fic's development, so you can all see how I finally got to this point. This is pretty personal too, because the two are irrevocably intertwined. (Content warning: death/grief)

Summer 2020: Initial inspiration hits after I rewatched Utena during COVID lockdown.

Fall 2020: Brainworms are on-and-off active, writing short blurbs in a Google doc when they come to me, but there's no true shape to the whole plot yet, it’s just random scenes. It's more or less still strictly a 3H-esque retelling of Utena, and I'm not expecting anything to actually come of these blurbs.

Winter 2020: More blurbs trickle in here and there. The story in my head is starting to divert more drastically from the show.

February 19, 2021: Draft of the pivotal scene at the end of Chapter 15 written. I remember the specific day for this because I wrote it the same day we put down our dog, Clancy. (Writing emotional scenes often helps me process my own emotions.)

April 11, 2021: Creation of my dedicated author's notes file to keep track of the various threads and ideas I'd come up with, especially the backstory about Faerghus and how Dimitri became the Lion Prince. I filled it in like an extended summary or wikipedia entry about the 'verse and the overall plot of the story. I jotted a lot of stuff down between April and June as the brainworms really got to work again.

Summer 2021: I'm starting to entertain the idea of actually seeing this project through. Chapters 1 and 2 are drafted over the summer months, but I hit a block and the self doubt comes roaring right in to deter me.  A LARGE part of my struggle with getting this fic out of development hell was me being unable to get out of my own way.  Every stumbling block I hit (especially early on) was an invitation for my inner critic to resume browbeating me into giving up this “stupid” idea.

September 2021: I finally make up my mind that I'm really going to do this, and I spend the next six weeks ironing out the bumps in the plot and making a chapter-by-chapter outline highlighting the key scenes/plot points/character beats within each one. I organized the various blurbs I had into chronological order and put them under the correct chapter headings. I also started thinking of the best way to get myself to see this project through, as well as what would be a realistic timetable for its completion. I estimated that the final length of the whole thing would be around 350 pages or roughly 150K words. (This is hilarious to me in hindsight.  I severely underestimated the scope of this fic!)

November 2021: I try to do the NaNoWriMo challenge (50K words in a month) to draft as much of the fic as I can. I "only" produce about 35K words in the end, but it was enough to draft Chapters 3 and 4 and write at least one decent-sized blurb within each of all of the remaining chapters.

December 2021: I took a short hiatus from working on SWST to finish Beneath the Ethereal Moon. When that's done, I went over my outline yet again to refine it further and then cleaned up my draft of Chapter 1 with an eye on posting it after right after New Year's. I determined that posting (and writing) one chapter per month should be doable, especially since I have a generous buffer to start with.

January 2022: I get a bad case of cold feet/anxiety and don't post Chapter 1. I'm having trouble getting a feel for Chapter 5 and fail to finish it before the end of the month. (This naturally doesn't help alleviate my self-doubt or silence my very loud inner critic.)

February 2022: Cold feet strike again and I fail to post Chapter 1 a second time. I'm still stuck on Chapter 5 (though I've at least made some progress), and while I'm extremely aware that I'm being my own worst enemy, that doesn't make it any easier to beat back old habits.

March 2, 2022: In the wee hours of the night (it was after midnight), I finally posted Chapter 1 and went straight to bed after. I slept terribly of course, haha.

I wish I could say "and you know the rest from here," but that's not true. Posting Chapter 1 was a huge mental hurdle cleared, but there were other things going on behind the scenes that almost derailed this project for good. The timing was such that if I were more prone to hubris, I'd think that the universe itself was testing my resolve. Or possibly mocking me.

On March 3, 2022 (yes, the day after I posted Chapter 1), my father was admitted to the hospital with a debilitating pain in his lower back. Initially, we thought it might be a flare up of his sciatica or maybe something like a kidney stone, but the truth was far worse. What he had was a spinal epidural abscess caused by a bacterial infection in his blood. He was transported to the ICU of a larger (further away) hospital once the severity of his condition was discovered, and he was pumped full of massive doses of antibiotics. Thanks to that, he stabilized, but what followed after was a long period of uncertainty as he would start to make gains only to suffer a setback. Even once the infection and his pain level were under control, he'd been so severely sick that the bacteria had ravaged his various body systems, leading to issues with his kidneys and his heart.

For 91 days, my family and I were stuck on a wretched rollercoaster of getting hopeful (he was transferred to a rehab facility three different times when it looked like he was improving) and then having our hopes dashed when something would happen that would see him sent back to the hospital (falling out of bed, chest pains, difficulty breathing). Hope began to fade in mid May when he was transferred back to the ICU due to diastolic heart failure, which caused his lungs to fill up with fluid. They tapped his lungs thrice, removing at least a liter of fluid each time, but they kept filling up again despite all the diuretics the doctors were giving him. Then his kidneys began to shut down too. We kept hoping right until the end, but he passed away on June 1, 2022, the day before what would've been his and my mother's 49th wedding anniversary.

(Proof that real life can be even crueler than fiction.)

I was only able to continue updating SWST while my father was sick because of that buffer I'd had, and I very nearly deleted the story from AO3 altogether after he died. I remember ruminating about how futile it was to continue with this project; I'd written almost nothing while he was sick, so my buffer was now gone and I questioned whether or not I'd be able to write, let alone write consistently, with the promised months of grief and general upheaval ahead. Even writing a story that I had, to that point, been passionate about felt utterly pointless.

It was strange though. I woke up on June 2nd thinking that maybe I should go ahead and post chapter 4 anyway, since it was already done and it was one of the chapters I particularly liked. So I did. And in the following days, we had my father's funeral and a part of me felt like I could breathe again. I was grieving yes, but the constant daily stress and uncertainty from his illness was gone, and I think that freed my creative drive to start working again. I remember the first day I sat back down at my computer with the intention to write and how much better I felt in general after I got some words onto the screen.

It's hella ironic that I planned SWST with grief and loss as major themes and it turned out I'd be processing such things myself while writing most of it. I know my own grief affected the story, though it's impossible to say to what degree; I get a lot of catharsis in general from writing emotional scenes, so I tend to go hard on them regardless. It didn't change the plot or direction of the story at all, since that was already planned, but it's certainly safe to say that I channeled a lot of my own feelings into some of the most intense moments. The ending of Chapter 9 stands out in particular as something that felt like it was coming straight out of my own heart.

Even on the hard days when I was feeling too overwhelmed and/or the words just weren’t coming, this story gave me a reason to keep going.  Just keeping the goal in mind and reasserting my resolve to be consistent and see this project through to the end helped me cope.  It both kept me grounded and helped me process what I was going through and it gave me something to look forward to when I uploaded each chapter and anxiously waited to see what the readers would think.

I started this fic as a means of testing myself: testing my commitment to writing consistently, to finishing a long-term project, and to getting over at least some of the many, MANY mental hurdles that have held me back from writing for way too long.  I knew that this story would always be near and dear to me if I managed to finish it, but it became even more precious than I ever could’ve imagined back in 2020.  It hurts that I must say goodbye to it, but…it’s forever mine.  I can say with my whole chest that I MADE THIS THING and I’m so very proud of it! <3

#my writing #swst #wip wednesday #personal

[definitelynotshouting]

 (he can't say it's excitement, because he isn't actually keen to die– but it's something. A bit like hope, a lot like loss, in the shape of grief and threaded, ultimately, with desperate relief)

this sentence means everything to me, it is so

im speechless, what can i say? it's written so. it's so descriptive. it's so simple for such a complex feeling. it hits me in my lungs in a way different but similar to whenever im re-reading the little prince and especially the part when the geograph describes the boy's rose ephemeral

shouting, what are you doing to me? /pos

[asks continued past readmore]

He appears at what this world's spawn must be. It's a lovely place– all lush trees and flowing water, meadowgrass filling the air with the heady scent of spring. After so long in darkness, it makes his eyes burn with the adjustment, his senses flooding him with a deluge of new information. Grian trembles, curling his hands into fists, and begins to walk, following the vague trail that this server's owner has left for him to follow.

the same little princes rose anon

your writing is so amazing actually, like ive already thought so from the moment i met you but now im stopping and thinking back and taking it in anew.

your writing i mean, the way you describe things is so unique and high level and your words bring some kind of satisfaction trailing behind them

it is a joy to read i love how you interlace inner emotions with world building together like braids

if your writing was a braid it would be full of sunshine and pretty flowers, while the hair remains lustrous and royal and golden :)

Somewhere in front of him, Mumbo actually swears. The rapid rustle of cloth is his only warning before hands are on either side of his face, lifting his head and grazing into his hairline. "Grian?" Mumbo's voice is sharp. "Hey now, you– come on, open your eyes, alright? Don't be a spoon about this, please. You're not– come on. Eyes open. Grian, listen to me."

you are so sick for this, nobody even died and yet im shedding tears. that is mumbo. that is mumbo and he's horrified for grian. i love you - 🥀

your writing is so amazing i wish there was a compliment boost section, where someone could chip in to let those 1000 people absolutely gut wrenched, staring into their ceiling processing, madly in love with your writing unleash their inner demons by reminding you that you're amazing and there is no one else like you on this earth, and you mean so much to random people <3

- 🥀

Another rustle to his right: "Grian," another voice pipes up, and Grian's heart does that funny, agonizing flip again, because Scar's voice is shaking in a way he hasn't heard before. He sounds scared. "Grian, hey– hey. Look at me?" Grian looks at him, struggling to focus, the fog clouding his mind in one thick blanket. He's unfairly lovely with this backdrop of stars, and his face is pale too. "Grian, what are these?"

scratch that you deserve the thousands of soldiers marching into your dm's as if loverboys just send out by their wifes into the heart of the battle, dutifully complimenting you complimenting you and complimenting you, you deserve to open your mail to so many letters they will explode and cover your entire lawn and it will so much worse than the chicken/dragon pranktastrophy grian himself will blush, and doc will perish.

(they'll bury him in a chicken onesie) - 🥀

your writing is so intricate actually, binge drinked the whole fic and I have to say I'm so impressed with your Pearl characterisation

good nutritions my lovely spinning yoyo girl, she's shaped like those vitamin gummies you want to stick a handful into your mouth as a kid

also there is something so? distinct about the way the work passes through chapters. it feels as if everytime im switching onto the next one the theatre room curtains close, just to reopen to a different scene.

it feels like it takes moments, and weeks at the same time- the passing between the scenes. like if Grian breathed one moment and he was here, and then he breathed next one and he was...

still here? how long has passed between those moments? time seems to not hold much meaning here, like it runs on it's own rules despite anything.

maybe it was as long as it takes for an update, that's how much time has passed since one meeting till next one, maybe it's been a milisecond. - 🥀

ANON HOLY SHIT A WHOLEASS LIVEBLOG AND MULTIPLE COMPLIMENTS THROWN INTO MY ASKBOX????? OH MY GODS /POS THANK YOU SO MUCH THESE ARE SUCH LOVELY AND KIND WORDS IM GOING NUTS!!!!!!

Oh my gods the Little Prince comparison is making me INSANE thats like one of the highest compliments i could possibly receive i think, i love that book it fully changed my brain chemistry as a kid. Ive written things before that have drawn on that as thematic source material but to receive it on something i wasnt even intentionally trying to emulate makes me feel like all my insides got turned into bubbles. Ohmygods!!!! Holy shit!!!!

Also all these things you have to say about my writing being unique and just ;;;;;; wtf /pos this is so sweet to say, holy shit what do i do with all these compliments?!? Thank you so much, this is the most lovely ask ive gotten in a while and thats saying something bc ive been getting a TON of really nice people in my inbox lately. Im just so touched by what youve said here and how free you are with your praise-- it means a lot to me truly. Also ngl slightly stunned (/pos) at your comment about meaning so much to random people-- i guess its easy to forget that people dont just pay attention to the story that i post, but also to the person sitting behind the screen actually writing it. Its hard to conceptualize making such a personal impact on strangers when im not directly talking to them, but man im gonna be sitting on that comment for a WHILE just turning it over in my brain.

I am INCREDIBLY glad you like the fic, and especially Pearl's characterization. Tbh i have my friend @/cosmic-nopedog to thank for that one-- he was a big reason why i chose to give her such a meaty role, and he helped me come up with some of the emotional plot for her to begin with. I honestly think Pearl's role here is one of my absolute favorites in the entire story, and i cant wait to write more of it out :DDD

As for the time aspect, i do admit some of that probably has to do with the fact that i generally only update once a month 😭😭😭😭 but also, i really like episodic chapters!!! I sorta view scenes as film reels in my head, so i often write them accordingly, and im a real big stickler for ending chapters in a way that rounds them off satisfyingly. I tried explaining this to my partner about a month ago, but yknow how songs typically end on that one closing note to mark that theyre over??? Thats the sort of beat i always try to emulate when im finishing a chapter off. I just really personally find it satisfying to tie each chapter up individually, only to introduce a new "episode" in the next one so each one feels fairly complete and like it could almost stand alone. This is just a personal preference, though, and is likely influenced by all the specific books i read growing up <- almost exclusively read 70s fantasy novels 😂😂😂 either way, im really glad you like it and think its unique!!! These messages were so sweet to receive, i am sending you Beams rose anon, i hope youre having an AMAZING DAY and thank you so so much for making mine❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

#shouting speaks #asks #hunger au #compliments #GODS. WAAHHHH #THIS IS SO NICE #rose anon i am beaming only the nicest and freshest vibes your way #also i hope you dont mind i chose to compile this into one post!!!! i wanted to make sure i didnt spam my followers SKJDSJDJJD #txt

[inthe-neighbourhood]

Fighting Creativity Block

Recently I've been feeling a block in my creativity, with my writing and art, with a massive lack of motivation, so I thought it would be good to list a few ways to get over this block. Tactically both writer's block and art block.

Feel free to leave suggestions as well, I'm still trying to get past this block so any help is appreciated! <3

______________

Ways to fight Creative Block

Taking a Break

You can't always have unique ideas, that's just a fact. Instead of forcing new ideas, it's better to take a step back and come back after some rest. Creative block can come from tiredness and overworking; sometimes you don't realize it until you can't keep going.

Remember it's essential to take care of yourself, and sometimes a good nap, a hot meal and some self-care go a long way.

2. Consuming Different Media

One of the best pieces of advice I got as a writer, was to look at different media for inspiration.

If you are working on a particular project, for example, a story about the Wild West (defiantly not what I'm working on hehe) and you don't feel passionate about it, or just feel stuck. Watching a cowboy movie can help, or reading about the history of the American Frontier, lets you make new ideas and sparks your creativity.

Or, if you have no ideas at all, but you want to write or you want to draw, watching a new movie, or playing a video game can get your creativity going. Sometimes we're so busy in our lives, working on our projects, that we forget what inspired us to do these things. Also, don't feel guilty if you think what your writing is too similar to another story. Originality is dead, but I'm not sure if it was ever alive. All stories are reiterations of other stories or a melting pot of multiple.

3. External Creativity

I did not know how to word this, but you know that feeling when you have a concept that really interests you, but when you open the google doc, your mind is blank. The words aren't wording.

To deal with this, exploring the concept is helpful. Cultivating a playlist that encapsulates, a character you are interested in writing, or a scene you really want to write helps it become more than a vague concept. Also, make a Pinterest board, for either your character or an area in your story, it helps you visualize your story, making the writing process easier.

This also applies to art, I can be in the mood to draw or have a good drawing day, but I don't know what I want to draw, having an interesting board helps. I have one that has random images I thought were cool for if I ever just want to draw. It can also help with finding references for poses, buildings, faces, etc.

4. Try Different Activities

I'm stubborn, and I hate doing anatomy practice, or writing exercises, but they can help you bully your creative block. This is for the creative block, where you have ideas but your writing is bland or your art formatting is bad, it can just mean you need practice, it happens to all of us. It's boring, but it is necessary.

Look at videos for writings, pertaining to what you are struggling with particularly. For example, what I'm struggling with is planning and show don't tell, giving the reader an image in their mind.

For artists it's relatively the same, look at what you're struggling with and find videos or websites that help with that. For example, I'm struggling with formatting my sketchbook pages. I haven't been able to find many videos to help me with this, but just looking at other artists' sketchbooks helps.

5. Background Noise

We all listen to music, youtube or a show in the background while writing or drawing. If you don't, I'm scared of you. I find what you listen to can help with what you're doing. This isn't an exact science, but try it out and let me know if it helps.

Writing, I believe while writing it's more helpful to listen to informative videos in the background. While writing this I was rewatching Jacksepticeye's "Youtube has some serious issues..." and hbomberguy's "Vaccines and Autism: A Measured Response" Listening to more wordy content, puts me in a more professional headspace, making it easier to form paragraphs and sentences.

Drawing, I find it more helpful to listen to music, maybe it's because it's a visual art form, although listening to youtube and watching shows can help as well.

Again, not an exact science, I'm curious how people focus now so let me know.

_____________

I hope this helps! Feel free to give suggestions on how to deal with creative block and I'll make a part two.

#writing #creative writing #writers block #artist block #drawing #digital aritst #writers on tumblr #ao3 writer #creative block #writersupportingwriters #artistsuportartist #creativity #helping

[risingshards]

My web novel writing process!

I was asked by a friend to share my writing process with them and I figure it'd be good to share here too if anyone is curious about how I handle web novels! For non web novels...I'm still working on a process for that 😅 My webnovels are here for Rising Shards and here for Rising Shards: Evy & Stella.

Before starting web novel:

Prototyping

Setup

During web novel publishing:

Note taking

Early scene writing

Outline

Roughs writing

Second draft

Before starting web novel:

Prototyping:

Basically me tinkering around with stuff to figure out what I want to write, what I'm able to write, what I have the most fun writing, because with a web novel a lot of content is needed to keep up with releases so I have to make sure what I write is something I can actually like *write* without it being a drain on me or something I get bored a few chapters into and give up. I try to build characters or at least start to around here to figure out how they "sound." I like to study the stories I like the most and ask myself what exactly I liked about them, what I'd change, and stuff I could be inspired from for my own stories. RS is kind of hard to say how long I was in prototype phase since it started as a tradpub thing but after working at a publisher and then the pandemic happened, I reallllyy took some soul searching on how to best release it and if I wanted to keep struggling against the woes of traditional publishing.

Set up:

This part is a bit out of order for the pre-web novel process because I want to have some stuff written before I start uploading; so with that in mind when I have a chunk of writing that I'm satisfied with that's at least a few months ahead to start up, then I think about an upload schedule, get a cover mockup or commission one, then tinker around with like the aesthetic I want for banners and such.

Note taking:

This one I do daily pretty much no matter what, basically just jotting every random idea down in a notebook, google doc, or a note app. My notes can be fairly incoherent from my handwriting to the ideas jotted down but I figure it out lol.

Early scene writing:

Sometimes part of note taking, this is usually me just trying random scenes which sometimes become something and sometimes don't, but are good practice for character voice. They're kind of like sketches but in writing form.

Outline:

I outline my stories a bit ahead, but also know vague points way ahead. I like to think of it as a hybrid of TV season, manga, and anime structure versus a print novel structure (though I suppose print novels could very well have this structure, tradpub is just more unforgiving to anything outside the beat sheet for debuts from what I've seen. I don't go too far ahead as the story can change in the writing (I too am gardener/plantser and plantser works well for web novel). Since I use a more TV season like format, I like to get a list of my episode titles in advance and move things around as I go, knowing where like the season premiere and season finales go. I find outlining that way is a lot easier for my brain than just the three act structure, and allows for me to play around more with how things happen. For example, an episode list of the first batch of Rising Shards:

Sometimes I'll have to adjust the episodes a lot if I move one way later to earlier for continuity, but doing them episodically let's me finish my thoughts a lot more easily and it allows for the best pace for my characters. My episodes are between 5 chapters and 12, but I think most are around 8-9.

Roughs writing:

This is where the bulk of my writing gets done. I set up a daily goal like "finish chapter 34.1" and map out my targets for a month, then get rolling and try to get around 1k words in a daily session, but not stopping if I get more chapters done, or getting too bent out of shape if I'm not feeling it that day. I'm a big "talk to your characters" writer, so I get kind of trancelike and just let them tell me where a story is headed when I'm in roughs writing. I mostly write chronologically but things that are tougher like big fantasy episodes, action sequences, and now...sex scenes *gasp* I try to write in advance so I can spend more time polishing them. 

Uploads:

Once the roughs are finished, I upload them to my site Tapas, schedule their dates, and then make the banners, thumbnails, etc. I usually wait on descriptions because when I upload chapters at this point my descriptions are very "Character goes somewhere." and that's it lol

Second draft:

This is where I fix up the drafts and polish them to a more readable state, I tinker with chapters up to their upload date and then after too (I'm not full George Lucas special edition I swear I just catch typos and weird phrasings like a year later). Then after that I start outlining the next chunk of episodes, get excited about people reading scenes I really liked and also panic about the ones that are scarier (aka big twists I fear won't land, sex scenes *gasp*, really weird stuff I don't know how people will react to, etc.)

The whole process loops around so I'll be doing roughs on some main episodes, outlines on others, polish on others all going at once. I try to have at least a month ahead on uploads so I don't fall behind as well. 

—Chiral

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #web novels #lgbt web novel #rising shards #chiral writes

[forsaire]

Hi Saire!

I was wondering if you had any advice for writing and setting up chapter's?

We really love the way you wrote don't let me go

The chapters and research were nice to read, do you have any examples of how to lay out a chapter? Or how to form structure for one?

Do you have advice about pot holes or time lines?

My goodness! This is a nice message and I'm super glad you enjoyed my story! 🖤

I'll definitely try to explain some thought processes and how I personally organize my writing. I realize my way might be a bit weird but I am a colour visual person. This is more of a practical explanation of the process, less so a creative/ideation one. Idk the ideas randomly come whenever they feel like it.

So this doesn't become a long, annoying post on people's dash ->

After essentially daydreaming what the hell I want to happen in a chapter/scene, I write out what happens, line by line, action by action, roughly formatted dialogue by dialogue. It's getting the actions and vibes without writing it nicely, but the more detail, the better. See example below:

(for a story i haven't even begun writing yet)

Sometimes I have pages upon pages of notes for what should happen, other times I don't. But when I don't (for whatever reason) it's definitely more of a struggle to write. I can recommend outlining, but even I struggle with coming up with ideas to flesh out them sometimes. But it is probably the #1 thing that actually helps me and makes writing easier.

If you have an idea, pounce on it and start making these notes. There have been times where I start thinking about something, say a conversation that I like, but then a few days pass and I didn't write it down so I forget all the great details I originally thought of and I struggle to recall that amazing idea.

(why do i always hallucinate the best conversations like 2 minutes from falling asleep, and then i forget in the morning!! 😭)

And when you're really motivated, sometimes these notes come out as fully written, thought-out sentences! WOO! Such as...

Then I start writing. And that just has to happen. If I truly need to come back to something usually during the edit, it's pink.

If I have no idea how to transition from previous chapter (because it's not written yet) it's blue like this. So if you don't write your chapters in order, I sometimes leave the beginning and ending not written because I haven't 100% determined how I will transition (e.g. where is their location, how much time has passed, what they've been doing between chapters).

If I plan on adding a supplementary images, it's in darker blue (which are mostly created by me and just saved in folder on my computer, so I know what this means).

If I need to describe something visually, I'll grab an image off Google with the vibes I'm looking for. I find that I can't accurately describe what something looks like without a visual aid. It would be a random image like this, or multiple ones where I take different elements from each:

I organize my chapters using a table of contents (granted this tips are for Word, not docs). So I format the rough chapter titles with heading styles so I can automatically insert a table of contents which can look like this:

Ghost is coloured-coordinated blue, Soap is yellow. First draft is dark green, posted is light green, edited is usually some other colour if I want to add that one. Love this because I can easily click on the page number and immediately jump to the chapter in question (and absolutely necessary when I write over 100k fics). It also has all the chapters at the very beginning of the document. All I have to do is update the table and the titles, page numbers, and level of completion will all update as well.

I can't have a chapter where nothing happens. If something happens, nothing still could have happened, ya know? I think to myself, in what way is the major scene/conversation that happens in this chapter progressing the story, relationships, or aspirations/hopes of the characters. I want to make each chapter in service of something. That's definitely for longer stories rather than shorter ones.

As for plot holes... honestly, for me, I simply don't post until the story is done (or like 95% done). That way I still have time to add things such as conversations, characters, foreshadowing, etc. earlier on. If I want to change something that happens and the chapter is already posted, then I guess I'm shit outta luck, especially because something major to retcon would be confusing for readers.

I would say try to think about any plot holes in advance, but we're writing fanfiction out here. If someone is really upset by my fake words not being 100% plot perfect, then that's on them. I write for myself and for other people to enjoy. Nothing is perfect. I guess don't have real advice, but I toss and turn with ideas for a long time to smooth these things out. You could also just ask someone or brainstorm with them if you have someone to bounce ideas off of like that. I pretty much write everything solitarily.

For time lines, it's funny because I'm writing a fic rn that is pretty time sensitive so, again, to visually keep track of what was happening I created this shitty little calendar.

It's just in the document with the rest of the story and there are three more calendar months as well. It let's me see the timelines between chapters so I make sure to write that the appropriate amount of time has passed. e.g. It had been one week since they met... yada yada.

I find that I need to physically write about the passage of time or else people might confuse subsequent chapters as only happening 1 day apart. When I want to establish that that time has passed, I have to be explicit about it (and/or have it written at the beginning of the chapter what the date is).

That's pretty much a lot of the things I do to get my ideas physically organized. Once you have a good idea of what you want to happen in the chapter, you can go about writing it (or struggle like me when there's only a vague whisper of an idea).

Everyone will have their strengths - I love writing action, dialogue, and internal thoughts. But if I have to describe what an object looks like or what their location looks like... disgusting!

I know this was long, but I guess I hope it was sort of helpful. I truly just love to daydream, and like a lightning bolt, I get hit with a perfect idea. I don't have professional or like, research-backed advice, to me it just has to happen in my own way. ❤❤

#random flurry of musings about writing underneath the cut #some of you may or may not find it relatable #or do similar practices #i just love **organization** #it's an organized mess #but makes perfect sense to me #saire says #my writing #op

[just-the-hiddles]

Writer’s Spotlight | myoxisbroken

Happy hump day, peeps!  This week’s spotlight is the queen of a historical fic, AU or canon.  The maven of food porn in a fic. And the reigning champ of teasing me with smut @myoxisbroken​ !  Let’s dive in!!

The Basics

MASTERLIST HERE

Any other names you want people to call you?

Miss Ox, myox, whatever you feel like!

How long have you been writing fic?

2 years.

What fandoms and/ships do you write?

MCU (Loki, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes), other Tom Hiddleston characters (Pine, Conrad, Sharpe, Buxton, Nicholls, Plumptre, and ever-growing), and just branching out into Pedro Pascal with The Mandalorian; I also have a few Doctor Who fics in my Masterlist (Ten/Donna Noble)

How did you get started writing fic?

I was reading a ton of Doctor Who fic and enjoying the Doctor/River Song stories. Then I rewatched DW season 4 and was so depressed about Donna's ending that I immediately watched the David Tennant/Catherine Tate version of Much Ado About Nothing. And then I started to ship the Tenth Doctor and Donna.

So I read a bunch of their fic and thought, "You know what would be awesome? If someone wrote a WW2 AU where Donna's a single mother and the Doctor is an injured fighter pilot that she takes in as a boarder." And then I started to get snippets of dialogue in my head, and ideas for scenes, and I wondered if I might be able to write a story myself. I hadn't written anything in years, but I decided to give it a try. And a few months later, I had my first story completed, a 14-chapter Doctor Who AU.

 After that, I had the writing bug and I haven't been able to stop coming up with ideas and working to put them into words!

Story Recommendations

Which of your stories are your favorite?

It is honestly so hard to choose. I'm only going to choose completed works, because I always love the WIPs I'm working on. So, let's see: You Bring Me Home is one of them, because it was so fun to just jump into a sexy vacation romp with some playful kink exploration for James Conrad (Kong: Skull Island). With Brooding Wings was my first attempt at a vampire story using multiple Tom Hiddleston characters, and I really enjoyed playing with the dynamics of different personalities and settings in that world. 

 In A Restless World Like This Is is another, because I had such a great time writing a fluffy love story for Steve Rogers and an older OFC. It started as a spite project because of someone's objections to older characters and turned into such a lovely experience. It was one of the easiest I've ever written in terms of how quickly it flowed from my brain through my fingers. I'd loved writing for Loki (An Excellent Suggestion was my first Loki story, and my first time writing smut) and for Bucky (We Are All Victims of Physics Sometimes was my first dip into capturing Bucky's quiet reserve and depth of emotion).

I honestly could go on and on about stories but would only sound more conceited.

Which story are you most proud of?

I think A Pursuit of the Heart. It was my first time writing in the Regency/Georgian era, and I did a TON of research for it. It was also my first novel-length story, and I didn't even know if I could take on something that big or write a historical romance convincingly, in a way that felt era-appropriate and true. I was so proud of the finished product.

Which of your stories do you think is the most underrated?

Let Your Heart Be Light, a Bucky/OFC story with a Christmas theme - its companion piece, Kissing The New Year In, also didn't get much traction. But I loved writing them!

Someone is new to reading your stories, which story/stories should they read first?

It depends on what actors and characters they like, really, as well as if they like smut or fluff or both. For a smutty one-shot, I'd recommend An Excellent Suggestion (which has a one-shot sequel). For a swoonier longer fic with smut, I'd recommend either You Bring Me Home or my fake relationship Steve Rogers fic The One Thing You Can't See. 

For fluff, An Unforeseen Outcome is a Loki one-shot with both fluff and a little emotional hurt/comfort. Interestingly, I've written more not-smut fluff for Loki than for any other character. I think I just want him to find connection and love and acceptance so much. 

And if you are a fan of historical romance, I'd recommend either my Thomas Sharpe AU A Compromising Situation, or if you like your fics with a healthy dose of angst, Beside Us When Beauty Brightens, my William Buxton (Return to Cranford) story about what happens after he loses Peggy.

Which Story did you do the most research for?

A Pursuit of the Heart, since it was my first one set in the Georgian era and I had a lot of catching up to do! I research for most of my stories, and definitely for my multi-chapter stories. Even if they're contemporary, I still look up resorts, locations, restaurants and local foods, things to do, etc. I can't help it. It's like I'm addicted to research.

Which Story was the easiest to write?

For a multi-chapter fic, In A Restless World Like This Is. For a one-shot, probably my Loki Christmas fluff All I Want For Christmas Is You.

The Writing Process

What is your favorite part of writing?

When a scene I've had in my head just flies out of my fingers and onto the page, and I can read it back and think, "YES! That's just how I wanted it!"

What is your least favorite part?

When my brain is too scattered and unfocused to actually allow me to do any writing.

Describe your style in 1 to 2 sentences.

Well-researched stories that use the information to make you feel like you're there and that incorporate sweetness into even the smuttiest scenario. Also, food porn, and porn porn.

Who are some of your writing idols and/or influences?

For published novels, Mary Balogh and Sabrina Jeffries are two of my favorite historical romance writers, and I think that reading them has helped to make my writing better. In terms of fic authors (some of whom are also published), @nildespirandum​ and @caffiend-queen were two of the first I read in the Tom/Loki fandom and their excellent quality and intriguing plots are an inspiration, even if I will never be able to write plots as twisty as theirs. Also, reading @yespolkadotkitty​'s stories helped me push myself to get better at setting scenes and at incorporating the various senses into stories, because she is so good at both of those things and so much else.

What programs do you use to write and/or edit?

I use Google Docs. I have also been dancing around buying Scrivener for an original novel I plan to write and shop around, so I'll be doing that soon.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Plotter, for sure. My brain would implode if I tried to pants my stories.

Do you write RPF or not?

I have a few chapters of a Tom Hiddleston RPF in draft form but haven't proceeded with it. I'd kind of like to write a Pedro Pascal RPF one-shot. I love reading RPF but feel odd about writing it for some reason.

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Again with the tough questions! It might be Loki, because he is such a chameleon and there are so many hidden depths to him. I really want to write some multi-chapter Loki stories, because so far I have done one-shots and one 3-chapter short fic. I'd like to explore a longer character arc for him.

What do you think are your writing strengths?

Authenticity because of my research, realistically depicting emotions, and writing in a style that feels genuine to the setting and era.

What do you struggle with?

PLOT. I do think that there is plenty of room for all kinds of stories, and I like to tell stories about relationships. But I would like to get better at adding outside conflict and other types of plot to my stories.

Favorite Trope?

It's so hard to choose between There Was Only One Bed and Fake Relationship. I think those are my top two.

What is the best piece of writing advice you have heard?

Write something. Anything. Even if you think it's crap, get your first draft done, because you can always go back and rewrite something that's bad and make it better. Also, if you're stuck on your WIP, write something else - a piece of another story or one-shot, a description of something you saw, a character profile, a bit of personal journaling. Keep writing and don't let a temporary roadblock turn into a long-term one.

What would you say to a new fanfic writer starting out?

It's hard when something you wrote doesn't get a lot of attention, especially when you love it. We share stories in the hopes that other people will discover and enjoy them, but you have to at least partly do it for your own satisfaction, or it will get pretty discouraging if the likes/kudos, comments, and reblogs just don't happen.

What is a random bit of research you have not managed to work into a fic yet?

Ladies' drawers (underwear) were not commonly worn until the mid-1800s. They were thought to be gentlemen's garments and it was thus vulgar for a lady to wear them. Yes, ladies of the Georgian (incl. Regency) era were generally commando beneath their skirts, petticoats, and shifts. But that was still a lot of layers.

Any goals or WIPs you want to share?

My goal is to write an original novel (series) set during the Napoleonic Wars. My hope is to get it researched, written, and put in final draft form so that I can send query letters out before the end of 2021.

This or That

Fluff or Angst

Fluff AND Smut

Reader Insert or  OC

Canon Divergent or AU

Pepsi or Coke (Neither: Cherry Coke Zero)

Coffee or Tea (Neither: Cocoa)

Sweet AND Savory

And that is it, until next week, remember to check out the masterlist here.  And your new fav fic is just around the corner!  Until next time, toodles!

#writer's spotlight #myoxisbroken #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #loki #loki fanfiction

[soldouthaz]

hi!! these past few months i’ve gotten several asks about all different parts of my writing process and i thought i’d go ahead and make a full post that i can refer people back to in the future! with the fests coming up as well hopefully it may help someone because i know i always love reading about author’s processes! feel free to let me know if i’ve forgotten anything :) 

DISCLAIMER: this is MY writing process. these are my own opinions and maybe not methods that will work blanketly for everyone. writing is different for every person and you should always do what works best for you personally! 

this post will be split into four parts - before, during, after, and other tips and things to remember :)

inspiration & idea 

this is typically either the easiest or the absolute most difficult part of writing a fic. sometimes you begin with an exact idea and other times you want to write but have no idea where to start. personally i tend to draw inspiration from a few places in particular. writing prompt and dialogue blogs, although sometimes a bit cliche, are a huge help when trying to come up with ideas for scenes and outlines. these are some good ones – here, here, and here if you need some inspiration! pinterest and weheartit are also great places to search for inspiration both before or after you’ve settled on an idea. find an aesthetic you like and base the characters around it, do some world-building, create folders for your characters - this is a good place to reference back to while you’re writing! at this point i just try to pick something that i feel like ‘calls to me’ and leave the rest for later. the last avenue that i use to think of fic ideas is real life. i think of small things that have happened to me or to someone i know and make them much more dramatic and layered. add in some fluff or angst or whatever aspect fits and usually a storyline begins to carve itself!

outline 

once you have an idea, making an outline can help you figure out if it’s going to work for you or not. nailing down the important details and plot points before you begin writing is crucial so that you have a purpose to your scenes, so that things don’t feel repetitive or pointless. when i outline i tend to organize by word count. for instance, by the 5k mark let’s say i’d like to already have established what character A does for a living and some of their interests, and i’d like character B to be vaguely introduced. by 10k i’d like the characters to have formed a friendship and for the conflict to have been introduced, so on and so forth. the plot spacing may differ based on the goal word count for a fic (do things happen quickly or is it a slow burn? etc.). 

next I make a tentative timeline for the fic. I have to give myself sufficient time to plan and to write without rushing myself, but also make it reasonable enough that i can still look forward to it! writing takes different amounts of time for different people, but the more you write the more you’ll be able to estimate how long a certain word count is going to take you to complete. also, as far as advice goes, decide if you’re going to write everything and publish at once or if you’re going to upload weekly chapters, etc. i strongly recommend publishing a full work at once. typically people shy away from unfinished works and it can be very disheartening when there are almost no reads. publishing all at once will raise the chances of your fic being read and shared and will also help you as a writer not to make mistakes because you are able to go back and fix/edit certain plot points as you write. 

organization 

if you have more than one wip at a time, it can be really helpful to have some sort of organization in place. i write primarily in google docs, so i have one master doc with all of my wip information inside of it. i use a numbered chart (the docs themselves are titled with numbers only and correspond to the number in the chart) that has the tentative title, the goal word count, the current word count, which pov i plan to write from, and an estimated posting date. you can also limit the number of wips you have this way.once a work is published i move it from my wip list to my completed list, with the title, the final word count, and a link to the posted story. this part is optional, it just helps me to be able to see all of it in one place. i’ve found this method to be much more helpful than just making random notes on my phone that i forget about within the hour!

research 

depending on the topic of your fic and the setting, you may need to do some research beforehand. if it’s historical, I brush up on the history of it and watch some films or read some books about the time period to get a feel for the vernacular and style, etc.. if the protagonist has a job i’m unfamiliar with I search up what they do, how much they make, where they work, and things like that. it’s unlikely that someone is going to fact check every little thing, but accuracy when it comes to these topics is very admirable and i feel like it really adds a lot of depth and authenticity to a fic. 

another fun activity for this portion of planning is designing the characters. i try to do this for a lot of mine and experiment with personality traits, quirks, and appearances, and to create a character that feels layered as opposed to just surface level. it’s fun for me to figure out their morals and motives and opinions and to play around with those and see if they can be changed throughout the course of the story. an interesting activity here is to take personality tests from what you think they would answer about themselves! then, even if only subconsciously, your character now has interests and hobbies and feels more real, which will definitely show through when you write. there are some for you to take here, here, here, and here, and this is also a good resource.

atmosphere 

(meaning in real life, not the setting of a fic). i tend to produce what i feel is my best work at night, after dinner when i have nothing else to do for the day and i can just relax. having a designated time and space to write really helps with motivation and focus, and can be the difference in accomplishing your time goals for the fic. feel free to try different things like adding music while you write (i write with headphones in and music blasting!) and adjust your surroundings to your liking. put on noise cancelling headphones, stop the clock that keeps ticking in the background or turn up the floor fan to drown other things out, or play some ambience videos from youtube to help you focus. whatever works! sometimes i also create playlists for my fics that i listen to while writing them which can add some more depth to the story too! being comfortable and not distracted are my two main requirements. also, unless it’s for music or research purposes, i would suggest distancing a bit from your phone as well!

word vomit 

this is one of the most frustrating parts of writing but i can’t explain how many times it’s helped me, especially when i’m trying to reach a certain word count. i like to do an exercise when i don’t know what to write or i just have a vague idea where i sit down and just write. i don’t let myself backspace anything (unless it’s a small typo or something minor like that) and i just see where i end up. the reason why this is so helpful is because a lot of times subconsciously our brains already have some kind of idea of a direction to go in or what should be included. though this rough draft almost never makes it into my final piece and frankly doesn’t make much sense, i’m able to go back and read over it and think oh! that’s a good point, i can also write about [random plot point] here! as i think of it.

dialogue 

the very first part of a scene that i write is the dialogue. personally i find it the easiest, and it helps me make a skeleton of a scene where i only have to fill in the descriptions in between. most of the time getting the dialogue written can help to visualize a scene and make conversation flow easily when you aren’t distracted with everything else going on in the scene. a lot of times if you’re focused on what a background character is doing the actual speaking may end up choppy or not make sense when you’re finished with it, which is usually my issue. this method is a good idea to use if you find yourself stuck on a scene or if you don’t know what you want the setting to be yet. if the dialogue you wrote doesn’t fit just right once you’ve added in the rest of the scene, you can always alter it to your liking.

taking breaks 

this is the key to staying motivated for me. if i push myself too hard or write for too long i get frustrated and struggle to keep the flow going. it’s important to take a break when that happens because it becomes very obvious in your writing when you aren’t inspired. you’re more likely to take the easy way out of conflicts and dialogue and it could completely change the tone of the fic. by this i don’t mean procrastinate writing, but definitely make sure not to over-write. writing should be fun, not stressful.

similar fics 

this step is 100% optional, but i find that it really helps me. when i read other author’s fics and i get inspired, the scene really sticks in my brain. to avoid accidentally copying someone’s ideas from their own fic, if i know that i’m writing something similar, i avoid reading any fic with a similar premise during the entire writing process. even if i think i won’t, often times i’ll subconsciously mirror a scene or a piece of dialogue from another fic without meaning to. this is definitely something to look for when you’re reading it back over!

balanced elements 

this step really just depends on the type of fic i’m going for, but i’ve found that fics with some balance to them tend to do better than others. by this i mean fics that have a little of each important element like angst, fluff, smut, etc.. of course, this differs from fic to fic depending on the plot. if it’s a pwp, obviously the main element will be smut. if it’s got some heavy topics in it it may be primarily angst, or a holiday fic might be just fluff. all of these are okay on their own but it’s super easy to mix them together to create more realistic scenes and meaningful emotion in the dialogue. in a pwp i try to add some back story into it, something a little angsty or that gives the smut more meaning than just surface level (unless of course that’s what you’re going for!). on the flip side, you could take a really fluffy fic and at some smutty elements that enhance the love-y feelings from the fluff. even fluff/angst might be fun to explore! my point is that realistically we feel many emotions at once, all the time. when i write one alone my writing often feels like it falls flat and my message/theme doesn’t come across the way that i want it to.

resources 

there is a list of resources and links at the bottom of this post that may help during the writing process! they are ones that I have saved to look back at when I get stuck!

read it over 

this is my least favorite step. at this point, once i’ve finished the fic, i just want to post it as-is. i don’t feel like reading it over or doing edits - i just want to be finished with it. the benefits outweigh my dislike of it though, so i make myself do it anyway. it’s necessary (for me) to take a short break between when i finish it and when i read it over so that i can look at it with fresh eyes, just a day or two at least. the most important advice that i can give here would probably be not to delete anything you don’t like immediately. almost 100% of the time something can be re-written without being deleted, so if you don’t like the way a sentence is structured or the way a character speaks in a certain scene, don’t delete it! just see if you can rewrite it to model what you’re going for better. this step helps me to stay above my goal word count and not to let my insecurity get the best of me. everybody is their own worst critic, but usually there’s a reason you wrote something down, so give it every chance before you get rid of it altogether. i wrote about this here as well.

beta’s 

i’m going to link to another post i answered about betas here!

choosing a title 

when it’s time to choose a title for a fic i usually pick from one of four places. the first is a catchphrase from the fic. if there’s a recurring theme or nickname or description, it may be a good idea to title it the same thing so that readers will connect the title with that detail and remember it more easily in the future. the second place is from a song. there’s a lyric for nearly every different message and emotion, so there’s a high chance of being able to find one that goes hand-in-hand with a fic. the third place i look is in poems. i’m personally a big fan of lang leav, michael faudet, and bukowski, among others, and poetry usually also features a wide range of themes to choose from. the last idea i resort to when i can’t come up with anything else, which is to take a word that you feel represents the fic and translate it into another language like french or spanish, among others, or pick a word that has a meaning that corresponds with the fic. although there are no right or wrong titles, i would suggest to try not to pick a title that’s been used a lot already, or one that you think might be easily forgettable. even if you think it might be odd or not typical, people are going to remember it much more than if it’d just been a regular title.

choosing a summary 

this step is also kind of hit or miss for me! either i know from the beginning what i want my summary to be or i struggle up until the last second trying to come up with one. there isn’t really a right or wrong summary – except for one. my advice here is please, please don’t just put ‘i suck at summaries! just read it!’. people tend to gravitate toward fics if the author seems confident in their own abilities as opposed to someone quite literally pleading with them to read. other than that, there are several types of summaries that i see a lot of. personally i like to use a snippet from my fics in italics, so that people can get a feel of what my writing style is like beforehand. when i write drabbles though, i usually come up with a quick, occasionally witty tidbit of a summary to grab people’s attention. for example: 

a longer fic summary

Harry Styles takes his time coming out to greet them. Louis only knows what he’s seen on file and what he’s heard them talking about, but he fully lives up to the image he had inside of his head. 

He saunters down the front steps of the farmhouse in his Levi’s, brown snakeskin boots curving out from underneath the denim Louis’ sure he had specially made. He’s got on a plaid button-down tucked into the jeans because of course he does, curls spilling out from either side of his cowboy hat around his sunglasses and country-tan skin. 

“Harry Styles,” he drawls, extending a hand to Louis’ manager, “Pleased to meet ya’ll.” 

(from my fic baby blue)

+

a shorter fic summary

there is little harry hates more than truth or dare. 

and louis. 

(from my fic like it’s a game)

+

and sometimes people use both as well, like this one from @falsegoodnight​ ‘s fic, before we knew – 

“C’mon Lou,” says Zayn after a moment, He sounds even more exasperated than before. Louis sort of has a knack for exasperating people, especially people like Zayn who aren’t usually bothered by his brattiness. “Can’t you give this guy a chance? Harry Styles? Aren’t you curious about him at all?” 

Despite his best efforts, Louis still flinches at the name. He really shouldn’t be so affected after all these years. He’s seen the name printed down the curve of his waist in obnoxiously and uncommonly large loopy letters every single day since his sixteenth birthday eight years ago. He’s very familiar with the name Harry Styles. It sounds pretentious and Louis hates it. He hates everything about his supposed soulmate. He hates his large handwriting that stands out like a claim on his skin whenever he’s walking around shirtless. He hates his pretentious name. And now he hates his supposed curls and green eyes and dimples. 

- 

Or Louis has been skeptical of soulmates for years so it seems like fate when he finally bumps into the owner of the obnoxiously large signature printed into his skin since age sixteen: Harry Styles, a human rights attorney who is firmly against soulmates.

+

and this link has some other ideas and tips for writing summaries that I found to be very helpful! 

posting a fic 

as far as tags and ratings go, THIS PART IS IMPORTANT! all of the steps are in one way or another, but this one is crucial that it’s done correctly. warnings and tags can absolutely make or break a fic. people tend to have very strong preferences when it comes to fics so i try to be as specific as possible without giving the entire story away in the tags. if you’re afraid of doing that, you can always put the full warnings in the note before the fic and tell people to check there before reading. i won’t list all of the possible triggers here but be sure to look those up if you are unfamiliar with some of the common ones. when it comes to tags, you’re always better safe than sorry! i like to tell people they’re free to message me and ask about something if they’re uncomfortable as well, so i can explain the trigger to them and why i tagged it that way and they can decide if they’d like to read based on a more informed basis. tagging correctly saves many people from being blindsided by something they didn’t want to see, and it also protects the author from some very angry messages about warnings.

archive of our own has an extensive support page with all of the info you could need about posting a work on their site including tags, ratings, warnings, co-authors, translations, HTML, and more. you can find it here.

as far as wattpad goes, i am definitely not as familiar with it. i have only a couple of my fics over there and a few translations that people have done for me, so my knowledge is very limited. this link seems to have some good resources for posting with them.

moodboards, graphics, covers 

i feel like the writing does most of the work itself, but a graphic can really help when it comes to the next part of the process, posting on social media. some people like to do moodboards, some people commission artists to draw for them, and some like to create their own graphics completely from scratch. like most aspects of fic, there isn’t really a right or wrong way to do this. i usually make moodboards for mine! i try to stick to an aesthetic or theme, and pick a cohesive amount of pictures to use (typically three, six, or nine so they line up nicely). the pictures i use are almost always from tumblr, pinterest, or weheartit. i put them together using an app and then put a blanket filter over all of it so that it all looks unified. if you used pinterest or weheartit to create concept boards for your idea in the beginning, now is a good time to use those photos and media as well! if you’re curious, the apps i use to create graphics, moodboards, and covers are as follows:

canva (mobile app & website) 

tons of templates to choose from as well as patterns and fonts! some things are locked unless you’re a member but most elements are free! easy to download and share and lots of options to customize and play around with. i strongly recommend the website on desktop or laptop as opposed to the mobile app so that the features are more easily accessible.

picsart (mobile app) 

when i need to make one quickly and i’m not near my laptop (or just need something simple) i use picsart to make a quick collage and put a filter over them. there are some limited text options as well but they are not as advanced as some of the others mentioned here.

photoshop express (mobile & desktop app) 

a step up from picsart, but slightly different elements. photoshop allows you to control a lot more once you know how to use it. there are some nice moodboard layouts here, as well as text and fonts, borders, and color controls. my favorite tool on here is the style transfer option under ‘effects’. a very quick and easy way to make your pictures look very cohesive!

vsco (mobile app) 

perfect for adding filters and things like vignette, grain, and fade. it also has some color controls to customize those. this is typically the last step before i post. and you can save custom presets that you like to use again!

and there are many others as well – almost all photo editing apps and software have a function that will allow you to make a collage or add text to a graphic! i know wattpad also requires a cover for their stories and I believe they have an app for that too!

here are some lovely graphics that have been made for my fics by @lovelylou​, @behisoneandonly​, @tomlinvelvet-ao3​​ and @brickredtoe​  as some examples :) 

and one that I've made as well: 

social media 

once i have a moodboard or graphic, i post the link to my fic on twitter and tumblr. in these posts i always make sure to include the title, the word count, and the summary. i try to make it as visually appealing as possibly by organizing the post accordingly and using fonts occasionally to catch people’s eye. this is the app i use for those on mobile! 

i think about the sizing as well – twitter has set dimensions for its photos and is known for displaying the photos awkwardly. tumblr on the other hand will let you upload up to ten photos of any size, and will display them fully without any cropping. according to this link a single photo on twitter should be 16:9. this page also has some good tips. and as far as i can tell if you’re using two or four photos, i would stick to the square images as that is what’s worked for me personally. i believe canva also has a template for a twitter post too.

write for yourself 

i think everyone knows this on some level but i tend to need to be reminded pretty frequently. if you’re heavily involved in social media and fic discourse, it can be very easy to get attached to what you know people want to see. writing should be a balance though, and you should always write for yourself before anyone else. we’re all free to write whatever we want and, even if it’s difficult, you shouldn’t ever let someone make you feel guilty for doing so. writing is an escape and a safe space but it can very quickly become something that causes stress and anxiety if you aren’t doing it for the right reasons.

don’t stress 

easier said than done, I know, but like I mentioned earlier, writing should be fun. a lot of people here don’t do it as their job and no one gets paid to write fics. these are projects that authors take on on their own time even while they work and handle everything else in their lives and those things should come first and foremost, as well as your mental health. this circles back into my earlier point – don’t let people make you feel guilty about anything like not finishing a fic on time or not writing exactly how they wanted it. authors are real people with real lives too and if things get to be too heavy or too stressful, they’re entitled to a break or to leave if that’s what’s best for them.

don’t be afraid to ask for help / validation 

there are tons of lovely writers in this community and others that would be more than happy to answer questions and give advice. if you’re struggling with something, there’s always somewhere to go to get help! 

however, the concept of validation is a bit trickier than the others. there’s a fine line ;) between asking for validation for a little boost, or relying completely on it. posting snippets and sneak peeks is a great way to get people excited about your work and to get yourself motivated if you’re feeling down, but i would suggest not to post one with the sole purpose of fishing for compliments. if you do, it can be very disheartening if you don’t receive any or the ones that you were looking to hear. in my opinion you need to be at least somewhat confident in your own abilities before you can expect other people to be. posting a snippet is more beneficial for when you’ve got a mental block or are stuck in a scene as opposed to just searching for validation for the sake of getting it.

cliche vs. copying 

there’s also two sides to this argument! you shouldn’t be afraid to write what you want, even if it seems like it’s a common trope or cliche topic. everybody writes in different styles and has different ideas and therefore may provide an entirely different view on what’s been poised as a ‘common’ theme. i think i could read a thousand of the ‘there was only one bed’ trope or the college au’s or the other popular plotlines. they’re popular for a reason and you shouldn’t be afraid to explore your own take on it! no one author ‘owns’ a specific trope. 

BUT there is a clear difference in doing your own take on something versus just copying what someone else has written exactly. the lines can get blurry here but it’s obvious to readers when something has been repeated word for word from another fic or when one too many elements are the same. to be on the safe side, always check to make sure that the specifics of your idea haven’t been done exactly before. 

resources 

+ masterpost of some resources 

+ how to keep readers engaged 

+ helpful tips 

+ 100 words for facial expressions 

+ how to write good villains 

+ good advice  

+ synonyms for commonly used words 

+ using metaphors and references 

+ more helpful tips 

+ descriptions

+ synonyms for ‘beautiful’ 

+ tips for dialogue 

+ writing enemies to lovers 

+ other helpful tips 

+ writing friends to lovers 

+ dystopian writing 

+ writing a realistic argument 

+ ways to cut word count 

+ how to write smut 01 * tw for body descriptions etc.  

+ how to write smut 02 

+ SUPER helpful smut vocab

+ how to write flirting 

+ how to write about grief 

+ even more helpful tips

#about me #writing advice

[wizisbored]

I’m too goddamn curious and love your work too goddamn much for my own goddamn good so: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 17, 25, 26, 27, 32, 33

You can just answer whichever ones you feel like lmao

thanks so much!!! i have no self control. i will answer all of them.

5 - whats the fic youre most proud of?

my immediate answer to this is always this is not what they thought purgatory would be, despite the idea starting out as a glorified shitpost. i just think i got the characterisation down well on that one, and i for one find it fuckin hilarious

6 - what element of writing do you find comes easily?

sometimes i just have a really clear idea of where i want a scene to go in my mind, but in general i'd say dialogue. like hell yeah these guys sure are Saying Things

7 - what element of writing do you struggle with most?

remembering to describe the setting. where are these dudes you dont know and neither do i

8 - which character(s) do you find easiest to write?

emma perkins. idk why i jut get her vibes

9 - which character(s) do you find most difficult to write?

took me a while to be comfortable writing paul but other than that i cant remember having too much trouble, apart from maybe xander but thats mostly because theres only 1 scene to go off of

10 - what's your favourite genre to write for?

hurt/comfort with or without the comfort. i will unaplologetically fuck up my lil guys but sometimes they get better. as a treat.

12 - tell us about a wip you're excited about

lab 4. its the clearest idea ive ever had of how a fic is going to play out and im looking forward to laying out all the breadcrumbs for people who dont already know where emma came from :)

16 - any guilty pleasure trope(s)?

i dont think so? im pretty open about everything i enjoy/write and i cant think of anything i'd call a guilty pleasure

17 - a trope you'll never, ever write for

i feel like 'never ever' is a bit strong but there are some things im definately currently uncomfortable with. though ive dabbled in kidfic more than i ever thought i would with fisher, i dont think id ever write a pregnancy. and probably not a wedding either. idk, something about them is just uncomfy for me.

25 - side adventures/spin offs of fics

oh i was hoping someone would ask this since i have. a few. a pair that go together that i like are smoke and feathers, but either emma or zaz is a kid. with emma being a child, she got lost in the whitchwood and zaz saved her life by keeping her warm, and decided to look after her after that. with zaz being a kid, she somehow died very young and emma is now the unlikely caretaker of a mischevious child ghost.

26 - is there anything you've wanted to write but have been too scared to try?

i dont think so. im a reckless bastard i will try Everything

27 - what is the nicest comment you've ever recieved?

theres so many!! fun fact i typed up some of my faveourite short comments on my typewriter and stuck em to my wardrobe. but to pick, ive been getting some long comments on lab 4 theorising about it, and they just make my fucking day. really motivating too. thegreatsnail if youre out there i owe you my fucking life.

32 - sumarrise a random fic of yours in 10 words or less

local woman somehow evades zombies for weeks, gets publicly executed

33 - is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing/writing process?

not really something i wish peope knew, but a fun fact i guess: i have a google sheets doc to help me keep track of when i last posted a chapter of each fic and also what extra scenes i have to add to an assortment of additional scenes. looks like this:

#thanks for the ask :)

[tuz-on-ao3]

Hey, I was reading your fic (I really like it by the way! Sasuke's, my favorite character, and I think you wrote him really well :D), and I was wondering, what's your writing process? I know everyone has something different that works for them, but how do you plan out your chapters, or get ideas, or things like that (very vague, I know, I'm sorry)?

Hiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!! Thank you sugar plum for reading Maybe I’m Paying for the Things I’ve Done and liking my characterization of Sasuke, it’s very heartwarming and I appreciate it. 

As for my writing process, oof. As you know everyone’s writing process is really different and it has been a joy to learn more about other people’s process to help figure out what works for me. This is something you can absolutely cherry pick with and try things out for the first time. 

Timing: some people write better at certain points during the day, some people can start writing at 5am or write till 3am in the morning with a late start. I am a mix of both. I can start writing around 9am because that’s when my internal ticker is like “Let’s go to work now!” It’s just how my school and internship schedule line up. I also just write when I am bored(while in class sometimes) and late at night if I really have the momentum. Which happened for some of the chapters I have written for Maybe I’m Paying for the Things I’ve Done. So figure out what works for you. Also, timing myself sometimes helps, I use Pomodoro as a way to keep track of my work, I don’t necessarily take my short breaks. 

Initial phase of writing: I draft first and I backwards outline as I go along and then I hit a wall. The idea circulates in the back of my mind and I either get a sense of a scene or a situation that I want the characters to go into and I start writing. Writing the story informs me where it’s going to go, it comes to me during the process. However, I will hit a wall. The fics I write are rarely short(shoutout to the people who can do short and sweet, your sense of pacing is unreal and I bow to your greatness) so there is a lot of worldbuilding, plot, and character development that needs to happen. Important thing to note, just because you are writing fanfiction doesn’t mean you can skip worldbuilding. It is very important!!!!!! It doesn’t need to be the crazy amount that I do but you need to set your reader up in a place and time so give some context. 

Timeline: Things happen at certain places and times, and my characters will be a certain age when it happens, so I need to keep track. One of the walls I’ve hit is that for my current posted fic Sasuke spends time in jail, but how much time was not made clear in my non existent early planning and that changes the way things happen. And how old he is, and how much time should I spend on that prison sentence. If it was a long time then I need to talk about it as a life event that will have consequences throughout the entire fic, or if he was just detained until his lawyers came that changes Sasuke’s character. It also is a good way to talk about the criminal justice system of Konoha that I am making up. So I keep track of everyone’s ages, and birthdays, and sometimes I change them. I mean it is really hard for me to write baby ninja that go out into the battlefield when they are four years old and not make the entire fic about a shitty world like that. I don’t want to do that, it’s too fucking hard, and fluff feeds my soul. Also, seasons!!! That changes the way you set up your environment as well, from what I can tell Fire Country should have a monsoon season since they are so forested and are located near the equator of their world. So when that happens, if I decide to include that, is important for pacing of the story. I mean how long should this go on? Also, romance in the rain *hitn hint wink wink* who knows. 

Outlining: I didn’t use to be an outline and to some extent I still am not. I have done a previous post explaining a little bit of it but I backwards outline to keep track of what is happening because it’s a lot of detail and I don’t want to make mistakes. However, spreadsheets are my jam. I didn’t use to be this way but my internship has changed me and now I like spreadsheets as a way to be organized. Huzzah *throws confetti in the air* to being a boring adult person! There are a couple of way to do this but first actual writing notes: 

5 commandments of story 

Inciting incident 

Progressive complications 

Crisis 

Climax 

Resolution 

This is something that helped me a lot when it came to structure, because sometimes my plot points are all happening at the same time and I’m like this makes no goddamn sense, what is happening. Story Grid is a podcast, and a book, and a website that can help you talk about structure. They can also talk to you about the Hero's journey. Take or leave whatever works for you because a lot of their stuff doesn’t work for me. But in doing their spreadsheets and exercises I learned what doesn’t work in a story. It’s how I realized pacing was a problem in my writing, and that I needed to take time away. 

So they have sample spreadsheets that break down books into scenes, turning points, characters on stage, etc. Take what works and leave what doesn’t. 

Back to spreadsheets, I have a story grid one for Maybe I’m Paying for the Things I’ve Done which I will backwards outline for the chapters I have already posted and a weird visual index card thing with the five commandments on my computer to help me figure out what is happening in my story. 

It looks kind of like five boxes side by side with the five commandments written on each one. 

Sometimes there is more than one box for progressive complication and that is fine, it is also fine if every scene you write doesn’t have a resolution, because by the end of the fic you will have one. I split this up by chapter, expected word count, POV. 

Word count: Some people care about this, some people don’t. I don’t write stuff for ‘Maybe’ that is less than 10000 each chapter, there is way too much going on in the fic to do short chapters. For my other works in progress I find that I will be writing shorter, which is both easier and harder because it needs me to be concise and clear. Anyway, I do take notes from Story Grid in this because 50% of my words have to be for my middle build, while 25% each go to the opening hook and to the ending payoff. A scene is about 1200-2000 words. 

Wiggle Room: Shit happens, you don’t do as much one day and you do a lot another. It’s okay, your story will evolve at certain points, it will tell you what to do. Don’t worry about it that much. 

Struggle/villainy: Protagonists are often defined by their antagonists, and if that is the type of story you are writing make sure you spend just as much time on the villain of your story as you do the hero. They are major actors and deserve the attention. When I talk about the Akatsuki I am thinking that they are an international terrorist organization hellbent on kidnapping people that are systematically treated as weapons. There are a lot of moving parts for this. Also the characters themselves, Pein and Konana are radicalized in my story from peaceful revolutionaries to violent ones because they watched the leader of an institution murder their best friend, that will cause personal and political damage. It informs the way I write them or will. 

Sasuke's struggle isn’t necessarily against a person, it is against himself. He wants a home because when he was little the one place where he felt safe was violated by his own brother, that is a hell of a trauma. Then he left his former home to go to Oto. Place has a huge part to play in Sasuke’s characterization and I tag homemaking in my fic because I want to show the process of creating a home for yourself as a process of revival and change and hope and vulnerability. It is a huge emotional labor of love and will be a focal point in the fic. That’s why I spend so much time talking about these goddamn renovations and art deco, it matters. This is a boy who has traveled all over the world and is now trying to put all the pieces of himself into one place, how he does it will be incredibly revealing of his characters. 

Character: Emotional arcs are important for everyone. Try to figure out what your character is going to go through. It helps so much. Victoria Schwab asks her characters three questions:

What do they fear? 

What do they want? 

What are they willing to do to get what they want? 

See if this helps. Also, understand that you got to develop your side characters as well, they act as a foil for the main character and add richness to the story, you will notice if they are flat. Understand the dynamics they bring to the story and to the world. Are they a woman in a field that is more socially acceptable for men? How does that affect them? What does gender look like in this world and how does this affect your characterization? Have they gone through physical/emotional trauma? Because that shit will keep coming up in a story, healing takes time. Also this is a fanfic, do whatever you want honey bear. 

Vocab: the lovely @slexenskee told me to have a running doc of vocabulary and I am trying to do that. 

I also have a running doc for a fic/character where I put all my brainstorming, little scenes, lines, vibes, questions into. And a doc for the synopsis of any new fic ideas I get. 

Inspiration: Read, a lot. I read fics, I read fiction and fantasy books, I read non fiction and I read about other people’s writing process. I read the news, I read twitter threads, I read random quotes on Pinterest. I watch tv shows and take note of how they do characterization or pacing or plot. I listen to music, I couldn’t live without it. I am on Pinterest looking for vibes or aesthetics for my fics. When I first started writing, since my fic was inspired by another fic, I was worried it would be too similar, that worry is fading because I am doing more writing, and more reading as well. But you must consume culture in order to produce it. Also take breaks, sometimes you figure stuff out if you leave it alone or talk to friends about it. If you reach out to me about it, I will do my best to help so feel free. 

IMPORTANT: DO NOT BE A RACIST/HOMOPHOBIS/TRANSPHOBIC/MISOGYNIST. UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN YOU WRITE A FANFICTION THE CHARACTERS ARE CODED IN A CERTAIN WAY. DON’T GO AROUND MAKING PEOPLE OF COLOR WHITE OR MORE LIGHT SKINNED THAN THEY ARE. WOMEN AND NON BINARY PEOPLE EXIST ALWAYS, IF YOU ARE NOT WRITING THEM INTO YOUR WORLD THAT MEANS YOU ARE MARGINALIZING THEM IN YOUR WORLD AND IN YOUR MIND. IF YOU ARE CISGENDERED BE DAMN CAREFUL ABOUT WRITING TRANS NARRATIVES, PROBABLY DON’T. WHEN I DECIDED TO INCLUDE MY OWN CULTURE INTO SASUKE’S CHARACTER AND PAST I DIDN’T MEAN TO MAKE HIM LESS EAST ASIAN BUT TO ADD PARTS OF MYSELF TO THE WORLD. ACCEPT AND ADAPT TO CRITICISM COMING YOUR WAY IN THIS SENSE. I AM SURE YOU WILL BE FINE, THIS IS JUST A STANDARD DISCLAIMER. 

This was really long, and I hope you won't mind. Thanks again for this question, and let me know how your writing goes. Also listen to Deadline City the podcast.

#answers #fic writing #process #naruto 

[n7punk]

Hi Fendt! I am amazed how quickly you manage to write 10 to 20k in a very short period of time, and how your plots seem so well thought-through. I was wondering if you could tell me / us a bit about how you go about when you write and come up with plots?

ok this is such a hard but interesting question? i really struggled trying to figure out how my process works but here’s some basics i came up with. i also am just a fast typist so just knowing your way around a keyboard helps. but as for plot:

i very rarely consciously write the plot of a fic. i really just suddenly have the characters doing things in my head while i am going about my life and i watch. i said ‘catcher’ started as a dream but i was (probably) conscious - i was just lying in bed in the morning and i watched the whole fic play out in my head before i opened my eyes. it changed a lot when i actually went to write it, but that’s where the worldbuilding for a fic often starts. from that initial scene ill think “well why is it like that, how did we get here, where would it go next” and further details fill themselves in. Like the initial spark is there and everything else comes into focus as my mind spins out on minuet details.

the random scene that comes upon me becomes the starting point of the fic (at least for writing its plot, the scene could be located anywhere in the timeline), then i go to write, and no joke it is like i get possessed. i OFTEN look at what i wrote and think “who wrote this i could never come up with that.” because i dont know where it comes from, i live with a constant fear of my writing turning terrible if the ghost suddenly leaves me. whenever i try to “force” a plot point or storyline (aka try to write a specific thing and not just let it flow naturally) i usually find it stilted and have to rewrite it multiple times or even cut it. 

i do consciously put in foreshadowing based on the overarching plot (for the most part, see my notes on catcher) and parallels/call-backs based on what i have previously written, but for the most part i just let it flow. ill have the idea of “catra and adora at a cafe, talking with glimbow” and then i just sit in front of a word doc and stuff happens.

when i outline a scene, it usually is a one or two sentence summary with maybe some back and forth dialogue that has come to me. sometimes i have a couple sentences worth of description of events but i never write any final lines except maybe for dialogue in an outline. i only outline a few of my scenes tho. usually i just let the characters do their thing.

sorry i know NONE of that is helpful but i think my general advice would be close your eyes and just focus on the characters? then they start interacting, then plot happens (if there is any lmao) and then i open my eyes and actually work on the word doc. i spend a good percentage of my writing time sitting on my couch with my eyes closed or starting into space. that only really works if you do character-based writing tho.

also NEVER be afraid to go up a few lines/paragraphs in your writing to the last point you were happy with, hitting enter a few times, and starting to write the next part over from scratch, maybe with entirely different events! if you like what you wrote the first time better, its still there a few lines below, and you can even repurpose individual lines and plot elements from it, but you have the chance to do better on something you are unhappy with! i do this all the time and i always like the final result better, even if i have to try to write a section five times. i also often move scenes around because i like them but maybe i have a better idea for what should go right there.

#long post #sorry to ramble about nothing useful for so long but this is my best answer #ficmeta #also putting this in tags #but for sex scenes its often like #'adora strapping catra. catra's the one in control. kitten. praise kink.' #like that would be the outline for the end of chap 9 of toht #i was going to have adora ASK to call her kitten #but then when i wrote the scene it didn't happen like that #tshjortile #fic rambling #all fics

[sugaxjpg]

care to share what is your step-to-step writing process? thanx! love u

Sure thing! I’m kinda horrible when it comes to explaining my writing process, but I’ll try my best. I organized this into bullet points because I think that is better to understand, and I also added a few examples on some past works. Sorry if this got a bit long, but I wanted to be as precise as possible.

Planning: This goes from getting a general idea of the plot, to brainstorming scenes, and building the characters. More importantly, I figure out how to take my story from point A to point B, and what I’m trying to accomplish. Often I start out by coming up with a title, and then constructing a story around that theme. I don’t really write this part down, I just let my mind run free, since I discovered that it’s better than putting out every single detail I think of, since that can be a bit overwhelming.

For instance, for Fireflies, I thought about the title, then I combined it with this old idea of Punk!Taehyung that I had in my drafts. It actually catalyzed my plot, and it made me come up with the final scene, which I had been struggling for some time.

On that, one thing that I find very helpful is sometimes combining two or more plots/ideas. Makes your stories more original too.

Outlining: Okay, this is the part that my friends can’t really understand when I tell them, so I’ll try to be as clear as I possibly can. My outline is done by dialogues: as I’m picturing the scenes, I write solely the character’s sentences, and then I come back later to fill them up with ambient descriptions and characterization. This is basically the “skeleton” of my story. It’s very raw, but it works for me, and it helps me ruminate on the same parts of the plot again and again, without it being exhausting.

I write everything out of order, and I often start with the ending, then I come to back to the beginning (usually I call it the “pre-cut” scene, which is the part you see before the “read more”), then the middle scenes are all scattered around my doc, until I find a way to connect them. If you see sudden switches of pacing during my story, like, even from one paragraph to the subsequent one,  it’s because of that.

Sometimes I have random ideas of metaphors, and I throw it in the middle of my doc, with like a huge ass space between scenes so I know that it should be added somewhere else lmao

Writing: As I said before, I go down, often out of order, just filling in the dialogues, and connecting the scenes. This is the part in which I change the order of scenes, or delete some altogether, because I notice that my brainstorm was too filled with unnecessary aspects. I basically read the outline over and over and, as I’m picturing the scenes, my brain just starts constructing the atmosphere.

Devotion is the clearest example of this: there was no other description besides lines upon lines of dialogues (which I wrote in a fucking marathon of ideas) and then, once I came back to fill it in, I just started with the scenes that I was the most inspired to write. I believe it was the final one, then the “dungeon” one, then the murder one. Finally, I wrote the first scene, and went down my doc just writing in order and connecting what I had thus far.

I often leave the smut scene for last because I’m never super inspired for that lmaooo

Revision: I read over the things I already wrote, but without actually editing. Just checking if it makes sense, maybe adding some extra information. This is the part in which I make sure every idea connects well, and that the plot is consistent.

Editing: The most irritating part of writing IMO. This is the point in which the story is already done, I’m tired of looking at it, and now I have to go down changing repeated words and checking the grammar. The longer the fic, the worse it is and, quite frankly, sometimes I just give up halfway through. Sorry.

Drafting: I make the post: title, summary, cover, warnings, etc. Sometimes I do it at the “planning” phase, but it’s not as common.

Posting: It’s done, and I’ll never look at it again. I probably hate the final product, but I worked too hard on it to just forget about it. Also the time I realize my editing was horrible, and I let a billion grammar mistakes pass by. Forgive me.

I think this is it? Probably forgot about some things, but this is the foundation of my writing process. There is a lot of listening to music in the dark of my room and coming up with mental MV’s for my stories, but no one has to know about that.

Hope it helped! Feel free to ask me for further clarification in any of these points.

#answered #on writing #writing advice #writing process #THIS IS 780 FUCKING WORDS LOL #Anonymous

[sophiainspace]

Fandom Snowflake Challenge, Day 11

See here for original challenge...

In your own space, talk about your creative process(es) — anything from the initial inspiration to how you feel after something’s done. Do you struggle with motivation or is it a smooth process? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to pull out when a fanwork isn’t cooperating? What is your level of planning to pantsing/winging it? Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Great day to do this one! (I got about six ideas this morning and my brain won’t focus on the one I actually want to write...)

I have two writing modes. One is “I have an idea and I must get it out before it kills me” mode, in which I can’t do anything until I’ve finished the damn story and it flows really fast. Being new-ish to a fandom tends to put me in this mode.

The other is “pulling teeth” mode, which is how I’m currently writing most things - fighting them, and struggling through until they somehow (mostly) work...

I don’t have a consistent planning process. For some fics, I just put stuff onto the page till things stick. For others, especially longer ones, I do more planning and drafting. Mending Wall has involved lots of moving scenes around, for which Scrivener was fantastic. If you write longer fics and you haven’t tried Scrivener, I recommend it. You can do miraculous things like shifting scenes around, putting them side-by-side on screen, duplicating scenes so that you can attempt a rewrite without losing the earlier form... It’s really great. 

I do some planning in my Notebook of Doom too, since analogue writing sometimes gets the ideas flowing a bit better, for me - especially at the early stages. I’ve been listening to the podcast How Story Works over the past few months, and I’ve really got into the idea of setting goals for characters for every scene, and this works best as a quick snapshot on paper, for me.

I know that writing advice generally says just to get stuff down, and then to do all the work in rewriting phases, but that doesn’t usually lead to anything good, for me. I edit as I go (although I do also go back to rewrite and edit). Which makes me a slow writer, but it just leads to better writing, for me. Most of what I do involves playing with words until they work. I’m a poet masquerading as a prose writer. Which is also why I write little short things better than longer fics...

I’ve read a lot of advice that says to leave a story for some weeks between writing and editing. I wish I had that much patience! But there’s something to be said for giving things some space, so you can move from ‘writer mode’ to ‘reader mode’ and better see what might not work for readers. At this point I make lots and LOTS of comments. Scrivener is good for highlights and comments, but Google Docs is too. (I try to make comments from the beginning, too, since I don’t want to forget the random thoughts I’ve been having while drafting - they come in really useful for rewriting.) I’ve been trying out this tool called Pro Writing Aid on someone’s recommendation, and I don’t think I’ll end up paying for it, but it’s very handy for finding things I do all the time - like repeating words and phrases. (Oh god, my repeating phrases...) This is the stage where I try to fix all of that. And also try to ADD EMOTION. So that I can preempt @bold-sartorial-statement‘s comments to that effect... :P

Then we get to the beta reading stage, for which I usually transfer the fic into GDocs, if it’s not already there. I don’t usually need grammar etc help, but beta readers are so wonderful for highlighting sticky things in phrasing or the story that aren’t working (or are). Then some more redrafting based on the beta’s comments, and it’s done! And if only it was this smooth and easy every time...

Notebook of Doom is doom-y. There are a lot of lists and categories. About EVERYTHING - from writing, to which days I need to do laundry. Even if I regularly forget to use it...

#fandom snowflake challenge #writing #writing process #planning #how story works #long post #text post

[femslashy]

2018 fic year in review

thank you so much for tagging me @homosociallyyours !! this was really fun (and also a bit hard haha) to do ^__^

1. number of stories (including drabbles) posted to ao3: 19 (6 100 word seasonal drabbles, and out of the rest 4 are under 1k and 2 are chaptered but one of those is still a WIP)

2. word count posted for the year: 142,383 which is def more than i’ve written in previous years but my initial goal for this year was 200k and then i lowered it to 150k and then decided i should focus less on word count and more on actually finishing the fics lmaooo

3. list of works posted this year in order of posting:

the tesco fic (although i didn’t make the tumblr post until recently)

three spring drabbles (100 words each)

begin again [timestamp] (my only snowbaz fic in 2018)

we’re swimming with the sharks until we drown

SPHERICAL

got me an appetite, now i can taste it

Take a Chance on Me

Getting Naked on Camera (NOT CLICKBAIT)

my favourite colour is you

louis tomlinson’s completely 100% foolproof guide to snagging the fit bloke next door (3 100 word drabbles)

no better place than right by your side

days gone by (WIP)

love the cronch

zero to sixty

where the love light gleams

4. fandoms i wrote for: mostly one direction and by that i mean i posted a timestamp for a carry on fic from 2017 and the rest was one direction lol

5. pairings: harry/louis, simon/baz (ONCE)

6. story with the most hits: Take a Chance on Me with 10975 hits :o

7. story with the most kudos: Take a Chance on Me with 426 kudos

8. story with the most comments: Take a Chance on Me with 52 comments threads

9. work i’m most proud of and why: well Take a Chance on Me was both my first time doing a big bang as well as the longest thing i’ve ever written (twice the length of the previous longest!) and i’m still completely in love with the art for it courtesy of @vulpixlou and i def don’t go back to stare at it ever nope 👀👀

10. work i’m least proud of and why: i mean i could nitpick the hell out of my stuff and i know there are certain bits i would write differently now but at the same time i created something with my brain that didn’t exist before and that’s just too cool not to be proud of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

11. a favorite excerpt of your writing:

this is from Take a Chance on Me (shocker) and i was having trouble thinking of my fave but then i was skimming through all of my fics and ngl i had forgotten about this bit but y’all i’ve been trying to work a Dramatic Airport Reunion into a fic FOR FUCKING EVER and i finally did it and i actually don’t hate it? (spoiler for the ending of Take a Chance on Me)

“See…” Louis starts. “See, there’s this guy. And, oh god, he’s an absolute twat. Wanna know what he did to me?” Harry nods faintly, and Louis, emboldened now, goes on. “So, I already knew who he was, right? I knew him, because he’d been in this god-awful boy band for years, and even if me bloody sisters hadn’t been so bloody in love with him, I’d still have known him, because he was just that famous.”

“I wasn’t that famous.”

“Don’t interrupt,” Louis chastises, and Harry mimics zipping his lips. “So this guy, I knew him, but he didn’t know me, but, fucking hell, I think someone forgot to tell him that, because there I was, minding my own business, when this kid just…” Louis giggles then, because the memory is just so ridiculous, “he just starts fucking singing to me, can you believe it?”

Harry shakes his head. “What a weirdo.”

“Right? The weirdest.”

“What happened next?”

“I fell in love with him.”

“What? That soon?”

“Of course not, Jesus, Harold. I’m not that pathetic. I waited the appropriate amount of time to fall in love, thank you very much.”

“Is that why you’re here, then?” Harry whispers. “Is it because you love him?”

“That’s part of it, yeah. I love him, and I love the way we just fit, and I adore his daughter, and our pets are friends now, and I think our sisters are best friends now, so they didn’t actually give me a choice, but do you want to know the biggest, most important reason?”

Harry nods quickly, so hard his chin bumps his chest, and Louis’ so fucking in love with him at that moment that these are the easiest words he’s ever said.

“I’m here,” he tells Harry, “because I was lying in my own bed, in my own house, surrounded by all my things, and all I wanted to do was go home.”

He’s yanked forward then, Harry’s fingers digging into his shoulders, and he barely feels the pain because it’s Harry, and everything’s good when it’s Harry. He’s babbling into Louis’ neck, and the only words he can make out are his name and “love you” and he shivers with the feeling.

Harry’s hair has grown out enough since the night Louis snuck in to see him that he can tangle his fingers in the strands. So he does, pulling Harry’s face away from his neck and pressing their lips together. Every kiss feels like an apology. Every kiss feels like home.

12. share or describe a favorite review you recieved: so this miiiiight be cheating but i received two comments on a fic i wrote in 2015 and it was kind of a surprise that something that old still held up and people still enjoy it? def made me feel better about my current writing and also anyone who quotes my fics back to me has earned my undying love and affection

13. a time when writing was really, really hard: i have adhd so p much always ahahaha

14. a scene or character you wrote that most surprised you: the entirety of “we’re swimming with the sharks until we drown” ngl because i struggled with the like… morally gray criminal-y elements? and portraying the two of them in such a different way while still staying in character which i like to think i nailed? hopefully lol

15. how did you grow as a writer this year? i don’t feel like a i have? but i’m also bias and hypercritical so maybe i did and just didn’t realize ahaha

16. how do you hope to grow next (this?) year: i want to enjoy writing again and i want to finish more fics and not let them rot in my docs because of self-doubt

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer: okay so first @amandaisnotwriting is the real MVP as she bears the brunt of my whining/complaining/drama queen moments as well as the fact that she listens (some would argue is forced to :p) and reads over fic for a pairing she doesn’t ship for a fandom she doesn’t care about 😂😂😂

@rainbowbaz always makes time to look over my fics even when she’s crazy busy and is honestly amazing and saves my fics from americanisms ahahaha

and FINALLY we met p late in the year but but @livingatthelairport ‘s comment on “the tesco fic” helped me out of a writing slump and now she’s become my cheerleader (and friend 💜) and that’s make a huge difference in my attitude towards writing! it’s also easier to write a fic for a specific person than worry about the opinion of a crowd which is def something i’ve been missing in this fandom rip

also to everyone else who has read my fics, listened to me rant about them or just helped the process along in any way at all this is a GIANT thank you!!

18. anything from your real life show up in your writing this year? i mean i can’t think of anything off the top of my head but a lot of my inspo comes from the world around me so probably lol

19. any wisdom you can share with other writers: there’s nothing wrong with feeling jealous of other writers because i’m not a fan of hiding feelings just because they’re ugly as long as you don’t let it fester and turn into resentment or make you bitter. there are a lot of factors that go into a fic becoming “big” in a fandom but honestly most of it is just random chance so don’t beat yourself up because someone else’s success is not your failure and it’s nice to get recognition for your hard work but if you’re writing solely for the feedback then you’re writing for the wrong reason and that will lead to the resentment and bitterness mentioned earlier

also if you compliment someone you say you like their outfit but if you complement someone then you complete them

20. any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I’M GLAD YOU ASKED

these are all the things i didn’t start and/or finish in 2018 that WILL be completed this year

the cat fic

the doctor fic

the final three chapters of days gone by

penpal AU

Space. Florist.

teenage fanboys who are also best friends

baking blog fic

a short follow up to tacom

twitter drama fic

80’s/’high school’/secret admirer!AU

something based on yawning grave by lord huron

part three of the alien harry series

chocolate orange holiday fic

LA fic (wtwm)

70’s fic

monkey fic

i’m also planning to do the @larryabroad challenge again because i had so much fun with it last time :D

21. tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read:

p sure everyone has done this but if you haven’t then do it now! and also tagging @cosyblack k bc you’ve had a really good year even if i have beta bias 😂

this took waaay longer than i thought it would omg but it was nice to take a look back!!

#me a writer writing all of this: i’m not good with words

[lady-snow-flower]

Letters To: Summer / Letters from Xuemei’s Past

Read here! 

Listen along!

A/N: “Letters To” will be my backstory project for Snow, and in theory I should write four parts in total. This is the first part, and I’ve worked on it a long, long time, on and off-- basically since I began conceptualizing Snow back in September. I felt shy about posting what I had for many reasons (like it felt really random to?? shouldn’t i have a reason?? shouldn’t i get even FARTHER into the project??), but figured the musical task was a great opportunity to craft a soundtrack to go along with the first part of this project. This feels especially fitting because, for me, Snow really did start coming together when I put together her playlist. 

In fact, for a bit there, I struggled to find her voice! It’s important to me before I get a character to write something with them. With Snow, I had written about 1000 words and it hadn’t exactly...clicked. Despite that, I felt her intensely. I had scenes lined up in my brain, scenes I was so so excited to write, many inspired by music. Why couldn’t I write it!!!

Then it hit me-- Snow’s trauma meant that it was just...very hard for me to access that part of her in my most comfortable writing style (3rd person limited/close). I’ve always loved this writing style because it lets me be more descriptive and figurative in my language than a character might be, while also using stylized language, but it just wasn’t clicking here. I got the idea to try something really UNnatural for me: 1st person. 

But not any 1st person lol. Epistolary 1st person. I’ve loved epistolary novels since I was young, and with Snow, I got to know her humor, her relationship with her parents, and the things she wanted to divulge, in HER way of telling it. It still wasn’t the complete story though, so that’s where I took inspiration from the Locked Tomb series I was reading at the same time (for Snow, actually lol), where part of it is told in 2nd person. These 2nd person POVs fill in the gap and cover the traumatic ground Snow wouldn’t let me cover. It gives her distance, but the reader closeness.

You know. In theory! 

Sorry for rambling! I wanted to share the process this go around, and sort of explain why I felt like I had to put it on a Google Doc. The line breaks and different fonts (nothing too crazy I promise) are important to the epistolary experience. I really hope y’all read and enjoy it and it isn’t confusing!

Below are the songs with my thinking behind it. I really did try to think of it as a musical! DO NOT READ BELOW before u read the story unless you want spoilers! 

eight (DooPiano Cover) 

I’ve mentioned in tags, I’ve posted it I think twice...I consider ‘eight’ by IU to be Snow’s theme. It’s a song about grief, nostalgia, and yearning for better yesterdays-- a place you can no longer return to. My favorite line in it is ‘Forever is a sandcastle.’ However, I put on a cover. Why? Because musicals have overtures, of course! I can’t make a true overture so this was as good as I was going to get, but it sets the tone I want. And makes me cry.

The Florist (pekoe) 

This song is an introduction to Snow and her character-- what’s going on and where she is now. We start Snow’s story right in the middle of it: post-death, post-affair, so this is giving the audience the backstory we need: 

My heavy heart slumbered into a dream And my tears fed the emptiness that silenced me As I grew fond of eternal sleep A lady arose with inflorescent skin Picking daisies to plant on her body And wear on her sleeve

It points to what is coming next-- Snow’s travels away from her home and the life she knew: “I know it’s a big world out there.”

In terms of the story itself, this is the Prologue baby-- a farewell to her parents. 

Flyweight love (Vienna Teng)

Ah, the TRAVEL song! Snow is leaving home! Set change! She lands in China! She is meeting new people! I like the upbeat nature of this song and the optimism within it because I think that’s where Snow begins her journey. I considered a lot of diff songs for this but I liked imagining this kind of montage on stage, Snow ‘meeting’ some people on her journey with their own stories and reasons for being Flyweight Loves. 

Took a train to the stubborn coast Off-season towns half shuttered Said hello to the rising breeze Made a note of the setting sun

Dear Wormwood (The Oh Hellos)

Ah yes, the waking of Snow’s magic at night. This dramatic lil indie folk number I imagine happens as Snow gets up and finds the skeleton in the watch tower! I don’t have more to say, it’s really quite that simple. (Though I like that it’s sort of like an acknowledgment of her magic... which is the beginning of her arc, aka, learning about necromancy and embracing it.) 

In a musical (ok i have more to say) in theory one would like the skeleton to come to life and share its story with the audience dont u think 

I know who you are now I know who you are

Revenant (Anais Mitchell) 

This is the scene where Ai gives Snow her first real lead-- that thread of hope that what’s happening to her doesn’t have to be a bad thing. She finds hope in a letter correspondence and so I liked that this song mentions letters and other old things and how they beckon the past forward. That’s what Snow is doing in a lot of ways: reviving a ‘lost’ art of necromancy. It’s so soft and delicate as well and I wanted the conversation to be warm and gentle for her. 

Read your letters all again Coffee rings and a ballpoint pen Tear stains every now and then I remember what they meant

Traveling Song (Ryn Weaver) 

Another traveling song!! I well, needed a transition from China to Ireland and this folksy Ryn Weaver song will do! Again, I just like the storytelling nature of it and it does what Flyweight Love does in capturing the liminal nature of travel. Snow is very much in a traveling state of mind u know-- she doesn’t have a home yet. 

Nobody knows where they are going Oh, how we try to wrap our minds Over the edge of all our knowings Be it a bang or the divine Tip of my iceberg blues are showing I've never been one for goodbyes So, 'til I meet you there, I'm singing A traveling song to ease the ride And so you know, everywhere I roam I'll see you on the road

There Beneath (The Oh Hellos) 

This song is technically about my favorite letters I got to write-- Snow getting into her necromancy!! She is learning how to “locate memory within an object” as well as “wake a bone up and remind it of its purpose”, two things which, in turn, help Snow grow as a person and rethink her entire outlook on the world, really. These were the scenes I was so excited about when I was conceptualizing Snow, and I’m still very happy with how it turned out.  There beneath the willow tree I learned a lot about the way of things I learned that everything (the wind, the leaves) has breath inside They were pointing ever east To see the ever-turning aeon cease Their wills were ever bent on waiting with all their might

I know (I know) I know this There is beauty in the way of things

Secret Garden (IU)

This song is the song of Snow’s healing and most importantly, the introduction of Ottilie, Snow’s new friend. So yes, her getting to know Ottilie and feeling comfortable in her life here!! Ideally this one perhaps be a duet in a musical and I maybe should have gone to find a duet but I love these lyrics, IU’s soft voice, and the idea that friendship is a secret garden. 

Forget the things of yesterday Everyone gets things slightly wrong There’s no such thing as a perfect person Look at me, filled with mistakes and loneliness

Feels like I’ve been born again After I met you From the moment you accepted My pitiful heart

Day by day, things will get better Now that you’re watching over me I must have strength, I must be happy Like a flower that bloomed late

Never Look Away (Vienna Teng)

But enough of that nice stuff, let’s get back to conflict! 

This occurs during the scene when Snow first makes contact with a distressed soul and decides she should perform a seance. It’s her first seance. It doesn’t go well. This song is also about Snow really pushing the boundaries of her magic and testing her new beliefs. I love how dark and dramatic it is, and I imagine Snow could be singing to the ghost, but it’s also the ghosts singing to Snow to really wake up and face herself 

So if you're out there in the cold I'll cover you in moonlight If you're a stranger to your soul I'll bring you to your birthright I want the storm inside you awoken now I want your warm bright eyes To never look away Don't you ever look away

To My Youth (BOL4) 

But it isn’t the show stopper. This is the final song before the curtain closes! We are ending the first act, so to speak, in a terrible place, with an aching, soaring ballad. This is one of my favorite songs of all time, I’ve posted it SEVERAL times, I guess I just am desperate for people to listen to it and validate me idk lmfao. 

But I like it because 1. it’s a letter to yourself, thus echoing the form of this project. 2. it ends so hopeful, with the singer saying they still want to be a “light in the world” and to find themself. It hurts me actually, as at the end, as the music softens, the singer really sympathizes with the younger version of themselves: “How painful must it have been? How high must my hopes have been?” 

So yes I think about this at the end, Snow picking herself up. This probably happens right after the scene with Ottilie. ugh i like her a lot, my character. 

#swyntask #music #story #about #mmmmmmmmmmm i wrote too mcuh on this im so sorry but i hope someone out there enjoys this

[creideamhgradochas]

Thanks to the lovely @youngmoneymilla for taking the time to answer these! Get to know more about lovely Eliza, go give her a follow and then show her some love!

These questions are from this list. You should check it out, there’s 50 questions all together and they’d be great to ask your favorite fic writer!

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fan-fiction?

13

2) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

I did love writing OC’s because I have a lot of fun with physical description. However, that was when I wasn’t aware of Reader Inserts since I just recently came back into the fanfic world. Reader Inserts are great because I have to work that much harder on giving them a backstory/personality and not focus at all on physical description. Plus, everyone gets to read the work and hopefully find themselves in it. The only thing I hate is being unable to use a name. I can’t write “Y/N” bc it bugs me haha.

3) What is your favorite genre to write for?

Ummm Angst probably? I’m a huge horror fan so, I’m trying to incorporate that into more work.

4) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

“It Would Have Made it True” just because I didn’t really connect with it that much and the ending was rushed.

5) When is your preferred time to write? 

11 am to 10 pm haha. I’m an asshole and write a lot during my job.

6) Where do you take your inspiration from? 

I have about a million fics bookmarked from over the years, literally fics from when I was in high school to now. They’re so gorgeously written and they inspire me to write. I pretty much only read non-fiction outside of fanfic so, that doesn’t really work.

7) What’s your favorite scene that you’ve written?

Bathtub/Bedroom scene in the second part of “Bungalows and Baths”

8) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

Yep. In one fic, I included a descriptive characteristic for the reader that implied she was white. It hadn’t even occurred to me but, I immediately fixed it when someone pointed it out.

9) Who is your favorite character to write for? Why? 

Tossup between Bucky and Steve. Bucky has the very obvious trauma and grief that’s interesting to write about but, Steve has a lot of buried darkness that’s subtle and extremely intriguing.

10) Who is your least favorite character to write for? Why?

Maybe Bruce? I don’t care that much for his character (despite the fact I love Hulk)

11) How do you come up with the titles for your stories? 

A lot of the time, it’s a line that’s said throughout the narrative. However, I have a word doc filled with random quotes I like and I usually throw something together. I always think up the title at the end and it’s always an afterthought. Titles blow.

12) What do you think is the best idea you’ve had for a story so far?

I am currently writing a Bucky x Reader fic (TRYING TO AT LEAST) that is going to take the team to New Orleans. It’s going to involve vampires since I wrote a novella about vampires back in high school and want to re-explore that mythology. However, there is going to be a lot of twists and it won’t be an AU, it’s just introducing the possibility of vampires in the MC universe. The reader and Bucky will both be struggling with the idea of themselves as monsters and trying to help themselves through that. It’s going to be a lot of voodoo and magic and angsty “will they, won’t they”. I’m going off on a tangent now but, that’s the gist. I have not written an actual series in a long time so, this would be my first one.

13) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

There are many half-filled one- page word docs on my desktop that are rotting away as we speak. I just get bored or think of something else.

14) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

I’d love to do more fics with the same reader from Bungalows and Baths.

15) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

Lol I’m actually annoyed with how I ended 6 Times right now. Not sure why.

16) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

Omg I admire so many but, here are a few.

@bitsandbobsandstuff – obviously for her “Safe with Me” piece which is fantastic, emotional and well-paced. Pacing/keeping the reader on their toes is the hardest thing for me in a series and so, I really admire her ability to do that. I also LOVED her “A Million Invisible Threads” piece because it’s such a gorgeous character study on the Winter Soldier

@a-splash-of-stucky  – She’s the Queen of Angst duh and a GORGEOUS writer. I love her stuff. A Messed Up Place left me weak.

@imhereforbvcky – Her “Mirror for the Sun” fic inspired me to start writing from Bucky’s POV actually. She’s just a beautiful writer.

@tilltheendwilliwrite – I love everything she writes. I love all the mythology she brings to her fics while still staying within the Avengers universe. Her smut is on another level, too. I find myself rereading her stuff again and again.

17) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Here and there. There are definitely moments in a fic where I think why did I keep that. It’s usually because I ended it too quickly or just wanted it over.

18) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence? 

I love music when I write fics. It’s all movie scores. I have a spotify playlist for it.

19) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

I’ve cried (ish) when writing anything that has to do with alcohol/substance abuse. I’ve been in and out of AA for the past two years and have finally started recovery again. I also have depression so, writing about that can leave me raw. Writing truly always helps though.

20) Which part of your fics have been the hardest to write?

SMUT. Jesus Christ. I struggle so hard with making smut sound hot, as well as lyrical so, it can fit with the narrative. I don’t want to reuse anything I’ve used in other fics before or repeat words but, it’s SO hard (pardon the pun). I always forget what position they’re in and where the body parts need to go. It’s legitimately why I have yet to write a Stucky x Reader fic. I can’t introduce another person into my difficult SMUT journey.

21) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow? 

I usually have a general idea and I’ll have a very vague outline going. I just write everything out like word vomit and go back and edit.

22) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fan-fiction? 

That some of the best stories I’ve read aren’t necessarily the ones with the most likes or comments. I stumble upon stuff and wonder “HOW DOES THIS NOT HAVE 2K LIKES”.

23) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

That’s tough. Maybe the stuff I wrote in the beginning where I didn’t have many followers. I loved the concept of “You Don’t Mean for it to Happen” but, sometimes I want to rewrite the whole thing. I put a lot of myself into “I Think of You All the Time” but, I feel like that got some good traction. IDK.  Bungalows and Baths got a crazy amount of love. Did not expect that but, v grateful.

24) In contrast to 23 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at? 

Nope. I appreciate any love haha.

25) Are any of your characters based on real people?

Well, I think it goes without saying that every reader character has a little bit of the author in there. I think I pull from some of my friends but, not really.

26) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten? 

Someone once said that their soul was marked by “Bungalows and Baths” which was amazing haha.

27) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

I haven’t really gotten criticism other than that time I screwed up on including a feature for a white reader. I felt terrible about that.

28) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

Not really. I don’t have people to share them with haha.

29) Do people know you write fan-fiction?

My best friend knows but, she doesn’t read fanfic. Shockingly, my mom and sister know but, I told them that they could never read them. I just share reviews with them. My mom likes to know that I’m staying creative.

30) What’s you favorite minor character you’ve written? 

Oh jeez idk if I have one. Natasha isn’t considered a minor character but, she usually plays a side character in my stories and she’s fun to write for.

31) What spurs you on during the writing process?

Once I get started, I’m usually good at keeping it going. Music helps.

32) What’s your favorite trope to write?

Probably slow burn romance or one of the lovers is injured/captured. I also am a huge sucker for love triangles because I’m greedy AF.

33) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

Lawl this might not have been the first one but, I read a Lizzie Mcguire SMUT piece when I was maybe in 6th grade and was severely chilled to the bone. I was trash even at 12.

34) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Angst. I always write better when I’m emotionally distraught and tortured. Although as I get older, I realize this isn’t fabulous for my own mental health.

#milestone celebration #ask the author #youngmoneymilla