#Writer's Desk

[rosaurasaurio]

Vivian Gornick’s desk in her Manhattan apartment. Photo: Adrianna Glaviano via Lux magazine

#desk #vivian gornick #writer's desk #writer #mytbdwomen

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

What’s your take on canon divergent fanfic’s ability to become publishable original fiction?

It's dangerous territory, in my opinion. But not impossible, if you're willing to put in the effort.

FANFICTION 101- Canon Divergence to Original Work

Especially in the cases of fantasy fiction, canon divergent implies that you are using the author's original world and characters, and writing it into a different plot. Which is fine if it's kept contained to fanfiction spaces.

But when you start talking about publishing, you're also talking about mass-distributing for your own profit, something copyright law protects against.

I. WHAT TO CHANGE

The only way I can see someone reasonably pulling this off is if they write their canon divergent fanfiction, then, in the second draft (where the fic is the first draft), they change fundamental aspects of that world.

Let's take, for example, a Marvel canon divergence.

Instead of superheroes vs. villains, change it to pirates vs. petticoats. Crime syndicate vs. the powers that be. The Capulets vs. the Montagues (which, btw, are totally in the public domain so feel free to go ham with that one).

Essentially, here, you would be using the events of your canon divergent fic and turning it into an AU.

OR

You could change the superpowers of every single one of the characters, as well as their backstories and any significant plot events that might happen in the Marvel version, but keep the idea of the fic relatively similar.

For this one, you'd also have to make sure that no part of your story takes place in recognisable Marvel trademark places. If it does, you're going to have to change the name of the place, as well as its concept.

This option is essentially: Rework everything about your fic to the point where it is nearly unrecognisable from canon.

What do I mean by unrecognisable? I'm so glad you asked.

Take, for example, the maximum security prison in Guardians of the Galaxy. In your work, it is no longer called The Kyln. It's called The Graveyard. It's no longer set in space, but deep in the bowels of some unplumbed underwater trench on a planet in the outer reaches of a far away galaxy.

See what I mean?

II. SOURCE MATERIAL VS. CANON

Since we know that authors often draw inspiration from–or straight up use–folklore and mythology to inform their work, there are also things to consider about your fanfiction and what counts as part of the author's Original World(TM).

Take Thor, for example. He is part of the Norse Mythological Canon. Marvel uses Thor, and many aspects of Thor's world, to inform their fictional world.

This means that Thor, Loki, Oden, Valhalla, etc. are not Marvel(TM). They are part of a larger pantheon that has its own lore, and is generally open to the public domain without risk of being sued.

However, and this is a big however...

Marvel changes quite a bit about Thor, too–even if some of the base elements remain similar to Norse legend. Thor's personality in the films, for example, is something that is trademark Marvel.

I'm no expert on Marvel or Norse Mythology, so this is where you, the author of a canon-divergent-soon-to-be-original work, come in.

It is your job to research as much of Norse Mythology (or whatever source material your canon text might use) as you possibly can. Immerse yourself in it. Really absorb it. Not only is this what any other author does (or should do) at the start of a project, but it's also to inform you what aspects of the source material canon uses, and what it doesn't use.

Where the canon text differs from its source material is what is considered under Copyright Protection. These differences are considered the intellectual property of someone who is still alive and earning a living off of that property.

Say, for instance, in the Marvel films, Thor's signature apparel includes rainbow striped suspenders. This would be a Marvel(TM) trait of Thor, since we know Norse Legend Thor does not wear rainbow striped suspenders.

Therefore, your work should not include rainbow striped suspenders in Thor's regular attire. You could maybe include rainbow striped suspenders once, for a special occasion, as a nod to the canon you are writing from. But I would go so far as to scrap, not just rainbow striped, but any suspenders from Thor's look in your work.

III. RESOURCES

This is all to say that it's possible to turn Canon Divergent Fanfiction into Original Publishable Work–but not without an abundance of time and effort. which is the sacrifice most authors must make, whether they're starting from fic or scratch.

If I were you, I would begin by thinking of your fanfiction as the skeleton of your original story. Use it to improve your style of writing, dialogue, tone. Use it to figure out which scenes enhance your narrative and which scenes work against your narrative. Use it as a framework or map for your original story.

And when it comes time to write that second draft where you must change things about the canon world, here is a list of resources I often use for my original work when I feel stuck:

Nameberry -> this is one of my favourite name sites because you can type in a name and it'll give you, not only the origin and meaning, but also a list of names that have a similar ~vibe~ about them.

Fantasy Name Generator -> this is a site dedicated to helping you come up with names for elements of your fantasy world. It has everything from people names to castle names to poison names to pub names. There are even options that will help you come up with a concept/description for places, animal species, armies, etc.

Reedsy -> plot generator

Theoi -> Greek Mythology Database

norse-mythology.org -> Norse Mythology Database

Mythopedia -> Celtic Mythology Database (they also have Greek on here too, I believe)

Pantheon.org -> World Mythology Encyclopaedia

I hope this helps you on your journey to authorship. If you have any other questions, please feel free to shoot them in my inbox, and I will get to them as soon as I can. Happy writing! ✍️📖

–Em 🖤🗡

How to Turn Fanfiction into Original Stories

Writing Tip Masterlist

#thanks for the ask!! 💜 #writing tips #writing advice #fanfiction #ao3 #writer #author #writing #fanfic #canon divergence #fantasy #am writing #just writer things #writer's desk #author things #novel writing #asked and answered #fantasyfox10123

[theinkwell-andquill]

The Inkwell Prompt 02. 🕯📜

"I live in Fear, your run-of-the-mill village in the middle of nowhere. We have a high street, several cozy pubs, and an obscene amount of murder."

Tag us! We'd love to read and reblog your work.

#the inkwell #inkwell prompt #prompts #words #writing prompts #creative writing #halloween #spooky #creative writing prompts #spooky prompts #writeblr #writing #writing motivation #writing tips #writing advice #ao3 #fanfic #writer tips #writer's desk #writer's block

[dyscomancer]

lest we forget

#Netflix #one piece netflix #sag aftra #writers strike #one piece #from the desk

[iancumminsauthor]

Where Writers Write - 3 - Terry Pratchett

#authors #writing desk #writer's desk #writing room #terry pratchett

[polinariavb]

01//02 Another bullet journal session

#study aesthetic #study blog #study motivation #studyblr #studyinspo #studyspo #bullet journal #planner #writer things #study desk #study notes #study #studyblr community #studying #study with me #study space #student life #exam season #student #bujo #bujo spread #bujoblr #bujoinspo #bujo aesthetic #bujoideas #bujocommunity #bujolove

[a-ramblinrose]

“But first and foremost, I learned from Whitman that the poem is a temple—or a green field—a place to enter, and in which to feel. Only in a secondary way is it an intellectual thing—an artifact, a moment of seemly and robust wordiness—wonderful as that part of it is. I learned that the poem was made not just to exist, but to speak—to be company.”

― Mary Oliver, Upstream: Selected Essays

#quote #Mary Oliver #Upstream: Selected Essays #Upstream #Walt Whitman #Poetry #Writing #From the Writer's Desk #Tell all the truth but tell it slant #i will take the sun in my mouth #Current Reading #Current Reading Quotes #Rose Rereads #not out of void but out of chaos

[alisoncooper]

#because i’m a write in bed bitch #i refuse to believe writers spend most of their writing time at a desk #it’s too restrictive #i’m tired of seeing writers at these neatly put together desks #when i’m 100% sure most of us are messy-haired on the sofa or in bed

[hgejfmw-hgejhsf]

Thoughts from just another fandom writer

I am not a popular writer in my fandom. You may see that sentence and think, wow, what's about to come next, but just stay with me for a bit. I promise there's a point.

I am not a popular writer in my fandom. You won't see my name splashed across Twitter when a new update posts with the expectation that people are going to flock to my page. People don't recognize my fics by just a name. And none of my fics are ever going to be considered one of THE fics within the fandom.

Do I get sad about that sometimes? Sure. I'm only human. Do I write a fic and think that the amount of pride I have in it and in myself might mean that this is the one that people will recommend to all of their friends because they just HAVE to read it? Also yes. I think we all want that when we put a piece of ourselves out into the world in our art. And that certainly holds true for me, as someone whose huge, generous, ridiculous, indestructible heart is on the outside of her body.

But I also have an incredible group of humans who do loyally read my works, all of them (despite the ridiculous number I've published in just 7 months' time) and leave incredibly kind and thoughtful comments that bring me to tears every time. My writing, from just July until now, when I published a fic for the first time in 10 years because I couldn't fathom going another day without allowing these characters into my mind and heart through the typing of my fingers, has grown immensely, and I want more than anything for it to continue to improve as time goes on.

Which is why I scroll through the feed every day, searching for new works to read by new and old authors alike. Just today, I read a work by someone who was publishing their very first fic, who set it as a New Year's resolution for themselves. And I left a comment for them to see the next time they're online.

It cost me absolutely nothing to hit the kudos button and make a comment. And I hope that, like me, a kind word will go a long way towards encouraging that author to keep writing. To keep sharing their soul with us as a fandom. To keep loving it the way that I love it.

I'm writing this to encourage all of you, regardless of the number of subscribers, hits, kudos, or comments you have, or how many rec lists you've made, or where you are in your writing journey, to always remember that there was once a time when you were a brand new writer, too, and I urge you to remember how much something like a comment meant to you in your journey. I'll leave y'all with one of my favorite song lyrics to further emphasize my point:

When you get where you're goin Don't forget turn back around And help the next one in line Always stay humble and kind

#writing stuff #my thoughts #my posts #writing #fic writing #fanfic writer #fanfic authors #just a friendly suggestion #and a thought I had sitting here at my desk

[surreal-duck]

stumbles out of the 3* story covered in blood

#its so silly im !!!!!! im not gonna recover im losing my mind here #they literally wrote it for me im in shambles #doodles #duck scribbles #enstars #midoyuzu #yuzumido #also special thank u for hourlymidoyuzu acc on twt if ur out there i owe u my life also #midori takamine #yuzuru fushimi #tori himemiya #always love more tori and midori interactions also..... the three of them r fixing his desk together........ rahg #and yuzuru being so comfortable w drawing now and not even protesting midoris requests and rather worrying abt covering the original mascot #design w his doodles im going to actually combust. what a fun duo #to this kanata haruka writer i owe you my entire life #midoyuzu incident of dec 2023..... #well. back to the horrors i go 😔

[fuocogo]

LISTEN. JUST HEAR ME OUT. JUST GIVE ME A SECOND- HERES HOW JAWILCO CAN STILL WIN-

#jason grace #*slaps hand on desk* IM JUST SAYING IF RICK GAVE ME CO WRITER PERMISSION ITS WHAT I WOULD DO #Jason grace 2023 #the sun and the star #conspiracy theory #i'm only half joking #fuoco text #even percy and annabeth accidentally adopted bob #not the sun and the star spoilers

[fluoresensitive]

FILTHINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS: Ruminations on Tender is the Flesh, Gross-Out Horror, and a Society Scared of Being Nasty

*writes an essay about my love for gross shit*

#🦢 #my writing #my substack #writeblr #horror #horror writer #essay #from the desk of mx yah yah

[raineandsky]

#82

“You, young sir, will be appointed to watch over my son—my rightful heir to the throne,” the king says breezily, and then he’s moving onto the knight next to him.

The knight dips his head, half in acknowledgement, half to hide his growing smile. The crown prince. He’s going to be following the king’s eldest as he makes his regal trips to the people, as he works towards his rightful place, as he accepts the crown and becomes king.

Honour isn’t a strong enough word for what the knight is feeling.

A young boy—a servant, the knight assumes—leads the knight to the chambers of the prince. The knight will introduce himself, he’ll pledge himself to the prince’s cause, and the knight will get the glory of riding with royalty at the prince’s side.

The servant pauses outside a door and knocks with three rhythmic raps. A maid opens it, not the prince, and the knight holds back a confused frown. He would’ve thought the prince would be ready to meet his personal guard by now.

The servant leaves without a word. “The king has appointed you?” the maid says vaguely.

“To protect the heir to the throne.” The knight can’t help the tiny smile at his own words. “Yes.”

The maid hums and lets him in. It’s a little dark inside, to his surprise, with candles dotted around and shrouding the room in wispy shadows. She gestures rather informally to a golden cot against one of the back walls.

“Don’t wake him,” she says shortly, her voice low. “I just got him to sleep.”

“The…” The knight looks into the cot a little apprehensively. “The baby?”

The maid throws him a glance like he’s lost his mind. “The heir to the throne.”

-

A year passes. The knight asks no questions about his predicament. The king’s eldest rides out with a different knight, speaking to the people of the land and working to take his place at the throne. The knight’s glorious ‘watching over’ of the prince is mostly staring into the cot as the baby stares back.

Two years. The child learns to walk. The king visits, sometimes. He showers the infant in love and praise, but he never entirely lets up his regal persona in front of the knight and the maid. 

Five years. The child talks a lot now. The knight nods along to whatever nonsense he’s saying that day. He shoves things into the knight’s hands, toys and blankets and wooden swords, and the knight oohs and ahhs the appropriate amount before handing it back. The child loves it. 

Six years. Tutors start visiting. Maths and law and economics and war. The child sits with poorly contained boredom and nods along to whatever his teachers are saying. The moment they’re gone he’s back to playing, usually forcing the knight’s hand into whatever game he’s concocting.

Eight years. The king visits less often, tied down with royal matters and dealing with his eldest’s growing impatience for the throne. He arrives with smiles and kindness reserved only for his blood, but he never gets one back. The child hides behind the knight’s legs more often than not, and cries bitterly when he’s forced along with the king. The knight and the maid apologise heavily when it happens. It happens a lot.

Twelve years. The child has a favourite toy—his wooden sword and shield. He constantly asks if the knight will show him how it’s really done. The knight gives him a couple of harmless tips, and the prince lights up like the sun every time he swings his sword.

“You only have a few more years until you’re ready for the throne,” the knight tells him as he swings his sword at the maid, who’s long since learnt to stop reacting. “Are you ready to be king?”

“I don’t want to be king,” the prince whines. Both the maid and the knight freeze—neither of them have heard this before.

“It’s in your blood, your highness,” the knight continues carefully. “It’ll be a privilege to rule. You’ll make your father proud.”

“He’s barely my father. I don’t want to be a king,” the prince reiterates. “I want to be a knight, like you.”

The maid throws the knight a sidelong, entirely unsubtle glance. He doesn’t appreciate the accusation.

“You’ll be in charge of all the knights,” the knight tries a little desperately. “You can lead them all to victory. That’s better than being a knight.”

The child scoffs dramatically. “I doubt that.”

-

Fourteen years. The king’s eldest sits at his bedside and demands the throne. The king refuses him. The king dies, and his eldest flies into a blind rage. He wants the throne, and the king has already told him exactly who is taking it from him. 

Fourteen years of sitting in a golden nursery and watching over a child have led the knight to this moment. He’s meant to feel proud, honoured, to serve the prince. He’s meant to be ready to lay down his life for the child to live in his stead.

And he is. He would do anything for this fourteen year old who loves scaring his maid and demanding fighting tips from his knight and pretending to listen to his tutors.

But when the king’s eldest kicks the door down to the nursery, the knight isn’t entirely sure it’ll be just him giving up his life for the crown.

#creative writing #writblr #writers on tumblr #writing #writing community #fantasci writing #high fantasy #fantasy writing #we decorated our desks for christmas at work #tell me why everyone is so all in bro. goddamn #i had a couple of lil snow topped houses with tealights in em #why did some BUILD A CARDBOARD FIREPLACE #im stressed bro im meant to be the creative in this place. a fireplace??????????? #dont get me wrong im hella impressed. but goddamn. how did you find the time

[theinkwell-andquill]

Greetings, wordsmiths and bards!

And welcome to The Inkwell- a writer's place.

🖋 𝔚𝔥𝔬 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔢? ❧ We are a writers' collective, committed to bringing all of the writing tools straight from our desk to your dash.

🖋 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬 𝔴𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔱? ❧ Writing tips, advice, motivation, memes, and the occasional prompt. If you use one of our prompts, make sure to tag us in your work! We'd love to read it and share with the fine folks here.

🖋 𝔚𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔬 𝔴𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔢𝔤𝔞𝔱𝔢? ❧ While Tumblr is a wonderful place for sharing and compiling writerly commiserations and works, we also have a discord server. Feel free to join us there!

Let us know of any questions you might have. Happy writing! 🖤🖋📜

–𝔗𝔥𝔢 ℑ𝔫𝔨𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔩 𝔄𝔡𝔪𝔦𝔫

#the inkwell #writing tips #writing advice #writing prompts #writing resources #writer's discord server #writer's block #writer problems #writeblr #prompts #am writing #writer's desk #author #writing #words #writing motivation #ao3

[thefirstknife]

Hi Bel,

I keep seeing comments about people complaining about the quality of destiny’s writing and story in the last few weeks. I haven’t really engaged with destiny since season of defiance, what’s currently gotten everyone so riled up? I thought that people were enjoying Season of the Deep/Witch in terms of narrative, why is Season of the Wish causing people to deride the destiny writing staff again?

I don't know!

Deep and Witch have been absolute bangers in every aspect to me. I've been enjoying all interactions and lore tabs we've received. A lot of them are stuff that we've never had before, a lot of reunions and closures, a lot of development and interactions between characters who you wouldn't really think would have much in common.

Sloane's return and healing from what she's been through has been fantastic, Drifter opening up with her to help her because he also got help from others was fantastic, Sloane reuniting with Aisha and Shayura brought me to tears (Shayura's descent into madness was triggered by immense trauma of Sloane staying on Titan and Titan disappearing), everything with Sloane and Zavala...

Witch was just incredible in every single way; the focus on Eris, the amount of Eris and Ikora content!!!!! Everything about Xivu and Savathun and their interactions together!! Eris finally fulfilling her goal she promised Savathun YEARS ago, getting that closure.

Wish so far has been equally great to me. All the new stuff about Ahamkara is amazing, finally giving us proof for long-standing speculation about Ahamkara and how they aren't universally evil creatures and expanding on them as a species. I love all interactions we've had so far; finally we have Petra back, Mara's singleminded focus on figuring out how to defeat the Witness and her continuous work to improve as a person, ALL SJUR MENTIONS!!!!! I won't talk about the "leak" because we have no context for it so I will wait for the full story to be revealed before I can pass judgment; something that I think should be a lesson to learn from this entire year. Maybe wait for the story to finish before judging the story.

Literally everything this past year that involves Osiris, but especially this season now that he's back in his element with the Vex. And of course every little detail we get of him and Saint. Osiris honestly shaped this year for me with everything that he's done to uncover the biggest mysteries. I think a big reason is that a lot of people just don't like Osiris, which I consider a massive skill issue.

Other than that, I don't know what are the issues people have besides just not being interested in any of these storylines and attributing it to a nebulous "bad writing" claim. I also genuinely believe that way too many people get wrapped up too much in fandom, imagine storylines they want to see and then get disappointed when the actual story doesn't go there. Almost like people forget that this isn't their story and these aren't their characters. A lot of it is also fandom completely warping characters into not what they actually are and then feeling like the canon story is the one that's wrong.

Whatever is the reason, I guess everyone is entitled to their perspective of the story and everyone is free to explore the story in different ways through fanfics and AUs and whatever. I do that too!

But I would definitely ask people to be normal with how they engage in criticism, especially in the current state of affairs. Writers are developers; they experience a ton of harassment and negativity from the community and also from inside the company. And they are online: they can see what we're saying. It's been documented that community commentary has been used to harass writers:

Imprint this into your brain and never forget what these people had to go through. Let's not forget also the way people treated Seth Dickinson on social media when he was active with Destiny fans. "Fans" were actively arguing with him about his own work (telling him that HE is wrong) and were utterly disgusting towards him when he tried explaining what he wrote. His works are now hailed as the best writing in Destiny and people want him back. If I were him, I wouldn't want to come back ngl, not with how he was treated and not with how fans are still treating writers (and hey, Seth wrote LF Collector's Edition! So he was back, technically, this year!). Let's not forget that a lot of writers are members of various marginalised groups. And I'd definitely not want to go back with zero support from leadership.

Which is also an important aspect for all developers, including writers: sometimes they have orders they may not like, but can't argue against. They do the best they can with what they're given, the time they have and directions they receive. And with that in mind, I am enjoying everything we've gotten this year, obviously with some specific complaints about things I didn't particularly enjoy (like the universally mid reception of Defiance; I've spoken about my gripes with it before, a big one being the shafting of Suraya who should've at least been mentioned in a lore tab).

I can tell that there is passion in their work, even if maybe they would prefer to do more with it, but can't. Maybe even if they want to take different routes, but can't. But from what we got, I can feel that they care about this world and these characters. I can tell that someone lovingly wrote about Sloane and her friendships with two grieving women. I can tell that they deeply cared about Sloane's friendship with Zavala and that they loved showing us Saint and Drifter caring about a fellow trauma survivor.

I can tell that the writers are immensely careful and loving towards Eris; everything she went through was crafted with love and passion from both writers and her VA. Eris' story is such a fundamental aspect of Destiny and I can tell that this was important to the writing team and that they gave her everything they could to do justice to her character and her arc and her healing and her release from the cycle she was trapped in for so long.

I can tell that there are writers who care a lot about Osiris and Saint and their relationship. I can tell that someone cared a lot about expanding on Ahamkara and giving them more personalities. I can tell that someone cared DEEPLY about Sjur and Mara and that her repeated mentions are the passionate work of writers who want us to remember her.

I could go on. And I know that not everyone sees it this way, which is fine; we all have different ways of perceiving stories. I enjoy discussing things we in the fandom disagree on and I enjoy hearing different perspectives! Unfortunately, this has recently become rarer and rarer. And for the love of god, please try and treat writers with some respect, especially now, especially those who are still working and doing their best with the shitty situation they're in. None of the cries of "poor devs" ring true to me unless the same is given to writers, instead of treating them like punching bags.

#destiny 2 #long post #for the record: yeah i also have some gripes with some writing decisions. it's normal #but i feel like those are things that i can learn to accept or let go or even have my mind changed with a different perspective #or by just accepting that the writing team was limited in some way and that this was the best they could do #it happens to every story at some point #and yeah capitalism is the death of art. destiny's story would be better from start to finish if it weren't a shooter mmo #but that ship has sailed a long time ago. like. in 2014. #it's honestly a miracle that we got even a fraction of the stuff we got considering the target audience of fps mmos #and it's fine if this just isn't good enough to some. happens #but i think we can move on without being shitty about devs yeah? #in all likelihood writers may even agree that some of the stuff they had to write isn't the best or isn't what they wanted #calling them bad writers over circumstances we don't understand is just shitty #just like it's shitty to do it to any other dev over bugs in the game or badly implemented features or whatever #none of these people are sitting at their desks maliciously laughing while deliberately creating 'bad' things #and this is especially bothering me for writers because of how atrocious people are to artists of all kinds #almost like writers had to strike this year to be respected and treated as people that matter

[iancumminsauthor]

Where writers write - 1 - George Bernard Shaw

#writer #writer's desk #writer's shed #writer's room #writer's cabin #george bernard shaw #authors #writing hut #writing desk