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#fanfiction writing tips
quotidian-oblivion · 9 months
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NEW WRITING TIP
Play background white noise (I listen to rain sounds) on full volume, put on a short edit/song/chorus that matches the vibes of what you're writing, have your wip open and write and pop over to the edit when you get stuck, rinse repeat.
I am having the time of my life.
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kindredcandy · 2 years
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Writing tips for fanfic writers: a post by someone who had to figure it out themselves and now writes professionally :)
Disclaimer: fanfiction writing is probably one of the most unpoliced forms of self expression and that's what makes it so incredible. It's not my intention to say "hey you're doing it wrong! this is how it should be!" This is merely me sharing writing advice for those interested in improving their writing craft. Imo, a technically "improperly written" fanfic that someone decided to share, is worth far more to me than the finest writing that wasn't shared. My point being, that if you're posting your writing, you're already incredible. I still enjoy fanfics that don't follow these rules, but they are benchmarks that will help improve your writing and refine it. Note that some of these tips are specific to practically writing fanfic and not necessarily for writing with the goal of being published, though a lot of tips will apply for that too.
Become aware of your writing. Read it out loud or put it through a text to speech if you're that dedicated to improving, but the main point is to be able to pick up on your habits and notice when you repeat certain traits or sentence structures multiple times in a row.
Avoid repetition. Repeating words, multiple sentences of a similar length or cadence, too many sentences with the same grammatical marks (; : ,? ! —) you get the gist. These marks are incredible for adding new rhythm and excitement to a story but just be careful to not repeat them too much. This goes for everything. Don't start every sentence the same way (for example: "walking to the door I sighed and coughed. opening the door I saw that it was night") as long as you keep your sentences fresh and don't repeat shit, your writing is good.
Fanfiction Prose.
I'm gonna sum up everything you need to know about prose in a quick bullet point 101. So first, everyone says avoid adverbs and all that; spectacular advice for writing published works that will go through critiquing, however fanfic is often write-and-post-as-fast-as-you-can and coming up with sentences that don't contain adverbs will slow you down a lot. Honestly don't worry about it too much. As long as you're not using an adverb in every single sentence, you're fine. It does refine your work to work around them and will often train you to word things better, but if it's messing up your flow to avoid adverbs then just use them. You can always come back to that later and edit them out if you really want to polish your work.
-ing words are a little bit of a bitch. Fanfic readers are not often carefully reading and picking apart every aspect of a fanfic (unless its hella well written and they're analyzing it out of obsession) but using verbs that end in -ing admittedly does bog down your writing WHEN USED IN EXCESS. I can't stress enough that literally every perceived flaw in writing is fine in moderation. If you can find a way to make that verb into one ending in -ed instead, you're golden. it makes your prose so much better, but no sweat if you still love your -ing verbs.
Be aware of word connotations. Certain words paint certain pictures, so you might not want to refer to bread dough as creamy and squelching. Oh god, or really anything for that matter. But yeah, the next time you're tempted to call someones ass a "cavernous hole" just pause and think about the image that those specific words create.
Babe. Vary your sentence lengths. I promise it makes stuff better to not have 8 long ass paragraph sentences in a row. Or 25 short two word sentences. Mix it up.
On another note, ITS OKAY TO CALL SHIT WHAT IT IS. Don't fall into the trap of purple prose. Honestly with fanfic, readers are more interested in the general idea of the thought, rather than reading you use a ton of complicated words to say something simple. Sometimes it's just "he walked across the bridge" instead of "he moved one bare appendage in front of the other, carrying his form step by step across and through the wooded plank structure." And also... If it's a dick, call it a dick. If it's an eye, call it an eye. None of this "meat sword" and "orb" nonsense.
Quotation marks and paragraphs. This is really simple and you may have figured it out already but I'll explain it bc nobody explained it to me when I started. When someone speaks and you use quotation marks, that goes on a separate paragraph. Please use paragraph spaces!! It makes things rlly hard to read when they're unspaced. Spaces occur with each line of dialogue like I said, or they occur whenever the topic or scene changes. The topic might not change drastically but pay attention and you'll catch when something isn't quite in the same vein as the rest of your paragraph, that means it's time for a space!!
Describing your settings often goes a long way. Like don't get too into it because the reader is there for the smut/angst/fluff/whatever else, And not because they want to hear me describe the carpeting in the bedroom, but it really helps paint a picture in their mind when they know what's going on. Toss a lover onto a plush cream colored comforter. Breathe the air of the cedar trees surrounding their picnic.
Along that vein, detail is GOD. Little details make so much more of a difference than you realize. That quote about "You don't write about the horrors of war. You write about a kid's burnt socks lying in the road." I think is referring to plot, but it's so good for general writing advice. If you focus on the details, you can just simply state the rest without any fancy words and the picture will fall into place beautifully. Details make shit real. Readers don't know it, but they're curious what color characters toothbrush is, what their countertop looks like, how their hair smells, what their lovers skin feels like. Find ways to incorporate this organically. I swear this is probably my best tip. Also because details will set a scene, mood, or foreshadow. Too many specific details about an environment can make a scene creepy (in a good way). Too few details about an environment might happen in an action scene when things are happening quickly.
Write. What. You. Want. I dont give a shit if one bed fanfics are popular rn (I do love me a one bed ff mwah) if that's not what you're passionate about, if that's not what you love writing, you don't have to write it. Write what you enjoy. Write the stories that play themselves out in your head idc how crazy they sound PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR IT TOO. you love gory freaky shit? Girl you're not the only one, but you might be the only one brave enough to create content for that so go do that shit PROVIDE FOR YOUR PEOPLE.
Tag ur shit with proper warnings. Honestly, as long as it's not glorifying p3do, incest or racism etc, I think there's a place for writing about all topics, no matter how taboo or whatever else. But please for the love of God, place warnings at the beginning of your work. If there are spoiler specific warnings you need to give, say that in the beginning and then provide the warnings at the end. Don't not tag stuff just because it doesn't trigger you or it seems silly to be triggered by something like that. It's not silly. I literally just read a wonderful ff tonight that contained a triggering topic that would've sent me into a full blown panic attack if it were not for the warning. I saw the warning and was able to prepare myself and when the topic arose, it didn't catch me off guard. I was mentally able to process the writing because the writer disclosed the triggering topics beforehand. On another night maybe it would've been too much and I would've known from the warning that I wasn't in a place to read that fic. Providing warnings save both the reader and the writer a lot of stress, grief and frustration. You'll avoid getting unnecessary negative feedback from writing that triggered someone, and instead receive positivity from someone who was able to read your fic with a proper heads up. And the reader will have an all-around more pleasant reading experience. So when it comes to trigger warnings, the more specific the better.
Be mindful of how often you use names/pet names. Not like it's gonna kill somebody if you use a pet name too many times in a row, but as readers it's often easy to pick up patterns and that can take them out of a scene if they notice that character X ended every sentence with "darling" or something like that. With that being said, I fking love pet names AND regular names so keep using them, just be careful to not use them consistently in every sentence or it might sound funny.
It doesn't matter how many times a similar fic has been written, we need your take on it. There's a reason that, for example, nightmare oneshots are so common and it's because THEYRE THE GOOD SHIT. if something has been written a million times or even just a few times, and you feel inclined to write it but don't want to be unoriginal or repetitive DO IT ANYWAY. I promise your version is needed in this world. I can't stress that enough.
My last and most important tip, is to write and share it with the world. There is a place for you in this hellhole called the internet and your content could be the very thing that carries someone through a hard time. You could literally save someone's life just because your writing provided a needed distraction or a respite from their life. You know what I do when I have a hard day and everything feels like shit and i need a break to heal? 9 times out of 10 I read fanfic. There are so many people who find solace and comfort in these little moments and worlds we create as fanfic writers and often times, unless a reader is brave enough to come forward and say so, we have no idea the impact we have on someone's life. It was literally a fanfic that inspired me to become a professional writer and that fanfic writer will never know that because they deleted everything. I swear, fanfiction is not the stupid, meaningless screaming into the void that your brain tries to tell you it is. People hear you, people see your hard work, and people adore it. Regardless of how many likes or reblogs you get, regardless of your following. Someone's giggling and blushing reading ur shit I promise. It's hard to wrap your head around but it's true.
And that's it! If this helped anyone let me know, I can do a part two if u want. Also !! If you use this advice the next time you write or if it inspired you to write I'm BEGGING you to tag me in it.
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Hi! I love your work and I was wondering if you has any advice for beginners wanting to start writing fanfiction because I have absolutely no idea where to start. ❤️
OH ANON I GOT SO MANY!!! I had a bunch of people ask me this quite a while ago, and I'd say it all again, but im a one trick pony, and everything I could say probably has mostly been said here once before!
Tips on writing in general
Tips on writing fanfiction
Tips for getting views on AO3
How I plan my fics(i really don't all that much lmao)
I hope these help! If you need any more tips, as far as how to write specific characters, how to start your fics, etc etc, please feel free to send me another ask!!! I'd love to hear from you!
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How the FUCK does anyone finish a fanfiction story?? Like I can’t seem to have a “beginning, middle, and end” structure going on because all I got is “a begging, utter chaos, hope and preyers that I can wrap this up”.
Plus, everytime I write a story, I find a way to make it 20 chapters without an end in sight.
No but seriously I haven’t finished a single fic. Can someone give me tips???
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florencemtrash · 3 months
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i love love love your work and reading it has gotten me back into my love for acotar (and azriel shhh). im so inspired/tempted to start writing my own fics on here but i have no idea where to start or how to maneuver anything lol .do you have any tips?!
WRITING FANFICTION - my thoughts on how to get started (and others please feel free to chime in in the comments)
AHHHHHHHH YOU SHOULD TOTALLY DO IT!!! I encourage everyone who is interested to write fanfiction, even if you don't want to post things online, because I feel like fanfiction is the perfect avenue to a) have fun and b) practice any and all aspects of writing in a low stress way.
*cracks fingers* get ready for a brief rant about the glories of fanfiction writing
Fanfiction is such a beautiful way to get invested in a story. We already have our own interpretations of how characters look/act/their inner turmoils and struggles that might not get a lot of page time in the canonical works, AND for me personally, I'm always trying to find ways to insert myself into any media I read so fanfiction just feels like a natural extension of that and it honestly has improved my daydreaming skills for better or for worse.
It helps me escape my own thoughts and any troubles I have and I feel like I can grow as a person through the characters I read and write about.
Fanfiction is also great because you can pick and choose what aspects of writing you want to focus on improving. For me personally, I've always had issues with writing dialogue, but if I were to write something from scratch I would have to go through the efforts of creating a whole universe/characters/plot etc. etc so I would always get overwhelmed and just not write at all.
BUT! With fanfiction writing I can just take existing plots/characters etc. etc. and only write the dialogue for a scene I could make up in universe. AND because I'm writing existing characters that I "know", I have a framework for how they speak and can better gauge whether what I am writing sounds natural/realistic. Sometimes if I'm getting stuck on the dialogue I'll just write the lines for each character so I don't lose momentum and then later on I'll go back in and add the setting descriptions, dialogue tags, actions.
More concrete tips/steps you could take
So, I suppose if you're looking for a place to start and have a specific aspect of writing you have trouble with, you could always write short blurbs focusing on that skillset.
If you have issues with dialogue, just write dialogue. No descriptions/scenery. Nothing. If you have issues with describing settings you can always take the dialogue/actions from a scene of a book verbatim and then write around them. OR maybe if you have issues with characterization you could also take a scene from a book and then write from a different character's perspective. I just think it's a neat way to practice and something I've done in the past.
2. Write shameless self inserts. You know yourself better than anyone else and if you're interested in writing fanfiction, you're probably already a chronic daydreamer who's imagining what you would do in a fictional universe. May as well just write it down for the practice.
3. Start with short oneshots - I only started posting online about 7-ish months ago but I've been writing fanfiction since I was in middle school (so about 10 years now) and that's how I got into writing... and also I started out by handwriting the beginnings of trilogies but never getting past page 10 because I realized I was just copying the Hunger Games.
4. Don't be precious with your writing (see #3) and especially in the beginning I think people should prioritize quantity over quality. I think my writing has drastically improved since graduating college because I now consistently have time in the evenings to just write, even if it's "bad" writing. I also have a document titled "Dump it into the fires of Mordor" for my shittiest ideas and bits that I've cut out from other writing projects.
Other Tumblr-specific tidbits
Keep a google sheets to organize fics/taglists. I like to organize this way because unless you have a masterlist (which most people don't in the beginning), tumblr just has everything on one long scroll. So to get around this I have a google sheets where each column is one writing project with one row dedicated to links to the tumblr page, one row to commonly used tags, and the rest of the rows in the column are a list of anyone on my taglist for that project
Include more paragraph cuts than you think you'll need. This is a personal preference of mine, but because I read fanfics on Tumblr predominately on my phone where the width is narrower, extra paragraph cuts a) help me keep track of where I am in the story better and b) look more visually appealing - at least in my opinion
I'm still getting used to Tumblr myself and everyone approaches writing and using the platform differently.
BUT PLEASE DO WRITE IF YOU FEEL INSPIRED TO! Writing and posting fanfiction, and generally getting to interact with people, has been so much fun and I highly encourage anyone and everyone to do it.
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Hmmmm, this ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be. Whoops. Hope it was helpful though!
Love,
Florence B.
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novaheart8 · 1 year
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I got a Tumblr (I'm the pastebin gal) I have no idea why I though N was 14 but yeah if he's 18 then that all fits yeah. sorry if I'm bombarding you with asks but uhh I'm also a fanfiction writer and I have no idea what to write lol any ideas? like, 50% of my time fanfiction writing is spent trying to come up with a good fanfiction. so any ideas?
YEAAAAAAAHHHHH WELCOME TO TUMBLR!!!!
Honestly for now I'm fine with getting your asks because I have nothing else in my inbox 👍
I think when you're seeking inspiration for fanfiction, the best place to start is square one. Why did you start writing fanfiction to begin with? For me, it came from wanting to "fix" a canon storyline (i.e., create the ending I wanted to see). And then those fix-it fics developed into theory fics over the years!
I think going back to your roots in writing can give you a ton of inspiration. Remember, you can write whatever you want in fanfiction! It's yours, and the most important thing to keep in mind is to write the story you want to read. You don't even have to post it anywhere. It can be as short or as long as you'd like for it to be, as ooc or as in-character as you want! It can have OCs and they can be "Mary Sues", or it can have only canon characters. It can be a crossover with another favorite franchise! Who cares! Fanfiction writing is meant to be FUN! Find those roots and flourish!
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maccreadysbaby · 10 months
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Some of my favorite words and phrases to describe a character in pain
coiling (up in a ball, in on themselves, against something, etc)
panting (there’s a slew of adjectives you can put after this, my favorites are shakily, weakly, etc)
keeling over (synonyms are words like collapsing, which is equally as good but overused in media)
trembling/shivering (additional adjectives could be violently, uncontrollably, etc)
sobbing (weeping is a synonym but i’ve never liked that word. also love using sob by itself, as a noun, like “he let out a quiet sob”)
whimpering (love hitting the wips with this word when a character is weak, especially when the pain is subsiding. also love using it for nightmares/attacks and things like that)
clinging (to someone or something, maybe even to themselves or their own clothes)
writhing/thrashing (maybe someone’s holding them down, or maybe they’re in bed alone)
crying (not actual tears. cry as in a shrill, sudden shout)
dazed (usually after the pain has subsided, or when adrenaline is still flowing)
wincing (probably overused but i love this word. synonym could be grimacing)
doubling-over (kinda close to keeling over but they don’t actually hit the ground, just kinda fold in on themselves)
heaving (i like to use it for describing the way someone’s breathing, ex. “heaving breaths” but can also be used for the nasty stuff like dry heaving or vomiting)
gasping/sucking/drawing in a breath (or any other words and phrases that mean a sharp intake of breath, that shite is gold)
murmuring/muttering/whispering (or other quiet forms of speaking after enduring intense pain)
hiccuping/spluttering/sniffling (words that generally imply crying without saying crying. the word crying is used so much it kinda loses its appeal, that’s why i like to mix other words like these in)
stuttering (or other general terms that show an impaired ability to speak — when someone’s in intense pain, it gets hard to talk)
staggering/stumbling (there is a difference between pain that makes you not want to stand, and pain that makes it impossible to stand. explore that!)
recoiling/shrinking away (from either the threat or someone trying to help)
pleading/begging (again, to the threat, someone trying to help, or just begging the pain to stop)
Feel free to add your favorites or most used in the comments/reblogs!
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crazywolf828 · 9 months
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To all my writers who have a tough time with smut terms and not knowing which ones to use, I have found the holy grail for us.
This reddit user, who I've recently found out is @kjscottwrites here on tumblr, took a poll of 3,500 people and went really in depth with asking their favorite terminology, along with actual pie charts on what the readers preferred to see in their smut.
Check out their post with the link to the Google doc here!
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frownyalfred · 10 months
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want your favorite author to update but don’t want to be too pushy in their comment section?
here’s 5 things you can do to encourage them:
Reblog their fic link on tumblr (bonus if it’s with tags)
Bookmark the fic with a note about what you’re excited about/love in the fic
Recommend the fic to your friends or local discord channel
Draw art or create other media for the fic (as indicated by the author’s comfort level)
Leave them a comment when re-reading about the parts of the chapter/story that stood out to you the second time
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bebx · 6 months
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so rude that fantasizing about writing alone is not enough to actually get the fic done. you have to actually sit down and write it. insane.
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thelovelybitten · 6 months
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youtube
this video opened my eyes and made me rethink everything I know about my writing. stendy fic postponed but will be posted tomorrow sometime.
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sas-soulwriter · 6 months
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What to give a fuck about,while writing your first draft!
I`ve posted a list about things you don´t need to give a fuck about while writing your first draft. Here are things you NEED TO CARE about! (in my opinion)
Your Authentic Voice: Don't let the fear of judgment or comparison stifle your unique voice. I know it´s hard,but try to write from your heart, and don't worry about perfection in the first draft. Let your authenticity shine through your words.
Your Story, Your Way: It's your narrative, your world, and your characters. Don't let external expectations or trends dictate how your story should unfold. Write the story you want to tell.
Progress Over Perfection: Your first draft is not the final product; it's the raw material for your masterpiece. Give a fuck about making progress, not achieving perfection. Embrace imperfections and understand that editing comes later.
Consistency and Routine: Discipline matters. Make a commitment to your writing routine and stick to it.
Feedback and Growth: While it's essential to protect your creative space during the first draft, be open to constructive feedback later on. Giving a f*ck about growth means you're willing to learn from others and improve your work.
Self-Compassion: Mistakes, writer's block, and self-doubt are all part of the process. Give a f*ck about being kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up if the words don't flow perfectly every time. Keep pushing forward and remember that writing is a journey.
Remember, the first draft is your canvas, your playground. Don't bog yourself down with unnecessary worries.
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biscuitsandspices · 2 years
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Encouragment for writers that I know seems discouraging at first but I promise it’s motivational-
• Those emotional scenes you’ve planned will never be as good on page as they are in your head. To YOU. Your audience, however, is eating it up. Just because you can’t articulate the emotion of a scene to your satisfaction doesn’t mean it’s not impacting the reader. 
• Sometimes a sentence, a paragraph, or even a whole scene will not be salvagable. Either it wasn’t necessary to the story to begin with, or you can put it to the side and re-write it later, but for now it’s gotta go. It doesn’t make you a bad writer to have to trim, it makes you a good writer to know to trim.
• There are several stories just like yours. And that’s okay, there’s no story in existence of completely original concepts. What makes your story “original” is that it’s yours. No one else can write your story the way you can.
• You have writing weaknesses. Everyone does. But don’t accept your writing weaknesses as unchanging facts about yourself. Don’t be content with being crap at description, dialogue, world building, etc. Writers that are comfortable being crap at things won’t improve, and that’s not you. It’s going to burn, but work that muscle. I promise you’ll like the outcome.
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oh-theatre · 8 months
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When you’re writing with no plan and suddenly the plot takes a turn:
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artistmarchalius · 9 months
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Innit VS In’t - a PSA
I’ve seen some confusion in Hobie fics around the word “innit” and I think I’ve figured out why: aside from general confusion about the use of the word, I believe some people are occasionally mixing it up with “in’t”.
So let’s dive into it!
Innit - isn’t it
Can be used at the end of a sentence to make it a question or for emphasis.
E.g. “That’s a load of rubbish, innit?” Or “I’m Spider-Man, innit.” (The latter is an example of emphasis. It’s not grammatically correct but using slang isn’t always about being grammatically correct).
“Innit” can also be used in the middle and at the beginning of sentences (in place of “isn’t it”).
E.g. “Innit lovely out here?” Or “You told me that a Vulture variant was loose in Holborn, but innit true you’ve been tellin’ porkies?”
In’t - contraction of “isn’t”
You can use “in’t” in place of “isn’t”.
E.g. “In’t that the guy who was in here earlier?” Or “That’s a metaphor for capitalism, in’t it?” (You could also use “innit” in the second example).
It can be a bit confusing to a non-English ear to distinguish between “innit” and “in’t”, especially when they’re spoken quickly. For example: if you think you’re hearing someone say something like “Innit that right?” (which would be saying “Isn’t it that right?”, then you’re probably actually hearing them say “In’t that right?”
But wait!
Couldn’t you just use “ain’t” instead of “in’t”?
Sure!
“Ain’t” is a very versatile contraction. It can mean: am not, are not, is not, have not, has not, do not, does not and did not.
E.g. “I ain’t a liar!” Or “He ain’t done his homework.” Or “Ain’t that the truth.” Or “It ain’t right.”
Fun facts:
The earliest records of “ain’t” are from the 1700’s but it was popularised by Dickens’ representation of Cockney dialect.
“In’t” originates from Northern England.
So why use “in’t” instead of “ain’t”?
Personal preference, innit?
And there you have it, a dive into the world of “innit”, “in’t” and “ain’t”!
As always, I’m not an expert, I just wanted to share the knowledge that I do have. There may be other ways to use these words, depending on what part of the country you come from, but this should cover the vast majority of them (if not maybe all of them)! Hopefully someone will find this helpful, informative or entertaining at the very least. I know a lot of this seems basic, but there are a lot of non-native English speakers in the fandom so I wanted to cover all my bases.
Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like me to cover and I’ll see what I can do! If you’re using “innit” or “in’t” in your writing but aren’t sure if you’re using it right, I’m happy to look over any sentences you’d like me to!
Happy writing!
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grissdarling · 9 months
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hello. jew here
dont write jewish characters if u know next to nothing about us or our culture/religion pls. if u want to write a jewish character (or any character outside the scope of your personal knowledge, honestly), you MUST take the time to read about us and our beliefs, customs, etc. im not saying u have to be an expert on the torah or the tanakh or the talmud, but u need to do at least the bare minimum. and google isnt always reliable, if u have questions u should carefully analyze which websites u use. or have a jew beta your fic/writing!
im just tired of seeing “this character is jewish :) u can tell because they celebrate hanukkah” and that is it for the jewish characterization. like i get that u ppl know nothing abt judaism except for hanukkah but u HAVE to do better than that. because ur essentially tokenizing the character as ur Jewish Representation and it shows.
again, im not saying ‘dont write that hanukkah scene’, or ‘dont try writing jews at all’.
what i AM saying is that u need to actually do ur part in understanding judaism a little bit more before u decide to write a jewish character. if ur not willing to do the research or ask the questions, dont bother writing us into ur stories.
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