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nerevarswritingstuff · 1 year

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First of all, hi, how are you? Second; I've been wanting to start writing fanfics or something like that, and the way you write is quite beautiful as well as your stories. Could you give me some advice and how is your process for writing and planning fanfics?

Hello there! I'm doing well and hope you are too <3

Thank you so much ;;v;; I'm glad you enjoy my writing!

HMMMM //strokes chin I have a few methods I usually use when it comes to planning fanfics or even stories in general... let me see if I can get a little list together

JUST A NOTE! This is how I usually do it, and while it's worked out for me, it might not work out for you or anyone else. It's all about finding what works best for you!

MUCH IS WRITTEN UNDER THE CUT (I got carried away........) SO BE READY

Planning

Now, when it comes to planning, what I usually do is figure out the end first. I don't really know how to explain it, but once I know how I want a story to end, I can figure out how the beginning and middle work out much easier.

This certainly doesn't work for everyone, because sometimes it's the ending that's the hardest to figure out, and other times it's the beginning or even the middle. That's just my personal thing.

A piece of advice I can give, if planning the ending doesn't work out, is to figure out what significant point you want to reach in the story. It can be 3 chapters in or 30 chapters in. What is the arc you want to reach and how do you plan to reach it?

After planning the ending, I go almost immediately into the characters. The most important thing I personally believe when making characters is a mixture of the personality and background. Background always comes first, because that's what helps make the personality--as our personalities are highly influenced by the life we've led.

A thing I've learned to use is the MBTI scale to help get a feel for how a character would act in certain situations and how their head works in general everyday life. (Again, this is a method that won't always work for everyone, it just works easiest for me!)

We'll use our characters from the TIaF fic, specifically Wukong, Macaque, Mei, MK and Nibby aka Reader as the examples!

Wukong: While most of his story hasn't changed too much, his personality has changed a lot. He's a monkey who almost always put his people and his friends before himself. He still holds himself in high regard, of course! He is the Handsome Monkey King, after all! However, he is also fiercely loyal to those he is close to, and he had to learn the hard way to not make it so obvious he cares. On top of this, he has also been (mostly wrongfully) blamed for most of the things that went wrong after the rebellion against the Heavenly Realm, to the point he actively believes that whatever bad thing that happened is his fault. And finally, he never makes it obvious what his true feelings are, especially the negative ones. In his experience, only a select few could handle his negative emotions, and they're long gone. Now, he has no one, and anyone he tried to talk to about it would shy away or be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of emotions he has that aren't just the usual "positive, impulsive Monkey King." Wukong's MBTI used to be ENTP, but now he leans more towards ENFP. He's very conscious of the emotions of others, but not his own. He's grown so used to not speaking about his emotions that he has difficulty acknowledging them. This makes Wukong a very complex and extremely complicated character who has more layers than an onion. Kind, caring, observant, impulsive. These are the words that best describe him.

Macaque: Macaque was a tough one to figure out, mainly because writing characters like him were something I always had some difficulty with. While Wukong believes everything is his own fault, Macaque believes that he is a villain, while Wukong and everyone else is a hero. Macaque's purpose is to hurt and kill, not heal and save. His black and white mentality was what made him think he'll never be anything more than a monster. He's also someone who's just as impulsive and controlled by his emotions. Sure, he was the thinker between Wukong and himself, but he's not completely detached to his emotions. When he gets desperate, he can't think properly, making him rush into doing things or making decisions. And much like Wukong, Macaque used to be open with his emotions (not as open as Wukong, mind), but time and trauma caused him to internalize a lot. His support group was practically nonexistent after The Disaster™ happened. It didn't help that during this time he was stewing in his thoughts, unable to properly get them out. He's certainly a complicated guy to figure out. He cares, but he doesn't like showing he does. He only gives a piece of help but never too much unless it's either worth his while or he's convinced to do so, because he believes "heroes" are the only ones who do that. And he's not a hero. If I were to lump him into the MBTI, he would be... either INFJ or INFP.

MK: MK was the biggest change from his canon personality. He is your precious little ENFJ who wants to help everyone and anyone, no matter who or what they are. He's so overly conscious of everyone's feelings, but he doesn't fully know the steps to take. He's also an overachiever, afraid to disappoint his fiends, his family. He wants so much for so little in return, selfless to a fault if it means that no one has to fight anymore. Granted, he will fight if he has to. He still wants to be a hero, after all! Just like Monkey King! But his view of Wukong's life was very much through rose tinted glasses and the only way for him to truly understand what kind of life he's going to lead would have to be learned through the hard way. Even if he's smarter than he lets others think, and is wise for his young age, he is still just a boy who's only 18 years old. So his views of the world will seem much more innocent and naive than that of Wukong, Macaque, or Reader's for example.

Mei: Mei was also someone who had a big re-write for her stuff. Mei is your undeveloped ENFP who can be conscious of other people's feelings, but it's unintentionally self-centered where she worries about the perspective of others towards herself. It's not in a negative sense, mind, but it is why she often misunderstands things. With this, she's also lived a life very different from the rest of the cast. She's a caged bird who was never able to see past the walls made for her, and never bothered to look past them either until most recently. She's rebellious and loud, but also quick to shrink at any sign of negativity towards her. She's confident but also unsure. She wants to be there for her friends, but doesn't know how. Mei holds the same innocence as MK does when it comes to the world, but it's in a more sense of "bad guys need to get beaten up, and we (the heroes!) are meant to beat them up!" Rather than trying to find an alternative route. She is very much a "shoot first ask questions later" type of gal, not often thinking deeper than surface level, and needs to work on that.

Reader "Nibby": Now, with the reader insert, I always make a small list of things for them starting out, and go from there. With Nibby, for example, the first thing I wanted to put down was "what happened to them before they arrived in China?" The trauma they experienced in America before moving in with their uncle has left them reflexively putting people at arm's length. It's also left them paranoid of their own powers acting up at the worst times. They're essentially a feral cat who was shown so much abuse they almost forgot what kindness looks like. They're just as conscious of other people's feelings, but scarcely their own. They learned to be an observer of others to make sure they can find danger and plan appropriately. They learned to not trust certain people with their feelings because they can't handle the baggage they carry--aside from their own uncle. Hence why they're hesitant to talk about themselves, or let the spotlight be on them. Despite this, they do have a gentle side they show to the younger cast (ofc being Mei and MK), even if it's a bit rough at times. They're fiercely loyal and are quite literally a ride or die kind of friend. When you achieve friendship with them, it'll be hard to get rid of them. I would say they are an INTJ but their EF (extroverted feeling) is pretty strong, allowing them to better get a read on people's feelings.

With that, we can go into the next section! Which iiiiis planning the Reader's placement in the story!

Starting off, one thing I learned through both writing fanfiction and being a DM for D&D, is how to make the Reader feel like they're part of the world and not just some random nobody who gets dropped into a world and is just reacting to everything instead of actively making a difference.

When I'm writing a fanfiction, I have a list of questions I usually ask myself:

How do I want to incorporate Reader into the world?

How can I make Reader feel like they're part of the world?

What significant changes to canon would they make so it doesn't fell like they're "just there" while the canon scenario happens?

How would Reader act during certain events?

How would Reader treat certain characters and vice versa? What is their relationship starting out and would it grow from there?

It's definitely very apparent in TIaF that Nibby (our Reader-Insert) makes active changes to canon. The prime example being when Wukong makes his first appearance, as well as Macaque's own entrance! The order of the things that happened are different, and some are nixed while others are completely re-written.

This all comes back to the personality given to our Reader-Insert. Nibby, especially when they've committed to something, is not someone to just sit back and watch the fireworks go off. They're either the one helping light the firework, or moving them to a safer location to avoid forest fires.

One thing I've noticed in a lot of fanfictions (not just in LMK, but in plenty of other fandoms) is that people have a tendency to just copy+paste canon with the Reader slapped in there as another person reacting to it all. It just feels like we're watching the show all over again, but with an added side-character that has little to no voice to make a change.

It's my own personal opinion, but if you're going to put in a Reader-Insert, it's important to think about what significant changes will be made with said insert being brought into the picture so it doesn't feel like you're just sitting on a Disney ride watching the same characters act the same way over and over again.

Once this is all established, we can finally go into the next step: Planning chapters!

This will be a short section, because I will tell you right now.... I almost never stick to what I write down when planning chapters. However, I'll still provide an example screenshot for what I've written for the first bit!

One thing that's helped me get a nice feel for the flow of the chapters is something I actually learned from my wonderful sibling Cuddlefishie, and that's writing the planning layout like this:

Arc - Whatever significant event that happens - Plot 1: Establishing the setting for event about to happen significant to the arc - Plot 2: The buildup to the event - Plot 3: Event happening, aftermath of event and downtime - Plot 4: Buildup to the next arc

It doesn't have to be in that order, each plot section can just be something significant happening within the arc before we move onto the next plot section.

Example (Note please don't try to read the text I had to make it smaller to fit everything into the screenshot and also blacked out the last bit bc SPOILERS):

If you're caught up with my fic, you can already see that I have not fully followed my own planning for this aside from like chapters 1-10 X"D

I don't know how to explain it and it's not meant to toot my own horn, but I very easily remember what I want to put within each chapter without having to write it down. That does not mean this works for everyone, I highly encourage writing it down so it's easier for you to remember what you want to put into the fic.

But also don't feel bad if you can't fit everything you wanna fit! The chapter "Broken Pieces" is one I wasn't even able to put in at the time I wanted, but that doesn't mean it's not going to happen! It'll just be at a later date.

The final point I put into this very long section is this: Get a beta-reader/someone you trust who can help you write the fic.

Yeah, yeah, the whole "no beta we die like X" is funny and all. But it's so helpful to have someone to bounce your ideas with and to help you plan. I am blessed with my wonderful sibling Cuddles to help me with plot points, and even writing specific character thoughts because they are able to think of stuff that didn't even cross my mind.

It's because of the second opinion that I'm able to get my writing smoothed out to make it look so pristine and flowy and real. Cuddles bounces ideas with me and I bounce ideas with them, and we agree certain plot points aren't needed while others can wait, and some can be revealed within the next chapter.

It also helps to have someone who can look at your stuff who has an understanding of how specific things work, how certain characters work (Cuddles has helped me so hard with how Macaque and Uncle Zan's head works you have no idea), and a better description/rewording for specific scenes. It's literally because of Cuddles that I was able to see how often I write certain phrases X"D

So GET YOURSELF A BETA-READER!!!

And make sure they're not afraid to tell you what feels off and what looks good. Finding a good beta-reader/idea bouncer is important, as you need to make sure you can trust them with providing constructive criticism and offering suggestions for ideas or even offering ideas of their own. They're helping you make your fic a reality, after all!

Now comes the moment we've all been waiting for...

Writing the Fanfic

One important thing I urge to do is to try not to fit so many plot points into one chapter. It can cause information overload and confuse your readers and leave them scrambling to hold all the information given to them--especially if you're gonna end up writing like 10k words or more per chapter!

Don't be afraid to cut the chapter early if you need to. There is no shame in moving what you originally wanted in chapter 5 to be in chapter 6 or even chapter 10 instead because it would make it flow better.

For example: As you can see in the example screenshot, I originally planned the Oracle Cards to awaken for Nibby much earlier. But after reviewing it, Cuddles and I agreed it didn't make too much sense for them to awaken for Nibby right now, and would be better if it was done later at a more significant point.

Hell, there was a whole ass conversation I originally wanted to put into chapter 12 or 13 that I chose to save for later because it didn't make sense to put in there at the moment!

Now for the next point, this is more of a personal gripe I've always had in literally any fanfic I have ever read no matter the fandom, and it's changing the point of views.

Point of views are important to establish when in writing. Who's eyes are we looking through in this scene or this chapter or this entire fic? When we're in that person's point of view, we know what they're thinking, how they're feeling, everything.

My advise to you is this: Do not abuse the point of views.

Constantly changing it every paragraph can and will get disorienting for readers and in all honesty, it just does not flow well at all. This is a common thing I've seen in a lot of fics in my time: the POV constantly being changed so we know what everyone is thinking at the exact moment. My opinion?

Don't do it.

Stick to one POV for a little while, guys. Just do it. It's okay if we don't know what the coffee maker is thinking at the exact moment, they probably are just thinking about how much they wanna go take a nap and feed their pet bird or something.

I say again: Pick a POV and stick with it for a little while. Don't change it every paragraph or every other paragraph. If you want to change it, at least make it clear that a POV change is happening.

For example: I use these "————" to indicate a change in POV is happening in the middle of a chapter. If it's at the start of a chapter, I make sure people know almost instantly who's POV we're entering and sticking with for a little while.

It is okay if the readers don't immediately know what the other characters are thinking. The mystery of what's going through someone's head is half the fun!

Nibby in TIaF is good at reading others, but not great at it. They can't instantly surmise what someone is thinking or feeling just from a glance. They're not a mind reader. The same goes for everyone else in the fic. Literally the only one who knows how people work is Zan and that's because he's a damn therapist, and even then he never jumps to conclusions until he has concrete evidence to back his theories.

Keep the mystery, kids. It's half the fun of watching your readers wonder what other characters are thinking.

Now I'm not saying changing POV is bad. It's perfectly fine! However, much like chocolate, too much of it isn't good. It gets disorienting, confusing, and (in my opinion) frustrating because we can't stick with just one person for a couple of paragraphs.

It also becomes harder to relate to the character, to feel for that character, or even just further hate the character when the POV is constantly getting changed left and right. Don't be afraid to stick with one person for a while, but don't be afraid to change it up if you want to!

It's a tough thing to balance. Trust me, it took me years to get to where I am as a writer and I still have a lot to learn. It'll get frustrating, but you just gotta have patience and the willing to want to learn and change to grow as a writer!

That's about all I can think of right now... SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG-WINDED GOSH IOVJEOIRVJER

If you end up having more questions or would like me to specify on anything, feel free to let me know! And I hope these points were helpful to you!! <3 <3 <3

#not writing #asks #I DIDN'T MEAN TO GO OFF SO HARD #I JUST.....#REALLY LIKE TALKING ABOUT WRITING.............

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