#i think I’m going to focus on this 80k of wips right now—just get them posted by the end of the summer | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

time-to-write-and-suffer · 3 years

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Hi Eff! I've been following your blog for a while and I love hearing about your writing process and your characters; they all seem great. I am really curious as to your process on outlining your wips and how you turn your ideas into a plot, because I love writing, but I get so many ideas that I want to write about that I end up losing focus of the actual point of the story if that makes sense. Keep up the great work! You're doing great and I can't wait to see more of your wips! <33

Oh man, I relate do this so hard!

Most of my ideas die on the initial brainstorming stage, it's very rare that one gets through to outlining or writing, and I finish things only once in a blue moon, so I can't say I'm the right person to give advice on this, lol, though I'm flattered you still asked me.

To me it sounds like you're having issues with losing focus when you're already in the middle of writing something? So that's what I'll try to respond to, sorry if you meant something else!

I used to have a lot of problems finishing WIPs because I'd start hot and strong and then it fizzled out when I'd realize that I'm just writing shit without knowing where it's going. I wrote like 80k of the first draft of Princess Machine (it was so cursed), and I still thought I'd only written maybe half of it at that point? This basically taught me that I'm not a pantser and work better as a planner/plotter, at least in some aspects. I think figuring out where you exist on the pantser/planner spectrum could help a lot, because what gets me writing is usually knowing a beginning and an end, and pantsing only results in sadness and lots of first chapters being abandoned forever, so maybe you're similar?

Once you have a beginning and an end, outlining becomes a process of filling that time between those two points. Your genre can help decide how it gets filled and what sort of scenes and catalysts you have.

For me, I ask myself things like "what am I trying to say?" or "what would I want to read?" If I have a specific genre I'm working on, like romance, then it's easier to know where I'm going. I write out the most basic plot structure and then slap on the details, the fun concepts, the neat worldbuilding ideas in a later draft. For a planner, that's basically like building a skeleton, a frame for your house, and then putting the rest of it that frame. When I'm only starting out a WIP, I try to keep the plan as simple and mechanical as I can, literally just concerned with the plot progression and movement. Character arcs and symbolism and themes will come after, or maybe while you're writing, and will usually only solidify in your second draft at the earliest, so there's no point in wasting time on them now, you'll just get overwhelmed and distracted by details. Keep them in mind or write them down if you come up with something you think is neat, but don't try to get everything right or put every concept in from the start, because you'll just end up losing focus on getting to the end. (I sometimes do a thing where, if I come up with something good while writing but it requires rewrites, I just pretend that I've already done the rewrites from that point on and include the new concept as if it was always there. That's more of a pantser thing, but everyone has their own approach to their writing method, so this is me saying you don't need to adhere strictly to either one and it's ok to do things sloppily, since you can fix stuff later on once you have something to fix.)

So basically if you have an idea or a protag and you have some inciting incident that you're eager to start writing, you could try taking a step back and thinking "but where does this go? how do I want to end this?" and once you have an answer, you can slap that ending down and start trying to connect the two together into what some might call a plot, without the distractions of nebulous shiny things.

It will inevitably change and morph and become different and that's fine, nothing is set in stone with art, but having an end goal in mind might help you keep your focus and also help you figure out how you want to get there. It's like, uh, being adrift at sea and you're paddling in a random direction hoping for solid ground versus paddling toward a distant island. Like you're still struggling, but in one of them you're at least sure you'll get to shore. Ya know?

Hope any of this made sense and helps you figure it out! Good luck and thank you for the nice ask! <3

#writing advice #i guess?#i'm not good at this stuff #long post

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fleetofshippyships-archive · 5 years

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Fanfic Author Meme

Tagged by @diligent-thunder and @rockmarina =)

Okay, so I’m me, and I talked way too much, so I’m putting this under a cut to save your dashes. You’re welcome 😘

Please do not reblog this post.

Author Name:

Fleetofshippyships + Knowyourincantations + Legendaryroar

Fandoms You Write For:

(in order of decreasing # of fics) Harry Potter, Voltron, Merlin, Yuri on Ice, Star Trek, Star Wars and then a few one-offs that aren’t really worth mentioning.

Where You Post:

AO3 primarily, Tumblr, trying to post more on Pillowfort, I also post on a couple of sites for knowyourincantations

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story:

RestraintNone of my old multi-chapter fics are available to read at this time and I don’t really write multi-chapter fics anymore.

If oneshot/drabble collections or two-shots count, then:

Fleetofshippyships: Vanilla and Sweet Spices (Drarry, Explicit, 2 chapters, 20k)

and this really doesn’t count, but technically it has multiple ‘chapters’ soooooooooo

Legendaryroar: Kinktober 2018 (Multiple ships (Voltron), Explicit (duh), 31 ‘chapters’, 26k)

Favourite Story You Wrote:

I don’t think I ever have a static favourite, I’ve just written too many things, I too quickly move on to the next (and frequently forget some of my own fics exist XD), but recently I re-read In Pursuit of Red Wine (Dreville, Teen, 29k) and really enjoyed that again, and I am really attached to it cos it was my first longish rarepair fic, kind of proving to myself that I can write longer rarepair stuff.

I also recently re-read Unburdened (Merthur (BBC Merlin), Explicit, 2k) and really enjoyed that too, had a total disconnect from having written it since it’s been so long, so I was able to read it without self-judging, and oh boy that was nice.

I’m also quite proud of Healing What’s Left (Parkgrass, Teen, 2k) for some reason, I dunno, maybe the dark political backdrop of the fic, or maybe just cos it’s the first time I’ve written Daphne as the main character and I’m happy with the result and now have some headcanons about her rather than her being an unknown blank character to me.

I also binge read a lot of my Voltron stuff recently and had big feels over that so....I also specifically enjoyed re-reading The Perks of Skincare (Klance (Voltron), Explicit, 3k) again cos I dunno, I like how I wrote Lance XD and also the Sheith fic I linked earlier is a fav for sure. Shiro/Rest is the ultimate OTP.

It really depends how soon after I write something or when I go back to re-read it as to what my fav is at any given time (or people commenting on it and hyping me up for it again).

Story You Were Nervous to Post:

Everything. But most recently I was terrified out of my mind before posting:

Friday Night by the Fire (Harry/Neville, Teen, 583 words) because I have a lot of fears about screwing up trying to write ace characters and somehow not even making that a focal point of the drabble made it even more terrifying, No More Waiting (TianShan (19 Days), Teen, 2k) because it was a new fandom to write in, Harry Potter and the Maudlin Merman series (Drarry, Teen+ Mature, 3k +6k) due to my feelings of inadequacy because it would be better as long fic but I struggle too much with writing these days to write long fics and can only manage short things. I’d rather write this as a long fic, but then I’d never finish it so connected oneshots are the best I can do right now, but I still feel it’s not good enough and have a meltdown whenever I post one. And speaking of which, I’ve been sitting on the next one for months and should probably just fucking post it already.

Actually, most recently: Minding One’s Limits (Cho/Ginny, G rated, 1.5k), because I gave Cho a disability modeled off my fibromyalgia and wrote a scenario similar to something I’d dealt with myself, it was incredibly uncomfortable to write in the first place, and then terrifying to post, even though it’s so short. But in the end I’m proud I finally wrote about it a bit? I dunno, might take me a while to work up the nerve again though XD (also was my first time writing that ship, so there was a lot of nervousness over that too)

Oh, and I was a super ball of anxiety posting Kinktober 2018 (Multiple ships, Explicit, 31 ‘chapters’, 26k) because for almost all of those it was the first time I was writing those kinks (and some were kind of squicks for me but I wanted to see if I could write them anyway cos I’m dumb like that) and in a lot of cases those ships were completely new for me to write too, in addition to trying to write and post 1 a day, so...yeah. Also that was my first time writing tentacle and human/werewolf smut so...yeah. I was an absolute mess that month and not in a fun way. But I’m still really glad I did it, it was fun =D

In summary, I’m always an anxious mess posting anything, but most especially if it’s something I’ve not written before or is personal to me XD

How Do You Choose Your Titles:

Most of the time I’m staring down the empty title field in AO3 cursing like a fucking sailor when I choose titles XD Sometimes it’s a line/theme/feeling from the fic. Sometimes it’s totally random and just comes to me. Sometimes I just grasp the first thing that I can no matter how stupid it sounds cos it’s been three days and I still don’t have a title and I’m over it and ready to post before I lose my nerve.

And tbh, it’s only getting harder to think of titles as my number of fics increases, and I’ve now started thinking of the perfect titles only to realise I already have a published fic by that title so....TITLES CAN DIE A FIERY DEATH

Sometimes, not so much anymore, it would turn out that I would give a wip doc a name just so I’d know what it was, sometimes as a joke with whoever was reading it and cheerleading while I wrote it, and then I would refer to it by that and think of it as that so much that when it came time to actually give the fic a title, it was too late and I could not think past that stupid file name, and that’s how Potter’s Insatiable Cock happened, and how I very nearly called a Merthur fic Arthur’s Wanking Tower (saved that one at the last moment thank god cos the tone of that fic is actually really serious and emotional and wtf was I even thinking with that file name and actually I linked to that fic above XD it ended up being called Unburdened).

Potter’s Insatiable Cock slipped through cos it’s actually relevant to the fic content and I could live with it.

But needless to say, I don’t give my wip docs joke names anymore XD

Do You Outline:

Only if I never want to actually write the idea...once I outline, it’s over. I can’t write to a detailed plan. It stifles me. I’ll always get stuck having to try and think ahead to the plan, and then I lose the flow and nothing works because I’m a pantser/intuitive/instinctive writer not a planner. Sometimes I jot down ideas but in like, the vaguest of ways, usually more focused on emotional development than actual scenes or events or anything because then I won’t be able to write it (and I rarely stick to those vague ideas anyway).

I can really only write when I’m staring down a blank doc with no idea where it’s going and discover it as I go (which is why writing is so fun for me). I can only finish a fic if I don’t think too hard about what’s going to happen next and just let it happen as I write.

This of course means that editing is a fucking bitch when I finish anything, beginnings often get totally re-written, but if I plan, it just doesn't happen at all, so I’ll take the extra editing if it means I manage to write something.

I do have a lot of detailed plotty fic idea outlines...and I mourn them cos I’m never going to write them now, but they’re so goooooooooood XD

Complete:

Online (across all 3 accounts): 381 (incl. my hidden drarry fics as they are technically online just hidden, not incl. individual oneshots/drabbles in collection ‘fics’, of which there are ridiculously many). Offline: 20 (I have the worst habit of just sitting on completed fics and I really need to stop)

In-Progress:

Too many to name, last time I counted it was ~60 but that wasn’t even including my vld wips so...I don’t actually know. I hoard wips and just switch up what I work on all the time depending on mood/interest levels/effort required.

Current main focuses are a 50k+ plotty Drarry (*fingerscrossed* cos this is my first time seriously attempting something long (will probably reach 80k at least) in a very long time and I put it down for a few months and thought that was it but then I picked it up again recently, yay!), and re-writing some hidden fics I can’t put them back up in the quality they’re in, I just can’t guys, they’re awful.

I’ve been thinking a lot about working on the longish 8th year Pansmione fic I started for the wlw big bang before I had to pull out of cos stupid life stuff. I might pick that up again for a bit too, couldn’t be more different from the Drarry one so it’d make a nice focus break =)

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started:

I don’t even plan fics I’m writing, I sure don’t plan ahead to stuff I haven’t even started XD The only think I can think of for this category would be me re-writing my hidden long Drarry fics.

Oh, and there will be a Merthur oneshot coming (hopefully) soon, because @april-thelightfury115 won my custom fic giveaway with a merthur idea. Just waiting for my brain to cooperate so I can start that and not suck XD but I’m so fucking excited to write some Merthur again, you have no idea.

Oh, and lots more Sapphic September drabbles coming too, I’m way behind and only just posted day 11 cos this month is literal hell for me, but I am still planning on finishing the prompt list, no matter how long it takes, but no plan for those, not even which ships, I just sit down with the next prompt and a blank doc and see what happens.

Do You Accept Prompts:

Yes, I love writing to prompts, I’m take them via google form here, but I’m in such a bad space with my health I’ve been really struggling with writing lately, managed to do a bit of editing (fuck knows how), but writing new stuff is so hard, so there’s a long wait while I wait for my fibro fog to ease off to the point I can write new stuff with more regularity (and less stupid errors I have to edit out later).

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write:

Again, I so don’t plan. But I really want to be making more progress on the long plotty drarry wip I’m trying to write. I’m still not sure I’ll have the guts to post it even if I do finish it, given its subject matter (it would make a great careers or consent fest fic tbh), but damn I’m really excited by it. Not sure I can maintain it being plotty and not revert to focusing on the relationship (which is easier for me), but I can only try and see what happens. (trying to write a non-relationship plot without planning is a nightmare but I don’t have a choice if I want to write it at all XD)

I’m also now excited for my longish pansmione wip too actually, just because it’s already longer than my Dreville long-ish fic and it’s exciting and scary to do longer rarepair stuff. I’m way out of my comfort zone with the fic itself, but I dunno, I re-read some recently and fell in love with it all over again, like, flustered lesbian-awakening, disaster for Pansy (but sure she still hates her) Hermione? YES PLEASE! and also, I am guilty of not writing female characters as much as I should because, well, canonically, they don’t have much depth and I’m very meh about them, but in this there’s a huge focus on them because they’re all determined to band together for 8th year and Hermione is making friends with them (Parvati is like, dragging her along all the time XD) where she once dismissed them so it’s scary but exciting =D I’m getting more practice with all the sapphic I do over on knowyourincantations, so I feel more confident working on this wip now =D

I’m also kind of excited about re-writing my old long fics, because they’re all 3 years old now, and my writing tastes (and skill, yikes) have totally changed, so it’s like I’m writing the story again but how I would write it now while maintaining the overall same plot, so it’s really interesting, like discovering the story all over again. Like in one (Making Malfoy Blush) I’ve gone as far as introducing a new side character to replace another’s parts because I no longer feel those parts are in character for them. It’s super terrifying, but it’s fun at the same time =) it’ll take me forever to do these though, so I dunno about ‘upcoming’ really, I only chip away every now and then when I’m unable to write new stuff but am still coherent enough to do something.

Eh, it is what it is, I can’t write like I used to, hence me being inactive more than active these days, but I’m trying to work within my new limitations instead of getting frustrated with them and just giving up entirely =)

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Now, who to tag....I think anyone I would tag has already done it, and if not..I blame the fog if I’m forgetting someone obvious, if you wanna do it just say I tagged you so I can be nosy and take a look =)

Again, please do not reblog this post

#*#tag meme #tag game #about me #hope i don't regret linking to my other ao3 accounts #but i'm at the point if I get more bullshit like before i'll just abandon fandom entirely rather than shift to one of my other accounts #they served that purpose well when I needed it but the reasons for having to do it are not a problem anymore #so i'm tentatively linking to them for anyone who wants to read my other works #and hoping no one is mean about it #and please don't reblog this post in case I have to delete it to cut the link

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eveningspirit · 5 years

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Urgh...

And also Damn.

I think I have to make that summary post of last year and that post about my plans for this year, because... of reasons. I mean, I still can’t quite find the focus. And I thought that in the New Year it will be easier... But. I’m still all over the place, so some head cleaning can do the trick? Maybe?

Last year was a disaster. Well, maybe not all of it, but generally speaking. It was the weirdest year for me, in recent history, and especially the final month of it was completely outtawhack.

Let’s see. I quit my job. I started to do some freelancing, in hopes that it will pay my bills (well, half of them, or even less, because Hubbie is a patient saint or something), I’m still on anti-depressants (almost year and a half now) and I’m scared that at some point I’ll have to quit and maybe act like I’m normal? Functional? Humanbeing? What???

But I was supposed to do the writing summary of this year, not complain about my life, so...

Writing-wise I was working relentlessly on Crystal Spring Valley, with a couple of The Gifted fanfictions thrown in for good measure here and there. Wait, I’ll go and check AO3. Right. I started some at the beginning of the year (Jan-Feb like), added to them and finished some around the midyear (June-July) and then around October. I still have one WIP. Well. I want to write more, I really do, I just... It takes so much time and so many words you kno? Words are exhausting.

The original novel. Well, I was really, really working hard on it. Right here I have to remind myself that I went to see the most beautiful place in the world (not that I know anything about beautiful places, because I haven’t been around all that much), which is also (kind of) the setting for my story -- I’m talking about Soca Valley in Slovenia. And I met @hithelleth ! (what? I can tag you, I know you’ll read it anway. *HUUUUGS*). It was great. That trip and meeting Hith (wish we had more time, or that we didn’t take as long to get used to each other, lol) and seeing Soca were seriously the highlights of this year for me. So. You kno. It wasn’t all that bad, actually.

Anyway. Crystal Spring Valley. I wrote first draft last year during NaNo and made an attempt at an edit this year. I sincerely worked on it for most of the year, from early March till the end of October. I’m at 54k words. And at only about 1/3 of the plot (the whole thing was supposed to be about 80k, alas. me thinks I’m gonna have to cut like half of those words? or make it longer? wtf?).

I stopped, because I wanted to do NaNo with another story, but that one totally flopped. I think I shouldn’t have tried it, didn’t have feels for it. Should have continued with Crystal Spring Valley.

I stopped writing altogether about mid Novemer and haven’t written a word since. That qualifies as a disaster, no? I don’t know what to do next. But that will go into that other post...

As for the summary, that would be all. Thank you (all seven (two?) of you) for reading all this nonsense. :)

#year in review #inventory of stories #life of es #evening stories #es writes fic #crystal spring valley #ananke #the gifted fanfic #it got long...#guess i needed to have some word vomit or something?

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