#there is zero info on where to find the writer the fic is like 8 years old

[firbolgfriend]

Im just yapping but there is this fic on fimficton called Discord of Tomorrow that’s about s2 evil discord traveling forward in time right before he can be turned to stone to switch places with the version of himself (reformed discord) that exists when the elements of harmony are gone, so reformed discord gets stuck in the past and has had to snap away and hide the elements of harmony from the mane 6 so he can focus on trying to get back to the future without getting turned to stone, all while dealing with the moral dilemma of him realizing how easy it was to take the elements and how easy it would be to seriously just take Equestria over again vs being worried about what evil discord is currently doing to his friends in present time. It’s only like three chapters but I think the plot is so funny and the author didn’t even get to the part where evil discord is in the future and the mane 6 is trying to figure out wtf his problem is, thinking he has amnesia or something. I want to make a comic expanding on it so bad I’m like seriously obsessed with it I can’t stop thinking about it

#jabber #there is zero info on where to find the writer the fic is like 8 years old #I wish I could find the author so bad #drawing mlp Is like so easy that I’m getting comic hungry #the idea of past discord being like god past me was so stupid I could have permanently his the elements and #skipped that whole song and dance with the riddle and the labyrinth #. he like hides out in fluttershys cottage while the mane 6 are at twilights freaking out about how evil discord #got away and reformed discord snapping the elements off their necks #and he is messing around and wearing the elements around his torso going on about how easy it is to take them #I want to draw that specifically #then later flutter shy shows up at her cottage and is freaked to find him there but tries to fake nice with him to get him to stay so #the mane 6 have time to arrive but discord has to come to his senses and realize she’s not being sincere and feels bad so he leaves #ughhh #and then the fic was never updated again #I’m so close to taking the torch I can’t stop thinking about this #discord of tomorrow

[jilytoberfest]

Author - @blitheringmcgonagall

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this, Mia! You can find her on ao3!

1. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

God I really have no clue! I really enjoy writing silly sass/ banter between couples in love. Not that that is very extraordinary, lol, but it’s one of the things I do? For example this is in my latest chapter of A Little Risk

Sirius: “Please consider it, we could move abroad, go anywhere we like.”

Remus: “Oh yes? And do what?”

Sirius: “Make love, grow vegetables, plant flowers, ride horses?”

Remus: “Do you even know what an un-chopped vegetable looks like?”

I also like writing fluff and angst juxtapositioned in the same chapter, I think it makes the reading more poignant somehow, because life is often a bit like that, bittersweet?

2. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your stories?

That I really love cliffhangers, that I love making people laugh and cry and that I keep borrowing from real life examples for my dialogues etc. The most surprising I suppose was that when I was writing my canon marauders fic We Can Be Heroes, I decided to model Pettigrew’s character traits on a guy we were friends with in college who we thought was a really nice, a very funny mimic and good friend but ended up being a homophobic plonker who we are no longer friends with. After I had written it, I found out some really dark info about this guy that made me think did I subconsciously realise he was even worse than I thought or… anyway, it was actually creepy.

3. Do you have any suggestions to help others become a better writer? If so, what are they?

Just practice writing and it definitely gets easier? It is without doubt the best way to improve and feel more confident (I am not saying I am brilliant, I am just better than I was, lolol!!). Also getting someone to beta your fics is really helpful because sometimes they will give you better ideas or suggest changes? And don’t be too hard on yourself, writing is supposed to be fun, so trying to be perfect is too stressful and unhelpful, I think.

4. What do you think makes a good story?

A story where you care about the characters, and that makes you feel things, and transports you to another place.

5. What is the first book that made you cry?

Probably a fairy tale, I was a softie!

6. Does writing energize or exhaust you?

It energises me but I need time to do it because when I write I often have to re-read the chapter I am writing in order to get back into the feel of the story so I have to set aside a few hours ideally, to get a chunk done?

7. Have you ever gotten reader’s block? If so, what are your tips to overcome it?

Yes I have and my favourite tip is: write the scene you want to write even if it isn’t in sequence or even in the chapter you are trying to write, very often ideas will come to you about other parts of the story/chapter and leave the ones you have zero ideas for till last.

8. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?

Very good question! I think yes, because it depends what type of story you are trying to tell? Some stories are not very emotive. On the whole though, I find it really helps to have strong emotions for your characters, both the heroes and villains! In the same way that actors often experience strong emotions and think it helps them act?

9. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

As I have only been writing for about 3 years, I think I would say - This is a great coping strategy for dealing with shit! Stick to it and you will not only find this useful but make lovely friends along the way ;)))

10. What was your hardest scene to write?

Writing canon 1981, especially the scene in It's Not the Cold that Seeps into his Bones where Sirius finds the Potters after Voldemort kills James and Lily… broke me!

11. What is your favorite childhood book?

The Lord of The Rings, although I was nearly 18 by the time I read it? When I was growing up I read so many books I drove my parents bonkers.

12. How long on average does it take you to write a one shot or a chapter of a fic?

One shots can be 1-3 hours; a chapter of a fic is much longer because I am a disaster and tend to write 6-9K chapters!! That can take me a month to write because I am very busy at work and home so little time to write!

13. A fic that inspires you?

Ooooh that is a hard one! I think Alright, Evans was the canon Jily fic that inspired me to write We Can Be Heroes because I was so devastated that it was never finished?

14. How do you edit your work?

Mostly by myself (ie post it then re-read it and find lots of mistakes?? But for my current WIP, A Little Risk @purplechimera8 has been an incredible beta and I am very grateful to him xxx

15. Where does inspiration come from?

It depends - for my medical marauders au there was quite a lot of irl self-inserts, for A Little Risk I just really wanted to write a kind of fascist punching 1930s fic with a Downton Abbey vibe, but make it murder?? For the Jily and Wolfstar fics the inspiration is mostly “canon is dead, they all lived”

16. Who has been helpful for you as you write for the fandom?

SO MANY PEOPLE!!! I can start with @joyseuphoria , for being a complete dote? But really a lot of very kind generous people from @elanev91 @alrightginger @petalstofish and @araniaexumae @nobotherstoday @therealrjlupin @jencala @of-stars-and-moon @stonecoldhedwig @purplechimera8 @thefeartakeshold @nisargasinha to name a few when I started off to more recently the wonderful @mollymarymarie @rory-byanyothername @unfortunatelyimaginary @jamesandthedog @moonpuup @the-gray-lady @raissassampaio @startanewdream @aeridi0nis @justfinishthis @corinnesamuels @midnightelite @constancezin @cwoissants and all the kindest pals on the Jily and Wolfstar discords, and the under 18s Jily discord too? I am sorry I have left out a lot of really sweet people :(((

17. What is your fav POV to write from?

So hard to know!! I actually can’t choose between Lily, James, Sirius and Remus. Teenage James’ POV is the one that makes me smile the most because he is such an oblivious, pining, lovable idiot??

18. What is a fic you would love to write but are worried you won’t be able to accomplish it/nervous it wouldn’t work out?

I have no idea, I have no fear (lmao!!) - time wise, I would love to do a North of Ireland fic with Protestant!James and Catholic!Lily but I am so busy atm I’m not sure I can write another long WIP when I finish this one?

19. Do you ever self insert in fics?

ALL the time. This conversation in A Little Risk is verbatim from convo between Mr Blithering and me:

Sirius Black pulled back momentarily, a look of desperation flitting across his features for a split second.

“Forget about the investigation. Resign.”

“I see, and do what then? Look decorative?”

“You do look excessively ornamental, I will admit.”

20. What is the story you are proudest of?

My canon marauders with a better ending fic We Can Be Heroes I love how it turned out and I love my ending loads!

21. Do you prefer writing canon jily or muggle au?

Both?? I mean canon jily has a special place in my heart because of WCBH, but I love the worlds in muggle AUs, and the medical marauders fic was such a blast to write, being able to put in stuff I care about like mental health etc?

Thank you for these lovely questions xoxoxo

Thank you for doing this!

[cytarabi]

Hey! I've become a huge fan of your fics on ao3. I wanted to know how do you push out so many beautiful chapters so quickly? What's your writing process like? I'm working on a big JB fic, which I'm trying to finish timely, but high quality. Always like to see how other writers do their thang! Thank you!

Hi! I remember your name!! <3 Thank YOU for the question and praise, that’s so sweet!!

I love seeing how other writers do their thang, too! And I’ve found it can be very, very different for each author.

TLDR I write a lot of my fic ahead of time. I outline the entire fic, chapter by chapter before I start writing. I use several tools to speed the process and/or to make it more artsy fartsy.

I’ve found that I’m a “plotter” and not a “pantser” (two main ways of writing, unless you hate being labeled lol.)

Plotter means that I prefer plotting out most of the story before I write the details. Here’s been my process for my multichapter fics:

1) I come up with an idea and let it brew! I think about key scenes or dialogue I love and I jot them down in my phone on Google notes. Write down your ideas, you’ll probably forget them.

2) During this brewing time, (for As Black As Thunder and my next fic) I take the time to read, read, read. I read works and jot more notes! I have an entire Google doc for Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier where I wrote down her tone usage, figurative language and summary of each chapter. I can’t tell you how much this has helped get me in the write TONE for the work. Tone is SO important. Readers reading a thriller will expect thriller beats! Deep Fried Drinks was a rom com, so the verbs, adjectives etc are very different from creepy Gothic. When I started As Black As Thunder (ABAT), wow, it was hard to nail the tone at first. But by the second half of the fic, I’m fully immersed in it and it’s much easier to create the tone naturally. Without using inspiration, I don’t think it would have turned out as well. For ABAT, I think I took two weeks of no writing, when I’m used to writing every day. It was hard not to write, but wow, was I ready when I started!

3) When I’m ready to outline, I do! I open a google doc for the fic and start throwing everything I can think of in there. My ABAT doc was only like three lines for 6 months... lol! I’ve only just started looking into story structure, so my older fics are all wonky. BUT for ABAT and Deep Fried Drinks, I tried to follow story structure for plots. First act, second act, third act, character arcs, etc. My longest fic, Time Stops, dropped a bunch of readers in the middle and I think it’s because my middle SAGGED majorly. I didn’t try to follow a structure, just sort of plotted it out how I wanted to, and it was probably very repetitive and boring. For ABAT, I plotted a mid point turn to spice things up, chose things to make the character more proactive, etc. I highly recommend Ellen Brock on Youtube for any plotting advice. She’s an editor, and I’ve learned so much!

4) Organize plot into chapters, write key notes for chapters and fill out background info. The first two are self explanatory, but the third is my favorite! One thing that speeds my writing (I have no idea if people do this or not) but I have lists. So many lists! For ABAT, I have lists of common outfits for characters (I usually hate writing about outfits but I’m glad I wrote more for this work). I also write the character arc for each main character. For ABAT, I have the following for Brienne:

Brienne 

Symbols: white crocus flower (purity, youthfulness, sensitive to rain), White begonia, Small birch saplings struggling for light

Goal: serve public, be idealistic, honorable

Lie: (hidden for spoilers)

Truth: (hidden for spoilers)

Flaw: stubborn, idealistic, watched her father get fame and respect for his engineering, wants to do the same thing and do it perfectly, doesn’t understand systemic racism 

Motivation: serve people, be accepted by the public, belonging, abandonment

Stakes: public rejection, Tarth name on the line, mockery, insanity, failure

So when I think about a curve ball for Brienne at any point of the story, this character section helps me stay true to character. I have a section for Brienne, Jaime, Cersei and Missandei. Cersei has a larger section because she’s a villain... ;)

In addition to this section, I also write down their personalities and strengths. You know, like if they went to an interview lol. For example, I have Missandei have the following strengths: 

Missandei

Adaptability: able to adapt

Intellection: introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions

Consistency: all people should be treated the same

Futuristic: fascinated by future

Learner: loves to learn

I ALSO have an emotion worksheet and this is SO USEFUL. They say in writing: show that the character is angry, not tell the reader. WELL, IDK about you but I can’t keep track of all the little quirks characters do and yet, I want them to be consistent. If while writing a scene, I sometimes think, “Hmm what is Jaime doing if he’s in awe right now?” I search for “awe” at the top of my fic, and bam, I have options, more or less. For a lot of emotions, I brainstormed ideas based on character traits, arcs, Gothic tone etc. I fill all of this out before I write the first chapter. 

Here’s an example of some emotions I have for ABAT:

Emotion List (remember to have introspection, unique perspective) 

Awe:

B: wrinkle deepened between brows, parted lips, fixed gaze, stands still

J: arched brow, open mouth, stare, goes closer

C: lowering chin or raising chin, goes closer

M: adaptable, quick to react

Deceptive:

B: looking away, walking away

J: scratching ear

C: smiling, neatly placed hands

M: long blink

Thoughtfulness:

B: staring off, quiet, daydreaming

J: staring at object important to him, twisting pencil or object in his hand, squeezing his hand

C: squeezing hand, staring at object she wants to get rid of or improve

M: daydreaming, staring off at her own outfit—it’s foreign

5) Now the fun part: writing! I used to write with scene structure outline, but I think I’ve grown off the training wheels. But it really helped me in Deep Fried Drinks to plot out the chapter scenes ahead of time, and I used Ellen Brock’s proactive and reactive videos to help me out with that. I throw on some music to get me in the mood of the story and I write during my kid’s nap, about two hours every day. Sometimes I’ll write at night, but lately I’ve been too tired to do that. My tip for this part is to try and figure out what you want to improve. What are you good at, and what could you improve as a writer? My first fics had like zero figurative language. Awkward. This takes a level of awareness that’s hard to reach but watching or researching creative writing technique really helps me. For example, I used to NEED to write all five senses out for each chapter ahead of time. Now it comes naturally to me! I would say now my main issue is phrasing? Pacing? And I need to tone down the melodrama for my next work....... lol! I write, write, write--and usually, I write 60-90% of the fic before I start editing!

6) Editing. Fun fun fun. I don’t mind editing, I just don’t think I’m that GOOD at it. I try to read through my chapter twice and edit as I go. I look for things I want to take out or add, look for show vs tell, formatting, etc--do things make sense? Did I miss anything? In ABAT, I’ll write something in chap 20 that I need to start in chap 18, so I’ll go back and make a quick note to “add part about document somewhere in this chapter” so I don’t confuse readers. When I edit chap 18, I’ll add that line or paragraph in. It’s all an intricate web! I also have a list of vague words I try to eliminate or replace with stronger words (I have more words if you want them). I found that I have certain words or phrases that echo a lot, like “while”, “turned around”, “turned” or “did not”--now I search for these phrases/words and try to change them:

Get rid of vague words, fix by explaining more:

Some 

While

Thing

Stuff

Very

Really

Big/small

Good/bad

Simple verbs: had, was, went

Got/get

Few

Several

What

Do/Did

It

Like with all writing “rules”, they can be broken, but it helps to know why they are rules. I steered away from adverbs, and I think it improves my writing. Other writers have different prose and adverbs work so well--it all depends on your style! If I find these vague words in dialogue, for example, I almost never change them because dialogue is usually freaking vague lol!

7) Beta reader(s)! I honestly think this work is better than my other stuff because I have a newer beta reader, theunpaidcritic!!! *I bow* She’s literally an expert so it’s SO helpful for me in every way--I can’t fangirl about her enough. If you’re struggling to get a beta reader, I recommend joining a JB discord (transformative werk is my favorite discord, and there is a beta read request thread) or post a request on reddit!

8) Post! Once you’ve edited and gone over beta reader notes, it’s time to post! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

For time reference, I started this process around mid-May for ABAT, and I will be done by early September. Maybe I’m just a fast writer? Compared to angel-deux, ha, I look slow. Everyone is different! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I am ALL about helping out! :) <3 <3 <3

#cytarabi answers #jaime x brienne #writing #braime