#this also does not include the relentless spamming of friends and fellows with snippets and clips

[wingedcat13]

Hiya! I just utterly blew through all four chapters of your superhero story and was curious what you're writing process was like? How long does it take you to write the various chapters?

Ahaha, good question my pal.

So, I generally write ‘from the hip’ - or just going in general, start to finish. Any time I take a break, I reread from the beginning of the portion I’m working on - for example, when I take a break on Villains Never Retire, I don’t reread Call Me Menace, just what I’ve already written so far - and edit any typos or weird phrasing as I go.

However, Synovus has largely been a writing exercise rather than a ‘serious’ endeavor. I definitely put effort into it, and I do take it seriously, but I’m approaching it with a lot more of a devil-may-care attitude. I didn’t even know who Synovus’ parents were until I started writing VNR 4.

(Y’all did want backstory)

Usually, I write in snippets. Dialogue comes most naturally to me, so I start there. Sometimes I won’t even know who the lines belong to, sometimes they’re the cornerstone for the whole character. If I’m writing in a world that exists, like when I’m working on FanFiction, I’ll pause whenever I need to look something up and figure out if X is available or if Y happened when I thought it did, usually accompanied by IRL research to shore up if the universe itself doesn’t provide an answer. (Not super in depth research, normally I just trawl Wikipedia)

When I’m working on my own works for worldbuilding, I go uh. Hm. I built the world for Tower’s Fall from the literal ground up. I know what regions are likely to grow what crops, the way the tectonic plates are laid, why the land is shaped the way that it is. Most of that will never come up, and if it doesn’t matter to you, I’m not going to tell you that kind of depth is critical - it’s a personal approach, because if I know down to my (in this case literal) bedrock, I won’t contradict myself. Things feel like they’re built on a steadier surface.

Of course, again, I didn’t start there. I started with a protagonist and a time span that shifted to become two protagonists and a different time span, and one country became three, and now I’m trying to figure out exactly how many Lords there would be to control X amount of land.

And banter. I started with a lot of banter. Heavier moments too - I have scenes where one or the other has a breakdown, and I may not ever use them. I may rewrite them entirely, have it be witnessed by a different character instead of described from the inside, or change the pieces. But I know the general vibe I wanted from it, and that gives me a chance to build.

Edit: realized I didn’t answer part of the question. It uh… it takes the time that it takes, unfortunately. I did Call Me Menace in a straight five hour shot, VNR has taken me a week or so for each piece. I don’t hold myself to a timeline or a word count goal - I just write. Sometimes that means a few thousand words. Sometimes it just means one, and that’s the word ‘FUCK’ written and deleted when I can’t figure out where to go from where the story’s at.

TL;dr - writing is like pottery. You can’t get a sculpture until you have a block of what looks vaguely like shit. Slap it down, then start shaping.

(And yes, I do actually type a lot of my writing into my phone. It’s a modern day notebook for me - something about the small size makes it easier to focus, to narrow the thoughts down into words? Again, a personal preference.)

#I hope this is what you’re looking for! #this also does not include the relentless spamming of friends and fellows with snippets and clips #to ask ‘is this good or am I stupid’ #and sometimes the answer is ‘go to sleep’ #ask box #I am not a model