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#with my original works i write them to be published so idc that much about posting them. but this is like. fic.

a-froger-epic · 2 years

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imagine writing fanfiction about REAL people and shipping them with one another. I'm sorry but the fact that you are writing a fanfiction about Roger, A REAL PERSON dating his dead best friend is weird as fuck. Roger is still very much very hurt from Freddie's death and its been 30 years. It still affects him TO THIS DAY. And you are just making fanfiction about them? Idc that you think "they aren't gonna see it" because its still gross. Idc if you think its fictional portrayals of real people, because they still are REAL PEOPLE. If you want to write stories of two best friends falling in love; be my guest. Do it. But don't use real people for it? The fact that you are literally a grown adult and see nothing wrong with it is honestly concerning.

My friend, I invite you to think about the genre of historical fiction. Literature has featured real people ever since literature has existed, whether those people were already dead or still alive. The fact that I'm writing about fictionalised versions of real people is nothing new, shocking or out of the ordinary. In fact, some historical fiction and alternative history fiction I like inspired my most popular fanfic for this fandom.

Is the slash aspect weird?

Sure, to some. I can understand why, and the great thing is, no one is forced to read it. My stories have no real world impact for the people they are about, and are read by a negligible amount of people, in the grand scale of things. However, those people who do read them are impacted by them and sometimes the stories are very close to their hearts. Musician RPF specifically, even slash RPF, goes back as far as the 1970s when fanzines first started publishing Led Zeppelin RPF. Fans have always enjoyed spinning their own stories which feature their favourite people.

Why don't I write my own story about two best friends who fall in love? I'm happy to report that I am doing just that, based on the fanfic which found so much resonance, just like the Brontë siblings turned the RPF they wrote about real, famous military figures of their time into original works of fiction.

And lastly, as always on the internet, the old rule stands: don't like, don't read.

#ask response

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onewomancitadel · 2 years

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have you ever considered doing original fiction? or does fanfiction satisfy that particular creative urge for you?

Hi <3 <3 that's an interesting question because I have a lot of thoughts about fanfic vs. original work.

Yes I do work on original fiction, I have two ideas and I'm working on one of them more actively than the other. Mostly because I enjoy the research process quite a lot lol, and I want to take my time with it. I don't have any intentions of going the traditional route of publication or optioning my work anywhere etc., and I even chafe against the idea of self-publishing on Am*zon. If/when it's finished I would just release it for free. I'm more interested in realising an idea than attempting to make a career of being an author, that's not why I write. It's fine if other people want to do that, it just doesn't work with my personality. Or my mental health.

To me fanfic fulfills a different albeit similar creative urge. I can definitely say for certain that my prose style is, for instance, crafted with thematic ideas I want to realise with my fanfic in mind and its natural relationship to the source material as a derivative work. So whilst there's naturally 'me' in there, there's also that really interesting and fascinating relationship the work has with the source material already present (and my interpretations therein).

That's the fun part of writing fanfic (as you might be able to tell based on my responses and criticism of fic ideas people ask for feedback on). I am interested in that relationship and I want to get as much as I possibly can out of it and identify what the source material is doing and why.

So the fact that R/WBY crosses over with a lot of my love for fairytales and fairytale storytelling means that I can really lean into things I enjoy where it's appropriate, but I'm still naturally doing so in a way which I think or hope is also R/WBY appropriate. There's a fine but meaningful difference.

In my original work I would be interested in exploring Jungian and monomythic ideas, but I wouldn't be doing so in exactly the same way R/WBY does, or indeed other stories, lol.

Also, I think that genuinely and truly writing Jaune/Cinder fanfic to me scratches that itch of playing with my dollies. Like, it's an old and familiar urge, I want to see them kiss and be married. There's that nerdy side to it that with my original work I really don't feel, but with my original work there's less of that self-consciousness. I'm not worried about how I look with my dollies because it's really just my own thing.

Also also, because the original work idea I have is mostly situated in what I think to be the last frontier of monster romance, there's also an argumentative bent. Which is kind of like what drives my fanfic (that sort of borderline essayistic approach) but again there's not the same prescriptive reference of the source medium.

So yes, similar but different. I realise that I may come off pretentious saying Idc about the publishing industry or indeed foster resentment for some of it but I really want to keep money out of the equation and I know it's not a professional avenue which would be viable for me at all as a person and I hate Am*zon lol. So there are different focuses for everybody. For me I am just really interested in crafting and realising ideas and that's the fun part. How that looks is different for original work and fanfic and I like both.

Part of what I really love about fanfic is the democracy of ideas. There's the fact you're all in a shared fandom with a shared interest and the upfront cost to posting fanfic is literacy, a word processing document and an Internet connection. I think that's incredible personally. It's part of why I have zero interest in the commercial market. I like the idea of ideas and creativity being able to populate itself like that (for good or ill). Obviously the commercial market is supposed to be a catch for quality but this is not universally true lol. My favourite published romance book is self-published and something which would likely not have caught professional interest.

Thank you for your ask and hope you are having a great day. (:

#seraphina's asks #user: gulagorkestar #my silly little stories #<3 <3

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queenjanai · 4 years

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1 2 3 4 10

i’ve already answered 3 4, so i’m gonna answer the rest

1. What was your first fic and could you stand to reread it today?

my first fic i believe was an edgy sailor moon fic, written in a giant pink notebook i had when i was 12. the notebooks is thankfully gone. my first published fic was for a book series i read that turned really bad, i did read it a while ago just to see how bad it is and it is bad. it’s like under 100 words, super idk, cheesy you could call it. but i’m not bashing myself for writing it, because i was freaking 13 years old. and i barely knew english then, fancy vocabulary even less. so yeah it’s kinda embarrassing for 20 years old me, but 13 years old me liked it, so i’m okay with it

2. What’s your most recent fic and how far do you think you’ve come?

my most recent fic, i posted it just now is lovers, and i think i’ve come quite far. i don’t think my level of writing got significantly better, i still read other people’s fics and get blown away by the choice words, but i think my approach to writing got a lot better

i talked about it a little before, as much as taking prompts was a fun, amazing experience that was my starting point, there was a lot of pressure about it. when you take prompts, you’re essentially pleasing other people. you’re writing for them. and the more people who read your fics, the more you wanna please them. i started writing for janaya already knowing not to get swayed by validation, not to let it be the thing that drives me to write. because validation won’t always come, and i don’t wanna get shattered because of it

i often found myself thinking “if i don’t take prompts, will people still care about my writing? will i have anything to write about?” and the answer to both is yes. i obviously lost some readers once i stopped taking prompts, and along the way after. you know i post shit and people don’t agree with my opinions, that’s okay. i don’t wanna go back to the first chapter of knights of sunshine and see who commented and is no longer there because i feel like it will just make me sad

i’m not gonna lie and say that my original fics (that is, not prompts) get less notes/comments, because they do. i get wayyy less notes these days (but we are in a hiatus). i think most of the comments now are from my friends, but that’s okay. i love my original ideas, i love how i’m truly writing for myself, and idc if it causes me to lose readers

if you wanna talk about some real development i’m really proud of, i started posting short one shots that i love. i never did because i feel like people won’t read a fic with a low word count, but i love my short scenes more than anything

so basically, i learned how to let myself breathe, be okay with the number of notes/comments i get, and just chill about it

10. Have you ever written for a fandom without reading other fanfic for it?

uuuhh, i honestly can’t tell? idk if i never read a janaya/braime fic before writing about them. probably not. i do try not to read fics while i’m writing because i don’t wanna accidently copy someone’s work

thank youu for all of theseee

#answered #one of the reasons i love women with madness so much besides the humor #is that i got comments from people i've never seen before :)

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mieteve-minijoma · 4 years

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List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the ask box of the last 10 people who reblogged something from you. Learn more about your mutuals and followers :)

Hmmm, five things that make me happy... Ok, here we go in no particular order:

1) Penguins. I freaking love them! Like to the point that when I finally went to the aquarium in Chattanooga near where I live, I cried. FULL ON CRIED. My son got video evidence and my family teases me about it but idc. Penguins are precious!

2) Writing. Not just fanfics but also the original stories I am working on for publishing and poetry that I write. even journaling makes me happy. It makes me feel like there’s is an outlet for my stress and anxiety.

3) Cooking. Most specifically cooking for my friends and family. I love to spend time with friends and cook a large meal and just be around each other. It makes me happy to be able to share my love of cooking with those around me.

4) Puppies and Doggos. I love my dogs and they help me with my anxiety. When I am sad, they make me feel so much better.

5) Last, but most def not least: My Family. My hubs and kiddos are my reason for living every day. I have four amazing kids and a hubs who treats me the way every woman should be treated. They make my life brighter and def more interesting...

(This is me, the hubs, and the 2 younglings that are still at home lol...)

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finestcreation · 5 years

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Dudeeeeee!!! Im in chapter 3 of your fic and I'm like "yooooooooooooooooooooo" I don't have a ao3 account but damn imma give you a good comment and kudos likeeee yooooooo it's been a while since someone take time and research to make a fic and since "space man crybaby" had been deleted (or hide idc) this is the closer fic with an universe built in the current tag!!! (also thanks for the warming tags too)

((OH MY GOODNESS! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’m so glad you like the fic! I tried really hard on it, I love writing stories that are big universes and whatnot, that feel real. I wanted to write a fic that’s just as good as my novels. I hope you will continue to read it! If you really like it, feel free to reblog the original post that links to the story! I’d love to hear other people’s opinions too! Also feel free to leave more comments and reviews and whatnot on ao3, I accept anonymous comments on there. But yeah the entire story is based around the lore I established for this blog.

I wanted to write a story that gave us more about Amon and Lucifer’s history as well as eventually showing and displaying more about Akira and Ryo. Eventually giving them a happy and satisfying ending after they wade through all the bullshit in their lives. I also wanted to flesh out places like Heaven more, I don’t believe Lucifer rebelled only because of his pride. As for warnings, I always give people a fair enough warning regardless of what it is. I don’t want to upset anyone-- fanfiction is supposed to be a nice, healthy way to escape a world that isn’t very fun.

Anyways I hope you will keep reading! We are only in the beginning after all and have a lot more to go! I will keep writing and I hope that more people will read it and tell me what they think! I’m not doing this really for popularity, more for practice, so I’m hoping you guys can help me improve. This is, after all, one step closer for me in my journey to publishing my novels. Thank you again for sending this in, it was really brave of you even if you’re on anon, if you ever want to talk more about my work feel free to IM me! Thank you soooooooooo much!))

PS: As a huge ryokira/akiryo shipper -- we are gonna get a looooooooooot of cute scenes of them. As well as cute scenes of Lucifer and Amon, because there’s a lot of love there and a lot of tragedy~! A nice sweet and sour blend

#ooc #devilman #amon #akira #ryo asuka #ryo #devilman: eden #lucifer #ryokira #akiryo #Anonymous

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manchestereyes · 5 years

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8, 10, 12, 39 and i don't think this is in the q's but do u prefer writing angst or fluff? (ps i love your writing

8. what time are you most productive?

you know, it used to be 9-11pm but now that i’ve started drinking coffee (and working 4-10pm most nights), it’s been more like 10am-1pm! and now it takes an insane amount of willpower if i even wanna attempt to write after dinner. it feels soooo weird to me tbh but hey, whatever works i guess lol

10. how do you do your researches?

answered here! ❤

12. favorite place to write

well currently the only place i write is in my room, so i guess there? hahaha but i did really like writing in my dorm room back when i lived at school and i quite liked writing on the train when i wasn’t reading! i mean, i never did get that much done because i felt so nervous about it but it was still fun lol

39. do you want to be published some day?

yes!!! i technically did have an essay of mine published in my school’s fine arts magazine a couple years ago but idk if that counts since they don’t sell it or anything lol. (i did get $100 for it though since i won 1st place which was really cool!) but my dream is to one day publish a novel. idk when that’s gonna be since i’m really enjoying writing fic now and have 0 ideas for anything with original characters but i really hope it can happen one day!

i much prefer writing fluff! i find it soooo much easier lol maybe because, as much as i do like coming up with angsty ideas, it just feels so hard to get them right? but at the same time, it feels sooooo good when i finally do lol

also thank you so much!!! 💖💖💖💖 other than dnp, i’ve recently started shipping larry stylinson pretty hardcore and i just love saf/tyler and jenna/julien as couples! (does it count as shipping if they’re already together? eh idc they’re cute anyway lol) as for fictional characters, though, that crown goes solely to klaine and maaayybe jim and pam from the office if i’m being nice lmao (i clearly need to watch more tv skdjflsdkhjg) oh and i love seeing phimmy in fic!! pretty much every time i’ve read it, it’s been written extremely well so major kudos to our talented phandom writers for that :D

writer asks!

#y'all need to tell me to stop rambling and actually work on this fic #since i need to post it this week lol #answered #writer stuff #Anonymous

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elddansurin · 5 years

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i filled out that entire got damn OC meme not once but four times for my main TES OCs because you know what? i have that power.

featuring: Gavriil, my dragonborn, Serras, the dragonborn’s weird boyfriend/travel companion, Lleris, my Nerevarine, and Gerrick, a non-vestige 2E OC who lives out the aldmeri dominion questline. this thing is long as shit behind the cut, but idc if anyone reads it, i did it for me.

1. It’s a little unreasonable for everyone in a Middle Ages-esque fantasy to be perfectly literate, and writing with quills was considered legitimate labor! How well can your oc read and/or write? How detailed is their quest log/journal, if they keep one at all? -Gav: He's extensively literate and very well read. He keeps a pretty detailed journal going, though it's kind of a hybrid of field notes/emotions log. He does a lot of alchemical research when traveling, so he might have a few pages of notes on reagents, field sketches, etc, then another five pages of intrusive thoughts. His biggest fear is they'll be published after his death and everyone's just gonna be like "huh." -Serras: Just barely literate. He's got very childlike printing abilities, can barely spell, and struggles reading any big words. He's extremely self conscious about this. He doesn't keep any journals, but he writes letters about his adventures to his father every now and again. -Lleris: Again, quite well read. He does a lot more reading than writing, and his journaling is kind of the equivalent of writing notes on his arm. -Gerrick: I'd say he maybe has around an 8th grade reading level. He's got the core stuff down no problem, but as soon as technical jargon or anything too esoteric kicks off, his eyes glaze over.

2. How educated is your oc? Did their parents teach them, did they have a tutor or were they apprenticed to a master, or did they attend a university? What university? What are they educated in? How long did their education take? (Learned skills like blacksmithing count here too!) -Gav: Overly so. He has the education/research equivalent of phD, I'd reckon. All the best schooilng daddy's money could buy. -Serras: He was "home schooled" by a man with no resources undergoing a 30+ year nervous breakdown. So like, it's shitty that Serras is as uneducated as he is, but kind of understandable, given the situation. -Lleris: Also more or less home schooled, but at the opposite end of the spectrum. His aunt (the person who raised him), was a fucking genius. Balls-out eccentric, but a genius. -Gerrick: He was raised and educated by kind of an ensemble cast of characters, so his education is fairly well rounded and extremely based in practical over theoretical. He later joins the mages guild, but he uses that less as an opportunity to pursue higher education, but moreso a way to figure out how to sling a better lightning bolt

3. Does your oc have any kind of crafting skills that either aren’t in-game or don’t have as much importance in-game as they would in real life? (For example, can your oc sew or weave, etc? Are they skilled in any kind of art? Can they make jewelry or work glass? Are they musicians? etc) -Gav has a practical knowledge of most crafts necessary for a sad bachelor life. He can cook well enough to keep himself fed, he can patch up most of the wear in his gear, but nothing that would really impress anyone. I'd imagine, in another lifetime, he played the lute. Not sure he'd remember how at this point, though. -Serras is extremely crafty. He'd an extremely resourceful cook, he can repair just about anything, and he's a natural outdoorsman. Dude's had a lifetime of learning how to do a lot with very, very little. Art is kind of a hobby for him that he doesnt get to indulge in quite as much as he'd like. -Lleris can barely function on his own. He cannot cook a damn thing, when his clothes tear he throws them out, and he almost dies of exposure on more than one occasion. It's a sad sight to behold. -Gerrick is fond of roughin it. His life skills are exactly as honed as they need to be. Not much, but enough to keep him alive and scrappy.

4. What pantheon does your oc worship? If they worship the Cyrodiilic/Imperial pantheon, does that include Talos? If they secretly worship Talos, how do they justify hiding it? -Gav: Pretty straightforward believer in the Altmeri pantheon. He's especially devout to Mara, though he's got a long way to go toward internalizing the whole "love yourself" thing -Serras: He's never really figured out what to believe in. Way back in the day, his family was heavily involved in House Indoril, and when the Tribunal kind of fizzled out, they were all pretty lost and not exactly stoked to go back to worshipping the "good" daedra. That more or less carried down to Serras, although he's not even aware of his ties to House Indoril or any of that Tribunal stuff. He has a learned fear of any sort of daedra, courtesy his father. -Lleris: He's pretty tight with Azura, natch. -Gerrick: Dude straight up does not care, but will absolutely pay lip service to Auri-El if it makes him look good.

5. How religious is your oc? Do they come into conflict with others over their beliefs? If their patron deity told them to do something extremely undesirable or against their moral compass, would they do it? Would your oc sell someone’s soul for a corn chip? -Gav is devout enough to have taken a shake at becoming a priest. Didn't pan out, because he couldn't deal with the pressure of being any kind of authority figure, and he's been kind of having a crisis of faith in the midst of his most recent extended nervous breakdown. As soon as he starts clearing his head again, he pretty much goes back to being pretty dang devout. -Serras is struggling to figure out his moral compass on his own. He wouldn't mind being religious, but growing up in a non-religious setting can make it hard to just start believing in something. -Lleris becomes way more into Azura worship as the whole Nerevarine thing plays out, and he would absolutely fuck things up in her name. His sour opinion of the Tribunal is absolutely influenced by Azura’s grudge. -Gerrick, again, does not care. His morals are his own, and no one's going to talk him into doing something that doesn't align with his own beliefs about life.

6. Does your oc have a family of origin? How many members of their FoO are still living? Do they have a good relationship? How much contact does your oc have with their FoO? How in-the-loop is your oc’s FoO about your oc’s being Dragonborn/HoK/Nerevarine? -Gavriil's immediate family are all still alive (except his sister, who died before he was born), and they have not been in contact in like, 200 years. None of them even know if he's still alive until a few years after the whole Dragonborn thing starts making its way back to Auridon. His parents are just kind of like "huh." and then continue to never bring him up in conversation. His younger brother eventually seeks him out to try and forge the relationship they never got to have. -Serras has a codependent relationship with his father. They love each other a lot, but their relationship was very, very unhealthy. That's the major reason why he ended up leaving home, because he finally realized the only way to heal the unhealthy dynamic was to learn how to be his own person. He has a pretty good relationship with his (maternal) aunt. His mother is still alive, and he has three half-siblings he's never met. None of them ever end up meeting. His mom never does figure out what happened to her firstborn. It is what it is. -Lleris is completely on his own at this point. His parents died when he was barely a year old, and he went to go live with his wacky aunt abroad. Those two were thick as thieves, but when she passed, Lleris was legit on his own. -Gerrick and his weird pirate family are all still on good terms. Both of his parents are still alive and although they dont see each other often, it's a grand old time when they finally do.

7. What social class was your oc born into? Did they change classes at all? How? -Gav: Super, super upper-crust. His family was nobles marrying nobles all the way back, and Gav just couldn't cut it in that world. His slump into absolute poverty is gradual, but pretty vicious. He does eventually pick himself up out of the gutter, but I'll go more into that a few questions down. -Serras: He was born into a weird, backwoods cult and spends the next 30-something years of his life living an extremely hand-to-mouth existence either in some slum or the legit middle of nowhere. Dude wasn’t exactly born into privilege. -Lleris: He was born into House Telvanni and lived a pretty well to do life until he was in his early 20s. After his aunt passed, he lived a few months as a street urchin before being arrested, then he slogs across Vvardenfell for like three years, "re-joins" House Telvanni and starts living a cushy life again, then gets tossed onto an Akavir-bound boat with a bag over his head. Takes a bit of a while before he lives the high life again after that. -Gerrick: Outlaw from birth. He was the son of the ship’s captain and her then-lover, and he was raised by the entire crew, more or less. He grows up to become, of all things, an Eye of the Queen. Yeah.

8. How politically active is your oc? Are they obviously influential, or is their influence more subtle? -Gav willfully keeps his head in the sand when it comes to politics, especially in places he doesn't think of as home. It's not an accident that he started moving further and further away from Summerset as the Thalmor became more entrenched in local politics. He absolutely does not touch the Imperial/Stormcloak tension. And honestly, even when he was at the height of his Dragonborn influence, no one wanted his opinion about the war, because not a single person in Skyrim wants to hear what an Altmer has to say about Nord politics. -Serras has a lot of opinions about the way Nords treat non-Nords, but he has pretty much no political agency. -Lleris starts out mostly entangled in Telvanni politics and helps his bff Aryon sack Gothren. He also tries and mostly fails to rub elbows with Neloth, because Neloth. Later on down the Nerevarine rabbit hole, he starts getting more and more vocal in general Morrowind politics, which culminates in him "volunteering" to go "explore" Akavir. -Gerrick, surprisingly for someone born a pirate, he canonically carries out the Aldmeri Dominion questline from ESO, so yeah he's just a little bit involved in politics.

9. What unplayable faction would/did your oc join, if any? Why? -Gav is associated with the Mage's guild, or I guess was associated. Which by the way? Bullshit that the guild was written out. But also, since I absolutely headcanon that enough of House Telvanni survives the Red Year to rebuild outside of Vvardenfell, I also imagine Gavriil worming his way into House Telvanni after he busts ass out of Skyrim. He never becomes very involved in House politics, he's more interested in going back into academia. Which he does. He more or less spends the rest of his days chillin in a mushroom house in Morrowind, writing books about levitating and shit. -Serras briefly had a stint with the Skyrim thieves guild, but he cuts ties pretty quickly because he is pretty disgusted with robbing from the poor to give to Maven Black-Briar. -Lleris has always had ties to House Telvanni, though he does have a brief stint with the Mages Guild before they are like holy shit, please leave us alone forever. He later swings by Solstheim as an old man to bother Neloth, who is like holy shit, please leave me alone forever. -Gerrick may not actively be a pirate anymore, but he is on pretty good terms with a bunch of them.

10. How trustworthy is your oc? Would they ever change opposing factions? -Gav: He's pretty much your lawful good kind of guy. He's decently loyal, even if only due to constant, overbearing guilt. At very worst, he'll just disappear rather than fulfill an obligation, but he'd sooner die than double cross anyone. -Serras: This is a guy who's mostly looking out for himself and the ones closest to him. In otherwords, Gavriil and/or his father. Probably not wise to put too much trust into him otherwise, because he's not exactly loyal if he's not actively benefitting from the arrangement. That said, he's not too much of a double-crosser, but don't trust him not to steal from you then lie about it. -Lleris: His loyalty can be bought. He won't feel too many qualms about changing sides if it benefits him more. So far, no one's offered him a better gig than being a champion of Azura, so it'd take a lot to get him to betray her. -Gerrick: His trustworthiness is super situational. He's in tight with Ayrenn, because you can't get much better than being the queen's go-to guy. He's smart enough to know not to betray her or the people involved with her. For the average person that he meets? Might be best to sleep with your eyes open around him. Patty is pretty much the only other person he wouldn't stab in the back at the drop of a hat. Outlaw roots, and all.

11. What is your oc’s main source of income, if they have one besides plundering tombs and adventuring? If they’re mercenaries, are they part of a company? Does your oc own their own business, and if so, what is it? -Gav has no source of income. Most of what he earns in his time in Skyrim is from acts of charity. For a few months, he pulls a legit job copying old texts for a bookseller in Solitude, but that only lasts as long as his precarious mental state will allow. Apart from that, he's pretty reliant on Serras's money. -Serras steals almost impulsively. He doesn't exactly keep a steady income, but its enough to keep both him and Gavriil in good supplies. Mostly. That they're both living off the land a lot does help. -Lleris does a lot of odd jobs where ever he goes. That and he has a bit of a history of pawning high ticket items that don't exactly belong to him. Keep your eyes on your soul gems when he’s in your house. -Gerrick lives the high life when he's actively working for the queen, but between Queens Eye stints, he's mostly earning a mercenary's salary. And he picks a lot of pockets. Why do I have so many thief-y characters?

12. Is your oc good with finances? Bartering? How long can they keep the money they make? -Gavriil: Not at all. At least not anymore. His parents never really taught him the art of finance to begin with, and his whole "functional" alcoholism thing makes it a bit hard to hang onto his money. He does get a bit better with time, but it DOES take time. -Serras: He's very good at knowing what things generally cost. Not worth the risk of stealing something that doesn’t get a good return. -Lleris: He can spend pretty loosely, but he also earns a fat cut with all the daedric weapons he gets his hands on. Him and that mudcrab merchant are pretty familiar with each other. -Gerrick: Generally earns a lot more than he spends. His standard of living is not particularily high, so even when he's "living large," he's not living THAT large.

13. Does your oc have any particular rivalry or mutual dislike with any NPC? -Gavriil has a really reluctant relationship with Delphine. He doesn't particularily respect her, and she's not impressed with who he is and who he chooses to be. That said, they do both realize they have some level of dependence on each other, right up until Delphine gives him the ultimatum about New BFF Paarthunax. After that he's like "lol bye" and they never see each other again. -Serras hates pretty much everyone in Skyrim for some reason or another, but they're all extremely one-sided relationships, because no one knows who the fuck he is. -Lleris is in the shit with virtually everyone in the Mages Guild, as well as anyone in every other great house. Both because of his connections with House Telvanni and, well, Lleris can be hard to be around sometimes. -Gerrick had always had a bad feeling about Estre and the fucking second she shows her ass, Gerrick's all “I FUCKING KNEW IT.” Estre wishes Gerrick would just die because who the HELL is this half-Maormer pirate asshole who's suddenly playing way too big of a part in Summerset politics.

14. How well-liked is your oc? What is their reputation, if they’re well-known? Are they simply liked/disliked, or are they respected but feared, or personally liked but not taken seriously, etc? Do major factions consider your oc an important player? -Gav: People have such mixed reactions to him. They usually hear about him well before they meet him, and at first they're like oh shit!!! Dragonborn!!!! Then they meet him and they're like uuuh he's a weird homeless dude with blatant unaddressed trauma. Kind of wish he wasn't the one who was going toe to toe with all these dragons. -Serras: Who? -Lleris: House Telvanni loves him. Except for like, Gothren, who gets killed by him. And Neloth, who never did get that robe of drake's pride. And Dratha. As for the rest of Vvardenfell, people start slowly warming up to him as he becomes more certifiably Nerevarine. Then they get real sick of him again. -Gerrick: His reputation is tied firmly with how someone feels about Ayrenn. If they like her, then Gerrick is unconventional but damnit, he gets the job done. If they oppose Ayrenn, then Gerrick is symbolic of everything that's wrong with Ayrenn and her foreign policy.

15. Does your oc have a horse/other mount? A pet? How did they get this animal? If they were given the animal, do they have the money to maintain it? How careful/careless are they with their animal? What do they do with their pets while adventuring, especially on dangerous quests? -Gerrick is the only one, and he has a giant stag mount that kind of comes and goes. He also has a constant clannfear familiar, which is, you know, conjured.

16. Does your oc take their time as they travel, or are they purposeful? How do they survive in the wilds, especially if they aren’t hunter-types? How dependent is your oc on civilized society? -Gav and Serras both spend ample time in the wilderness, even if civilization might be available. Gavriil enjoys keeping a low profile more and more as the whole Dragonborn affair goes on, and toward the end, he's keeping his head down as much as possible. Serras is fine with it because that's just what his life's like. -Lleris makes a beeline from town to town and will take silt striders whenever possible. He doesn't know how to hunt or dress game, he can barely pitch a tent, and more often than not will just sleep on the bare-ass ground like an idiot. Again, he has almost died of exposure on more than one occasion. -Gerrick could disappear into the wilderness for months and be just fine. He could be equally fine spending months in the middle of a major city. He's flexible.

17. What does your oc like to eat? How much food do they eat? Can your oc cook, and can they do it well? -Gav used to be a super picky eater in his earlier years. Now he'll eat anything that'll keep him alive. Too much grain alcohol has dulled his sense of taste. He knows how to decently fire-roast small animals, but he's not exactly an inspirational cook. -Serras is a fan of good food. One of the biggest inspirations for him teaching himself how to cook was so that he could eat good food on the reg. He can make a little go a long way, in terms of quality of ingredients. -Lleris is the kind of guy who'd burn spaghetti. -Gerrick is a pretty decent cook. His specialty is hearty campfire shit like stews and chowders.

18. What does your oc wear in the city/settlements? In the house? When travelling, but not adventuring or expecting combat? Do they vary their clothes depending on what hold/city they’re in? If they don’t, why not (e.g., if your oc wears the same outfit to tend their garden or lounge around the house as they did to meet Ulfric or Elisif, why?) Does your oc have a good or bad sense of fashion? How many clothes does your oc have? -Gavriil has one outfit, the same tunic and threadbare enchanted robe he's worn for the past dozen or so miles. It's all he's got, babey. -Serras has more outfits than you'd expect from the kind of guy who lives out of a tent 10 months out of the year. He likes to look cute. Also, he's almost always wearing a scarf, because he's pretty sure that's just what Dunmer do. -Lleris's outfit of choice is flowing, elegant mage robes, daedric boots, and pretty much nothing else. Naked under your robes seems like a pretty Telvanni thing to do, if we're being honest here. -Gerrick wears roguish pirate garb fairly often during the adventure phase, but he does have some fancy threads when he's in the company of royalty.

19. How picky is your oc about their gear? Do they have different equipment for different adventures, or is it the same suit of armor for everything (not counting upgrades like from steel to ebony)? -Gav, again, has one outfit. He does swap out his tunic after one is shredded/absolutely drenched in his own blood, but the robe has been with him for years at this point. He cannot be assed to enchant a new one. -Serras is not particularily picky about what his kit looks like. He's usually fine with a bit of leather armor, but he opts for pauldrons more often than not as, again, he's convinced that's just what Dunmer do. -Lleris won't wear it if it's not cute. -Gerrick is surprisingly discerning about his gear. He has a very high standard for what his weapons should look like, and everything needs to be properly enchanted if he's gonna be using it.

20. How does your oc acquire their clothes, and from where/whom? -Gav's robe is an old piece he enchanted himself when he was a bit more put together, and the rest of his outfit is more or less charity. Like hey, couldn't help but notice you got nearly torn in half by a dragon, can I offer you this shirt? -Serras's clothes were all honestly bought with money he earned from pawning stolen goods. Hmm. -Lleris will always make the time to shop for cute outfits when he gets to a big city. The boots? Conjured. -Gerrick's things were mostly honest purchases, but not all of them. He's not above pulling a pair of nice boots off a dead man's feet.

21. Can your oc swim, and how well? Have they ever swam in the ocean, or only lakes/rivers? Remember, it’s much harder to swim in the ocean than in a lake! If your oc is an Argonian, do they take special advantage of it somehow (e.g., do they go diving for fun/for profit, do they instinctively hide in the water, etc)? If your oc is a Khajiit who can swim, how do they get their fur dry? -Gav was born by the sea and as long as the water is warm, he loves to swim. The rivers and lakes in Skyrim are all too damn cold for him, even in the summer, so he water walks more often than he swims. -Serras is a decently strong swimmer, though he's never actually seen the ocean. Rivers and lakes, though, no big deal. -Lleris can barely swim and will water walk 99% of the time he encounters water. Even though he knows a water breathing spell, he's never actually used it. -Gerrick was born on a boat and is half Maormer. He fucking knows how to swim ok.

22. How easy/difficult is it to rob your oc? Pickpocket? Bribe? -Gav: Too easy. He's got nothing of value to take, so his guard is at like, 0. -Serras: He's a pickpocket by trade, he knows all the tricks. You'd have to be pretty fucking crafty to life something from under his nose. Even if you did, you can be sure as shit he'd steal it right back. -Lleris: He's been robbed a handful of times. -Gerrick: It wouldn't be impossible to pick his pocket, just very difficult and very unwise.

23. If your oc is part of one of the more morally questionable or outright evil factions, how do they justify it to themselves? Do they still consider themselves as morally good? How well known is their affiliation to these groups? Do they have separate personas (e.g. Dragonborn to some people, Listener to others)? Do their family/friends know? If they have separate personas, how do they keep their less than righteous activities secret? -Gav, despite being provably morally good, deals with a lot of completely unjustified guilt. He doesn't think of himself as that great of a person, because he feels too selfish. -Serras doesn't really hide that he's a thief by trade, at least to anyone who knows him. He's had his shot at honest work, and he just couldn't cut it. And well, a dude's gotta make a living somehow. He tries to keep his mind clear by only stealing from people who can afford to have things go missing. Or just if he hates them. Either way. -Lleris is very hush-hush about any work he's done with the thieves guild. He doesn't consider him to be affiliated with them, moreso that they stay in fleeting business arrangements, arrangements which become less and less frequent the more involved he gets in Telvanni politics. -Gerrick having pirate roots is something of an open secret. Part of his appeal as an Eye is his roguishness, and it's not exactly hard for him to work with shadowy sources. He'll never deny his heritage to anyone who directly asks. Not many people have the gall to do that, however, so rumors do fly.

24. How helpful is your oc, and why? Are they helpful or kind even during difficult situations? Are they pragmatic, or do they have a hero syndrome? -Gav has a weird obligation on/off switch. He feels guilted into helping people in certain situations, while he can walk away from others with a clear conscience. When the guilt hits, he will go so far against his own interests to help people, even if he's actively suffering as he does so. Even then, god does he hate being recognized as some kind of hero. Nothing he does in Skyrim makes him feel like a hero, and he actively lives out the world's most aggressive case of imposter syndrome even after Alduin fucking dies. He immediately leaves Skyrim after Alduin's death, because he can't live with the recognition he feels he fell dick first into. No one knows or cares who the Dragonborn is in Morrowind, so he busts ass to the eastern border the second his ass gets back to Nirn. -Serras historically doesn't go that far out of his way to help people, unless they're someone he already cares about, or who he owes some kind of debt. Part of his Growth is slowly taking up his father's mantel as a healer, and dedicating the rest of his life to helping people. Big claps for Serras! -Lleris has such a bad hero syndrome. The fucking second he gets the impression that he might be Nerevarine, that's how he's introducing himself to people. He does get to play big damn hero for a little while after the events at Red Mountain, but the novelty does eventually wear off, at least for the people around him. Well into his second or third century, he'll still bring up that time he was Azura's champion and killed not one, but two living gods. For like the thousandth time. -Gerrick can help or hurt. When he's helpful, he's super fucking helpful. He's your fucking MVP. But the second you cross him, he’ll be out for blood. And while he does have a reputation that often precedes him, he doesn't exactly milk it.

#if this cut doesnt work for you: im so sorry #OCs

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christophertwood · 6 years

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How to write better blogs faster – without caffeine, outsourcing or robots

You already know that blogging is a powerful tool for promoting your brand.

It’s great for bringing visitors to your website.

What’s more, all those words are superb for SEO.

However, you also know that blogging takes time.

And that’s something often in short supply. Especially when you’re running a business, working to client or agency deadlines. Those ‘ASAP’ requests usually elbow blogs down the to-do list.

Here’s the thing: Once you let your blogs slide, other things start sliding. Your website, for one thing. Straight down the search rankings. Which means your organic traffic will slide down. Resulting in reduced revenue, less engagement and slower growth.

There is another way.

Speed up your blog output.

53% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority (Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)

This doesn’t mean cutting down on quality and churning out rehashed rubbish. Neither does it mean outsourcing to penny-a-word writers or artificially intelligent bots. And absolutely no caffeine-fuelled all-nighters.

All you need is below. Want to skip to a particular section? Just click the title:

Before writing

3 things to remember

Follow this writing ratio

Buzz off to Buzzsumo

Your first words

Create framework

Brainstorm

Plan intro

What to include

How to be original

The most important word

Words to avoid

How to inject insight

How to finish with a bang

Refer to your intro

Ask a question

Add a call to action

Bonus: How to smash through writer’s block

Before writing

3 things to remember

Write now, edit later (the biggest time saver) Once you’ve started writing, don’t read it back until you’ve finished your first draft

Don’t try to hand in the ‘perfect blog’ Your job is to communicate your ideas – let your editor worry about the grammar and spelling. Don’t have an editor? Ask someone else within your team to proofread your work. Working alone? Make friends with Grammarly and the Hemingway App

Reduce distractions Experiment with closing your Outlook for an hour or more. Disconnect your WiFi, put your phone in your bag, try the Pomodora technique

Follow this writing ratio

For any blog, whether 100 words or 1,000 words, spend:

25% of your time researching

50% writing

25% editing/proofing

When starting out, it’s hard to know your current writing speed. So set aside a set amount of time, say 4 hours and follow the ratio above. Do this a couple of times and you’ll have a good idea of how much time you need for a blog.

Over time, you’ll find that you write more words during the 50% phase. That’s your building up your brain’s writing muscles. Stick to a regular routine and you’ll soon increase your endurance, stamina, and wordcounts.

Buzz off to Buzzsumo

Before starting a blog, it makes sense to check out the competition. And the best way to do that is with Buzzsumo. Plug in your topic, and see which articles have attracted most engagement on social media.

Sharing on social media has dropped by 50% from 2015–2018 (source: http://buzzsumo.com/blog/content-trends-2018)

Have a read, and work out why it’s done so well. Is it the insight? Tone of voice? Is it interactive?

Compare the articles to your framework. Have you covered all the themes? Does your framework have something the other articles don’t? If not, think how you can improve it. Find an original angle. If the most-shared article is ‘100 ways to use artificial intelligence in banking’, make yours ‘101 ways to use artificial intelligence in banking’

Your first words

Create framework

Write down the main themes you want to cover. Don’t worry about writing headlines or copy yet.

Decide on your conclusion. What do you want readers to go away thinking?

Look again at your main themes. Put them in the order you think will work best with your conclusion.

Brainstorm

Congratulations! You have a framework. Now it’s time to let your brain’s neurons and synapses go wild.

Look at your framework. Under each theme, type/write everything you know, think, or want to explore about it. Don’t worry about typos or whether you’re even making sense. Just go with the flow and let everything out.

You should now have plenty of ideas for your blog.

Now you’re ready to plan your intro….

Plan intro

Nobody ever skips a blog intro and starts reading halfway down the page. That’s why, before you tap anywhere on your keyboard, decide on your intro. Not necessarily the exact words, but the angle or hook you plan to take.

Those first few words are where you have the maximum readership. After that, it’s all downhill. Readers lose interest, get distracted, or simply decide they’ve got better things to do.

The classic “5 W” approach, used by journalists and PRs, is ideal:

Who will be the subject of my blog

Where is my target audience, (in terms of their outlook on life and/or career)

What will this blog cover

Why would readers be interested in this blog

When did the idea for this blog come about

Go through each of the Ws. Decide which one (or more) should go into your intro. Make your decision based on what will appeal most to your readers. That’s the only way to reel them in. Show what’s in it for them.

What to include

Have you heard the joke about two people in a forest? One day they come across a tiger. They start running away, and the tiger chases them, Suddenly Person 1 stops, and pulls out a pair of running shoes. ‘What are you doing?’ says Person 1. ‘You’ll never outrun it with those’. Person 2 replies, ‘I don’t need to outrun the tiger. I just need to outrun you.’

Longer posts mean readers stay longer on your page, which is good for climbing up the search results

It’s the same with blogs. You don’t have to make sure your blog is the best out of the 24 posts published in WordPress every second around the world. You just have to make sure yours is first among your competitors. Here’s how:

How to be original

Take an well-known maxim about your blog topic (‘You may have heard that AB testing helps you find a winning landing page’)

Challenge it (‘Here’s the thing: most people don’t know how long to run an AB test for’)

Add your own insight (‘if you don’t have enough traffic for AB testing, you can do user testing and go qualitative instead of quantitative’)

The most important word

Address your reader personally, by sprinkling in lots of ‘you/your’ references.

It makes your blog sound more personal, eg ‘If you’ve ever tried to do a mailmerge’, ‘Here’s a little-known tip you may find useful’, ‘Get this right and you can look forward to digital marketing nirvana’.

If you’re writing your blog in first person (“I, we our”) go for a 4:1 ratio – for every 1 ‘I, we, our’, make sure you have 4 ‘you, us, your’.

Words to avoid

Your reader is giving up part of their life to read your blog. So write as if you’re talking to a friend. That means using conversational words (‘use’ instead of ‘utilise’, ‘helped’ rather than ‘assisted’, ‘ideas’ rather than ‘blue sky thinking’).

Jargon and technical terms may have their place in your campaigns, but they rarely belong in your blog. That’s where people come to be entertained and informed, not bored out of their minds or feeling like they’re being spoken to by a boss.

How to inject insight

Your opinion is all very well. However, if you want to persuade people of what you’re saying, you need something more. Links to independent, objective, third party research. Cite studies, research bodies, industry publications.

Here are 3 ways:

1) Go authoritative Step 1: Tweak your search engine results to get results within a recent time period. For Google, click on Tools (highlighted)

Step 2: Plug in your search term + the name of a reputable research agency/publisher (good ones to start with include Gartner, Forrester, IDC, Accenture). Imagine you’re writing a blog on machine learning:

Step 3: Find statistics and quotes that back up your opinion. Then insert them into your blog (making sure you link back to the sources).

2) Peer research Here’s a shortcut to getting insight about a topic. You could spend hours reading all the latest industry news. Or you could find out what people on the frontline think. Tap into their experience and insight by visiting websites like www.quora.com.

3) Google Trends Want to show how interest in your topic has evolved over time? Plug in some relevant phrases to Google Trends. This will generate a graph showing how often people have Googled a particular word or phrase. Below shows how interest in marketing automation has grown since 2012:

How to finish with a bang

Refer to your intro

This is the classic ‘top and tail’ approach. Readers like this technique because it ties up all loose ends. Example: your intro includes the line, ‘By the year 2020, there will be 163 Zettabytes of data created’. Your conclusion could make a reference to the 163 Zettabytes of data.

Ask a question

Want people to comment on your blog? Ask them – don’t sit back and hope. If you get a comment, always reply. Even if it’s just a thank you.

Add a call to action

You’ve got a captive audience, so give them more of what they want. Link to a related blog, offer a free ebook, invite them to contact you to continue the conversation.

Bonus: How to smash through writer’s block

Write the conclusion first

Write 20 headlines (doesn’t matter how good/bad you think they are)

Read another blog on the same subject and get some ideas on how to improve it

Write 100 words about the topic, doesn’t matter how rubbish you think it is

Forget about it and revisit tomorrow

And finally…

“You never truly finish a blog – you just abandon it”

Don’t hang on to your blogs. Once you’ve done your editing and are happy, let it go. Otherwise you’ll find yourself endlessly tinkering with it.

The post How to write better blogs faster – without caffeine, outsourcing or robots appeared first on Chief Nation.

from Social Media Tips http://www.chiefnation.com/blog/how-write-blogs-faster-better/

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