cullengirl1901

[cullengirl1901]

Managing Writing Expectations

Remember when I got back into writing in 2022 and thought I would be out there posting regularly as well as posting WIP progress here - turns out I'm a flake.

I actually just noticed in my drafts I literally started writing a post in April last year about how I wasn't doing much writing or blogging AND I DIDN'T EVEN FINISH WRITING THAT lol.

But I'm here now, just to explain where I'm at and how I plan to approach my writing this year.

Basically, I plan to wing it. And if I write, I write and if I don't, I don't. I don't want to put pressure on myself because as soon as I do, the inspiration goes out the window.

So I am going to keep it casual. But also wouldn't hate if I blogged a bit more here and even on my main blog. Just little things about my writing journey and such. It shouldn't be as much work as writing my usual fanfiction. But even then I won't be getting my hopes up.

In terms of actual fanfiction my main focus is currently on my KPop stuff - it's quick and easy to write when I'm in the right mood. Plus I think it's fun and something I haven't really done before so if I can post a few things there I'll be happy.

For longer fics and non-KPop stuff I am not sure where I'm at right now. I have the ideas written down but nothing is inspiring me at the minute so those will probably go on hold.

So yeah, that's where I'm at. Don't know how often I will blog or anything either to be honest. I guess just if I have something I need to say about writing I will post here.

Not that anyone reads this blog, I mean I really am just posting into the void here but that's fine. I'm used to it lol.

Anyway, with all that said and done, I did post something today and I am proud of myself for doing it right out of the gate. Does this mean more writing is coming immediately? No.

But it's a start and I'll take it.

I guess the main goal of 2024 is to manage my own expectations of what I can do as a writer and accept that it's okay not to be super active. Even if it feels like I'm slacking or lagging behind, I got a lot else going on in my life and it's fine lol.

And to wrap it up, I'll leave you here with famous words from Cheryl Hole:

[cullengirl1901]

Current Works in Progress: August/September 2022

So I’ve decided to do these every few months or something to let you know where I am in my writing and also to stop myself writing new things until I shelve or finish things I am currently working on.

I am not trying to pressure myself into writing but I am hoping doing these will encourage me to continue doing the writing I am doing. 

During the past month, I feel like my life has gotten extremely busy with lots of other activities so it’s been hard to keep up with writing but it’s always there in the background.

So here are some of the things I am currently working on and the status of them - I have decided to break it up into fandom because that’s the easiest way to do it.

Pretty Little Liars

Aria/Ezra drama/thriller(?) - The first long story with multiple chapters I am attempting to write in years. Currently have written one and a half chapters, not sure how many chapters it will actually have.

I don’t want to give much away about this one until I am posting it, but I definitely want a good few chapters - if not the whole thing - written before I post. I don’t want to begin publishing it and then changing my mind about it and dropping it. I want to be more consistent with writing/posting than that so you might be waiting a long time for this.

That being said, I think I have started kind of strong it’s just a matter of where the rest of the story goes lol.

Twilight

Bella/Edward smut - Had a fun idea to write some smut but it is taking longer than I thought? Don’t know why lol but it’s just a oneshot so will publish when I get around to finishing the dang thing

WritingMingyu

Soft Gyu/morning smut - So I’ve been debating about this one, I could have just written something as fluff but I have taken it to a smut place and I am not sure about it. I think I’m trying too hard with the whole thing to be honest so might need to do some editing before continuing to write it.

Again, just a short story/oneshot so will try to post it when I can. Just need to get around to writing lol

----------------------------

And so those are my current things I am working on. I definitely have old projects and things I am looking into reviving but at the same time, trying not to overwhelm myself. So I think three projects on the go is fine, I will allow probably one long story to be worked on at a time because multiple stories with multiple chapters on the go could get messy.

Hoping I can get some good writing done next month but honestly with my schedule of hobbies you never know when something is going to get done lol.

But that’s where we are, I felt I needed to update to let you know I am writing just not posting at the minute. For sure though I hope to get the Mingyu and Twilight piece out in September though!

[cullengirl1901]

Experimenting with smut and writing fun small things featuring SVT’s Mingyu. Started on a whim but am enjoying it over there if you are interested in taking a look!

Hello! I am WritingMingyu, but you can call me Courtney. I love to write and decided to dip into writing KPop fanfic on a whim! I’m not sure how much I’ll write or anything but if I take a notion for something I’ll be posting here.

Currently only writing fanfic for SVT’s Mingyu but could possibly expand in the future. I do write for other fandoms under a different name, so if you are interested check out @cullengirl1901

If you have any requests or wanna chat feel free to message me! I don’t know how good I’ll be at requests but I’ll give it a shot 😊 Like everyone I have things I won’t write about, so please respect that.

Also thanks so much for taking the time to read my stories, it means a lot to me!

~ WritingMingyu x

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Mingyu Fics - currently all smut  - Post Concert Pick Me Up - 5 Minutes Til Showtime! - After Soundcheck - Bad Day - not smut! Just a comfort piece

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

[cullengirl1901]

Gossip Girl’s 10 Year Anniversary

New Story Alert!

I thought this would be a fun story to write considering it has been almost ten years since the original TV show ended. Surprisingly, it was easy to write and I liked imaging where everyone ended up.

So I hope you enjoy!

Summary:  Surprise! Gossip Girl is back for one night only to share what our favourite Upper East Siders have been up to since she stopped posting 10 years ago. Loosely based on the O.G TV show flashforward.

Links:

FFN

Wattpad

AO3

[cullengirl1901]

The FINAL Chapter of How Alison Met The Liars is LIVE!

It was a journey but I have completed this story! The first story I have completed in years and it feels so good to finally do it. I really loved this idea when I started writing it and I am glad to see it through to the end.

This last chapter did cause some struggles for me but we persevered and got it done. Is it perfect? I don’t think so, it could have been written differently and it was a couple of times, but at the same time I do like the direction that I went with it.

So I hope you enjoy if you decide to read, I am not sure what my next story will be but I have some time to figure it out. At the minute I don’t want to commit to any long stories as I know I will get overwhelmed and probably abandon it halfway through so, I think I’ll stick with one shots and short stories for now.

Maybe when I feel more settled into the swing of things we will go for a big story again but I’m just happy to be writing anything, so we’ll take what we can.

Summary: Ever wondered how Alison and the Liars became friends? They seemed so different yet they all had one thing in common, Alison. In this series of short stories we discover how Alison uncovered the girls' secrets and wound them all around her little finger.  

AU, loosely based on the TV show.

Trigger Warnings: In Hanna’s chapter there are snide comments about weight and language related to binging/bulimia.  

Rating: Teen

Links:

FF.net

Wattpad

AO3

[cullengirl1901]

Writing Struggles

Today I thought I’d share some writing struggles I am currently having because, why not? We all have them.

So currently I have been posting my PLL fanfiction and that’s been going great. I wrote the first three chapters and they were strong.

I breezed through Spencer’s chapter because it was the one that inspired me to write the story. It was fun and I knew what was going to happen so it all played out perfectly.

Aria’s was next because it made sense to me, and again the story flowed nicely there and I had vision.

Next came Hanna’s and it wasn’t super easy to write, but we did get there in the end. I was struggling with writing Alison in a mean way, which I feel like when I was a teenager I would not have a problem with, but I find in today’s society and the way we are not trying to tear people down and be rude to them makes it hard.

Once I had gotten into my “mean girl groove” though, all the pieces came together and I think Hanna’s chapter is the strongest in terms of cruel Alison.

And finally we come to Emily’s chapter which is where the writing struggles really kick in.

I had a brief idea of how to set up Emily’s chapter but the thing is I don’t know where to go with it. I can’t connect how Alison and Emily really become friends and everyone interprets Alison’s feelings for Emily differently and so I have to figure out what direction I want to go with it.

It’s similar to Hanna’s chapter, in that the way Alison became friends with her and knew her secret was not clear from the TV show and I was making up a whole new scenario. Emily’s chapter needs to be pulled from scratch.

I’m just struggling to connect ideas.

I wrote a full chapter for Emily, I just wrote what I thought was a rough draft and I could edit it down. Which was fine until I toyed around with maybe just rewriting the whole thing haha.

There are some things I like about what I wrote and some I don’t and trying to find a good pace for things is hard. I also tried starting to write a whole new chapter but that didn’t seem right either because I did like the original draft for the most part.

Maybe if I wasn’t so attached to some of the ideas I had in my original draft I could write a new chapter from scratch. It’s just sad to let all the hard work go to waste...

I also feel that this chapter doesn’t fit the same vibe as the other ones. Which I guess it doesn’t have to but even reading back the chapter it doesn’t seem as strong as the others either. Which is really the struggle.

I don’t want to post something that falls flat against the rest of the story. I also don’t want to post something that I hate, but will I ever truly be happy with it? 

At this point I have also put a time constraint on myself as well if I want to keep up my upload schedule. And even as I’m writing this, I am running out of time lol I am also very busy in my real life this week so I don’t even know when I’ll write...yet here I am writing a blog haha.

But I needed to get out my thoughts and my struggles. 

I guess if I stopped overthinking it it might come easier. But at the same time, it’s all I can think about because I want to do a good job. So it’s either going to go one of two ways, I magically pull something out that’s good and strong and I love it or...I post my original ideas and accept that it is what it is.

Will you know what version of the chapter I post? Probably. I have a feeling if I’m not happy with it I will immediately apologise in the author’s notes but at the same time I should just be proud I’m posting again at all and not be ashamed even if it’s not top quality.

But I feel like I would be letting myself down...Ahh it’ll never be over. Not until I click publish and mark the story as complete. 

And so that’s where we are. These are my struggles of today, thanks for reading if you did. I guess I better get back to writing...or trying to write lol

[cullengirl1901]

Chapter 3 of How Alison Met the Liars is now LIVE!

The third chapter is now live! In this one we explore how Hanna and Alison became friends.

Trigger Warnings:  In this chapter there will be snide comments about weight and language related to binging/bulimia.

Summary:   Ever wondered how Alison and the Liars became friends? They seemed so different yet they all had one thing in common, Alison. In this series of short stories we discover how Alison uncovered the girls' secrets and wound them all around her little finger.  

AU, loosely based on the TV show.

Rating: Teen

Update Schedule: Weekly

Links:

FF.net

Wattpad

AO3

[cullengirl1901]

Chapter 2 of How Alison Met The Liars is LIVE!

The second chapter is live! And this one is all about how Aria and Alison became friends,

Summary:   Ever wondered how Alison and the Liars became friends? They seemed so different yet they all had one thing in common, Alison. In this series of short stories we discover how Alison uncovered the girls' secrets and wound them all around her little finger.  

AU, loosely based on the TV show.

There are currently no trigger warnings but in Hanna’s chapter there will be snide comments about weight and language related to binging/bulimia.

Rating: Teen

Update Schedule: Weekly

Links:

FF.net

Wattpad

AO3

[cullengirl1901]

New Story Alert!

This is the first story I have written in years and I am excited and nervous to start sharing it with you! I really enjoyed writing this and getting back into the swing of things. 

Summary:  Ever wondered how Alison and the Liars became friends? They seemed so different yet they all had one thing in common, Alison. In this series of short stories we discover how Alison uncovered the girls' secrets and wound them all around her little finger.

AU, loosely based on the TV show.

There are currently no trigger warnings but in Hanna’s chapter there will be snide comments about weight and language related to binging/bulimia. 

Rating: Teen

Update Schedule: Weekly

Links:

FF.net

Wattpad

AO3

[cullengirl1901]

Making a Comeback (Again)

So I made this blog to advertise my stories but I thought maybe I would start using it? 

Hi, I’m CullenGirl1901 and I used to write fanfiction day and night 24/7.

Fast forward 10 years and things are much much different. I grew out of my Twilight fangirl lifestyle and went to uni, graduated, got a job, survived a pandemic, bought a house...really became an adult haha.

I had a comeback once before, my original stories were posted in 2010-2012. Something happened and I was forced to delete all my work...

Then I was inspired to work hard and edit my stories and post them again which I did in 2017-2018. This was good for me, it was something I wanted to do as I was proud of my work and I still wanted to share it with the world.

After that, I stopped writing. Not intentionally but life just happened and got in the way. I found new hobbies which I enjoyed and so wasn’t really thinking about writing.

A few years ago I was inspired to write so I begun to write a story. I made it halfway through before I stopped and I had a block.

And here we are now in 2022 and I am inspired to write again. Though this time it’s different, I feel determined to finish the story I started and to write even more. That hasn’t happened in a long time.

Honestly I don’t know how long this will last. I always start super optimistic with these things and then they fizzle out. I could come back in full force only to be shut down again. But I might as well take advantage of the fact I feel inspired and want to write.

Fanfiction brought me so much joy when I was writing it, and so I’m hoping I can find that again.

Don’t get me wrong, my life as it is is very good but there is something comforting about returning to old hobbies and finding new joy there. So we’re doing this!

I’m excited and nervous, the things I am planning on writing are different from what I had posted before, different fandoms, different writing styles but I still hope people will enjoy them. I imagine my old readers aren’t about anymore but who knows?

So that’s where I am. I don’t know what I will blog about from here on out but I thought I might as well share some thoughts on my writer journey. I have found my voice on my Twitter account again as well so if you want to know what’s going on in my head at any given moment that’s the place to be. Otherwise I’ll try to post her occasionally to give more long-form thoughts.

In the meantime, I guess it’s time to get back to writing!

[cullengirl1901]

Edward Cullen’s Stalking Class 101 - Edward made a deal with Emmett. That Edward could teach a class on how to stalk other people or Emmett would tell Bella, Edward was stalking her. Will everything go well?

One of the first fanfiction ideas I ever had. I don’t know exactly how this came about other than I was thinking about what a stalker Edward was. But I had so much fun writing this. I am currently in the process of reposting this, after taking it down to do some editing as I wrote it 7 years ago. A lot has changed since then but the main story stays the same, just written a little bit better (I hope). Updates every Saturday :)

Read on:

Fanfiction.net

Wattpad

AO3

[cullengirl1901]

Esme’s Day As A Cover Teacher - This is a sequel to the story I wrote Carlisle’s Day as a Cover Teacher. You do not need to read that one to read this one though! The summary is the same as the title. So enjoy!

Basically similar to Carlisle’s Day as a Cover Teacher but with Esme. I never write stories from the point of view of the parents of the Cullens so I thought it would be fun.

Read on:

Fanfiction.net

Wattpad

AO3

[cullengirl1901]

Carlisle’s Day As A Cover Teacher - Forks High is running low on staff and call in Dr Cullen to be a sub for the day. He has classes with all his kids. What fun! But of course something’s BOUND to go wrong.

I had the idea for this when I was in secondary school and we had a substitute teacher. I thought it was a really fun idea.

Read on:

Fanfiction.net

Wattpad

AO3

[cullengirl1901]

A New Life in New Leaf! - A short story about what it’s like to start a new life in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

I thought about writing this after falling in love with the 3DS game. Animal Crossing has been a love of mine since I got the DS game in 2006. It’s the first time I’ve ever written something based on a game. Just a little bit of fun.

Read on:

Fanfiction.net

Wattpad

AO3