dwells-writes

[dwells-writes]

maybe your fanfic doesn’t have to change someone’s life maybe it can just brighten someone’s day for a bit

[dwells-writes]

Did I daydream this, or was there a website for writers with like. A ridiculous quantity of descriptive aid. Like I remember clicking on " inside a cinema " or something like that. Then, BAM. Here's a list of smell and sounds. I can't remember it for the life of me, but if someone else can, help a bitch out <3

[dwells-writes]

Maybe it's better to just leave things unexplained rather than insisting that the story explicitly explain every last bit of worldbuilding.

(I say this as much about certain popular stories, as I also say about my own desires, whether when I'm writing fiction or when I'm reading fiction, that the most important goals are plot and character, not every last detail as to how things in this setting work.)

[dwells-writes]

one of my favorite things to do in limited perspective is write sentences about the things someone doesn't do. he doesn't open his eyes. he doesn't reach out. i LOVE sentences like that. if it's describing the narrator, it's a reflection of their desires, something they're holding themselves back from. there's a tension between urge and action. it makes you ask why they wanted or felt compelled to do that, and also why they ultimately didn't. and if it's describing someone else, it tells you about the narrator's expectations. how they perceive that other person or their relationship. what they thought the other person was going to do, or thought the other person should have done, but failed to. negative action sentences are everything.

[dwells-writes]

it’s really great when you can hyperfixate on your own story. however it’s not great when you decide to hyperfixate on your fictional city’s infrastructure instead of. you know. writing.

[dwells-writes]

[dwells-writes]

This is amaaaaazing advice

[dwells-writes]

I think something that a lot of fanfic writers don’t understand is that it doesn’t matter if it’s good.

And I’m not saying that to encourage you to practice self love or whatever. I’m not saying that “art doesn’t have to be good.” I mean, it doesn’t, but that’s not my point.

I’m saying that the objective reality is that if you have a fun concept, if you are passionate, if your work is literally legible, you will have readers that appreciate it. 95% of fanfic readers are not looking for Quality Literature. They’re looking for a juicy peice of fanfiction. They’re looking for a medium to project onto. All you have to do is create that medium.

So yeah, your fic probably has all those problems you think it has. It’s probably too long and the timeline is weird and the dialogue is cheesy and the plot has holes. And people love it anyway because YOU love it. They love it because when they read it, they feel like you’ve reached into their brain and pulled out their desires.

So just go. Go scratch their itch.

[dwells-writes]

“everything in your story should be there for a reason” well yes the reason my character has an Irish wolfhound is because I’ve always wanted one

[dwells-writes]

If your plot feels flat, STUDY it! Your story might be lacking...

Stakes - What would happen if the protagonist failed? Would it really be such a bad thing if it happened?

Thematic relevance - Do the events of the story speak to a greater emotional or moral message? Is the conflict resolved in a way that befits the theme?

Urgency - How much time does the protagonist have to complete their goal? Are there multiple factors complicating the situation?

Drive - What motivates the protagonist? Are they an active player in the story, or are they repeatedly getting pushed around by external forces? Could you swap them out for a different character with no impact on the plot? On the flip side, do the other characters have sensible motivations of their own?

Yield - Is there foreshadowing? Do the protagonist's choices have unforeseen consequences down the road? Do they use knowledge or clues from the beginning, to help them in the end? Do they learn things about the other characters that weren't immediately obvious?

[dwells-writes]

simongerman600

[dwells-writes]

people bitching about the usage of "too modern" words in fantasy or historical fiction is sometimes justified, but ultimately I think it's a waste of time because

all words exist within a specific time frame and it's pointless to avoid the fact that you're writing with the language of your own time

which words are actually "newer" than other words is sometimes wildly unintuitive

according to the dates given in the Oxford English Dictionary, if you wrote a book set in 1897, you could have your characters say "fuckable," (1889) "sexy" (1896) "uncomfy" (1868) "hellacious" (1847) "dude" (1877) "all righty" (1877) and "heck" (1887), but not "wiggly" (1932) "moronic" (1910) "uptight" (1934) "lowbrow" (1901) "fifty-fifty" (1913) "burp" (1932) "bagel" (1898) or use the word "rewrite" as a noun (1901)

[dwells-writes]

You’ve heard of one shots, now get ready for none shots! It’s when you think of an idea for a fic and then don’t write it

[dwells-writes]

[dwells-writes]

me, writing: this sentence is way too long. I need to condense it in a way that makes it grammatically correct while still preserving the original meaning I’m trying to convey

the devil on my shoulder: or, you can add five more commas, a semi colon, three em dashes, fifty more words, and it’ll all come together in a way that’s technically grammatically correct but completely incomprehensible to anyone who reads it, even yourself!

me, writing faster: you’re a genius

[dwells-writes]

Writing is not about 'telling an epic story' or 'making something that will outlive you'. Writing is about going "You know what would be fucking awesome?" and then committing word crimes

[dwells-writes]

Not every story is about seeing yourself in it. Sometimes it’s about learning to see other people too.