#And don't be afraid to express any suggestions or criticism. I'm always looking to improve! ^^

[hasellia]

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[galaxythreads]

Suggestions on how to improve fanfic writing:

I was talking with @angelfishofthelord recently (not that recent, time is a concept that escapes our collective grasp) and I jokingly suggested that I make this post. I am in the middle of an insomnia night, so. Here be us.

Characters use the same nicknames and phrases inside their head as speaking. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re sharing the humor they’re speaking. I.g.: For SPN, I see a lot of people write Dean as a little careless in his POVs, because that’s just how he portrays himself, but Dean, I think, while having a dark sense of humor, isn’t actually very funny in his head. Same goes for MCU and Tony Stark. Funny characters does not always equal happy head space. :)

Nicknames--this used to bother me to no end, because nicknames were never something in my family, and people shortening down the names felt wrong. But you nickname what you love. If someone has given a nickname (and not in mockery) to a character, chances are, they call them that in their head. Like in MCU Clint calling Natasha "Nat", or SPN Dean and Sam calling Cas "Cas" however, with that said, unless the nickname is self chosen, most people will use their full name when narrating. Castiel, Natasha, etc.

Headcanons! This is going to sound a little backwards, but headcanons have always helped me sort between characters. I know that some fic authors are very against headcanons, but to me, you HAVE to make these characters and their world your own, at least a little. You need to understand how their brain functions, and headcanons are a wonderful, wonderful way to do that. So long as you can conceivably fit them into canon, I think you’re good. One of the ones I have about SPN Cas is that he doesn’t actually give off body heat, so he’s constantly room temperature. It’s a detail for people that’s not Cas’s POV to notice. So getting some headcanons like that will help differentiate between POVs because it’s different things for characters to acknowledge.

Mimic writing that you admire. (And ask yourself WHY you like it) I really, really love the way that TFW/avengers team is portrayed in some stories, in others, I’m like “meh.” Write to please yourself, first and foremost, on how to read these characters thoughts. Those who agree with you will flock to be your audience, and they’re who matter.

Language/word choice is really important for POV change. Again, people talk like how they think.

POV change? Treat the character whose POV it is like they are THE most important person in existence. Their reactions get a front seat. Their five senses are your concern. What they notice about a character may not be true, but it's what they notice. They are human, not omniscient, ergo, they'll get things wrong. Even if the story is written with a completely different character in mind, this character is still the most important. POV's time to think, talk, panic, angst, express, etc. That chapter was about how they felt. That’s why sometimes, even if I really do want them to talk or something, a character might think “please don’t say xyz” because THEY don’t want that, and how I feel as an author isn’t relevant here. Remembering that they’re human, and need time to process/react to things is huge.

Practice, practice, practice. It does get easier with time, and effort. I promise. All of you would laugh at my first few weeks of diving into fandoms. That stuff is garbage.

Conscious stream of thought is generally the best way to engage readers, and the most enjoyable. This is how we immerse ourselves into the story. We become a part of it because we follow their thinking. It is always ideal to start where you are the most comfortable, whether that's 3rd omniscient, 2nd person, etc, but, in my opinion, you don't get that true "click" with the characters until you've conscious stream of thought them.

Research. Lots of research. Don't know how long battieres could last in 2002? Look it up. Don't know how to do stitches? Google it. Try to avoid making things up.

Look guys. Everyone understands that you are most likely NOT a doctor or have any semblance of a medical degree. This is fiction. Research what you can, and move forward carefully or vague it out with the rest. The worst that can happen is someone correcting information you got wrong.

Please, please, please stay within the range of human limitation. (Or whatever creature/being you are writing for) You can't lose more than five pints of blood. You CAN die from pain. Infection spreads quickly. I'm sorry. I just. Have read so many fics from newbie writers who push their characters past extremes that is almost impossible. You want to hurt them that bad, break a bone or something. Just. Please try to be realistic. (Don't misunderstand here, I love me some well-done whump.)

Again with the "you are not a professional thing." Those diagnosed with mental illnesses know that you may not be writing from true experience. This is okay. But please, please do not avoid using any words or phrases common with the illness as you try to "vaguely" write it. The more authentic you are, the less likely you will offend someone. Look. I would be so frustrated if someone tried to write about an ED and just... Avoided words like "starve" "binge" and "hungry" because they didn't want to trigger me. Like. Sweeties, I appreciate the thought, I do, but it's more frustrating that you can't even SAY it than actually putting it into your writing. So. Please just. If you're going to write about a mental illness, do so with the intent to WRITE it, not skirt around the bush.

With that, if you are not diagnosed with the mental illness your writing for (or suspect that you have some form of it) that's okay! Google symptoms to get a basic idea, and search for first hand accounts. People's experience is a lot different than the definition. For example, some of the most hilarious people I know are severally depressed, and Google will just tell you they are sad.

Write write and write. You are building a skill. You have to practice that skill frequently.

Do not be afraid to ask for feedback. Betas are wonderful. Asking for advice is wonderful. Being too shy and afraid of criticism for asking for help is perfectly okay. (Hello fellow traveler)

If your search history doesn't have you being watched by government organizations in the next few months, you aren't researching enough. ;)

Take your time. Quality over quantity. Do NOT conform to the update fairy that demands updates frequently. Look. I love my readers. I do. But you HAVE to take your time to finish things in order for them to be worth reading. If this is six hours or six years, that's that.

Do not give everything away. Stop answering questions. We keep reading because we have unanswered questions. Anticipation = good. Knowing everything at once: bad.

Do not put in funny for the sake of funny.

Insults should be insulting, not make people want to cringe and duck their heads.

Dialog should serve as people communicating... Like actual people.

Siblings (unless otherwise said so by canon) DO NOT address each other as "bro" and "sis"

Not a native English speaker? Cool. Natives would love to help you learn their language. :) English grammar sucks.

Analogies should make sense. They should flow smoothly into the writing. If they pop out, you've lost the attention of your writers.

please, please don't glorify rape, racism, homophobia, mental illness shaming/glorification, abuse, sexism, and other crappy things. Thanks. People came for a story, not to get their souls crushed.

[taahko]

hey so... I really respect you... but I'm straight? so like how can i as a straight girl NOT victimize the lgbtq+ community? i don't want to piss yall off and you seem informed on the matter

oh whoa big question uhh

any of my other fellow Gays can add on to this if they want but for me its like.......... 3 main things: Don’t Fetishize, Don’t Minimize, and perhaps most importantly to me, Don’t Avoid

Don’t Fetishize: i’m a gay woman (ish), not a gay man, so i can’t speak to all sides of the issue and idk what your media consumption habits are, but fetishization of the lgbt community is a huge problem in movies, tv shows, and fandom. yeah, even (and especially) so called ‘gay allies’ in fandom spaces are hell bent on twisting gay love, especially mlm love, into something to jack off to and its nasty. heres some things to avoid and/or call out as they happen:

phrases like “hot gay sex” in a post written by a straight person

honestly any detailed descriptions/fantasies of gay sex written or described by straight people because it’s always through this lense of ‘oh em gee guys wldnt this be so Hot!!’ like no. shut up and let gay people exist for themselves u nastees

straight people talking a LOT about their usually mlm ships wth this kind of detailed yet detached air, like theyre entitled to every second of a gay relationship yet dont quite see the participants as human

all of this goes double if one or both of the people in the ship is a poc, because thats a Big Red Alert for intersectional bigotry right there

Don’t Minimize: this one’s sort of for more of irl interactions and its something ive encountered a lot, especially from more liberal people (of which there are a lot here in nyc). something that liberal straight people tend to want to do a lot is minimize the struggles of lgbt people. this allows them to turn a blind eye to acts of homophobia and ignore a lot of the pain that their lgbt friends and relatives go through, because theyve convinced themselves it’s not a big issue. ways to avoid this:

don’t respond to descriptions of homophobia (irl or online!) with exasperated phrases like “UGH come on! it’s 2017 people we should be past this!” because any gay person on earth would be happy to tell you that no, we’re really not 

expressions of sympathy or support are welcomed, as long as they arent patronizing or dismissive. dont just pull a face and say ‘oh that sucks’ and leave it at that when you hear about homophobia in action. investigate, learn, research, critique. look deeper.

but don’t expect any gay person you know to perform intellectual labor for you and tell you everything about the community without you finding anything out for yourself. google is real and it’s right there in your hand

work to understand that homophobia is global and it is societal and the win for marriage equality did not change the quality of life or the mental health of many gay people in the country and especially the world. this is a huge issue, and it affects us every day

(sidenote writing all of this out for u could be considered unprompted intellectual labor so if you have a million followup questions maybe try.....googling it)

Don’t Avoid: ok so after reading all of that, you might be feeling a little...exhausted of it. maybe youre thinking “all of this is so complicated, theres so many ways to fuck it up, maybe i shouldn’t even try”. maybe youre tempted to retreat from this, to avoid gay media and gay discourse in order to avoid messing up or "pissing us off”. don’t do that. as much as i like to make jokes about straighties and shit, even i can recognize that we do actually kind of need your guys’ support on the social and political spheres. and for yall to do that effectively, you need to be informed.

seek out gay media. seek out gay characters. learn to love them and care for them as people. dont avoid them because they might make you, deep down, a little uncomfortable

seek out gay PEOPLE. lgbt focused blogs, lgbt icons and influencers, lgbt celebrities, lgbt friends. dont be afraid to interact with us or talk to us. the only way to improve and to grow is to try

monitor yourself, monitor your actions. do you use gay as an insult? no? do you laugh with people who do, without criticism? do you avoid speaking up for gay people around you out of fear of being seen as ‘other’ or worse, gay yourself? these are a few of the questions you should be asking yourself, every day

honestly im really touched that you reached out to me about this. i know i wrote a lot, but honestly, theres million more things to be said. i really do encourage my lgbt mutuals and followers to add on to this IF they want with their own suggestions, and i encourage you and any other straight people to read them! 

[grapeagata]

Speech Bubbles!

A short and simple game about typing quickly! Comes with three modes, four difficulties, and achievements!

Play here -> Game!