#writingthoughts

[athenanfaymont]

Fanfiction vs. Original Stories: A Writer’s Solitude and Community ✍️📖

Writing is a lonely craft. It’s you, your keyboard (or notebook if you're fancy 🖊️📓), and the whirlwind of ideas in your head. But writing fanfiction? That’s a different kind of magic. That’s stepping into a shared universe, playing with beloved characters, and knowing that, out there, someone is just as obsessed as you with the same dynamics, the same what-ifs, the same need to fix that one scene that haunts you at night. 👀✨

Fanfiction is never written in isolation. Even if you’re typing away at 3 AM, half-delirious, fueled by caffeine and questionable life choices, you know that someone will read it. Someone will comment (although people are becoming more and more stingy and it is something that we MUST solve as a community). Someone will scream in the tags. Someone will send you an ask saying, “HOW DARE YOU HURT ME LIKE THIS” (which, let’s be honest, is the highest form of writerly praise 😌💅).

But original fiction? That’s a whole different beast. You’re still creating worlds, shaping characters, bleeding onto the page… but there’s no built-in audience waiting. No immediate feedback loop. It’s just you, hoping that one day, someone will care about your world as much as you do. And that loneliness? That silence? Sometimes, it’s suffocating.

I’m not saying one is better than the other—both are acts of love. But writing fanfiction feels like sitting around a campfire, sharing stories with friends who nod, gasp, and laugh at all the right moments 🔥👥 .Meanwhile, writing original fiction sometimes feels like shouting into the void, waiting for an echo that may never come.

And yet… we write. Because stories demand to be told. Because whether it’s in a shared universe or one of our own making, we crave connection 💜

So, to all the writers out there—whether you’re posting fics at breakneck speed or painstakingly crafting an original novel—I see you. I hear you. And I hope you find the audience that makes you feel a little less alone, even if it's just a good friend who years later asks you why you didn't finish that story.

🖤✍️ Tag your favorite writers. Hype up indie authors. Accompany fanfic writers on their journey. Support the storytellers 🔥📖

[zeithforge]

Writing a book series with the same characters is a gift and a curse!

You know them better than anyone. You know how they like, what they fear, the way they react to the smallest things. You've spent so much time in their heads, you sometimes forget they aren't real.

But keeping their story alive? Making it matter—again and again? That’s the real challenge.

It’s easy to fall into the comfort of them—their familiar habits, the patterns you’ve built. But with each new book, the question looms: how do you keep it from going stale? How do you make their journey feel fresh, earned, meaningful?

You don’t want to repeat yourself. You don’t want to throw in conflict just for the sake of drama. And you definitely don’t want to change who they are just because the plot demands it.

It becomes a delicate balancing act: growth vs. consistency, surprise vs. authenticity. You’re always chasing that line between who they’ve always been—and who they’re still becoming.

Sometimes, you get stuck. Sometimes, it feels like there's nothing left to say. But then something small happens—an image, a line of dialogue, a sudden thought—and suddenly, you’re back. Not because you forced it, but because you listened. Because deep down, their story wasn’t over. It just needed time.

Writing a series isn’t about reinventing the wheel every time. It’s about deepening the characters, letting them evolve naturally—even when it feels uncomfortable.

And yeah, it’s hard. But it’s also kind of magic. And maybe that’s what keeps us going—not the pressure to top the last book, but the quiet hope that there’s still something left to discover. Something true. Something real.

[imunbreakabledude]

(i promise i do not mean the following in a mean way, as I appreciate people's creations & also recognize there are soooo many skills that go into game design and hacking that are hard and that I don't have)

but wow there is nothing like playing fan-made game hacks to make you feel more confident in your own writing cuz like. i dunno. it feels like just writing casual dialogue is one of the easiest building block skills in the world but a lot of people just like. can't write average filler dialogue for games that sounds normal. like. it's hard to explain why. it's not like official pokemon games are like, the most indepth incredible character arcs and witty dialogue and shit. but when you play fan games with original dialogue and story (or experience the few new bits of dialogue in modified vanilla games) it's just like so jarring

[janemaisonblog]

Natures Masterpiece

It’s spring's soft embrace, so the cherry blossoms dance. Their petals like whispers, a gardens kiss, in sweet sigh of  romance. Pink you, and me white, like blossoms, our love unfurled in  graceful flight. A symphony of joy, bathed in daylight's light. Beneath the canopy of blooming trees, Two tickled hearts entwined, swept by a gentle breeze. With each delicate petal that falls, Echoes of passion, love's sweet calls. A promise sealed, a love story continued, petals flutter,  As they tenderly sway. Embracing the world in its gentle swirls. Vows capturing love's essence in their display. So let us linger 'neath this floral canopy, In the realm of cherry blossoms, I bud for you, A love eternal, forever entwined.

_JM

[canonicallyuneven]

I disagree.

The biggest tragedy is being a writer and living and working with the (mostly unrealistic) hope that someone will romance you as perfectly as you write your characters's romances.

The biggest tragedy is knowing there is no one who is ever likely to romance myself as well as me. 🤣

[exploresmallworlds]

Interregum: writer tales

My two projects are vastly different. These are different styles. A deeply personal introspection on the world outside and the other one is exploring the world of the characters which aren't necessarily myself (although somewhat myself of course).

I have written a bit and yesterday i had to give myself the strength to look at the things that I have already written and published. Even as a blog, I still get scared about what I am going to put to my goblin persona. i had them sitting in my scrivener and I wasn't even sure that they were good enough. And they have to be good enough to update because there isn't anything else that is compelling it except the strange impetus of missing out on a couple of months while I had a break.

So if anyone reads and thinks that they have been creating stuff and it hasn't felt strong enough to publish or even that it needs more work please know that even though I have hit my my modest goal of getting better at writing I am still looking at my work and I am still having concerns about the validity of publishing it.

And I am comforted by my conversations with one of my friends that have the same issue with writers block because this person is one of the smartest and most skilled writers that I know and he can't even open a book or listen to audiobook or even write due to burnout. And that is a sobering thought. That our output doesn't have anything to do with our blocks in our brain. That person is still the smartest and most skilled writer even in their blocked state. And that is the trust you have to have in yourself.

[mynightmare6]

I’m longing for something not seen— but felt. Like the cold breeze that brushes your cheek when thoughts drift too far from home. It’s the silence of an empty house where the walls still hum with the weight of old laughter— faint, like perfume clinging to clothes no one wears. It’s the ache of turning pages in a book you once loved, searching for a chapter that was never written. And I still stand here— unable to let go.

written from the places where memory lingers—the ones that never learned how to let go.

this one means a lot to me. i hope it finds the right hearts.

Art credited to @hookwoojin (source via Pinterest – not mine).

If this is your work or you know the original creator, please let me know so I can tag properly.

[jreynoldsward]

Sometimes characters just sneak up on you. They're just secondary characters, not even a protagonist, someone you created to fill a needed spot in the story, but somehow, before you know it, that secondary persona has enough backstory and a sufficient story arc behind them that could fill a book or two. So, what can you do?

You write their story. In this case, The Heritage of Michael Martiniere.

Michael Marcus Martiniere, clone of Philip Martiniere, adopted son of Gabriel Martiniere and Ruby Barkley, was one of those characters. I needed something more in the plot of Realization, the third book of the Martiniere Legacy. A piece to fit in with Philip Martiniere's cyborg schemes and, well--Philip in this series is enough of a sociopath that he would create clones with the intention of using them for parts and blood transfusions, and the later possibility that he could transfer a digital personality clone into a physical clone as a means to live forever.

It gave Ruby and Gabe an additional dynamic to resolve in that book, especially Gabe in dealing with the twin concerns of guilt over not being around while his son Brandon was growing up, and worry that he won't see Philip's clone as anything but a copy of Philip.

Michael--Mikey--Mike--rose to the challenge. The frightened, timid, hurting five-year-old clone who nonetheless had enough courage to stand up to his toxic progenitor and threaten to bite if Philip laid hands on him. But who also fell madly in love with horses when he first sees them, as well as dogs, unlike his progenitor.

I had to think hard about Mike's arc. I decided that in this case, cloning meant being raised from birth to adulthood at a regular pace. I also added in the "Dolly factor"--accelerated aging, and susceptibility to the ailments that plagued Philip when the host tissue was harvested. Mike had arthritis at an early age. Heart attack at fifteen, which led to the discovery of cancer and then crippling osteoporosis. Besides being a clone, he needed cyborg heart and lung replacements, and later cyborg bone replacements in his arms and legs.

Besides the health issues, everyone around Mike also had to worry about the possibility that Mike might turn out to be too much like his progenitor, with the same sociopathic drives toward acquiring and holding power. He's clearly heir to Philip's intellect--Philip might have been evil and dangerous, but no one denied that he was brilliant.

Fortunately, for whatever reasons--a singleton rather than a twin, perhaps, or just the different upbringing, Mike is the opposite of his progenitor in many ways. That doesn't mean Mike isn't ruthless when he needs to be--he is a Martiniere, with all that implies. But the concern and care he received from Ruby and Gabe, as well as the others around him--Brandon, who accepts him as brother, Justine, who accepts him as nephew, and all the other Martiniere connections as well as Mike's ties to his dogs and horses--means that Mike grew up being loved and understanding it.

And when Mike has to face off with Philip's digital thought clone that is determined to possess him--it is the love and support of his connections that sustains him in that final battle.

The Heritage of Michael Martiniere is available on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, Kobo, and Smashwords (25% off at Smashwords through the month of July!). Links available here.

#writingthoughts #sciencefictionwestern #characterstudy

[coldeyesandredlips]

A short excerpt I wrote yesterday.

Tragedy hunches over, laughing with mirth the agonized fall to their knees, despair coating their shade of humane.

— avi •| @@aviiwrites__ on Instagram.

[claystrawberry]

to be a deep thinker is beautiful and a curse at the same time. good because you mean well, however, all the thoughts going in your mind makes you question which goes right and wrong. in the end, you’re still unsure of the choices you made then you have to re evaluate everything you just said and done.

[justtryingtoseethesunrise]

what do you mean when you ask if I'm alright?

what is the basic standard of a human to be ‘alright’?

and how do you wish me to answer? 

politely? simply? or truthfully? 

[thebookishlydiaries]

Black & White thinking

Lately I've been watching lots of old school style videos and one of them caught my interest because I feel like it refers to how I think and how some of you may think too.

Black & White was the title of the video. It spoke about how people often think about things as it being either Black or White and the grey area in between isn’t really seen at all.

One of the references used to explain it was Jean Valjean from Les Miserables, who very much sees the grey area since he steals, but steals to save his sister's starving child, whereas Javert sees it in black and white, it's just stealing for him, end of.

I definitely think like Javert in terms of thinking about what I’m good at which is terrible. I always think I’m either really good at something or really terrible (usually the latter) and it’s awful. Thinking that way destroys me from the inside out and then I manage to hide it from everyone I care about.

And you want to know the worst part of it?

I’m used to it. I’m used to thinking mainly negatively, not breaking things down into smaller sections. I literally do it every day, seeing myself in the mirror, singing, dancing, acting (very musical theatre related I know), I think about everything as either good or bad, right or wrong, black or white.

And I really need to change it, and if you read this and thought, you just described me, then you need to rethink it like I am now. I just described my negative mindset, that I am so used to now that I think nothing of it, until someone else said something to me about it.

So now I’m saying something to you.

[imunbreakabledude]

man... I reread TMDOMS a lot because... I miss writing it. I love writing long, serialized stories with broader arcs! I love getting to do silly episodic plots and long term development... recurring themes and running jokes... sigh.....

[janemaisonblog]

Pearls u love

I got accustomed to us; we were two nestled pearls in a shell. Splitting forcefully, my partnered pearl gone. I’m left in hindsight. Missing a bonded snug shell; our paired existence is my essence. I am muddied from tarnished water splashing in, and I am longing to be strung together once again. An earlet for each side, just you and I.

_JM

[docudiariesunlocked]

Genius X.

Genius, such a genius I am for falling in love with you.

Genius, you made me feel amazing, ethereal, it’s been so long since we’ve been over and, why...why do I still feel gross, hideous?

I’m actually jealous.

It’s really been 6 years apart huh?

And I still think about the good, the bad, the raw and real whatevership we had.

I drag the memories along like a leashed dog, like a Russian doll.

You’d think I’d be over it by now huh?

Your sign is a goat, but you ain’t the GOAT.

I’m mad.

Every lover after you, couldn’t even get as close to you.

I’m upset that I was ready to give you all of me, and you were just posting up a quarter.

Was that all I was worth?

So many obstacles could’ve been avoided, so many issues could’ve been resolved.

I understand you couldn’t do everything but you used to mean everything to me.

All I have left are these memories that haunt me when I’m sealed away in my room.

Too many assumptions were made, and I wish you told me that night that you didn’t like me.

I could’ve slept better at night.

Genius, you are.

When you hit me up after the 4th year, I asked you if we could see each other.

I just wanted to talk to you, you couldn’t even give me that.

You shouldn’t have messaged me.

I believe I’m emotionally unstable, emotionally insane.

And it’s not just you, it’s everything that came after you.

Now, I need to go to the holy land and cleanse myself.

Suffocate my soul in holy water.

I no longer want these memories of you anymore.

I don’t want to see you anymore, the way I used to before.

I never needed you, my emotions felt like it did though.

I’m not mad, I’m not angry.

Simply over this agony, in need of a real redemption and praying for an epiphany.

I cannot live in the dark blue ocean anymore, I’ll turn into something I’m not.

I wish nothing had stopped you for completely loving me, but you’ve taught me a life lesson.

Put your priorities first, then as value to them.

I could either cry about this forever, or move on and forget it even happened.

I’ll play one last song, that’ll remind me of you.

After today, it’ll be for myself and whoever wants me forever.

You were my X to my O, but you’re simply just an X.

Genius.

[fyliwion]

It has been surreal posting all my old thirty kisses fics. Some of them I remember vividly, and some I have no recollection at all of. This week’s, Dancing with Shades, I remembered the title but not really writing it?  It’s also fascinating to see the tropes we love/fall into as writers-- or things we want. 

I have learned, for example, my primary need in a relationship is someone who will make me coffee and a form of breakfast and mostly let me grumble in the morning-- frankly? That’s better than smut in a fic for me :D