btelling

[btelling]

really enjoying the weekly severance tag cause I won't stop screaming about it even though the new season's been wrapped for a month

S4E4. The Evolution of Fandom Etiquette from Quizilla to TikTok with @tinawithana (Or, Imagine Being Normal About the Media you Consume!)

Hello! Hope you're doing well! Our May episode is here!

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Blayne (@btelling) are joined by their very first guest of 2024—TikTok creator and fandom commentator Tiana (@tinawithana)! 

If you’ve spent any time in fan spaces on TikTok, chances are you’ve come across Tiana’s funny, sharp, and often brilliantly blunt takes on all things fandom and fanfiction. From tagging etiquette to reader engagement, she has published countless videos aimed at readers and writers alike, commenting on best practices while acknowledging the shifting culture of online communities. We were thrilled to sit down with her for a wide-ranging, deeply energising conversation. If you’ve ever found yourself scrolling through TikTok fandom discourse and shouting “YES, exactly!” - this episode is for you.

This week, we mention:

Books: The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

Fics: castles by pebblysand

Fandoms: Shadow and Bone, The Mandalorian, The Acolyte, Rivals, Teen Wolf, The West Wing, The Good Wife, Avatar: The Last Airbender, All Time Low (Band - RPF) 

Films & TV: Severance

Your recommendations for this week are:

Tiana: Salt and Scale by mzladybird (fic), Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

You can find us online at:

The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi

Blayne (@btelling): tumblr ; AO3

Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

Tiana: TikTok ; Youtube ; BlueSky

[btelling]

you arrive at work (hungry, as usual) excited for more under-tarp sex with your work husband only to find that he's not there. when you ask your boss about it he berates you. you talk to your only remaining work friend about it, but he blames you for not being able to be with his not-work wife and then kills himself. you decide to seek out the treasure map hidden by your other dead work friend. the treasure is your work husband's not-work wife, who is currently trapped in work hell. you're trying to memorize the directions in your darkened office (no work is being done). and then elon musk walks in

[btelling]

i'm sorry i'm supposed to just LIVE MY LIFE AFTER THAT

[btelling]

y'all i can't think about this fish anymore

[btelling]

pissing shitting screaming

What month is it? Don't you mean "quarter"?

Severance— "Who Is Alive?" (2025)

[btelling]

new episode kids! listen to mom yap!

S4E1. Canon Compliance (Or: AO3, Written By People Who Can't Write, Read by People Who Have Bad Taste)

Hello! Happy New Year! Our new episode is here!

In this episode, we kick off 2025 with an exciting new chapter for The Fanfic Writer’s Craft! This marks our first episode with my new co-host, Blayne (@btelling, aka Nargles15 on AO3), who you may remember from her fantastic guest episode in Season 2 on writing dystopian hellscapes. We chat about what’s ahead for the podcast, our evolving format, and introduce a brand-new segment: fanfiction news!

In this discussion, we dive into a hot topic in the fanfiction community: the removal of Manacled by SenLinYu from AO3 and its transformation into Alchemised, an original novel published by Penguin Random House. We explore the broader implications of fanfiction-to-original transitions, the publishing industry’s growing interest in fanfic authors, and the tension between creative opportunity and commercial trends.

We late dive into our main discussion on canon-compliance, discussing what it means to different fandom spaces, and how we each navigate staying true to canon while crafting original, compelling narratives. This episode is packed with insights on publishing, fandom culture, and our personal approaches to writing so we hope you enjoy! Please let us know your thoughts, and feel free to send us topic suggestions—we love hearing from you.

This week, we mention:

Books: Alchemised by SenLinYu; After by Anna Todd; Divergent by Veronica Roth; Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Fandoms: Harry Potter; Star Wars; The Good Wife; Peaky Blinders; One Direction 

Fics: we only make tsunamis by disOrderly; castles by pebblysand; Knowing Where to Look by Ala_baguette; Manacled by SenLinYu; The Squib by Nargles15

Films & TV: The Vampire Diaries

Podcasts: [The Fanfic Writer’s Craft] S2E4. Writing Dystopian Hellscapes with @Nargles15; [The Fanfic Writer’s Craft] S3E8. 2024 Wrap-Up (Or, Stop Treating Fanfic Like Social Media)

Other: Victoria Aveyard’s TikTok on fanfiction & publishing ; Vampire Diaries video by Jenny Nicholson; West Side Story

Our recommendations this week are:

Blayne: Severance (Apple TV+)

Jo: Silo (Apple TV+)

You can find us online at:

The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi

Blayne (@btelling): tumblr ; AO3

Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

[btelling]

i make no apologies for who i will become when this book drops

chapter 1 excerpt from suzanne collins's sunrise on the reaping, out march 18th!

[btelling]

I think the funniest part about the migration from tiktok to rednote is how americans are like "oh my gosh, our government lied to us, you guys are the same as us!" and chinese are like "holy shit, our government didn't lie to us, you really do live like this, i'm so sorry"

[btelling]

hello and I am sorry (for both the wait and, you know, the general content of this story)

[btelling]

[btelling]

[btelling]

me writing a character killing another character: ugh i love my little babies so much

[btelling]

is it really crafting a scene if you're not performing the whole thing while hunched over your laptop

writing dialogue is just advanced theater where you play every role and silently judge yourself as the audience.

[btelling]

Help Support The Fanfic Writers’ Craft Podcast in 2025!

Hello lovely listeners! A very happy new year to all of you!

As we kick off 2025, I (@pebblysand) wanted to take a moment to reflect and thank all of you again for tuning in this past year. Specifically, I would also like to extent my utmost gratitude to all of those who have donated to our ko-fi in 2024. I've just finished going through the accounts and can report that, thanks to your amazing generosity, you donations fully covered - (for the first time in our history!!) - our hosting fees in 2024! That’s right—you ensured that every episode stayed online, accessible, and available to our wonderful community. I can’t thank you enough for believing in this little podcast and helping us grow.

Now, we’re turning our sights to 2025! Once again, our main goal is to cover our hosting fees, which are essential for keeping the podcast running. But this year, we’re dreaming even bigger. Any extra funds raised will be reinvested directly into the podcast. Whether it’s upgrading equipment, purchasing software, or improving production quality, every penny will go toward making The Fanfic Writers' Craft the best it can be.

And, dare we say it, we’re hoping to someday outsource our sound editing—because, let’s face it, editing is no small task! For now, we’re too small for advertising, so your support is what keeps this project alive and thriving.

If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, learned something new, or simply loved geeking out with us over the art of fanfiction, please consider donating to our Ko-fi. Every "cup of coffee" makes a real difference, whether it’s keeping the lights on or helping us dream bigger. Also, we currently do not have "perks" for our supporters, but if you have any ideas of perks you would enjoy, please feel free to suggest them to us and we'll review. I'd be more than happy to provide you all with something, but I'm a bit short on ideas :).

We’re endlessly grateful for your kindness, support, and enthusiasm. Thank you for being part of this journey with us—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

Here’s to another fantastic year of celebrating fanfiction, storytelling, and the amazing community that makes it all possible.

With lots of love, pebblysand 💖

Support us on Ko-fi

[btelling]

Look, we're so pretty!

Okay, jokes aside, ahead of our new season (and since we are welcoming a new co-host!) we have rebranded! @pebblysand hopes you like the new look (and will take no criticism if you don't 😅)

Welcome - a bit early - to The Fanfic Writers' Craft 2025!

[btelling]

the inverse of this is when i called a character Beardo cause i didn't think he'd make it past the first draft and now he's a main character

writers will spend 3 hours naming a character that shows up for 2 seconds

[btelling]

please send us questions because if not we're just gonna talk about capitalism and our love of Sad Harry(TM) for an hour

Got Any Questions About Castles?

Hi everyone! Just throwing in a quick message to say that @btelling and I will be recording a bonus podcast episode to have a fun chat about castles this weekend! We're in the process of planning the ep so please feel free to let me know if there's any questions/anything specific you'd like me to talk about! Looking forward to it!