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I won't stop saying it: in fanfic-writing, you make your own rules. Write whatever the fuck you want to write

Sometimes it's that you haven't written that fanfic of that genre yet because you don't have confidence in your writing talents, or you have some learning and improving to do in your writing, or you're afraid of the audience reception.

Sometimes it's also just that the said genre is not for you. Write what you're confident in and what makes you happy. It's okay to leave the rest alone.

Unless you're receiving payment to diversify and to be more creative and to "impress", you have every right to stick to your comfort zone.

Write the same fanfic five times with five different endings. Write one genre of fanfics. Write all genres ever known to man. Write for 75 fandoms. Write for one fandom. Update once a year. Update every hour. Write only 200-chaptered stories. Write only drabbles. Write the tamest stuff. Write the kinkiest stuff(tags exist for a reason). Write different love stories for one character you love. Use the same lines or words.

Do anything and everything as long as you're happy and having fun. If there are too many negative emotions(fear, self-doubt, mental stress, worry, anxiety, overthinking, etc.) attached to your writing, then you're probably taking it too seriously.

Nobody has the right to shake your fanfic-writing peace and make you doubt how great of a writer you are, not even YOURSELF or YOUR READERS. This shit is free and meant to be for fun and relaxation.

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i also must show the fucked up official inkling statue they posted up during the leadup to Splatoon's release in the piss fountain inside of satan's own Toronto Eaton Centre

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*thinks up an idea for a silly quick piece* okay haha let's whip something up real quick

*idea gets more complicated*

*idea gets more complicated*

*idea gets more complicated*

*idea gets more complicated*

oh no

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If you consume fanfic on ao3 and are 18+ and American I need you to lock in and call your senators saying you oppose a federal porn ban. This would effectively ban ao3 and being queer in public, among many other things, due to the intentionally vague language of the bill. I’m counting on queer tumblr and fandom tumblr to help me get the word out that you have to call your senators

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draw it bad and draw it weird and draw it catered only to yourself and draw it wobbly and draw it too small and draw it with the default brush and draw it without using references and draw it and leave it unfinished and draw it for the first time and draw it

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What they don't tell you about writing is that as you write, you discover scenes and entire plots that you hadn't accounted for that need to be written. So you can spend two hours writing and editing only to realise you're further away from the finish line than you thought you were when you started

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the way fandoms are desperate to make all aroace characters romance and sex favorable but then dont do anything remotely similar to any other identity is astounding. hmm i wonder why

PLEASE dont derail this about shipping characters of other identities please let this one post be about an aroace struggle

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I've had this idea for a zine for the longest time and I finally made it! Inspired by and dedicated to all of my fellow fangirls* :')

As always, I'm sharing a high res pdf for standard A4-sized paper so you can print this zine yourself!

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just a heeeaaads up that some of these art commission scammers are upgrading their technique

they will now actually take notes of things that really happened in your fic, they make it sound personalised and genuine, but there's a way they talk that feels weirdly artificial, there's always a vague mention of some 'ideas' they have, if it raises your hackles trust those instincts and tread carefully, because ultimately-

they will ALWAYS LEAD YOU TO A SECONDARY LOCATION

suddenly changing up their writing style is a big red flag, wanting to take you off platform to some other site showcasing their 'art' is an even bigger red flag, REAL ARTISTS DO NOT DO THIS

no matter how genuine they sound, trust NOBODY advertising their art in your comment section, trust NOBODY who wants to take you off platform, NEVER go to that secondary location

STREET SMARTS!

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crab crab crab hand hand hand frighten

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One of my favorite genres of post

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all politics about ai aside if you use it to create fanwork you're just a fucking dweeb

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i posted on ao3 today

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I was reading this post over on the Ao3 subreddit this evening and I think it brings up a lot of good points about how fandom, as a community, has been shifting in its treatment towards fanfic writers.

Fanfic is more popular than ever, which means there are more works "competing" for the readers' attention, who take on a passive approach that treats fanworks not as a means to talk to people with similar interests, but as content, as products. [...] Gift cultures thrive not on monetary exchanges, but on the expectation that the gifts freely given will be returned in an unspecified future through emotional and relational means. This used to set fandom apart, but it's slowly being absorbed into the mainstream way capitalism operates. Where does that leave us?

And it's demotivating to see the responses authors get when expressing their grievances with this state of affairs, or how they feel underappreciated. Being called entitled, told to write for themselves, or to promote their work as if writing and posting isn't enough. I write for myself, I post for the community. There are things I want to say about the source material and characters, and I do through storytelling. And I'm grateful about each of the comments I got, no matter how short. It's just that it doesn't feel like there's a community out there when no one talks back. Writers aren't just expected to write, but to do it for the "right reasons", and to also be as pleasant about it as possible, lest they'll be criticized by more people than the amount that's offering them support.

I've seen posts going around on tumblr that have approached this topic as well--that fanworks (particularly fanfic) should be created from the perspective of a perfect vessel that can pour, pour, pour out and never needs to be poured into. You should do it for the "right reasons" and not complain because "no one owes you interaction". But what is fandom if not interaction?

Writing fanfic is one of the most time-consuming labors of love that makes up a fandom. (That's not to say other fanworks aren't labors, time-consuming, or made with love. We're talking about fanfic). Your 300k+ enemies to lovers slowburn porn-with-plot fic that has reshaped the entire way you approach a specific pairing or media has been made with time, effort, for free, with the intention to be shared with you.

And in the state of current fandom, it has been made with the expectation to receive nothing back. Is that fair? Maybe. Silent readers exist and a kudos on Ao3 is at least an acknowledgment that some people read and enjoyed. But does it hurt to leave a comment? Even a heart emoji or an "I loved this, thank you for sharing!" is enough to at least start a dialogue, a conversation, form a connection.

That's not even to mention the isolation of fandom interactions to private Discords; time after time I've heard from fanfic authors who found out that there have been discord servers or twitter groupchats where their fanfic has been discussed, loved, and lauded at length--but never once was the author told this! Ao3 has comments for a reason. Many authors link their tumblr profiles or emails in their bio for people to reach out to them.

It's just a sorry state to see it go.

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