celerywrites - Tumblr blog

[celerywrites]

I've orphaned my works on AO3 but they should still be findable.

I do not intend to add to this blog, as is likely already evident by how long it's been since I last posted (aside from accidentally reblogging to the wrong blog)

[celerywrites]

Do you think you’ll ever properly return to this account and continue writing? I miss your stories.

I honestly don't know. I haven't really been inspired to write for a while now, and I've returned more to pixel art as my go-to hobby when I have the time/energy to do something creative. Visual art has always been easier for me than writing.

While I'd like to come back to writing reader inserts again, it's something I can't really guarantee.

[celerywrites]

I swear I really do intend to write more fics at some point, but I have a full-time job that leaves me exhausted at the end of the day, so finding the energy is difficult when I also admin a roleplay discord server and have other things going on irl (the dishes and laundry never end, and I am disabled so my energy levels are low as is)

[celerywrites]

would you ever write anything for a reader with DID?

While I know and love several people with DID, I myself am a singlet and am not sure I could do an accurate job, no matter how good my intentions.

[celerywrites]

Look, if I introduced a WIP on here excitedly and then promptly never mentioned it again, it doesn’t mean I’m not working on it, it means I’m slowly rotating it in my mind like a rotisserie chicken and then went out to the grocery store to buy several other rotisserie chickens while I wait for it to cook and then slowly started rotating those rotisserie chickens and repeat

[celerywrites]

yknow ever since people realized tumblr isnt dead and have decided to flock here from twitter and tiktok ive seen a huge influx of people in fandom spaces who dont reblog anything. at all.

like, i used to have an art blog with 340 followers. not a ton but not a small amount either given how this website works with creators. and in my experience back then even the ones who only left likes still reblogged other things or at least posted their own stuff. literally the only empty blogs were clearly bots.

but on this New art blog, i’ve had so many people with fandom-specific headers and icons with actual usernames as urls and some kind of title or description, but have. Nothing. no posts. all they do is like things. and it’s always public, too. their following list and their likes list.

and honestly all it makes me think is that these people are New and also don’t know how tumblr works. how likes don’t give exposure. not even in a “oh, i know it doesn’t give exposure, but i’m still going to reblog anyways” way, but in a genuine honest to god straight up doesn’t realize tumblr likes don’t work like twitter’s.

PLEASE please if you’re from tiktok or twitter or whatever please reblog people’s art both fandom and original if you like it!! and maybe actually pad out your blog’s content in some way so people won’t potentially see you as a bot and block you.

REBLOG ARTIST’S WORK. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THEY GET ANY ATTENTION ON THIS WEBSITE OH MY GOD. PLEASE. I BEG of you

[celerywrites]

hey i made this fanfic writer meme. drop in my ask which one u think i am!!!!

(okay to rb!)

[celerywrites]

How many more times do I have to say this?

If you are under the age of 18 and interact with my NSFW stories, you will be blocked. You are literally putting me at risk of legal trouble.

I make it very clear which stories contain content not suitable for minors. This is one of the reasons I've felt uncomfortable writing at all for a while, because minors continue to interact with my smut stories.

I'm almost 30! It makes me feel so fucking creepy when y'all ignore my warnings, ignore my posts asking you to stop, and continue to like and reblog posts you have no business interacting with. I just had to block a 14 year old for reblogging one of my fics with super graphic tags. Fucking stop!

[celerywrites]

No stories for a bit longer, and here’s why

So.  I take an antidepressant that has unpleasant side-effects if you stop cold turkey.  You’re supposed to be weaned off of it if you’re changing or stopping meds.  

I get my prescriptions and mental health care through Cerebral, which has been decent so far.  However, my prescriber has seemingly vanished off the face of the planet and no one at Cerebral can get in touch with her.  I have been trying to get my meds for a week now.

I ran out of my antidepressant 2 days ago.  I have been experiencing withdrawal symptoms so bad that I cannot walk without someone to spot me. (dizziness, disorientation, headache, nausea)

I was supposed to drive my partner’s brother to a doctor appointment today.  I’m supposed to drive our cat to a vet appointment tomorrow.  I cannot safely navigate the stairs, let alone operate a vehicle in this state.  I can’t do even basic self-care and hygiene tasks safely and I’m so unbelievably frustrated.

My brain isn’t working properly and I’m 100% relying on autocorrect and quadruple-checking my messages to make sure they make sense.  My head feels like I have a too-tight ponytail but all over, but also like there’s a thick barrier between my thoughts and the rest of me.  I can’t turn my head without intense waves of dizziness.

Cerebral is supposedly working to get another provider to send in my prescription, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet after several hours and the pharmacy closed hours ago, so I have no idea if they actually did.  Even if I get meds in my system tomorrow, it will take a few days for it to build back up in my system and for me to return to normal function.  

Writing will resume when I feel like a person again.

[celerywrites]

To the anon with the hurt/comfort argument request, I saw it!  I’m not replying to it because I want to keep it easily accessible in my inbox, but I read it and have added it to my to-write list.

[celerywrites]

Hi there! I just wanted to drop by and tell you that I really like your blog. My dysphoria has been very bad lately but your blog has helped me through it and I just wanted to thank you for that.

You are an absolutely phenomenal writer and I can’t wait to see what you publish next! Have a nice day!

Thank you so, so much! I was actually having a rough day today, so this message means a lot. I'm glad to hear that my writing was able to help you through your dysphoria. If there's anything specific that helps you, please let me know and I'll be happy to include it in future works!

I'm going to do my best to get back into writing. Thank you for your kind words!

[celerywrites]

Do you have any rules for sending requests?

Nothing super concrete, no.

I won't write smut of Damian even aged up, and I can't promise I'll fulfill every request but I'm pretty open to story suggestions!

I haven't been doing much writing lately, but I do intend to try and get back to it.

[celerywrites]

writing fanfiction is just. i’m being so creative and original. i’m plagiarizing everyone by accident. i’m a genius. i’m cringe. i’m too angsty. i’m too cheesy. this is not in character. it doesn’t matter that it’s not in character because these are my characters now. i love my hobby. this is the worst possible use of my time. i’m seeking validation. i’m projecting my own personal problems onto this story and i’m barely hiding it. i know so many words and i’m using all of them wrong. im on tumblr posting about it instead of writing it.

[celerywrites]

started writing a fic, got to the point where Damian shows up, immediately forgot how to write him and stopped

I swear someday you will see completed fic from me again

[celerywrites]

The Tumblr writing community is dying.

It’s something I’ve noticed over the past two years of using this site. It was gradual, imperceptible at first, something that most would brush off as a silly concern, or fault Tumblr algorithm for. While it’s true that Tumblr’s engine leaves a lot to be desired, I’ve noticed that even popular blogs have started to dwindle in terms of interaction or motivation. There could be a lot of reasons for this, but the biggest two I’ve noticed, experienced myself, and asked fellow writers about is this: (1) content being stolen, and (2) lack of feedback or interaction. I’ve never seen any logical person defend content being stolen, so I want to address point 2 instead.

Lack of feedback and interaction. I’m not saying this on my behalf so much as I’m saying this for friends and smaller blogs who have lost motivation to write. I was looking at my yandere writing blogs list the other day and noticed that a good majority of them no longer write. I usually update the list every few months, and by that point, more and more writers have stopped writing entirely. This isn’t a problem confined solely to the yandere fandom; in fact, there’s less writing blogs in general these days, especially ones that are active. I used to run a very popular BNHA blog with some friends, but that dissolved after our content was stolen and our followers stopped interacting as much. Out of our 8,500 followers, we hardly got 0.015% notes (~128 notes) on an average post. Tumblr is to blame for the lack of eyes seeing our posts, for sure, but that also means that at least 128 people saw one post and didn’t leave a comment or ask. We were considered a big blog; imagine what it’s like on a small blog.

My friend recently made a post that summed this up perfectly: 

“I’ve seen people say “Be grateful that people even lurk on your page.” and, while I get the message they’re trying to say, it’s more dismissive and hurtful in my opinion. Like you’re saying, “Oh your writing is mediocre, you should be grateful people even LOOK at it.”

Me personally? I’ve heard the argument that AO3 is a better place to post fanfics, and while that might be true, I’ve had friends experience firsthand the lack of interaction there too. I’ve heard the argument that interacting with some writers is intimidating (me included). I’ve heard that argument that followers might be too shy to interact. I’ve heard the argument that writers should write for themselves and not for views / likes / reblogs / etc, and while that’s ideal, it’s not sustainable for everyone. What works for one writer won’t work for another, but you know what will? Interaction.

That comment or ask that took you 2 seconds to write? We remember it. That reblog with the compliments in the tags? We remember it. Every single ‘named’ anon we get (heart anon, sunflower anon, etc)? We remember them. And the best part is? It’s actually easier to do these things on Tumblr since you have the option to send anonymous asks or make a sideblog specifically for reblogs! Trust me, whether the lack of interaction is the cause of a lack of motivation or what have you, every writer appreciates feedback (don’t be shy to offer some critique or compliments) or even a simple keyboard smash with some emojis. Even sitting down for 5 min a day per week to comment on your favorite writers’ new pieces makes a huge difference. Personally, since Tumblr’s activity feed is beyond terrible and I have over 1,500 posts, I don’t always see new reblogs or comments on my content; asks though? Always see those, can never go wrong with those. If you don’t want to reblog or leave a comment, then you can never go wrong with an anonymous ask. 

As my wise friend says: writing is an art, and in order to improve that art, we need other people’s eyes to see what we don’t.

For the sake of every writer (past, present, and future) on this platform, please share this post.

[celerywrites]

Alright, I've finished rereading my entire catalogue of fanfics, and I've sorted the ones that stand out/that I had some concrete thoughts on. If a fic isn’t mentioned here, it’s a solid “I like it, but it didn’t majorly stand out”

Stories I've written that I LOVE: Dinner With the Family - has some issues, but the actual heart of it I still really love. I was still figuring out the characters voices and was scared while writing it that people would hate it, but in the end I loved it and that's what mattered.

A Harmless Break-In - Damian Wayne meets my partner's cat, the fic.  What's not to love?

Dance Lessons - the fic I did the most research for, and how I made a new friend.  I'm not entirely sure my descriptions for the dancing were the best, but the heart of the fic is good, and I made some latino readers feel seen which was the goal.

Not Going to Leave You Out In the Cold - Pure sweet fluff. I'd change the coffee-obsessed Tim bit on a rewrite, but that's my only real issue with it.

Oral Fixation - Yes, okay, it's a smut fic, but it's about the tenderness and I stand by this one.

The Patch-Up - As much as I love Jason Todd, I have a soft spot for my Dick fics, especially this one. It's short and sweet, and really gives a good "oh god I'm a civilian caught up in some wild shit" vibe for the reader, with a fun follow-up.

Safe With You - another smut fic, but with connection and a look into a possible side-effect of the Lazarus pit.  I'm genuinely pleased with how this one turned out.

Bootsteps - Himbo reader and bemused Jason were a fun combo

Stories I've written that I LIKE: Crossed Wires - my first story. it definitely has some issues, but I still enjoy the bones of it.  the Tim friendship was good.

The Riddler is Not as Smart as He Thinks (And He Shouldn't Trust Henchman Intel) - WHY did I make that the title? I should have made the Riddler's riddles more elaborate, but also I'm very very stupid when I write. I still enjoy this one.

Snow Day - fun concept, but I wish I'd done a bit more with the actual snowball fight and made the fic longer overall. I would have especially liked more interaction with Duke and Damian as the reader's teammates.

A Messy Proposal - I basically wrote this for the Harley Quinn bit, if I'm honest.  The rest turned out alright and I do enjoy the finished product!

A Huge Favor - I really enjoyed writing the fake dating, but I feel like this fic could definitely have been longer and more detailed.  Maybe draw out the tension a bit longer before the reveal of feelings.

Stories I've written that I HAVE MINOR ISSUES WITH: Don't Want to be the Cause of Your Pain - I'm a sucker for the hanahaki trope as silly as it is.  It's definitely a bit rushed, and I'd stretch things out a bit if I were to rewrite it, but overall it's cute.

The Snack Hoard - intended as a slice of life, somehow still feels rushed?  I'd like to rework it at some point.  The bones of the story are cute.

A Greasy Spoon Meetcute - I stand by the concept of this fic, but the reader's pronouns were a request and I feel like the way I worked them in was really clunky.  Paired with the fact that they're only used in a single block of dialogue, I feel like I could have done better on this one.

Stories I've written that I HAVE MAJOR ISSUES WITH: All Dressed Up - not satisfied with the ending at all; I didn't plot it out in advance and the story ran away with me.  It definitely shows.

[celerywrites]

I feel like you tend to write the reader's actions and reactions as very soft, which doesn't necessarily fit every transmasc reader

Ah, you're right, and that is something I've noticed on a reread of my stories. I admit it, I tend to write the stories with myself in mind and how I would react, because they're rather self-indulgent stories in general. That said, I do want a wider variety of readers to feel represented in my works, so I will do my best to fix that in future stories.

I don't want people to feel like I'm falling into the "uwu sweet soft trans boi" stereotype, especially because that's how cis writers always seem to portray us. While I won't give up on softness completely, I will try to make future reader insert characters a bit more bold and tough.