happy-jian-writes

[happy-jian-writes]

Writing Excerpt

from "Innocence", Chapter 29

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you.”

[happy-jian-writes]

I sometimes find myself thinking of the reader I left behind.

I had a reader in 2017 who was the best cheerleader. She read and commented on every chapter the moment I would upload and even called me her favorite author. But due to life circumstances involving a pew pew and an unhinged ex-husband, I took a hiatus and left the story unfinished. She worried for me and said she missed me.

When I returned years later, without the ex and finally mentally sound, her account was gone. I've since updated the fic with an additional 25 chapters since she last read, and I sometimes wonder if she would have liked it. Did she anticipate the direction it was heading? Would she have been relieved or excited at the plot twist? Would she have eventually fallen off because she lost interest? I left her behind in 2017, but I still remember her like it was yesterday.

I wonder if she remembers me, too.

[happy-jian-writes]

this is the funniest shit.

AO3 authors are terminators.

[happy-jian-writes]

"Omg, holy crap, hey, I just thought of the perfect way to explain the plot hole in my story—!"

*turns to an empty chair*

[happy-jian-writes]

nothing will ever amaze me the way fanfiction authors do. like, you wrote silly little stories about my favorite little guys? and i can read them?? for free??? that’s fucking wild.

you poured your heart and soul and very being into your writing and then put it out there for anyone to read? insane.

you spend a truly incredible amount of time writing novel-length, high quality stories, again, FOR FREE, that anyone can read, again, FOR FREE??

shoutout to every single fic author in existence, you guys are fucking incredible and i love all of you so much

[happy-jian-writes]

I cooked this delicious meal, but no one came to dinner.

It's a beautiful meal. I spent two full days in the kitchen preparing it, but I spent weeks before crafting recipes and purchasing the right ingredients for it. I worked hard and curated it with love and care.

The biscuits are from scratch, the butter is whipped by my own hand. I butchered and cleaned the turkey and picked the herbs from my own garden. The stuffing is made from my own bread that I allowed to stale. The potatoes are from my own vegetable patch out back, and a warm apple pie sits in my window sill, cooling for dessert. Piles of leafy greens in savory seasonings are put on the table because I want my guests to have good nutrition and a good experience.

I invite everyone I can. It's the largest meal I've ever prepared, and I want to share this bountiful feast with everyone I know. My friends and family. Neighbors and co-workers. Strangers on the street and in the stores. I post an invite online for anyone and everyone to come. If you love homecooked meals, I have one for you. For free. You don't have to bring a thing. Do you love roasted turkey? Do you love fruit pies? I have just the thing.

No one comes.

I eat a beautiful meal by myself. It is delicious, and I savor every bite. I cooked it for myself by myself. I have leftovers for weeks after. But no one else was interested. They don't enjoy food. There is easier to digest food out there. They've already eaten. They stay at home and eat their own meals. They eat dinners at the homes of people they like, people they are familiar with. They don't know me. Why would they ever consider eating my meal?

"Just cook for yourself. If other people eat, okay. But don't expect anyone to eat at your table no matter how much work you put into it."

I don't expect. I never expect. It's only a hope. I want to share not because I need my guests to compliment the gravy. I know the gravy is good. I want to share with them because I also enjoy being fed by others. I want to share because everyone deserves a good meal. It's a gift that I will never stop giving even if no one shows up to dinner ever again.

Are you hungry? I have a meal lovingly prepared for you. You may love it, or you may hate it. You might not finish it. You might ask for second helpings.

You don't have to bring a thing except yourself and an empty stomach.

[happy-jian-writes]

The problem with being a writer is that you can't insert your imagination into casual conversation.

"Hey, whatcha been up to?"

Hunting dragons, initiating rebellions, flying starships, romancing assassins, sailing the seas, crafting heists, traveling through portals, creating lives and taking them. "Oh, not much. Trying a new toothpaste."

[happy-jian-writes]

If you name your story "A [blank] of [blank] and [blank]", I'm assuming beige is your favorite breakfast cereal, and music is your favorite song.

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We're fanfic writers: we don't make a dime off our hard work, but you better believe some little book binding bitch on Etsy will.

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My long-term career plan used to include medical school.

I wanted to be poor instead.

[happy-jian-writes]

That fic you wrote?

The one about the ship no one else cares about, or the deeply unpopular character, or the extremely unusual AU?

The fic that got no comments or kudos when you posted it?

Months or years from now, that fic might be exactly what someone is looking for in the sea of fics about all the popular characters, ships, and AUs.

Your fic might be the only fic out there that has what someone is looking for. The only fic that scratches the itch that it turns out you and that reader share.

And that's awesome.

[happy-jian-writes]

I've grown as a writer.

I transitioned from pantser to plotter.

I'll take my 6 Ibuprofen and chamomile tea now.

[happy-jian-writes]

“How’s your WIP going?”

"Have you made any progress?”

“How close are you to being done?”

[happy-jian-writes]

How to write the passage of time

Time is a crucial element in writing that shapes the narrative. From linear progression, to flashbacks and foreshadowing, it gives you complete control of how your story unfolds.

Here are some tips to describe the passage of time to make your narratives more compelling.

Use the natural world

Describe the changing seasons

Show plant growth and death

Visualise the ebb and flow of tides

Describe the decomposition of flora and fauna

Describe the ways that landscapes change on long journeys

Use the weather to illustrate time jumps

Illustrate the affect that shifting shadows have on a location

Use heavenly bodies like stars, the rise and set of the sun, and phases of the moon

Describe physical activities

Show family gatherings and how they change over the years

Describe the process of finishing a creative pursuit

Create repetitive activities and routines

Have a character engage in an activity, like gardening, that visually changes

Have your characters learn a new skill

Write a change in location that requires a journey to get from point A to point B

Use your setting's seasonal celebrations to illustrate a time shift for individual characters and their world

Use sound

Describe the ticking of clocks

Have your characters' voice change with their age

Illustrate changing musical styles

Have your characters improve an audible skill like singing, swordplay, or learning a musical instrument

Show a character's conversational style changing as they grow

Use the sounds of nature, like leaves becoming brittle as they crunch underfoot, or rain turning into storms

Use silence to illustrate it getting late

Describe objects

Have food left out go mouldy

Illustrate buildings and settings being overtaken by nature

Show the lifecycle of a family heirloom

Describe textiles fading and degrading over time

Describe the freshness of paint; is it wet and glistening, or cracked and dry?

Illustrate technological change and advancement

Describe the repairs in a beloved object

Show a common object like a pencil to describe how it changes with use

[happy-jian-writes]

Adverbs are not demons.

"He walked quickly."

He didn't run. Or sprint. Or dash. Or bolt. It wasn't a march or a stride or a skip or a charge.

He walked at a slightly faster pace than his normal walk.

Yes, stronger verbs exist. But sometimes, an adverb is exactly what you need.

[happy-jian-writes]

Hey, you, fanfic writer. Come here.

I want to show you something.

You know this story by now, yeah?

You haven't heard of it? Ok, liar. All of TikTok is buzzing about it. Readers who have never read fanfiction in their life are reading it.

So check this out:

Whoa, that kudos amount is staggering. I know there are fics with larger amounts, but this is the example I'm using. To us, that's an amazing number. But look at the hits in comparison.

Have you done the math yet?

That's 1%.

We're going to go ahead and ignore readers who reread it over multiple devices. We're also going to ignore that it's a multichapter fic, and that always skews the ratio.

It's still 1%. Roughly 99k people thought to give it kudos after reading it. I know I've probably scrolled past more than that amount of TikTok videos and comments praising it.

So if one of the most popular fanfics out there on A03 is only garnering a 1% kudos rate, what does that mean for you?

It means you're doing just fine.

You're letting your kudos/comments get to you. And I get it. I do the same. People are reading your fic but not saying anything. Does that mean your fic is bad? No. Readers are just stubbornly quiet. Most of the time, they don't even know what to comment when given the chance. I happen to know many also just forget to leave a kudos on fics they enjoy.

So please, don't beat yourself up, fellow writer. I promise you're doing better than you imagine.

<3

[happy-jian-writes]

"I DNFed three paragraphs in because the MMC is blond."