houseofhaikyuurecs

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

Whoops! Totally not dead, just had a bunch of computer issues and then was hit by a round of migraines. SO, that to say that I'll have some more reccs coming your way in the near future! :D

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

Yesterday was a bad writing day. I spent a lot of time staring at a screen. Lots of Tumblr replies. Lots of Twitter (the Netflix Sandman trailer going out didn’t help). Lots of being grumpy at myself and convinced I couldn’t do it any more. The script was a mess. I was doomed. This morning I printed out what I had to fix, picked up a pen, made a few notes and started typing. It was fun and easy and straightforward. I finished it and sent it to the people who needed to see it, and just got an amazed call from our script editor saying she was laughing while crying and couldn’t work out how I’d done everything in a day.

And I hadn’t done it all in a day. All of the being miserable yesterday was necessary for it to fly today. All of the knowing it was insoluble and awful made the work today relatively easy. I had to get out of my own way, and had to read it freshly, without being attached to anything. And then I just did the notes. And to make the thing that worked today, a lot of stuff that didn’t quite work or sort of worked had to be written too. It’s always easier to fix stuff that exists.

Anyway. Yesterday = bad writing day. Today = good writing day. I thought it was worth telling people, in case there was anyone else out there who was having a bad writing day too.

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

my favorite thing to do when i get stuck writing is to make something insane happen. like of i’m feeling a little bored or lost or frustrated, why not make a piano fall out the sky? “this would be more fun if he could turn into a bat” ok. then i’m turning him into a bat. these things are funny and exciting to me, which is something i personally need to feel when i’m writing.

i think it’s important to remember that if you’re boring yourself, you’re probably boring your reader too. i’m not saying everyone should make pianos fall out the sky or make their characters puff into a bunny rabbit— but write what you WANT to write. it’s your story. who cares if sara-beth thinks it won’t make sense or doesn’t add up.

i feel this way about painting, too. like, if you’re feeling frustrated about how that arm looks…draw the arm how YOU would draw the arm, not what someone says an arm should look like. if that woman looks boring to you in a natural skin tone…paint her in polka dots! why not!

i think the creative world sometimes has too much structure and enforced ideas, when creativity and it’s appeal is always 100% subjective, anyway. idk what i’m saying. it think the snobbery around creativity is completely stupid. creating something doesn’t need to mean anything to anyone but you, and you don’t need to have ANY reason for doing the things you’re doing— except that, that’s what you want. everything is made up. all the rules. the critique. nothing in the creative world is set in stone.

i’ve found that when you love what you’re making, it’s the first thing people notice. less head, more heart. art is the one place where that’s most important.

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

[ID: morons to lovers]

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

If you're ever wondering what something means on AO3 or how you can use a particular feature or what you should write into a particular box, I recommend tapping on the question marks.

When you do that, you'll get a pop up message telling you what you want to know.

If you tap on this question mark next to the Search within results field in the Filters, you can learn how to do an OR search (I want to read fluff OR angst or both). You can also find out how to remove an author or a keyword or a tag from your search results.

If you tap on the one in the comment box, you'll see all of the html that ao3 allows you to use in comments, including some examples of how to use it.

Curious about ratings? Tap on the question mark next to that when you're posting a work.

There are signposts all over the site, once you start looking for them. After I started clicking on them, I learned a lot more about how to make AO3 do what I want.

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

Yes! AO3 has so many search options to help you curate your reading experience! Use those features to your advantage!

“But Ao3 has fics with–”

Me: 

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

Ah hahahaha! XD

Main Haikyuu ships in a fanon nutshell

Kagehina - FRUIT BOIS! Soulmates! We love em! HINATA BOKE! WITH YOU HERE I’M INVINCIBLE

Daisuga - Mom and Dad dynamics!!!! Teeth rotting fluff! Fluff!Fluff!Fluff!

Tsukkiyama - soft tsukki soft tsukki soft tsukki

Asanoya: Soft innocent Jesus and his short freespirited hedhog boyfriend

Tanaka x Ennoshita - lOOK AT THE BOIS! So s o f t!

Kiyoko x Yachi - YAAAAS SOFT EMOTIONS KIYOKO!

Kuroken - SCIENCE NERD! GAMING NERD! MUST P R O T E C C! CHILDHOOD FRIENDS! THEY CARE!THE GALAXY IS ENDLESS! SMOL BBY KITTYS!

Yakulev - All the tsundere! Smol cat mom loves string bean lion kitty.

Bokuaka - Hurt and comfort, angst with a happy ending! Owl boi’s in love. We stan our owl boys! Bokuto is the Star THEY ARE THE PROTAGONISTS OF THIS WORLD! THE KNEW EACHOTHER IN ANOTHER LIFE

Iwaoi - ALL HURT NO COMFORT! ANGST ! ANGST! ANGST! ALL THE TSUNDERE! aLIENS, GODZILLA! R O Y A L T Y! Iwa Chan and Shittykawa! ANGST!

Matsuhana - MEME TEAM! The Seijoh Four! MINOR CHARACTERS? THERE ARE NO MINOR CHARACTERS!

Kyoutani x Yahaba - Bark bark, bitch. A senpai lovin’ boi and his angry bee boyfriend.

Ushiten - Tendou saw the tree and he climbed it.

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

AtsuOi Recs, part 3

(Apparently it's AtsuOi Week over on Twitter, so here's a little treat while I hunt for new favorites!)

This is the spicy edition!!! Please take the time to read the tags before reading any of these. [These are all completed works.]

Exploration by QueerIsle - Atsumu wants to explore his role in the bedroom, and Oikawa is nothing if not a helpful friend. (rated E; wordcount 3,314) [Note that this is also established IwaOi although the smut is specific to AtsuOi]

Being Seen by kismetics - So there they were, in his parent’s —away on a trip for their anniversary or some shit— bedroom, with his laptop in between them, screen loading with the first porn video Atsumu found. He was two seconds away from jumping out the window. (rated M; wordcount 6,684)

Kafka on the Court by potatototer - It wasn’t really a thing, this nothing between Atsumu and Oikawa, except it kept happening, and it was very nice for something that wasn’t really a thing. (rated M; wordcount 4,793)

Pretty Sweet by papertulips - And when he comes, Tooru smiles, teeth digging into his lower lip as his eyes gaze into Atsumu's like he's asking to be fucked again, and again, and again. (rated E; wordcount 1,351)

What Do You Want for Breakfast by hinatahajimetxt - Atsumu and Oikawa are sharing a hotel as both their teams were at the same volleyball conference. (rated E; wordcount 1,976)

How To Be A Matchmaker by dindi - Or: 8 Rules to Follow for Setting up Your Single Friends. (And maybe one way of falling for someone in the process.) (rated E; wordcount 10,104)

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

when it comes to writing, practice is so underrated. idc how talented you are. at the beginning your stories will be cringey, dramatic, exaggerated, boring, too fast-paced, too slow-paced, too stereotypical, too far-fetched, whatever. at the beginning you‘ll write what you read and it will be just another fic about a nerd falling in love with a bad boy (just an example), the characters feel copied, so does the plot and you really tried with the plot twist but it didn‘t work.

everyone goes through that state. i‘ve never met anyone who didn‘t. the only difference is how long it takes for you to overcome it. your writing will improve with every minute of practice and at some point reach that mark where it‘s your own writing. it‘s not cringey anymore. it‘s unique (no matter how many tropes you included) and creative. it still needs improvement, hell it always will, but now it‘s your work, it‘s mature and it‘s good.

now, idk what makes the difference when it comes to the required amount of practice. maybe here’s where the talent shows. maybe the reason it took me ten years to reach that point was bc I was passionate but not talented. doesn‘t matter. everyone experiences that first state and it‘s okay. don‘t give up just yet, even if you feel like your writing is cringey. keep writing. at some point you‘ll find your own style and what you need to do in order for it to sound mature. hang on there. you don‘t need any talent in order to be a good writer

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

AtsuOi Recs part 2

[These are all completed works.]

And the Waves Come Crashing Down by UpInSpace - After being thrown in jail, what Oikawa least expects is for a pair of brothers to offer him a deal: help them find the mythical city of Hamunaptra, and they'll get him out of prison. It looks too good to be true but, what can go wrong? (rated T; wordcount 12,897)

Twenty Two by keijitrash - It's nine in the evening when Atsumu's phone chimes - a message from one Oikawa Tooru. It reads: Forget about the world with me tonight. (rated G; wordcount 1,859)

Our Time Together Is Just Ours by lunaverse - Atsumu has a knack for breaking into places he isn't supposed to be, and it gets him into trouble more often than not. He'd say that this time turned out pretty good, though. (rated M; wordcount 2,910)

Service Ace by offbrandarsenic - He knows his name too - Oikawa Tooru. The Grand King of the food court. Atsumu is going to laugh so hard at whoever came up with that one. In which Atsumu works at McDonald's, and Oikawa works at the Burger King across from him - and Atsumu has beef with that. (rated T; wordcount 1,789)

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

the ushioi tag now has over 1000 fics on ao3 and i think that’s very sexy of this fandom.

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

wait are there writers who draft in times new roman

are you guys ok

[houseofhaikyuurecs]

50 tips for (fanfic) writing

have fun

write whatever is interesting to you, even if it won’t be interesting to anyone else

appreciate kudos when they come, but don’t expect them

appreciate comments when they come, but don’t expect them

if you wish you could just write that one scene you have in your head, do that. you don’t need to create a 30K backstory for it first.

embrace one shots

embrace drabbles

embrace writing your story out of order

rough drafts are meant to be rough. if you can’t think of a word, put in a placeholder for it and keep going. 

try not to get stuck on the little things

it’s okay if your readers can’t see the picture inside of your head

some people work well when they have a posting schedule. some people work well when they don’t. it’s okay if you don’t know which kind of person you are, and it’s okay if the type of person you are changes over time.

if a rule you created for yourself isn’t working for you, get rid of that rule.

make fandom friends. even if they don’t read your fic, they’ll cheer you on while you write it.

cheer on other writers you know. you’ll be cheering yourself at the same time.

no trope or genre is better or worse than another one. they all just appeal to different audiences.

quality and popularity are not the same thing, although they do sometimes overlap

numbers and statistics will never tell you whether or not you’re a good writer. they will never tell you how valuable you are as a person. 

you belong in fandom if you want to be there

you’re a writer as soon as you start writing things

writing and posting are two different things. your story is still worth writing, even if you never plan to share it

you don’t need to apologize for what you write or what you post. 

don’t worry about taking up too much space. the internet doesn’t have a maximum size. 

keep your readers in mind when you’re tagging your content. how could they search for your fic? if you use a tag, will be a reader who loves that tag be satisfied with how much it appears in your story?

if you have a relationship in your fic that plays a minor role, tag it in the Additional Tags section instead of the Relationship section so that people who love that ship don’t get their hopes up

be cautious when looking at bookmarks on your fic. they aren’t “extra comments.” that’s a space where readers make notes for themselves and each other, not for authors. 

you don’t need to know everything about canon before you start writing fic

you don’t need to read fic in the same fandoms you write for

you don’t need to read fic at all in order to write it

love your work because sometimes you’re the only one who will - and that’s okay

if your hobby starts feeling like a job, you might need to take a break before you get burnt out

if you get stuck on a story, you can always start a new one

if you fall out of love with a story, you can always stop writing it. if you’re worried about your readers, you can always give them a bullet point summary of where you were planning to go with thing. for a lot of people, that’s satisfying and provides closure

if you get hate, report it

use the tools at your disposal to block hate before it can come in (limiting or turning off comments, limiting or turning off asks, blocking users, etc)

try replying to comments sometimes. it can be a lovely way to make fandom friends

don’t be afraid to reblog your own writing posts.

if you get stuck on your summary, just write 1) who the story is about 2) what they are doing and 3) what problem gets in their way

notice when your writing makes you smile. that moment is a gift. enjoy it.

notice when your writing makes you cry. that moment is a gift, too.

even if you’re disappointed in how your story turned out, there’s something in there that’s fantastic. find that thing and focus on it and feel proud.

some ideas are ones you want to write. some are ones you want to read. if you ever have too many ideas to deal with at once, give some of the latter ones away to someone else. 

sometimes the things you write will be really personal. be careful about putting them where other people can comment. they won’t know how personal it is for you, and you need to remember that comments aren’t about you, they’re about the story.

remember that you can write series as well as stories. if the story is done but you still have passion or ideas, start a new one in the same universe.

enjoy the satisfaction of finishing a story. savour it. bask in it a little while.

don’t feel guilty about abandoning a story. not every story gets finished, and that’s okay

you can have separate accounts for different fandoms. you can have one account with a million fandoms in it. do whatever works for you.

sometimes writing is more important than sleep - but only sometimes

it doesn’t matter if that story has been written before by someone else. it doesn’t matter if it was written by you. write it again.

only follow the advice that makes sense to you. the rest isn’t important.