#I don’t even remember where I learned how to write dialogue tags I just think… I read books? and copied the formatting?

[amethysttribble]

I say this in earnest and as kindly as I can, but how has it become so common in fanfiction circles that people don’t know how to use dialogue tags correctly and that they require commas, not periods, that people who are /actively giving advice/ about fic formatting are making this mistake?

[free-for-all-fics]

Random thoughts and ideas/prompts for Van Helsing 2004 Dracula because he’s underrated and I want more content of him 🩸If any of these inspire you to write something, please tag me 💜

1. What if you were in an enemies to lovers/Beauty and the Beast situation with Dracula? He keeps you a prisoner of sorts so he has eyes and ears on the human villages, maybe makes you pose as his sickly wife even, to lure humans to the castle under the false pretense that his wife is in urgent need of a doctor. But you also have a fire in you and stop fearing him at some point so you stop taking any of his melodramatic crap. You fall in love eventually. What would your relationship be like?

2. Write something for Van Helsing Dracula with the dialogue, “I will search forever in the dark.”

“You’re here. You’re here. I’ve been waiting for so long.”

“I’m so sorry. I’ll never leave you again.”

3. Write something for Van Helsing Dracula with the Tuck Everlasting quote, “Do not fear death, but rather the unlived life. You don’t have to live forever, you just have to live.”

4. Write something for Van Helsing Dracula with the quote, “Ever think you’re lonely because you kill people?”

“Or I kill people because I’m lonely.”

5. While in his black wolf form, Dracula is injured badly enough to pass out. He wakes up in a wildlife rehab center, still in his wolf form, being cared for by the reader, who might make a delightful new bride. (That “There’s much to be learned from beasts” scene in Coppola’s Dracula got me like)

6. What if Dracula was actually successful in his efforts to reproduce and had children? What do you think Dracula (and his brides) would be like as a parent? Just imagine if Dracula produced viable offspring and they survived.

7. You accidentally cut yourself while using a letter opener or something. Dracula displays some self control, overcoming his vampire instincts so he can treat your injury. He knows you don’t want to be a vampire yet, and for some reason he can’t explain, he cares about you. You can tell it’s hard for him, you can see the pain & conflict in his eyes, fangs threatening to come out as he struggles to contain himself.

8. Reader is human and Dracula’s secret lover. But then tragedy strikes when reader is either killed or dies (accident, disease, what have you). So instead of Dracula going to Victor to make a monster, he demands Frankenstein resurrect you. He still wants you as his bride and he won’t take no for an answer. He loves you too much to let death claim you and take you away from him. He’ll make you immortal, even if you’re not a vampire as he intended. He may claim to be hollow, but you’re different. You make him feel.

9. In the video game, it’s shown that Dracula had a secret life and lover while he was mortal, even though this was forbidden by The Order. When her existence was discovered, the plan was to exile her. But after she was accidentally killed during attempts to capture her, Dracula turned to necromancy to try to bring his beloved back to life. Imagine a fic where reader was his past lover from the 1400s and is reincarnated during the movie’s timeline.

OR The Order was actually too late to stop him and little did Vladislaus know, he succeeded in resurrecting her before he was murdered. The resurrection just wasn’t instant and instead centuries had to pass before reader could wake up again, fully healed and regenerated - As if her murder never happened. Now she’s crawled out from her grave, awoken in Transylvania which looks different than what she remembers, even though to her it feels like only minutes have passed. What’s become of Vladislaus? What’s happened?

10. Or maybe a fic inspired by this dialogue from the game: “Why would any man betray his best friend? Jealousy? Ambition? Love? Someday you too will be cursed by love as I was, and all your efforts to resurrect it will turn to disgusting mockeries of what you once had, as have mine.”

11. Ok this one may seem very obvious but how about a fic or headcanons for being in a poly relationship with Dracula and his wives? Whether you’re human or vampire, up to you.

12. You’re on a trip to Transylvania with a few of your best friends. All of you collectively make the stupid decision to camp nearby Dracula’s castle. When you wake up in the morning, your friends are gone and you must go into the castle to save them. Who knows what lies within?

13. You’ve been raised to be a monster hunter by your village, but you’re getting tired of the chase and are wanting it to be over. For your latest mission, they’ve sent you to Dracula’s castle to put him down for good. You ascend the steps, gripping your sword in one hand and your crossbow in the other, prepared for a fight. What you find instead is a severely aged and tired Dracula, waiting for you. His brides are dead, and he hasn’t been able to feed in so long. Like you, he’s tired. Perhaps you can come to an arrangement that benefits you both.

14. You’ve just purchased a 15th century castle in Romania and moved your entire family in. Unfortunately, Dracula and his brides have returned home from an extended vacation.

15. Imagine being Dracula’s daughter (you’re a human he kidnapped surprise adopted from the village as a child after the first attempt of creating offspring burned to ashes). You’re now an adult and It’s your final birthday as a mortal. He throws a special Hallows Eve Ball in his summer palace because tonight you’ll be turned into a vampire and feed for the first time. (Imagine if you took after your mothers and father, and wanted to create 3 vampire brides for yourself as well. These brides could be male, female, whatever lol)

16. Imagine being Anna’s sister and one night you and some other people go off into the forest near Dracula’s castle for a mission, only for your party to get ambushed and killed by Dracula in his black wolf form. He kidnaps you and keeps you locked in a golden cage that’s attached to the ceiling, with only candles and a stained glass painting of the sun giving you the illusion of light in the dark room. He tells you that you “remind him of someone he once loved and lost long ago”. He wants to use you as bait for Van Helsing and Anna, but he actually has no intention of trading you. He wants to keep you for himself, believing you’re his reincarnated wife.

17. Imagine being human and living with Dracula and his wives. You’re either their daughter or another bride, up to you. Either way, imagine if monster hunters broke into the castle and found you first, mistaking you for a vampire. They incapacitate and start hurting you in ways that feel like torture, to try to get you to tell them where the other vampires are. Your screams and sounds of distress awaken Dracula and his brides, alerting them. It’s not yet dusk/twilight, so they’re unable to help you since the sun is still up. They can’t reach the room you’re in. By the time the sun sets and they can kill the hunters, you’re so wounded and on the brink of death. Dracula has no choice but to turn you. In your weakened state, you try to tell him no, that you’re not ready, but he regretfully tells you he must do this now. He bites you and forces you to drink his blood. Even if you try to spit it out, he won’t let you.

[autisticlancemcclain]

any tips for writing (Grammar, english, etc)? You one of the best writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading and I want to learn from the best!

(also, lots of love your the best!! ❤️)

thank you!! and YES i have tips omg.

1. read. all the time. whenever you can. i’ve always been pretty decent at writing, but i also spent most of my childhood desperately devouring any words i could. i read a million different genres, for a billion different topics. non fiction textbooks, graphic novels, field journals, novels, anything! even films work, especially if you’re looking at dialogue.

2. just write stuff down. the best way to learn is by doing, and this goes especially for writing. your first drafts are going to have a lot of issues, and even the first things you post are going to be meh compared to what you will do in the future. but that’s okay! i’m sure if you directly compare some of the dialogue and paragraph spacing in my old stuff compared to now you’ll se a world of difference, and that just came from months and months of daily practice.

3. read more, but this time analytically. when you read something now, look critically at how it’s written. how are they dividing up their paragraphs? are they longer or shorter? is it for every new idea, or is it more than that? do their paragraphs flow well enough that i barely notice? why? and what about their dialogue? can i speak it out loud and make it sound natural? does this sound like real things people would say? how are they using punctuation to mimic nonverbal speaking cues? how can i imitate that? how is the character reflected in the way they speak? and finally, what about their pacing? does this story make sense from a time standpoint? do i feel like things are happening too slowly or too quickly, or does the timing feel real? why? how could i slow things down?

4. keep an eye out for writers giving some advice. i follow the ‘writing advice’ tag on here, as well as some published writers like @neil-gaiman . they often have a plethora of excellent advice. i read once on here (i can’t remember where) that the best way to show pauses in dialogue is to cater your stories so it takes your reader longer to read — like, for example, showing what your character is doing between pauses or stretches of dialogue, or describing what they’re thinking, or even just using spacing effectively. it was very helpful!

5. edit, edit, edit! go over your work with a kind and critical eye. if you were reading this, what parts would you enjoy best? why are these parts so good? in contrast, what parts might not be as interesting? can you make these more interesting, or are they part of the story the way they are? if you read your story out loud, does it make sense? can you picture other characters doing this? why is your character doing the thing that they are doing — does it make sense?

6. lastly — have fun! write for yourself. i have chosen several dumb and silly headcanons that i don’t see enough in the fandom, so i write them so i can read them. i love all my silly headcanons. whenever i think to myself “oh, i wish i could read more of [specific thing],” i remember that hey, wait i second, i could write that right now if i wanted to! and then i do.

good luck! enjoy yourself! i can’t wait to see what you create :D

[belatedbday69]

I posted 2,353 times in 2022

220 posts created (9%)

2,133 posts reblogged (91%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@chibizuku

@epickiya722

@bakugou-klancey-lance

@taysudon

@deadwriter16

I tagged 686 of my posts in 2022

#them - 126 posts

#p - 45 posts

#spotify - 36 posts

#fave - 30 posts

#bkdk - 29 posts

#writing process - 26 posts

#bakudeku - 17 posts

#sns - 15 posts

#fic - 12 posts

#my writing - 10 posts

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

you're a chicken if you don't

The team goes on a mission, and Inosuke learns his feelings for Tanjirou have a name.

rated T, 5/5 chapters, 22k fluff/angst, getting together, flirting, kissing, love confessions, happy ending

“Love and a cough cannot be concealed. Even a small cough. Even a small love.” Anne Sexton

51 notes - Posted July 28, 2022

#4

I'm writing an InoTan fic :)

you're a chicken if you don't

It's true, Hashibira Inosuke Has a Crush, though he's still not entirely sure what that means. He'll be damned if he lets Tanjirou beat him at anything, though.

rated T, 2/5 chapters, 8k (so far, should be around 20k when I'm done), dual pov, fluff & angst, the works

hope you like it xoxo

59 notes - Posted May 14, 2022

#3

horikoshi is a perfect storyteller LISTEN i freaked out momentarily but let's be honest with ourselves people, how else was this climax going to go? it's been building to this forever. deku still doesnt know bakugou's hero name or his new power now. they have to work together as a team because that's what this is all about. horikoshi KNOWS what he's doing...he's pulling his little strings like a master puppeteer. we'll soon know the significance of the second user and it'll set up the fucking finale where deku SAVES HIM (HAND HOLDING INCLUDED) AND THEN THEY WORK TOGETHER!!! do NOT tell me otherwise I simply will not listen

74 notes - Posted August 3, 2022

#2

there are some ships where it's like "under the right circumstances it makes sense" but with bakugou and deku theres never been a universe where i dont want them to be together and i love reading every single interpretation of that love. it is truly a gift. i dont get when ppl put many conditions on their relationship. maybe im brainwashed at this point but theres nothing i love more than them finding each other no matter the circumstances. everywhere, no matter what. it's like fate or magic or maybe it's just how much they love each other, but it's unavoidable

374 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

more otp dialogue prompts <3

as a follow up to this post

1. “Okay, maybe I have a crush on you! So what?” 

2. “It’s not like this with them.”

3. “Tell me to leave and I’ll never bother you again.”

4. “This doesn’t change anything between us.”

5.  “Just take me home.”

6. “I appreciate the effort but this is all wrong.” 

7. “I don’t want anyone else.”

8. “What could you possibly be this stressed about?” 

9. “You haven’t changed at all.” 

10. “I never want to be without you again.”  

11. “You tricked me.”

12. “You can’t tell anyone. Seriously. Even them.”

13. "You want me, don't you?"

14. “If you do that one more time I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself.” 

15. “I can’t believe you remembered.” 

16. “You won’t believe me.” “Try me.” 

17. “I don’t want to have this conversation again.”

18. “You shouldn’t be here.” 

19. “I think about you all the time.”

20. “Why do you insist on misunderstanding me?”

21. “Then take me with you.”

22. “I think I missed you more than you missed me.” 

23. “I thought I’d lost you.”

24. “Don’t say that to me. That’s not fair.”

25. “Well, since you asked nicely...Sure."

26. “You used to have feelings for me. Admit it.”

27. “So you don’t regret it at all?” 

28. “I’m not ready to let you go.” 

See the full post

621 notes - Posted October 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[sister-dear]

Sentence Structure and Flow

Someone on discord asked me about how I structure sentences and how I learned to write. I’m going to do my best to answer! Hopefully it’s useful. It got long, so I made it a Tumblr post.

On learning to write:

Sky_squido, the author of “What Hyrule Hadn’t Seen” made this presentation and there were several points in it that I found incredibly helpful.

The two main ideas that I found most beneficial:

It’s about the ~vibes. Every story or scene has some kind of overall theme or emotion. Once you’re far enough into your story to have found what that is, edit your word choice to match. If a word technically works but doesn’t fit the mood, replace it with something else. The actual definition of a word is sometimes less important than the emotion that word conveys.

Verbs are incredibly important. If you’re having trouble with your sentence structure - if your story seems boring or like the prose drags - look at your verbs. I tend to use “is” as a verb far too often (or “was” for those of you who write past tense), so a lot of my editing comes down to reworking some sentences to make the stronger, more interesting words be the action words. So instead of “Legend was walking,” the sentence would be “Legend walked.” Or, even better, “Legend strolled/stalked/slouched along.” We’ve gone from a passive sentence to something that tells us, in engaging fashion, not just what Legend’s doing but how he’s doing it and maybe even a little about how he’s feeling.

Filter Words

Another post I found incredibly helpful: examples of how to cut out ‘filter words.’ It’s great for adding urgency, establishing tone, and introducing strong descriptions into your writing. Basically, this is how to put ‘show, don’t tell,’ into practice at a sentence-structure level. I use this approach a lot when it comes to conveying character emotion.

A couple other points

Variation is your friend.

Repeating things draws attention.

Description slows things down.

1. Variation is your friend.

For most writing, it’s a good idea to vary your sentence structure and length. Dialogue with no tags is rapid. Same with short sentences. Short and choppy reads disjointed and fast. This also applies to paragraph lengths! Longer sentences and paragraphs read slower, and in turn cause your reader to linger; sometimes maybe even linger too much. A combination keeps things interesting.

Too many long sections in a row - be they sentences or paragraphs - causes reader fatigue. Don’t be afraid to break those up. Let your readers take a breather.

If all your sentences start the same way, rework some of them. Lead with the action in one sentence and the subject in the next.

Starting a new paragraph gets a reader’s attention. You can use this for punch.

You should have one topic, or one person speaking, per paragraph.

Important things go at the start of the paragraph. Readers won’t tend to remember as much stuff from the middle or ends. Speed readers might not read those sections at all. The above note about one topic per paragraph? This is why.

2. Repeating things draws attention.

This applies to everything from individual words to overall themes to something like a series of sentences all with the same structure. It can work for you or against you.

A lot of my editing winds up being me reworking sentences to avoid using the same word too closely in succession. I’m not talking basic words here, like ‘he’ and ‘said.’ Those are non-words. If you have enough strong words around them, they disappear. They’re fine. But to use a snippet from a current work in progress:

...(Legend) bares his teeth, river water dripping off his hair and sticking his tunic to his legs. He braces his legs, wet muck squelching over the sides of his boots.

I wound up changing to “sticking his tunic to his thighs” to avoid the repeated word “legs.” I didn’t want to draw attention to his legs themselves, but the state of them. “He braces his feet,” would also work, or I could just cut the sentence down. “He braces,” does the trick just as well, and might be what I go with for the final draft. If the sentence makes sense without the word, then you can let the unneeded word go and your writing will often be stronger for it.

This can be much harder to do with nouns than verbs. Sometimes you just need to call a sword a sword. That’s usually where I start to alternate between a small group of words. “Sword,” “blade,” and “weapon” can all be alternated between to try to avoid using the same word too close together. You might also be able to get around using the problem word at all, as in the example above.

Another note on non-words. Names and pronouns qualify! You can use them over and over again and readers won’t notice. In fact, trying not to use these words can actually draw more attention than just using them!

For example, referring to Hyrule as “the Traveler.” Is it relevant, in the context of what I am writing, that Hyrule travels a lot? Or am I just trying to avoid using his name too much? If the answer is the latter, either don’t bother or change your sentence structure to remove the name entirely. If you have a solid action word, the name will disappear in favor of the action.

Using ‘Traveler’ in this context draws attention away from whatever Hyrule’s doing to what he is. That may not be the best thing to draw attention to. If what you are writing is a story about Hyrule finally getting a safe place of his own to call a home, you could use it for contrast. In which case, save it. Use it once, so it has impact. But if I'm writing about Hyrule teasing Legend, referring to him in that way can disrupt the flow of the story. It draws attention away from Hyrule's personality and his interaction with Legend to his background.

The point is to do it deliberately! It’s okay to use names and pronouns a lot. ‘Traveller’ is a title. Titles stand out.

3. Description slows things down.

Anywhere you want to linger or draw attention is where your descriptions should be going.

The middle of a fast paced action scene where your character is concentrating on the fight might not be the best spot to go into deep detail about the surroundings or what the enemy looks like. Convey those details in bursts that are worked into the action: “Time nearly rolls his ankle on the rocky ground.” Be very sparing. What makes an action scene interesting is how the character feels about what’s happening. You only need enough information on what the surroundings look like for a reader to follow along, and you can probably do most of that setup in a brief paragraph before the actual action starts.

On the other hand, if your character takes a shocking injury in said fight and you really want to dwell on that moment? Or if they’ve got a really cool, flashy move that they unleash in one single exciting burst of fighting prowess? That’s the spot to let your inner poet shine. Slow those spots down and let the reader really enjoy what you’re doing by using your detailed descriptions there.

This applies to all action, not just fighting. Walking through a busy marketplace? Action. A conversation? Can be approached as action. The best spots to use lots of description will be the spots you want to linger on: the first glimpse of a long-lost friend through the crowd, that last hug as they say goodbye.

Description slows things down. Use it accordingly.

Most everything else I can think of is less to do with flow and structure and more to do with other aspects of writing, so I'll stop here.

[scuttle-buttle]

Chapter 11

WC: 2077

Rated: E

Chapter Tags: full on angst, discussions of emotional trauma, mild depictions of blood/gore, mentions of self h*rm & su*cide, mentions of child abuse, discussions of physical disabilities, institutionalization, some dialogue & plot canon to TV show, hurt/comfort

🧠

The rest of the conference went by much like the first day did. Both you and Laszlo bought a few books for your collections. An ease had settled over your conversations with the help of Sara and John's presence; you spoke more freely with each other. You tell yourself it is not because he's going soft on you or vice versa, but rather that you have found yourself in this imaginary bubble where you happen to get on well. It's inevitable that it will pop once you’re back at school and Laszlo will revert back to his usual callous state.

Laszlo. It still felt odd to think of him like that, rather than by his title. You couldn't lie, it gave you a sort of thrill. Even in your dreams you had only called him by his honorific. Thankfully you didn't have another dream after Friday. You couldn't escape the feeling that you'd said something incriminating in front of the man in question. So you chose to pretend it didn't happen.

Monday morning came and you headed to the train station. Once again he had secured a private cabin for the journey. This time you came prepared with a book since you had yet to replace your broken phone.

"Thank you again for inviting me to this, I really enjoyed myself. It was really nice of the department to foot my travel expenses, the hotel was really fancy. I may have helped myself to a mini-bottle or two," you joked.

"There is no need to worry about the department's finances; they were not involved."

You pause. He paid for you? Laszlo did say he would take care of the arrangements; but the four-star hotel, the private compartment train tickets, the admission to the conference, and every meal? Shit, that must have been a fortune, hundreds of dollars at least.

You don't know what to say, so you settle for an awkward "oh." A moment passes before you add "I appreciate that, um, I can pay you back. Might take some time but I can."

The professor is flippant in his reply. "There is no need, it was well spent for the research and knowledge acquired." He opens his book signaling the conversation is over.

You lick your lips. Fine then, I'll just consider it payment for emotional suffering and damages of the last eight weeks.

The first few hours of the journey were spent reading one of the new books you picked up at the convention. Occasionally you would peek over the pages at the professor. He was engrossed in his own selection; sometimes he would pause to write down a thought.

Around the seventh hour of your journey you had given up on reading anymore in favor of looking at the fields outside. The silence was comforting.

Laszlo had trouble concentrating on the book in his hand. He saw you as a conundrum. One minute you could be sociable and teasing with your comments, then next you were biting at his throat with your quick wit and fierce ideals. He decides that he wants to know what made you into who you are today. Now is as good a time as any.

His eyes on you cause a tingle up your spine but you ignore it. Laszlo breaks the silence; "may I ask a personal question?"

"You just did," you answer, still peering out of the large window. He huffed once, amused. At his following silence you face him. You raise your eyebrows to signal him to go on with his question. Curiosity grows at the thought of what he intends to ask.

"Twice now you have made implications of a traumatic past," he begins.

Bubble popped.

Interrupting, you snark "is this the part where you psychoanalyze me, doc? Because trust me, I've been through enough of that." You pick at the lint on your jeans.

Laszlo tries to choose his words more carefully the next time he speaks. "What I mean to say is, the first afternoon in the classroom where you defended that student you implied you had been witness to a trauma. You then displayed signs of anger and embarrassment before leaving prematurely. Yesterday you mentioned having entered a psychiatric facility. As an alienist I can't help but find myself curious about your experiences."

You slide your eyes to meet his from across the cabin. Your face is devoid of any emotion. "We all have our demons. Even you can't argue with that."

Your jaw clenches. Everyone had warned you. They all said he would try to worm his way into your head to figure you out. All the reviews, the gossip, everything. It was a big fat 'I told you so'. You give a pitiful laugh at the situation. "You know, everyone told me that you would pull this stunt."

He seems confused by your statement. "And what is that?"

"That you'd get inside my head and try to figure me all out or whatever. You already know I googled you beforehand, what everyone says about your methods. By now I assume you've done a little research yourself. I promise you there is nothing exciting here," you scoff and point to yourself.

"You would be correct in your assumption." You chew at your cheek as he starts. "I do know some of what happened in your past. Yet I also know that society likes to dilute the truth into something either more palatable, more entertaining, for people to consume greedily. What I want to know is what you have faced. How you have not allowed the experience to overcome you so much so that your humanity is erased like the characters I lecture on."

Eyes closing of their own volition you are thrown back in time to that night so many years ago. You didn't talk about it anymore. Bitsy knew of course, but that was the extent.

Laszlo waits. He knows this is likely to push you over the edge if your history with him means anything. Quite frankly, anyone would be tossed to their limit at his interrogation had they gone through what you had. John always told him that he needed to work on his bedside manner; that he had a habit of coming on too strong in his pursuit of learning the intricacies of the human mind. But your earlier comment about being sent to a so-called 'nuthouse' rubbed him the wrong way. It left a bad taste in his mouth. He needed to know. He needed to understand.

Laszlo can imagine the reprimand that he would receive from John and Sara for this. Just as he considers apologizing for his intrusion you open your eyes.

"She was fine. None of us suspected anything was wrong. I came home from having dinner with some… boy, and she had locked herself in the bathroom. She- she must have started over the sink and moved to sit on the side of the tub. She was hunched inside it when I got the door open. I pulled her out. Blood was… everywhere." Your voice is clinical as you explain.

"After, I shut down. So I checked myself into a psych ward a few days later when I couldn't get the feel of her blood off my hands. It's slippery, you know. And it smells. You wouldn't think so but it does." You clear your throat. "I did the therapy, took the meds they prescribed, all the standard treatments. Later I started watching true crime documentaries. I'd heard about exposure therapy so I figured the more I saw the gore, the less the image of my dead roommate would bother me. And it did help. The nightmares stopped after a while, I came back to school. I was better, just not the same.” You had watched the passing landscape as you explained. Turning to face him you speak again. “That's why those pictures didn't bother me. They weren't anything I hadn't seen before."

He contemplates you. The discovery and subsequent loss of your friend in this manner would no doubt cause lingering effects to your psyche. A stain that would forever remind you. "I offer my sincerest condolences. I do not presume to know what that would be like to experience, but I am glad you sought help afterwards. To make the choice to alleviate yourself of your own suffering where possible.”

As he says this he realizes that your anger towards the idea of being enslaved to unconscious impulse makes perfect sense. It explains why you focused so much energy on defending your belief in free will. That you have the power to choose how you carry your joy, your anger, your healing. It reminds him of how he held onto his own guilt and hurt, ignoring how it festered within him for so long. He feels as though he needs to share a piece of himself with you.

“I played piano as a child, quite well too. My mother hoped I would someday make a career of it. I vividly remember playing Mozart’s Concerto for Piano No. 20 in D Minor at a holiday party when I was seven years old. It was my favorite to play.... It requires two hands." You finally look at him. "My father...” He pauses to gather himself.

Now it is the doctor that cannot meet your eyes. As you listen you feel your confusion grow. How could he have been a talented pianist if he only had full use of his left hand? Unless..., the realization dawns on you just as he continues, his words slow.

“My father had two sides. One loving and the other brutal, the two often coexisting. It was something as trivial as putting me to bed, I recall... A game of tug of war. We were laughing…” He inhales a sharp breath. Already you can feel the tears begin to blur your vision. “I don't remember if he was drunk or if I said something that offended him. He must have pulled my arm behind my back.” Laszlo exhales shakily. “In small children, fractures can often affect…” he trails off, unable to finish. You can hear how he barely holds himself together.

Your heart aches for the broken man that sits in front of you. He never let on how much his arm bothered him, at least not within your presence. Suddenly you don’t see him as this rude, insufferable, obsessive man, but instead as someone that spends his life trying to protect himself. He projects his own anger and hurt so that he may, just for a minute, forget about his own demons. He wants to help others even when he feels he cannot bear to help himself.

But unlike you, he has to live with the physical reminder of his past every day of his life.

You stand and move to sit on his right side. Before allowing yourself to think too much of your actions, you place your hand atop his own, curling your fingers around his palm and squeezing delicately. You don’t bother wiping away the tears on your cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Laszlo;” the whisper is barely heard above the sound of the train. A second passes where you fear you have overstepped and offended him by touching the affected limb. When his thumb tightens against the backs of your fingers you know he is not. He holds you in place.

“You asked me how I kept my humanity. How does anyone really? We learn to take what we get and we carry it in a bag. Sometimes you have to drag the damn thing behind you. But eventually the weight gets less and less if you allow yourself to move forward, even if it’s still there with you all the time. I dealt with what happened years ago and it does still haunt me. It’s easier now than it was, but… I- I suppose I’ve learned from you too. Sitting in those lectures and hearing you talk. We can either let it haunt us for the rest of our lives… or we can accept it… and use the memory of our pain to help ourselves and others.”

“I’m not sure the choice is entirely in our hands.” His tone is mournful.

You turn to smile at him through your tears. His own eyes are bloodshot. “I disagree. If it weren’t, if we didn’t have the freedom to choose that, we’d all be murderers.”

Tag list

@hardlyinteresting @lorna-d-m @livvyshmiv @somethingthatsaysbubbles @greeneyedblondie44 @unbeatablecurlgirl @apparrio @marchingicenotes7 @anteroom-of-death @bruhidaniel @lemairepstuff @thehuiabird @zemosimp05 @alindeluce @iamnotthecatladynextdoor @laura-naruto-fan1998 @trelaney @boneheadduluc @i-am-dead-inside-666 @fictionlandslanddreams

[shihalyfie]

With Digimon Ghost Game starting, I thought about how different it is from previous Digimon series, though it's still undoubtedly Digimon... and then I realized all Digimon series are like that. So I wonder, what do you think sets each Digimon series apart from the rest?

I think both Ghost Game but also the reboot have been a wake-up call for people in terms of realizing that likes, dislikes, and tastes are subjective, and I think it's especially important in terms of this fanbase that is so obsessed with this idea you can objectively rank things by quality -- especially when each series is often deliberately trying to have its own identity, so it's arguably apples and oranges -- and forcing this idea of what's Good and Not Good on everyone else (especially when there's a nasty double standard phenomenon where Adventure and often Tamers get to be so impervious to criticism that people conveniently forget they're perfectly capable of being scrutinized for a lot of things they're weaker in). Very frustrating to see everyone who likes less popular series treated as if they have to accept that they like a "badly written series" for some things and everything else is a guilty pleasure, which I find to be incredibly dumb.

The most important take-home here is that the fact each series has its own identity is always going to be the main factor in what makes it "good" or not to you, not some arbitrary bar of comparison that's based on some narrow-minded view of "good writing" (which is usually unreasonably based on Adventure). For instance, the reason why 02 is so important to me is because (see below), to me, it has the highest amount of meaningful, important life lessons and themes that it wanted its audience to remember, to the point that I frankly do not care about where the plot goes in comparison. That may not be the case for everyone else, and that's fine, but should my tastes be called unreasonable for that? I think we're also coming to realize that because of Adventure (and kind of 02)'s precedent, so many people have been judging series purely by how intimate their individual character development style is, but this is unfair because Adventure and 02's ridiculous level of character depth to psychological detail is extremely unusual and unrealistic to expect of others; Adventure and 02 only achieved this by practically considering the plot utterly subservient to its character arcs, and it's arguably why they have some of the weakest "plots" in this franchise. It's so bizarre that I can see character development in other Digimon series that outstrips even most kids' anime on the market, but it's not as much as Adventure's so apparently it's bad. And, moreover, as it turns out, some people have priorities other than characterization; just because Adventure had that as its strength doesn't mean that's the only thing anyone should care about. Is the plot fun? Is there a meaningful message besides characters (also important to me)? Do you vibe with the tone being dark, or being silly? How much do you care about resourceful usage of Digimon lore? That kind of thing. Everyone is different, so that's why everyone has their own priorities. If you’re someone who prefers darker content, you may not realize that writing good and well-timed comedy is actually a very, very difficult task, especially when said comedy simultaneously has meaning (in comparison, it’s surprisingly easy to write “dark” but shallow content).

I think it's fair to like every Digimon series for its own thing, depending on your personal tastes. I can't speak for everyone, but my impressions are that it has to do with the following:

Adventure: Significantly easier to understand than 02 due to its more straightforward plot, and focus on individual character development ("individualism" being a strong point here). In terms of characters, it goes a lot into some very real social problems (the divorce around the Ishida and Takaishi families and the pressures surrounding Jou, for instance) in a very realistic manner. Also, it has that sense of mystique and absurdism to the Digital World that's both whimsical but also mysterious, and while 02 has it too, Adventure's the isekai story that has it the most.

02: The first is its focus on the importance of human relationships and the compelling group dynamic unparalleled in this franchise, and the second is its important themes and life lessons that I think are some of the strongest in said franchise. I have a whole tag for the ridiculous amount of nuance packed into every detail and dialogue line for this series, and I think every time I've rewatched an episode I've learned something new about it because there are so many things that clearly wanted to be said in each line. The entire series is basically an unpacking of the feelings of insidious self-hatred and the crushing feeling of being subject to society's expectations, and ones that are so deep-seated that you often don’t even have a single answer to how to unpack it (for instance, Miyako hardly has a tragic single event in her backstory, but she says and does a lot of things that'll be painfully familiar to those who have experienced chronic anxiety). Almost every plot point can be said to connect to each character arc in some way, and the mantras for appreciating and treasuring your own life and living life the way you will make this, in my opinion, the strongest series in terms of speaking to those who struggle with this kind of existential crisis for reasons of depression or otherwise. (Oops, I think I went too passionate about this; my biases are obvious...)

Tamers: I think it forms an interesting study and unpacking of the kinds of things you take for granted in Digimon or the monster-collecting genre in general, and an examination of how they'd work in a real-world context (although 02 had a focus on daily life, it didn't quite merge the Digimon and the real world factors until very late in the series). Also, probably the second highest on "hard sci-fi" (the only one that outstrips it is probably Appmon, but Appmon has a very different, more simplified take on it).

Frontier: A series that lies somewhere between Adventure's scale of individualism and 02's scale of group dynamic, and one more discussing the feeling of having your heart hardened from being an outcast, and what it takes to accept the idea of opening yourself up to others again. Recommended for those who like transforming hero and magical girl stories, too. From the Digimon perspective, also the one with the most detailed and consistent Digital World mythos.

Savers: I think this is the series that most drives home "life is complicated" (i.e. there isn't a single mastermind behind everything) in the most tasteful manner, because while it drives home the point that you can't just simplify everything into a good side and a bad side, some bad things really are evil (hi, Kurata), and it doesn't change the fact that everyone's responsible for cleaning up the fallout. The portrayal of the evils of government bureaucracy is probably the most realistic out of any of these series.

Xros Wars: For those who like fun, most of all! For those who like seeing Digimon finally get more of the spotlight and individuality since so much of it had been geared and biased towards the humans prior to this. For those who really like worldbuilding, and, after all, this is called Xros Wars, so it's interesting to see shakeups on the usual formulas in the form of the different factions and their priorities. Hunters is very different in tone, but I do think they have some of these aspects in common; that said, it being closer to having single partnerships brings it a bit closer in line to conventional Digimon partnerships, and it also has more of a picture of daily life. Also, as much as Tagiru is probably your-mileage-may-vary since he's not exactly a very nice kid (I get it if you don't vibe with that), which may also rub those hoping for not nice kids to become nice the wrong way, I do have to say I find him to be one of the funniest characters in this entire franchise, and you'd be surprised how hard good comedy is to write.

Appmon: Probably one of the strongest theme narratives besides 02, since it has a very clear and obvious theme about the importance of kindness in a world where technology is dominating and we're almost encouraged to strip the feelings out of everything. (Bonus for more straightforward plot than Adventure or 02 while still retaining a lot of its elements in terms of how to characterize them.) Also the first series to be speculative about the near future instead of taking place around the time it airs, and it's very obvious it wants to provide important and necessary commentary about what we need to do in the incoming era, especially as a lot of what it has to say becomes increasingly relevant.

Reboot: For those who like Digimon mythos and null canon -- this is probably the only series to show it off in this level of detail -- and the kind of cool action fights that would usually be saved for the climax in prior series (and animated in much more intimate detail with battle choreography than prior series would have). There are a lot of people into this franchise who felt like it genuinely was not making enough use of its Digimon roster and its potential because it kept going back to the old standbys (especially Adventure-based ones), so it was a huge relief for that crowd to see attention finally being paid.

[jilytoberfest]

Author - @clare-with-no-i

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this, Clare! You can find her on ao3!

1. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I’d say that writing out the endings/later chapters before the earlier ones of my multi-chapters, probably. Except for New Age Romancing, I have the endings and a bit of the last few chapters written for my WIPs. I also have a 24-page document that is just pieces of future Bond and Free chapters that, if it were to somehow ever ~leak to the public~ (she says, thinking she’s a celebrity) would ruin SO many important moments for the characters and the plot LOL.

2. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your stories?

I think learning that I have really concrete ideas about how my characters act was really surprising to me - it was also the part I was the most scared about when endeavoring to write a canon fic. I worried a lot that my James would be flimsy or that my Lily would have inconsistencies in her outlook, but the more I thought about it and the more I put down on paper, the more solidified their personalities became. I think that’s partially because I spent so much time writing one-shots before ever doing a longform story; I was able to flesh out different parts of the characters in different settings, and really focus on pieces of their personality almost one-by-one. I think it really helped me grow as a writer, because when I finally put (figurative) pen down to paper for Bond and Free, I knew how I wanted these characters to come across, and I felt extremely acquainted with them.

3. Do you have any suggestions to help others become a better writer? If so, what are they?

I think my main one--which has been pretty consistent since I started writing--is to read a lot. I felt really insecure about my fics when I started, because I would look at all of this wall-of-text I had laid out and compare it to, for example, The Life and Times, which 1) is a masterpiece that I should not have been comparing myself to and 2) is really centered around quick, snappy dialogue and not a crazy amount of description. Then I spent a good amount of time reading and trying to understand how different books worked in their descriptions: are there big blocks of text? Do actions happen in between dialogue? That kind of thing. There has been nothing so helpful for me to figure out my own style as reading, reading, reading.

Otherwise, I’d say: just put something down on paper. Speak aloud to yourself and write down what you say as dialogue. Try to imagine how an emotion feels (grief, joy, love, etc) and really focus on how it sits in your body: where do you feel it? What does it feel like? And put that down in whatever words you can muster! It is ALL about practice. My early stories look nothing like my current WIPs - and that’s ok! It’s all about growth!

4. What do you think makes a good story?

I think being invested in the characters is the main thing for me. Without it, you have no desire to watch them grow, or to even tag along for their journeys. Even if they’re the antagonist, they have to be interesting at least. And especially for protagonists or romantic leads, you have to really, really want them together - or else there won’t be any payoff! And I know that we all already want Jily together, but writing fic is the best way to ask the question: why? What makes them so appealing as romantic leads?

5. What is the first book that made you cry?

Oh, man. I don’t know if I remember the first, but I do know that Deathly Hallows did, because it meant the whole series was over. I also remember crying at Esmerelda Santiago’s When I was Puerto Rican when it was assigned reading for me in eighth grade. I’m a sporadic book-crier, to be fair; I can never predict what’s going to set me off. Since then it’s been a slew of books, I’m sure.

6. Does writing energize or exhaust you?

A bit of both! When I’m inspired, it’s absolutely electrifying. I can do pretty much nothing but think about my next chance to write. Other times, when I’m stressed about a plotline or feel like I’ve put myself on a deadline, it can be really exhausting. Bond and Free is definitely a mix of both - I go through waxing and waning periods with it. But for the most part it’s exciting, because I feel so privileged to get to write my own canon for these characters, no matter how convoluted it may be.

7. Have you ever gotten reader’s block? If so, what are your tips to overcome it?

Oh, a thousand percent. With both fic and books, honestly. When I got really into writing early this year, I had a lot of trouble reading other peoples’ fics because I would just constantly compare my stuff, or I worried I was accidentally going to steal a plot point or piece of character work. With books, it’s been hard for me to really focus on reading since I got to college - but I find that rereading a favorite book is really helpful to get me back into the headspace.

In terms of fic, I always go for something short and trope-y that will make me feel whatever emotion I’m craving at the time, and move from there!

8. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?

I think the fact that we all feel emotions differently is a benefit, not a detriment! It contributes to your unique narrative voice. I absolutely think you can be a writer without feeling emotions ‘strongly’ - whatever that may mean. Take me for example: I’ve never been in a long-term relationship. I’ve only been in love once, fleetingly, and it did not go well HA. But I still write a ton of established relationship fluff, and I’ve devoted a lot of my time to, essentially, writing a long love story. I can’t relate to the feeling; but I can imagine how it might feel to me.

Or, if you’re someone who really feels disconnected from the emotions you want to write, read passages from books or other fics that describe that emotion! To put it bluntly: steal! (but not, like, actual sentences. Just vibes.) Figuring out how other writers do things and emulating them is nothing to be ashamed of.

9. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Maybe cool it on the em dashes and the long, run-on sentences.

Also, keep writing. Don’t disparage the process or yourself. Be kind about your writing, and for the love of god, stop comparing yourself to everyone.

10. What was your hardest scene to write?

I’m caught between a few.

Foreigner’s God is overall the most complex piece I’ve written, because it deals with so many moving parts: the modern love story, the flashback love story, the enemies-to-lovers element, the incorporation of canon, the sheer physicality of giving the main character audiovisual hallucinations triggered by touch. There were so many times when I just thought: alright, Clare, you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. Bow out now and write something less complicated. But the biggest one would have been the Halloween sequence, when they both realize everything. That was an absolute monster. It was nerve-wracking to try and write the payoff to nearly 15k of buildup.

The Great Hall sequence in Bond and Free chapter 3 was also really difficult. It was a huge undertaking for such an early chapter (fully aware of this, trust me) and I really needed to get into James’s head and try and see the world from his POV to write it in a way that felt emotionally honest for his character.

New Age Romancing never ceases to provide me with trip-ups and obstacles, but I think the entirety of chapter 5 was the most difficult. It was just…so convoluted. And it was the first time I wrote something that I knew readers wouldn’t like - plot-wise, at least - so I had an actual panic attack that night because I was worried no one would stick with the story. I was used to writing fluff pieces and one-shots where everything resolves immediately! And then all subsequent chapters have been tough because the story turned into a bit of a stressor for me in April. So it has multiple “hard scenes,” so to speak lol

11. What is your favorite childhood book?

Probably Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or The Mysterious Benedict Society. They’re both SO good.

12. How long on average does it take you to write a one shot or a chapter of a fic?

Oh, god. It really depends. I used to crank out multiple 3-5k one-shots almost daily when I first started writing, but I’ve since slowed way down. I tend to take my time a lot more with WIP chapters than I used to; so I’d say it could take anywhere from a few days to multiple weeks.

13. A fic that inspires you?

You want me to pick just one?!?! IMPOSSIBLE.

Well. I’d have to say “Bindings, Bindings” by quietlemonhush is such an inspirational fic for me. It’s an AU in which Jily (and Regulus Black) come back to life a few months after Halloween 1981. It’s Jily and Wolfstar and my god, it is just so well-written and so moving. I also adore the prose style SO much. I know people have said before that I write ‘poetically’ (and thank you to everyone who does), but that story...God. It just sings.

Also, and I think we all knew I was going to mention this, but “Come Together” by TheQuibblah. Suze is just such a technically skilled and beautiful writer. It’s one thing to have really great prose work (which she does), but it’s another entirely to understand so intrinsically the mechanics of storytelling that you build up a romance like she has for 50 chapters and still have your audience ridiculously invested. And I KNOW you’re all like “ok clare stop talking about suze you’re a broken record” but SORRY the fic is just too good

14. How do you edit your work?

By panicking, mostly

15. Where does inspiration come from?

Left, right, and center! It comes from everywhere. I get a lot of it from reading, but also just walking around and talking to people! Seeing clips on youtube or watching tv! It comes from everywhere. It bore repeating, so I said it twice.

16. Who has been helpful for you as you write for the fandom?

So many people!! SO many people. I must, of course, shout-out to Suze and Senem ( @thequibblah and @keepingupwithpotters ) because they are just…my babes. Suze and I bounce writing off of each other and it is just the biggest help and inspiration. But generally just readers and the discord! @emerqldv ‘s reviews of Bond and Free and dedication to it is just...what keeps that story going for me. @figg-anon ’s kindness is overwhelming. @sunshine-marauders ’s enthusiasm and bright energy is something I admire so much. And then I wouldn’t be nearly so involved in the fandom without @mppmaraudergirl , @maraudersftw ...the list goes on!

Any time someone comments or talks to me about writing is something that helps. I just love engaging with everyone - even if I’ve been limited in my ability to do it lately because of grad school.

17. What is your fav POV to write from?

Probably any one of my big 4: James, Lily, Sirius, Remus. But I also love Mary’s POV in Bond and Free?? God I just love them all so much for different reasons. But I think I relate the most to Lily, so I’d say her as a go-to. But this was a DIFFICULT and UNFAIR QUESTION hahahaha

18. What is a fic you would love to write but are worried you won’t be able to accomplish it/nervous it wouldn’t work out?

Hm. I’d say I just really want to make sure I finish Bond and Free and my other WIPs, but I don’t have anything on the table right now that I don’t think I could accomplish.

19. Do you ever self insert in fics?

HA! So, I don’t think anyone would be shocked to hear that Magdalena and Evangeline Abbott from Bond and Free started off that way, because my sister and I thought it would be fun to play around with the ever-elusive mythos that surrounds twins in the HP universe, but the more I got into their characters and wanted to engage them with the plot of the story, the less appealing it was as to project myself and my sister onto them. They’re their own people now, with their own craziness and flaws and attributes, and I love them dearly. My disaster twins <3

20. What is the story you are proudest of?

Probably either Bond and Free or foreigner’s god. BaF is a massive undertaking and I know it will take me a while to get through, but I’m so committed to fleshing out the canon in a way that feels authentic to me. And foreigner’s god made a bunch of people cry, which I weirdly wasn’t expecting? So that was an accomplishment, I suppose. LOL.

21. Do you prefer writing canon jily or muggle au?

I don’t really have a preference! When I first started, it was all canon, all the time - because that’s what I had been so sorely missing when I read HP again. But now it’s a hodge-podge of both! I think canon still has a special place in my heart, because I just really wish that we all got more time with these characters, but I do love a good AU because then I can see them live happily ever after and not, like...die.

Thank you so much for these questions!

Thank you for doing this!

[penny-anna]

i was tagged by @handwrittenhello, thank u! <3

How many works do you have on AO3?

i got uhh... 355! that's a lot

What’s your total AO3 word count?

aww don't make me check it. *checks* 988,031.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

i have 12 currently listed on ao3 tho a couple of those are for crossovers. uhh i'm not going to say them all as some are embarrassing. the Big Ones are the Witcher, Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings & Merlin, anyway.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

they are all witcher fics are present!

New Monster Stories

The Price of a Touch

Somebody to Love

sandstorms and hazy dawns

Constellations

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

OH that's a good question! i actually used to but i got out of the habit (oddly) when i moved to a fandom where i get less comments. the reason for this is that getting less comments meant i liked to go back and re-read them as if they were new comments and once i replied that would mean i was 'done' with them. so if i haven't replied to your comment that is because. i am still enjoying it.

i do reply when someone has a question or other comment that i feel warrants a response tho

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

oof so the answer is definitely this merlin series which tbh i can't say i'd recommend as it's genuinely pretty brutal. i don't know if i can say that i regret the bleakness of the ending tho.

Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

very rarely write 'crossovers' in the strictest sense BUT i do rly like writing fusions & of those i think the weirdest is the merlin/borrowers fusion bcos the whole concept of M-rated borrowers fic is just. frankly unacceptable!! but i did it anyway.

side note i do actually have a bunch more material around that one drabble (a whole au that's like the plot of the first borrowers but a romance essentially)

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

uhh kind of? yes. way back when i was about 14 and had just started posting fanfic i got a hm Scathing review on a fic i posted. however i was not especially bothered as i was very up myself when i was 14 and it would have taken more than 1 rude person to make me think what i was doing was anything less than Stellar and also the review was pretty dumb.

a lot of the stuff they didn't like in my story seemed to come down to them having failed to realise it was an AU & what i learned from that experience was you can't trust people to actually read your author's notes. the other stuff they took issue with came down to 'this was clearly written by a teenage girl' and in retrospect i'm like yeah no shit. this sounds like it was written by a teenager bcos i was in fact a teenager. do u have nothing better to do.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

yes. tho not super often these days.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

sorta? once someone translated one of my fics & posted it without crediting the original. it was very very obviously a direct translation even without speaking the language it was written in. they'd been doing it for a while and i believe they got reported but i don't actually remember what came of it.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

answered this above lol. yes i've had a few fics translated!! i don't really keep track of them. i used to go through and look at the comments on translations but i don't really bother these days.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

ok so i'm going to go with my gut instinct on this one & say Two/Jamie, even tho i'm not that into it these days. just in terms of. the level of enjoyment i had back when i was shipping it.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

OH you know i was actually thinking about this the other day! i always wanted to do a fourth installment of my Merlin urban fantasy AU that would tie some stuff together (and also feature gwen! who was absent from the entire fic bcos i was saving her for later!! i'm so sorry!) but i just lost interest in the fandom. i remember being conscious when i posted the 3rd part that it was kind of a parting gift to the Merlin fandom as a whole. am still pretty proud of that one.

What are your writing strengths?

dialogue!

What are your writing weaknesses?

basically. everything but dialogue lol.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

i did it 1 time using google translate in an original story & then i ended up actually selling the story so i had to scrabble around trying to find someone who spoke the language who could help me in advance of publishing it and then the process of translating it turned out to be much more complicated than i expected.

i don't remember the usernames of the very kind people who helped me out w it off the top of my head but thank you again!!

anyway no i will not be doing that again probably.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

it was lord of the rings & tbh as lotr fanfics written aged 12 go it really wasn't that embarrassing but it is no longer online.

for some reason (and this is probably for the best) my tastes ran exclusively to crack fic & i also really liked legolas so it was just an extended fic about legolas having really stupid adventures which i thought was very funny at the time. it was co-written w a friend and tbph her chapters were legit funny. go figure.

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

i feel like i end up saying this every time this question comes up but the thing i'm proudest of is prolly the LOTR daemon au (if you can count that as one fic lol)

uhh who do i know who writes fic & hasn't been tagged. @thescarletpaperback @uighean

[where-our-stories-start]

How to Write Dialogue, Part 2: Formatting and Dialogue Tags, or Being Clear About Who’s Talking

So, we’ve all struggled with dialogue tags. In short, they’re a headache. We need them to tell our readers who the hell is talking, but it’s easy to get bogged down in exactly what verb you want, where to put the tag, etc. Do you use ‘said’ over and over? Do you vary it up with ‘exclaimed’ and ‘shouted’ and ‘inquired’? Do you just say fuck it and leave them out altogether?

I’m going to write a second post about how to effectively make decisions about your dialogue tags, but for this post, let’s just tackle formatting.

1. Placement and punctuation of tags

Dialogue tags can go before or after the spoken text; it’s largely a matter of preference and style. They can also go in the middle of a longer quote.

If the tag comes at the beginning, it should be separated from the quote by a comma.

If the tag comes at the end, it should be separated from the quote by a comma unless the quote ends with something other than a period, like a question mark or an exclamation point.

If the tag is in the middle of a single spoken sentence, there should be commas before and after it. The first letter of the resumed quote should be lowercase.

If the tag is between two spoken sentences, there should be a comma before it and a period after it. The first letter of the resumed quote should be capitalized.

So, some examples of correctly formatted tags:

Shanti said, “I can’t wait for school tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow,” Shanti said.

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow!” Shanti said.

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow,” Shanti said, “but I know you’re nervous.”

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow!” Shanti said. “My presentation will be awesome.”

Remember that you should only put a tag in the middle of a quote if the character is taking a beat there, because it will break up the speech for your reader. Take a look at these two examples:

“Do you want to join the staff baseball team?” Fred asked. “I think you’d like it.”

“Do you want,” Fred asked, “to join the staff baseball team? I think you’d like it.”

In the first example, the dialogue tag is placed correctly. It falls in the gap between the two sentences, where Fred would naturally take a breath. In the second example, we’ve got an unnatural pause in the middle of Fred’s first sentence, and it makes the line feel clunky. That doesn’t mean there’s a hard and fast rule about breaking in an unusual place, but you should do it deliberately, when your character is actually pausing for emphasis.

At that moment, Sonya came running into the room. In her arms, she held the biggest, hairiest, ugliest cat her friends had ever seen.

“What,” Simon said, “do you call that?”

In this case, Simon is actually pausing after just one word. Putting the dialogue tag where it is helps convey his tone.

2. You can use actions as dialogue tags

One of the ways to avoid the dreaded “I feel like I’ve used ‘said’ a million times” problems is to use actions as dialogue tags. Basically, this means that instead of specifically saying the character said/asked/exclaimed/etc. the text, you simply place their action next to the dialogue. This can also happen before, after, or in the middle of their spoken text, but unlike an actual dialogue tag, it should always be treated as its own sentence. Where you put it depends on both your style and on whether your character acts before speaking, after speaking, or while speaking.

Pedro grinned and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Oh, this is gonna be awesome. I cannot wait.”

“Oh, this is gonna be awesome. I cannot wait.” Pedro grinned and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

“Oh, this is gonna be awesome.” Pedro grinned and slung his backpack over this shoulder. “I cannot wait.”

3. Each new speaker/actor gets a new paragraph

This is one you probably vaguely remember learning in elementary school, but it’s a lot simpler when your characters all speak one at a time in basic [subject-verb-object] sentences.When you’re writing complex conversations, it’s easy to get muddied up.

Basically, every time we switch focus to a new character, they get a new paragraph. Mostly this means when they speak, but it also includes nonverbal forms of communication. For example:

“Are you coming to the movie?” David asked.

“I think so,” Shaun said, “but I have to double check with my dad.”

David frowned and said, “He can’t still be mad about your math grade, can he?”

Shaun shrugged.

“Whatever, man,” David continued. “We’ll help you figure it out somehow.”

Notice that Shaun gets his own paragraph even when he’s just shrugging. If we put that action in the middle of David’s speech, our reader has a hard time keeping track of who they’re “watching” at any given moment. With more complicated actions, they might even get confused about who’s acting and/or talking.

So what happens if a more complex action comes from a character who’s also talking? Well, it kind of depends. If the speech and action are pretty interspersed, you can put them all together:

“I don’t know why you listen to her,” Naomi said. She put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter as she began to unpack her groceries. “It’s not like it’s any of her business.”

“I know, but she just won’t quit calling,” Tina answered.

This works, because Naomi is talking while moving around, so we want to experience both together. If she pauses, however, or if the action gets too unwieldy in our paragraph, we can give it its own paragraph.

“I don’t know why you listen to her,” Naomi said. “It’s not like it’s any of her business.”

She put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter as she began to unpack her groceries.

“I know, but she just won’t quit calling,” Tina answered.

When written this way, Naomi speaks to Tina and then moves on to unpacking the groceries, rather than doing both at the same time.

One thing to be wary of: your reader will expect focus to shift back and forth with each paragraph. That’s not a hard-and-fast rule--you can see above that Naomi gets two paragraphs in a row--but it does mean you have to be careful about splitting up a single character’s actions. A character can have two or more consecutive paragraphs if they’re carrying most of the conversation, but one character should never speak in two consecutive paragraphs. Dialogue in separate paragraphs must always be split by action. Consider this example, and note the confusion we run into:

Kiara bounced the basketball a few times and then tossed it to her sister. “I just don’t know if I want to be the editor, you know? I mean, I’ve liked writing for the newspaper, but editor’s a big responsibility.”

“You’d get to work with Alexa, though,” Alicia argued. She shot at the hoop, missed, and passed the ball back to Kiara.

“Yeah, I mean, I guess,” Kiara said. She raised her eyebrows at her sister in a challenge. Dodging Alicia easily, Kiara dribbled up to the hoop and sunk the ball through it.

“I guess I could say yes,” Kiara decided.

Alicia shrugged. “Just think about it is all I’m saying.”

See how after Kiara sinks the basketball, we expect the next statement to come from Alicia? It’s jarring when Kiara speaks again, because we’ve used the format to indicate we’re shifting perspective, but then we don’t actually shift away from her. Instead, we should either put it all in one paragraph, or give the action between her two statements its own paragraph.

Next time, I’ll get into how to choose your dialogue tags and what your different options do for you. Full series of these can be found here. I hope people find them helpful!

[harryspet]

𝓽𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷 ... 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓯𝓲𝓬𝓼

𝓽𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷 ... 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓯𝓲𝓬𝓼 

This December, for the holidays and to celebrate my followers, I’m giving readers a chance to request drabbles/one-shots but I’m also hoping some writers want to share the Holiday joy too! I have a list of dark prompts as well as holiday prompts so feel free to mix and match them however you like!

𝓇𝓊𝓁𝑒𝓈 & 𝑔𝓊𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈 

You don’t have to follow me but it would be greatly appreciated!!

Please be courteous and only send one request especially if you’re using anon.

When sending a request, tell me the character(s) + 1-3 dialogue prompts (have fun combining them) + au idea (optional)

I prefer to write for (aged up) Peter Parker, Bucky Barnes or Steve Rogers. If you’d like to include MJ, Natasha, Thor, Loki, Wanda or Sam please combine them with those three. Threesomes and foursomes welcome ^^

Make these unique! If you just want pure angst, smut, or fluff then choose your prompts accordingly. I’m hoping people enjoy mixing the holiday prompts with the dark ones (though its not required) so please read through them all. There are a lot of good ones!!

Most of these will probably end up being around 300-700 words.

I write dark fics which means there may be mentions of violence, abuse, noncon/dubcon and just angst overall. If you have limits, please let me know.

I may reject your request if I feel it’s too similar to what I’ve already written or if you ignore the rules. I may also close requests if I get too many.

𝓘𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓪 𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓻 and you’d like to write a drabble/one-shot using my lists then please let me know! I’ll be sure to give it a reblog and add it to my #fic recs if you tag me @harryspet​ and #tistheseasonfordarkfics. There’s no due date, just participate if you’re interested! :)

Don’t choose prompts with strikethroughs.

𝓻𝓮𝓺𝓾𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮: CLOSED

𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓉𝓈

“I wish I’d never met you.”

“Did you just stick your tongue out at me?”

“I’m done. We’re done.”

“Why are you fighting me?”

“I’ve never…they kept me untouched. For you”

“Did you just bite me?!”

“If I’m dead then how come you can see me?”

“It’s cute that you think you can defy me.”

“Duct tape. I need it for... taping something.”

“Why don’t you smile anymore?”

“Fuck you.”

“Your soul is mine.”

 “Looks like you need to be trained.“

“It’s not...not going to hurt, is it?”

“I don’t ... I don’t remember my name.”

“Did you see the way they looked at you?”

“How dare you challenge me.”

“I’ll let you go when I’m finished with you.”

“Hand Daddy his belt and take your shirt off.”

“I don’t like when they touch you.”

“Are you getting sore, all cooped up in that cage all day?”

“Shhh. It’s all right. I’ll be gentle.”

“Daddy wants to hear you sing a song. Sit on my lap and make Daddy happy.”

“Shit, are you crying? I didn’t mean to hit that hard!”

“You can’t take people as property!”

“I feel like you’re taking advantage of me.”

“So … uh.. who is that person … they keep texting you?”

“Fuck, I love you like this, all rounded with our child…”

“You wouldn’t want him/her/them finding out about this, would you?”

“You haven’t earned it. What are you going to do for me?”

“Stop crying.”

“You’re not in trouble, sweetheart.”

“I’ve been looking for you all night, and you are in desperate need of my help.”

“And the hunter becomes the hunted.”

“They hurt you and I’m going to hurt them back.”

“Never steal anything from someone you can’t outrun, kid.”

“Hands off, alpha. Never learn any self-control?”

“Can i stay at your place tonight? I don’t feel safe here.”  

“I really think you need to see a doctor.”

“Everything that happened is your fault.”

“You...you were never supposed to find out.”

 “Well, hello beautiful!”

“You want to what? That’s embarrassing!”

“You look a little lost, omega.”

“We need to talk...about the pregnancy.”

“Oh, did someone get lonely?”

𝒽𝑜𝓁𝒾𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓉𝓈

 "Excuse me—where is my Christmas kiss?"

"I made you some hot cocoa."

''I just want you for my own.''

"You didn't have to get me anything."

“I don't remember the last time I truly enjoyed Christmas."

"Go on, open it."

"Did you spike the eggnog?"

"I can't believe you did that to Santa..."

“You're my best Christmas present this year.”

“How many Christmas lights does one person need?”

 “Shut up! Santa is real.”

“I hate winter.” 

“Aren’t you just Santa’s Little Helper?”

“Son of a nutcracker!”

"You didn’t bring date to the party, did you? Because I need someone to kiss at midnight."

 “No you don’t understand, I need a picture with Santa!”

“I can’t reach the top of the tree to put the star on.”

 “Oh the weather outside is frightful.”

“This is our first Christmas together and I want it to be special.”

“Don’t you dare buy me that.”

“Tell me what you want for Christmas.”

“Fuck it let’s just get drunk.”

 “We can build a snowman.”

“What no, that’s not daddy, that’s Santa”

“Maybe if I kiss you, you’ll feel warmer.” 

 “I can not believe the car broke down in the middle of nowhere 3 hours before it’s officially Christmas.”

“...I think we’re snowed in...”

“I hate work Christmas parties.”

“What do you mean you’re working on Christmas?!”

 “I refuse to have a baby on Christmas.”

“Call me an elf one more time!”

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

 “I’m freezing, you’re warm. Hug me.”

“I don’t even have a family to celebrate with, so what’s the point?“

“Forbid Christmas? No one can forbid Christmas.”

“We can add a special ornament to the collection each year. This year's is for our future baby.”

“I’m not going to kiss you under the mistletoe.”

“Remind me why I can’t kill the carolers?”

“No one should be alone on Christmas!”

 “So you’re going to dress up as Santa.”

“You burnt the holiday cookies!”

“Wanna go skating in Central Park?”

“How can you possibly look good with snow in your hair?”

“If you throw that snowball you’re declaring war”

“You didn’t really think I’d let you spend Christmas alone, did you?”

This list is a compilation of a bunch of starters I found on tumblr so you may recognize quotes from movies and songs! I reblogged a lot of the original posts on my side blog @parkerspet​.

𝒶𝓊 & 𝓈𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓈 (optional)

Arranged marriage au - Angel/demon au - Assassin au - Apocalypse au - Android au - Amnesia au - Babysitter au - Bodyguard au - Bookstore au - Baker au - Band au - Bounty hunter au - Brothel au - Camp Counselor au - Camping au - College au - Criminal au - Caregiver/Little au - Doctor au - Domestic au - Enemies au - Ex au - Forbidden Love au - Fugitive au - Gang au - Hero/Villian au - Immortal au - Kidnapped au - Mafia au - Maid au - Marriage au - Neighbor au - A/B/O au - Porn Star au - Prostitute au - Royalty au - Serial Killer au - Stalker au - Stripper au - Tattoo Shop au - Werewolf au - Yandere au

tagging all the fics #tistheseasonfordarkfics and #harryspetrequests !

𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓮 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓽𝓼

tagging some authors :) @cherienymphe @andybarberslxt @mypoisonedvine @nsfwsebbie @darkficsyouneveraskedfor @mcudarklibrary​ @opheliadawnwalker3 @autumnrose40 @marvelmaree @thecutestlittlebunbunfairy @buckysbunny @buckybarnesplumwhore @honeyloverogers @mariessecretfantasies @mrwinterr @yanderepeterparker @raisincookieswrites​

[runicmagitek]

tagged by the lovely @wingsyouburn - thanks bb! 💕

How many works do you have on AO3? 209?? I'm sorry what????

What’s your total AO3 word count? 958,942??? HOW????????????

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? *cackles* Oh sweetheart, sit down. We're gonna be here for a while.

According to my AO3 account, I have 54 different fandoms tagged. Most of them are for video games, but the occasional anime sneaks in now and then. I also have a few MCU fics, one book fic, and a podcast fic. My most prolific fandom is Final Fantasy VI with 50 fics.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Wings of Valor and Compassion (Pharah/Mercy - Overwatch)

No Safety in Desire (Urbosa/Zelda - Legend of Zelda)

Give Them Something to Talk About (Dina/Ellie - The Last of Us)

Finally, Beautiful Stranger (Aeris/Tifa - Final Fantasy VII)

Don't Bring Your Black Heart to Bed (Thanatos/Zagreus - Hades)

Glad to see everyone enjoying my quality gay shit. Also very amused that out of these five, three of them were from last year.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? I do! Or I at least make a solid effort to do so! I usually can't really sit down to properly reply until the weekend, unless it's something super quick I can shoot off on my phone, so I hope people don't mind the wait.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Depends on the flavor? For straight-up Bad Ending vibes, absolutely Limbo (I really need to crack out another horror fic, because I love those, even if the majority of fandom doesn't). For right-in-the-feels vibes, Waiting for the Dust to Settle was a recent one I did that just sucker punches you with bittersweet Oh No goodness. It also reminds me of In Another Perfect Life, which ends on a similar note. *squints* actually, these are all for Final Fantasy VIII, which is saying a lot about... something lol

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written? Um... not really? I don't think I have? At least not in the traditional sense where characters from Fandom A interact with characters from Fandom B. I have written some fusion crossover stuff. If You Had Life Eternal comes to mind, where I took Jaina and Kael from WoW and plopped them in Diablo's setting, because reasons.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? I had someone leave a super homophobic comment on one of my Pharmercy fics back in the day, which like... dude, are you lost?? I've also gotten some general weird comments that have little to nothing to do with the fic. I do remember someone on FFN commented saying that I needed Jesus on one of my witch-y fics. Sigh.

Do you write smut? If so what kind? Yes. The delicious kind (I hope).

Have you ever had a fic translated? Probably?? I've had a handful of people over the years ask to translate my stuff, but I haven't seen anything pop up on AO3.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope.

What’s your all-time favorite ship? LIKE JUST ONE???? My brain fluctuates when it comes to this, but I definitely have a type or two I always gravitate towards. The most recent addition is Keitaro/Natsuno (13 Sentinels), which lives in my head rent-free from now until I die. I also always find myself coming back to Celes/Setzer (FFVI) and Aeris/Tifa (FFVII).

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? A bunch of 2016 drafts I started and then dropped when my life imploded. I've yet to revisit any of them and I'm not sure if I ever will at this point :\

What are your writing strengths? Apparently sneezing out 7k words without breaking a sweat.

What are your writing weaknesses? Sneezing out 7k words without breaking a sweat *sobs in a corner* ALSO TITLES I HATE TITLES

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I'm... not sure I fully understand what this means? Like having characters speak in another language randomly? I did this sparingly in Darkness/Starlight, where I had Jidoor be a blend of French and Italian, thus giving Setzer an appropriate accent and the occasional French comment. I didn't translate those into English, because the POV character (Celes) wouldn't have understood what was being said. Plus any time Setzer did dip into it, he was speaking from the heart, but was too afraid to actually TELL her. So if anyone had half the mind to translate those bits, they'd find out Setzer said the most touching things to her in French.

ANYHOW. I honestly don't really do this much, especially when a handful of my fandoms are Japanese and I'm writing in English and we're just assuming everyone's talking in Japanese so... yeah. Take it or leave it, I guess.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Like when I was 10??? A crossover between Sailor Moon and Final Fantasy VII because FUCK YOU I DO WHAT I WANT.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? You're killing me, smalls, and I ain't picking just one.

Darkness/Starlight is forever near and dear to my heart for being a labor of love for such a small, old fandom and my beloved rarepair.

Learn to Fly is one I love for the amount of research I put in (I replayed Pyre and took so many notes on both Ti'zo's and Rhae's speech patterns to get them just right) and the delightful, yet bittersweet messages it exudes.

Long Journey Home is another favorite, because I poured my heart into it and it's got one of my favorite lines and ending.

Of What's Left of Us and Who We Used to Be was my attempt at evoking the surreal, yet heartwrenching vibes from the series and again, I also poured my heart into it.

Before We Have Another Chance to Go Loving was me cramming a massive longfic idea I had in my head forever into a small triple drabble series and it's forever canon in my heart.

The Lies We Tell Ourselves is my most recent fic I've published, which I wrote/edited/polished in four days, but I'm tickled pink with how it turned out.

tagging: @dvske @deemoyza @rosemochi @fury-brand @aliatori and any other writers who feel like swiping this! No pressure, as always 💕

[nyxocity]

Fic Writer Questions!

Thanks to @redmyeyes for the tag!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

82, although that's not even close to my actual total. There's a bunch on LJ that have never been transferred (all shorter works)

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,780,805 (over 2mil on LJ)

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Mostly three, plus a couple dips into a few other pools. X-Men Comic Book fandom, Buffy & Angel fandom (they kinda count as one since it's the same universe), and Supernatural & SPN RPF. Dips have included Dragon Age, Firefly, a tiny bit of TVD, a Sons of Anarchy crossover.

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

This is tough if I go by numbering. Homework Verse has the most kudos scattered across all parts, but Stranger Than Fiction has the most as a single story. Anyway...

Homework Verse (J2 RPF, 200k+ words) - My very first RPF fic, Supernatural or otherwise. Two of my online fandom friends basically TOLD me I was going to write Teacher/Student J2, and I kept protesting that I drew the line at RPF. They didn't care. 200k later, here we are. This story was a game changer for me; it made me fandom famous. I still love those boys with my whole heart, and they still talk to me sometimes.

Stranger Than Fiction (Sam/Dean, 50644 words) - This story idea took root immediately following the episode The Monster at the End of This Book. I quit the Big Bang I'd already begun writing for that year (which was Who Watches Over Me, which I finished and posted for BB the following year) to write this story. It just took hold hold of me and took over. I wrote it in 6 weeks and it was easily the most fun I ever had writing anything--I cackled like a madwoman most of the time.

Who Watches Over Me (J2 RPF, 96591 words) - This story was, at the time, the toughest thing I'd ever written. Little did I know that would become the norm and not the exception, as I began to write more complex stories. It was by far the longest story I had ever posted all at once in its entirety (rather than chapter by chapter) and I had no idea if people would like it. Fortunately a lot of people did.

Like Staring Into the Sun (Sam/Dean, 23243 words) - Ah, my very first hardcore Wincest fic. I remember writing the first chapter of the story (meant to be a one shot honestly), and just sitting there, at 5am, being terrified to post it. It was twisted, dark and intense and SO porny I was scared people might think I was weird. There wasn't anything like it out there at the time. As it turns out, people loved it so much I ended up writing eight more parts.

Like a Fish Out of Water (Sam/Dean, 59498 words) - I have a lot of love for this story. It didn't come to me easily, but it was fun to write. I remember smiling a lot and just having a nice, warm cozy feeling the whole time. I had no idea if anyone was interested in reading this many words of what amounted to a dramedy curtain fic

Of course there are other stories that I feel deserve love, but I can't argue with these.

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do. And by that, I mean I try. I don't always succeed in answering them all, but I answer as many as I have time and energy for. Life is busy and there is writing to do as well. I read every comment I get (multiple times) and I feel guilty for all the ones I don't answer, because they mean SO MUCH TO ME. Like you took time to leave this beautiful, well thought out comment, or even a keysmash, or a heart, in response to something I wrote. That means the world.

I WISH there was a reaction function for comments on Ao3, so I could heart things, or laugh in response. Replying with emojis without words feels weird. So yeah, a reaction function would be amazing. But in the meantime, I do my best.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmm. Probably A Touch of Evil. Interestingly, it's also a HAPPY ending, so there you go lol. It's a serial killer love story with a happy ending that comes at an exorbitant price.

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I'm not sure why the OG post skips from 6 to 8 lol . So, yes, I have written a few minors crossovers. Mostly Faith in the SPN verse with the boys, nothing too crazy, because she fits right in. But for long stories, I have written all of ONE crossover. It's Dean Winchester/Jax Teller (SPN / Sons of Anarchy). My crossovers so far have tended to make sense to crossover, so I don't think any of them are crazy.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. I got some hate on a Buffy/Xander fic back in the day. I got really excited and had fun with it. Like yeah, now I'm SOMEBODY! You're no one til someone hates you lol Most of that was people who were haters of the ship, or were like, gross, they're like brother and sister (they weren't, they were FRIENDS). I've gotten nasty comments here and there on some of my SPN fic. My favorite was the person who accused me of having a "Top Dean Agenda". I STILL laugh about that one. I don't respond to that crap.

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Have you MET ME? LOL If I ever post a story without smut just put me out to pasture, because I'm done. And all kinds. Het, Gay, PWP, Plotty porn, mostly super kinky but some vanilla (but intense). I used to challenge myself regularly to see if I could up my kink game--like hmm, but could I write THIS? I haven't written really kinky sex in a long time, though. Might be time to do that.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Several times. Who Watches Over me was stolen by someone and converted to One Direction Lourry fic. Literally just did a name change. Someone else stole a bunch of my one shots and passed them off as their own. I know there were a couple other instances but I only vaguely remember. I never got too deep into it, most of the time the people who discovered the theft already told everyone else too, and the plagiarist had been hammered by them so hard that I didn't have to step in before they took it down.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. I used to get requests so often that I just posted my usual response in my profile for people to read instead of replying. Definitely into Russian and Chinese for most of the stories listed with most kudos above.

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A few times on one shot fics. SO MUCH FUN. I love co-writing with people.

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

Sam/Dean. Easily. Hands down. I just love their unique relationship, bond and love so much.

15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Well I finally finished A Touch of Evil after posting 3 chapters in 2009 and never touching it again until 2017. And I never thought I'd finish that. So never say never, I say. That said, there's the third and final part of my X-Men comic book epic that remains unfinished by about five (shorter) chapters, and it HAUNTS ME. But I don't think I'll ever finish it.

16) What are your writing strengths?

NOW we get to the hard questions. I'm really good at dialogue, bouncing banter back and forth between characters, and I have a sense for how long a scene should be. I just KNOW when it's going on too long, even if there's more that needs to be said, and I try to tighten it up in that case.

A friend of mine once told me "Porn is my gift". I don't write as much of it as I used to, but yeah, I shine in that area.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

So I always reach a point after writing so many words in an unpublished fic where I'm like, I have no idea if this is even any good/makes sense/hangs together etc. Beyond that, I've been writing for so long that I've had so much practice that I've strengthened a lot of my weaknesses. I'm sure I still have some, but I don't FEEL them like I used to anymore. That said, there are things I simply will not write. Like historical pieces. Because I would research the fuck out of every detail trying to get it perfect and then I would still doubt myself completely.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I mostly try to avoid it, because there's no way I would ever get the language correct. I usually write it in English and then explain that they're saying it in another language. Like, "What are you doing?" the man asks, speaking in Chinese. Then reiterate in the continuing dialogue in various ways that they're speaking in Chinese.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

X-Men Comic Book fandom. I was reading a lot of Remy/Rogue fic back in 1996-1997, and one day I was like, you know what? This person did a pretty good job on this story. It's not great, but it's pretty good, and if they can have the guts to put it out there, then I can do it, too.

20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

This is a tough question. I don't love all my children equally, but I love them all a lot in different ways lol

Remembering favorite is different than which one I think is BEST... Homework Verse is probably my favorite. I was learning so much about writing then, I was really growing, and discovering, and pushing my limits. Those characters lived and breathed in me, I swear they spoke through me from some alternate universe. They feel so REAL to me. There's so much of what I've learned in life in that story, like really, big, life changing ideas and understandings that happened to me that I put into that story. There's so much of me in that story, and yet there's so much of THEM, too. It's their story, but it's also mine. It's raw and not entirely perfect and it feels like home to me.

--

So that's it, that's my piece. I feel like EVERYONE has been tagged since it took me 3 days to have time to do this, but I'm basically tagging any of you writers out there who haven't done this yet!

[starlingflight]

20 Questions Writers Edition

Thank you to @justfinishthis for the tag :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Nine

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

176,826

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Just Harry Potter, I’m a purist! 

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Everything I Wanted - Hinny’s relationship from the day after the kiss to the day of the break up during HBP. 

Fallin’ All in You - The week leading up to the Hinny kiss during HBP. 

A Bit of Both - Each of the Weasley’s finding out about Hinny - Missing moments from HBP & DH. 

Career Advice - One-shot: Harry and Ginny discuss Ginny’s ambition to play pro-Quidditch. Set before the Ginny/Dean break up. 

A Two Step Process - Harry buying Ginny’s engagement ring and proposing. 

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes, because I LIVE for comments. Seriously, readers who take the time to leave comments on fics, please know you are making that writers day and we all love you very, very much. 

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Everything I Wanted  - I did an epilogue with a somewhat happy ending but it’s still full of angst. 

7. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Probably A Two Step Process, but I think the ending of Fallin’ All in You is happier just because you have to go through several chapters of longing and angst to get there. 

8. Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t write crossovers. I can see the appeal but I think if I attempted to, it would quickly devolve into pure fan-service with very little of substance in the actual writing. I will leave the crossovers to those more talented than I. 

9.  Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No. I’ve had comments where people disagree with me and I’ve had to give myself a shake and remember not to take it personally (Thank you, Three Broomsticks Discord Server, for giving me perspective!). Everyone is entitled to their own interpretation and if we all read the text the same then fan fic would be extremely limited and boring.

10. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I have written some smut; I haven’t posted any of it. My goal is to one day get the confidence to post it! 

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No. What kind of sociopath would do that?? 

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope... if anyone wants to though, send me a message and we can work it out :)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope, I see people doing this and there are a lot of amazing writers within fandom that I would be honoured to work with, but I’m not sure my writing process really lends itself to co-writing. Maybe I’ll give it a try in the future! 

14.  What’s your all time favorite ship?

Harry/Ginny - does it even need to be said? 

15. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I started writing a fic where Harry and Ginny don’t get back together immediately after the war and there’s so much angst and longing in it and there’s a scene at the end that I really, really love but keeping them apart without making one or both act out of character is near impossible so I doubt I’ll ever finish it. 

16. What are your writing strengths?

Character - I love getting inside a character’s head and writing in their ‘voice’

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot - I just want to write cute character interactions and having to build plot around it is daunting sometimes. 

Transitions - moving from one scene to another can be such a challenge. 

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think it’s really cool when people include little details like this. In Britain there isn’t a very big focus on learning other languages so I would not feel confident in trying to include other languages in my fic, unless I checked it with someone fluent before posting. 

Just trying to write in Fleur’s dialect is quite a challenge for me, as anyone who has read my author’s notes will tell you! 

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter! 

20. What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

My favourite is Everything I Wanted - it’s the reason I started writing and it truly is a labour of love. I’d never written anything aside from school work before I wrote the first scene for it (though it wasn’t the first thing I posted). I was so sad when I posted the last chapter. 

Special mention to A Bit of Both, though. It was so fun writing from so many different characters perspectives. 

Nearly everyone I speak to has already been tagged, so tagging a few people from discord who’s writing I really like and I happen to know the tumblr URLs for! This was long, so please don’t feel pressured to do it! :)

@sweeethinny @velvethopewrites @but-now-imyourdaisy

[nightofnyx8]

Thank you so much to @lantur, @roseofbattles, @megthemighty, @fullmetalscullyy, and @lastwagontrainhopper for the tag! Love you all! <3

How many works do you have on AO3? 16 😊 12 are from Fullmetal Alchemist, and 4 are from the Batman/Teen Titans category.

What's your total AO3 word count?

86845

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Someone to Watch Over Me—This one is very dear to me, because it was my first time creating an OC and I just fell in love with Dr. Kallen. I love outside perspectives so much because I get to explore Royai through different eyes and I find it very insightful. It was also fun to research a bunch of medical procedures and the 1900s hospital environment in general!

In My Tender Embrace—This one has my heart, as it took so much empathy and love to write, and it also really helped me explore Riza’s character in relation to motherhood what that meant after Ishval. It was so very very hard to write about her miscarriages and the toll it took on her and Roy, but it was also beautiful to me to help them both heal and strengthen each other with my favorite hurt/comfort.

The Moments to Remember—This is the first Royai fic I wrote (and also my least favorite haha). I mostly wrote it because my family was stressing me out about planning my own wedding, and some of that frustration leaked into the fic haha. I’d probably change a couple things if I went back to it, but it has some nice domestic Royai towards the end.

Hold Me Close—Ahhh this one is such a guilty pleasure! I loved writing these one-bed prompts so much, and it’s also some good practice for me to write some more intimate scenes. I haven’t written full on smut yet, but that might change in the last chapter oooooppppps.

The First Thing He Checked—This was one of my favorite pieces to write! I got to explore Berthold’s character a bit, and of course Roy just gets to save the day at the very end. I’m such a sucker for “Are you hurt?” tropes and this one was such a lovely character comparison piece to write.

Do you reply to comments, why or why not? Yes! It means the world to me that someone took the time to read through something I’ve written, and even more so that they would leave their thoughts on it, and it’s a way I can express my gratitude for that! Plus, I sometimes learn something from other people’s perceptions of the piece and can sometimes inspire new scenes or ideas.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? Most definitely The Distance Between Us. Not only because both Roy and Riza are, well, dead—but also because that whole fic was just a heartbreak and a half to write.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? Probably “I’m Only Me When I’m With You,” because not only were Roy and Riza free of the usual war criminal trauma, but it was also like the most satisfying ending to write ever with that slow burn college dorks in love (ahh look, it’s an AU, go figure).

Do you write crossovers? If so, what's the craziest one you've ever written? I don’t think I will since I like overanalyzing too much. Like my current WIP is all about unfolding the events towards the Promised Day, and Arakawa’s making me read between the lines to figure out what in the actual heck was Roy’s master plan. Adding another fandom into that would probably just make my brain explode.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? I believe I received one comment on my old fanfiction account once back in the day.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I’ve never written full-on smut, I tend to either write it non-explicatively or imply it somehow. I’m trying to decide which way to go on the last chapter of Hold Me Close, and depending on what I decide the rating will have to change. Favorite guilty smut to read: drunken confessions, dom/sub (hi @lantur), basically anytime Roy and Riza go undercover and things…happen, and secret relationships.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I have not, thankfully 😊

Have you ever had a fic translated? No, but @klainelynch did a podfic of “Endgame” that I still haven’t quite recovered from.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but I’d love to! It sounds fun!

What’s your all-time favourite ship? Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye—Such a wonderful dynamic and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? I might finish I’d Still Choose You someday, but it’s a fandom that I don’t write for anymore unless someone requests it, and I just don’t have the same fervor for it as I used to.

What are your writing strengths? Hmm, I think that I do well conveying emotions in a real and grounded way. Some of my fics deal with some hard topics, and I always want the emotions felt by the reader to be well earned and rich instead of empty or fake. I like my writing style as well, and I feel like I learn something new with each fic I write.

What are your writing weaknesses? Random spelling and tense errors that slip past the editing stage, and it’s something I’m continually working on. I also feel like my prose and flow of the piece can feel a bit mechanical at times.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I've included words in different languages in some of my fics, but I don’t think I’d be comfortable writing full dialogue unless it was Spanish, the only other language I’m fluent in.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Percy Jackson, back when I was 13!

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written? I’d have to say Heartbeat, because those two pieces required a lot of empathy and research and love. And though it broke my heart to write that story for Roy and Riza, I put a lot of heart into it and it helped me to grow as a writer. That’s also the fic where the comments have humbled me the most, because it gets into some real-world issues that can bring up some hard emotions that I wanted to treat with the utmost respect.

Tagging @bringingglory @musing-and-music @nightglider124 @lightdusk96 and anyone else who wants to haha :)

[sukirichi]

heeeey do you have any advice for newbie writers?

writing advice for newbies!

disclaimer: the advice i’m going to give (funnily enough) is not something that i always personally do. i’ve been writing both fiction and non-fiction for years, i only came to tumblr because i wasn’t satisfied with how i kept pressuring myself to write “high literature” after gaining awards and recognition for my stories. my fanfiction here in this blog...it’s unrefined, definitely not what i used to write before because i’m a lot less serious about it and i’m just writing freely. but the advice i’ll list below is personally some stuff that has helped me a lot in my entire writing journey! Some are technical, some are personal! down below will also list some tumblr related writing advice! 

1. Keep writing! No one is born a great writer. Before I actually started publishing/posting my stories, I remember I spent at least five years writing the most random crap just so I can get a feel for what my style is. Plus, the more you do things repeatedly, it’ll come eventually like second nature to you and you’ll find the words are flowing. Keep writing, keep writing, keep writing! Even if you’re not satisfied with your first work, that’s okay, just keep going on!

2. Be mindful of what tense you’re using. NOW I KNOW I DON’T REALLY FOLLOW THIS BUT THAT’S BECAUSE I DON’T EDIT MY FICS LMAO, but you could totally do this! So in writing, we have “voices.” The narration will always use tenses of whether the entire story will be past tense or present tense and it’s important this remains consistent in your entire story. This one is TECHNICAL, this just help improves the flow and formality of your story. As for me though, I don’t really care about the tenses anymore because like I said, I just write freely with no regards for “creative writing techniques.” an example of past tense is: Suki jumped to Naoya’s arms. “My love!” she called, wrapping her arms around him. (RIP EXAMPLES) and present tense is: Suki jumps to Naoya’s arms. “My love!” she calls and wraps her arms around him. (this could be real flexible tho, this is just an example ehehehe)

3. Be mindful of dialogue tags! There’s a huge difference between putting periods and commas after dialogues. Like for example, “Suki loves Naoya,” she declared. If it’s followed by an action, the comma is best. Or example, Suki said, “I really love Naoya.” If the statement can stand alone, then it can be “Suki really loves Naoya./I really love Naoya.” There’s better explanations here! And one more thing, you should put the commas/periods inside the quotation marks. There’s more variations/explanations here but generally, this way of writing,,,example: “Suki really loves Naoya”, LIKE??? if it’s a dialogue, put the commas/periods inside the quotation marks.

4. PARAGRAPH BREAKS. I cannot stress this enough. There should be a variety in the sizes of your paragraphs. Long paragraphs should be followed by smaller ones, varied with medium paragraphs and then so and so forth. There’s no formal sequence that it should be LONG – MEDIUM – SHORT – MEDIUM – LONG, writing is flexible, just make sure you’re varying the lengths because reading long, chunky paragraphs with no end is equally annoying as reading paragraphs that are always 1-2 sentences and then a paragraph break.

5. Outline, outline, outline! Whether it’s long fics or short ones (excluding drabbles, I don’t think you need them that much) outlines will help you have a more solid feel of your story, and you can easily track your story flow when you have your ideas plotted out. or me, my outlines is in the form of Dialogue Outline, where I write out all the dialogues first so my pages will be just conversations then I’ll add the monologues/actions later. That’s personally what works for me, you can discover your own writing style <3

6. Research! Now this is pretty funny for me to say this because I don’t really do research, at least not the “how to effectively write this type of role” or whatever. Of course it’s better if you try to learn more about the concept you’re going to write about (like if you wanna do a vampire AU then read Twiligh – JK THAT’S A BAD REFERENCE, SORRY NOT SORRY, love the memes tho!) or you can do my own way of researching, which is reading other people’s fanfics! Not only do you get a vibe of how this character is like, but you also get to support other content creators!

7. You don’t need verbs all the time. Sometimes I see stories wherein ALL dialogues have “said” “screamed” “explained” on EACH line and here’s the key: as long as the readers can understand which character is speaking, you don’t need dialogue cues all the time. 

8. PUT THE KEEP READING TAB. I cannot stress this enough, but please put the keep reading tab. Drabbles are fine without them, but if it exceeds maybe 400 words then you’re going to need that. Sure, it’s easy to scroll past a long text, but some fics are super long and without the keep reading tab that it can be quite a hassle to whoever sees it.

9. Have your own writing safe space. Now this could be more personal than technical, but I absolutely cannot write or focus when I’m in a public space or when I’m being bothered. So if you want to write, SHUT THE WORLD OUT and dive deep into your imaginations, let the noise of your fantasies be louder than distractions.

10. Take your time! I guess that would be my best advice. You don’t have to rush anything at all, and one more thing, DO NOT OVERTHINK! Maybe this is just me but I honestly don’t really try to dive too deep in the technicalities anymore :// I’ve been in Creative Writing class for years and it stressed me out that my writing teachers always told me “not to use big words because no one will understand that” or “don’t try to paint the picture too clearly because not everyone has that big of an imagination” and I was like ISN’T THAT THE POINT THOUGH, TO MAKE PEOPLE IMAGINE THINGS? but yeah anyways, maybe this is just me again, but I find that I write better when I’m not overthinking too much on how to write a “perfect” story. I don’t always have the prettiest words to use. I don’t always have the most intricate plot. I don’t always have the most poetic content that is “inspiring” or “moving.” Sometimes I write stupid shit that has no plot at all, and that’s okay. Just write whatever you want tbh, I’d say my biggest advice is to not worry too much about having the “perfect” story. It’s still great to do research and want to improve your writing skills, but hmm...I guess I’d say the most important thing is that you enjoy what you do!

11. “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” – Ernest Hemingway. This is one of my favourite quotes because it’s true, writing is both complicated and simple, but as for me, writing is something that I don’t want to stress too much about. There isn’t really an actual right or wrong, there isn’t a law, just some techniques that could help you improve, but at the end of the day, it should be about the steady state of progress or the “creation flow” that matters the most. Just write, that’s it. You’ll get there eventually and you’ll start creating magic before you know it. Just let the words flow and build, worry about quality later when you edit it. Or you know, if you’re lazy like me, just post it when you’re done LMAO. really though the BEST advice is to enjoy the process and not stress too much about it!

here is a previous ask i answered that may be of help too!