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a-lil-perspective · 4 years

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70 Encouragements/Tips For The Writer:

A/N: Rules don’t exist. These are real and personal and stem from a deteriorating, exhausted Writer who is here to tell you (and herself) that you are amazing and keep going. I hope you find some encouragement within.

Your mental health comes first and foremost.

Indulge and embrace your creative writing pieces when they come (and when they don’t). Especially when they don’t.

Suffering from Writer’s Block or fluctuating hyperfixation? Me too. So is your favorite author. Welcome to the Writer’s Block Party (all my uwus if you see the pun).

Did you spend five hours on this one segment, forget the last time you ate, develop chapped lips, dry eyes, and a stiff back (time to get up and move), bang your head on the wall, laugh, cry, fidget, take your ADHD meds, deviate to watch YouTube, have an epiphany, curse in frustration and wonder why the hell you do this to yourself? Congratulations, you’re a Writer.

Embrace all the not-so-glamorous sides of writing, and accept the fact they’re going to happen time over again.

When you say “just one more line” and it’s 2:00 AM, I’ll be here to remind you to “go to sleep” (because I’m also depriving myself lol).

Actually, sleeping helps your mind feel refreshed, and it’s good for your health. If you’re struggling with a particular segment, one of the best things you can do is just put a cap on it for the time being, put in a placeholder, and get some shut eye. I know you don’t want to. But you will feel so much better and have more clarity and energy to continue when you wake. Trust me.

More often than not, those words you “just didn’t write down fast enough and now forgot” end up revealing themselves to you later in a much more profound way. Give the words time to get ready. They’re just spiffing up before coming to visit. :)

Be proud of yourself and your prose. Writing is an amazing part of who you are.

That trope has been written 1000 times before? Make it 1001.

You’ve already written this scenario? Write it again.

You’ve just written a single sentence. Now sit back for moment and think: you just wrote something brand new, never before seen. Nobody out there will ever write that sentence or formulate those thoughts the exact same way. You are a unique, mind-blowing, awe-inspiring human being.

Bask in the excitement that comes with a completed piece. Reflect on what you learned throughout and celebrate the little victories.

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback, but also understand that you might not always get it, and that is OK.

Please re-read your work. Be gentle with yourself. You had to write that very first piece to get to where you are now. Love the process.

Your personal writing success is not based off of kudos or likes or reblogs.

There is no right or wrong way to write.

There is no such thing as “good” writing.

Improvement is becoming of everyone so get comfy, strap in. The journey of a Writer is a lifelong one. Here’s to many more works ahead.

Don’t mourn the words you did or didn’t write. Celebrate the ones you will.

One day, you’ll read a piece that will blow you away—and it will be yours.

There is nothing “shameful” about reblogging your own writing works.

I promise you’ll find your “wow” piece—either in something you’ve already written, or something yet to come.

Baby. Please don’t write out of spite. You’re better than that.

You are just as valid/deserving as the next Writer. And you do belong.

If you feel sad/unworthy when sharing your works or interacting with others’, get to the root of why. Writing should be fun, rewarding, and relaxing. Not shameful, embarrassing, or a chore.

Writing (fanfiction, specifically) is labeled as “transformative works”. Self-explanatory, right? However, if you notice the transformative part begin to have a personal effect on you—a negative one—it’s time to take a step back.

Right now, I can name a single quality you possess: diligence. How do I know? Because you’re a Writer, and the two go hand-in-hand.

Got that single scene in your head but you haven’t completed or even began all the chapters preceding? Bruh. Jot that down right now. You don’t need 20k words beforehand.

Embrace your writing mood swings. The stray, sweet and condensed blurbie. The ideal, bridging drabble. The solid, substantial oneshot. The hefty, elaborate 10k word chapter. Appreciate everything in-between, and that you are capable of all of it.

Nobody remembers that extra word or typo or stray speech mark back all the way back in chapter 3. Tell the little monster in your head to go to hell.

You’re not a weirdo for making facial expressions and mulling through your dialogue aloud. You. Are. A. Writer.

It’s OK if the Readers can’t always see exactly what you envisioned in your head, or the full extent of the picture you painted. We all see colors differently.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with your writing.

In fact, challenge yourself to dabble into a new plot/trope/concept every day, even if only for a few minutes. You may discover you love writing it.

There’s no rush to finish/begin any written work. If you take your time, you will make your mark. You’re not falling behind or running late. Slow down and wait for it. :)

Three cheers for hiatus.

Listen to your body and mind, know your limits and when it’s time to take a break.

Actually take a break. :)

If you feel like you’re falling stagnant in creativity, looking to/revisiting other forms of creative media can help encourage the flow.

Ask for encouragement, and be at peace with asking.

Take shelter in fellow writers. Uplift each other always.

You are/will be someone’s favorite author. :)

You don’t have anything to prove. You have something to share.

Someone is thinking about your work right now.

Someone started a series because they drew inspiration from you.

Personal writing style can reflect a lot on the state of one’s mental health. Try to always be attentive to that of your own.

Self-validation must be cultivated early on or nothing will ever work.

Freestyle every once in a while. Write a snippet, timed, and go—without editing. Write the first thing that comes to mind and go from there. Do it all the way through the set time. When it stops, you’ll find yourself unable to. 3,800 words here we come. :)

Not everything needs an outline. :)

It is completely normal to write your story out of order.

Create guidelines for yourself. If they aren’t working, toss ‘em.

Word vomiting can help you feel better (it’s just how it sounds). By clearing all those jumbled thoughts and scattered concepts, you achieve a clearer objective. Try it sometime.

A rough draft is supposed to be rough.

Sometimes the words come to you quicker than others. Be patient. That is merely the construct of a Writer’s mind. You’re a beautiful enigma.

A sentence written is a story progressing.

Writing is an endurance sport. You must pace yourself and exercise it daily.

You are still a Writer even when the words aren’t on the actual page.

You’re not obligated to a writing/posting schedule.

As you progress in your journey and gain more awareness, don’t sacrifice your style. Those beginning works are what define you. Hold onto them and don’t ever let them go.

You’re the only one cringing—

Remember that sometimes words are elusive and you don’t always have control over them, and that is OK. Sometimes they write themselves. Sometimes your characters come to life and break out into dance across your page. Dance with them. You can wrangle them back when the music stops. :)

There is nothing condemning or embarrassing about asking for a beta. Allow someone to help carry the load.

Allow people to cheer you on—even if they don’t read your work.

It’s OK if your writing style isn’t someone else’s preference.

Be your biggest cheerleader. Sometimes you are all you have.

You don’t need anyone’s approval except your own.

You love that trope/concept/story you just wrote? That’s all that matters. The end.

You will never write good. You will write you. And that is good.

Above all else: remember to write for you.🤍

#writers #fanfiction writers #writing encouragement #writer appreciation #writer support #writer struggles #writing motivation #writers tips #for writers #omg am I struggling.#hope these help you beautiful people #my writing #it’s a lil thing

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winterhawk-olympic-bang · 3 years

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How To Edit Your Writing

Guest Poster: Chronicwhimsy

Here is our final Writer Workshop post, written by Chronicwhimsy. Have a read and then head over to the Discord Server where we have a channel for you to take part in a discussion based on the post, with chances to share your own ideas too.

Editing: a drive-by guide

Hi, my name is Claire, and I’m an editor.

(Hi Claire)

I’ve been asked to give a quick guide on tips for editing your stories, as I’ve been a beta/editor for various fanfic writers over the years. I’m a professional editor, working for a publishing house in the UK, and I offer independent freelance editing too, via my website. I’ll be on the Discord server answering questions this evening, but I’m also happy to chat to people either through my website or even if you wanted to drop me a line on tumblr.

The key thing to remember about editing is that the end goal is to make your story the best it can be, and make sure your initial idea comes across as clearly and purely as you first imagined it. It’s about ensuring that the lines of communication between you and your reader are 100% open.

To do that, you need to have finished your story, because you can’t fix something that doesn’t exist.

Then you edit.

What now?

So, you’ve finished your Winterhawk Olympic Bang Fic, and you’re wondering what to do next?

The very first, and most important thing you should do? Celebrate. I mean congratulate the hell out of yourself, pat yourself on the back, and have some cake. Finishing stories is hard. Getting through a first draft is one of the trickiest parts of writing, so you should be proud of yourself, and proud of your story.

Because in a short while, editing is going to make you hate both.

I mean that in the nicest possible way of course, but you absolutely are going to be thoroughly sick of this whole thing by the time you’re done, and you’re going to question everything you’ve ever written. You’re going to get a close-up view of all your narrative bad habits which will make you think you’ve never had any skill at all, and you’re going to re-read your work so many times that it’ll feel trite, old, uninspired. This is normal and it is your brain lying to you. If you remember nothing else, remember that!

“The writing itself is no big deal. The editing, and even more than that, the self-doubt, is excruciatingly impossible.” Jonathan Safran Foer

Don’t lose faith! Editors and editing exist for a reason, no first draft is perfect. You’ve done something amazing in finishing, and now you’re going to make it incredible.

Before You Start - Take a Break

You know the phrase “can’t see the wood for the trees”? It could just as easily be “can’t see the story for the words.” It’s never recommended to go straight into editing as soon as you finish writing, and part of the reason for that is because you’re too deep in the story to be able to assess it objectively, or to catch things that are missed out because you know they’re there, but the reader wouldn’t.

“Once it's done, put it away until you can read it with new eyes. When you're ready, pick it up and read it, as if you've never read it before.” Neil Gaiman

Most writers and editors advocate putting a story away for a month or so before returning to edit, so you’re looking at it with fresh eyes. Obviously, with a Big Bang (or other fic event) this sort of time is usually at a premium! Try and make as much space as you can while still leaving yourself time to edit.

If you really don’t have any time, one trick that can help is changing your location. If you write in your room, can you relocate to your kitchen? Or a café (if you can safely)? Could you print it out? (Printing Top Tip: if you do print it, try and do it double-spaced - this makes it easier on the eyes, and gives you room to make notes. Also, serif fonts can often be easier to read than sans serif fonts, as it gives stronger distinctions between different letters.)

The Filter System

I like to think of the editing process as a series of different filters which, when used one after the other, produce a finely-sieved finished product. Each filter stage has slightly smaller holes than the one before it, as you look increasingly closely at your work.

Filter 1: Structural editing

Does the story make sense? Is the pace okay? Do all the scenes work where they are, or would they be better elsewhere? Do some scenes need to be there at all? Is the characterisation consistent? Does anyone change names halfway through? Did you forget what time of year it was set halfway through?

Filter 2: Line editing

Is this phrase as tight as it could be? Have you repeated yourself anywhere? Does this sentence add anything or does it throw the pace off? Have you gone overboard with adjectives and similes? Have you been too sparse with them?

Filter 3: Copy editing

Is your style consistent? Did you start writing in present tense and switch to past tense? Could this scene transition be snappier? Are there any bits that you want to tidy up? Have you left any half-finished sentences because you got distracted before you could end it?

Filter 4: Proofreading

Is everything spelled correctly? Have you caught all the strange grammar mistakes?

Some of these things might be picked up by your beta reader if you have one. Different beta readers have different styles, and also they will work based on their relationship with you and what you prefer. Some may stick to proofreading and consistency-checking, others may be more confident to dive right in and look at structure, pacing and characterisation. Some may work through the process with you as you write, others may only look at the story when it’s complete so they can get a full overview. There is no right or wrong answer, and having a conversation with your beta about your respective styles at the start can help you work better together!

Filter 1 - Structural Editing

For this stage, you want to read your whole story through from start to finish, and resist the urge to tweak anything to begin with! You will want a way of making notes as you go through because as you do, you’ll make yourself a cheat-sheet to help you with your line edit. Things to keep track of:

Character name spellings

Character ages

Character relationships (drawing a relationship web can be very helpful to visualise this!)

The time span of the story - the date it starts, the date it ends.

As a subset of this, I find it can be very helpful to set up a spreadsheet with a timeline of what happens in the story, and who is involved. Doing this both chronologically for the characters and in order of how it happens in the story can help you keep track of what characters know when, and also when the readers find out certain information. You might have one of these from when you were planning your story (as detailed in Sara Holmes’ workshop). If you’ve kept it up to date with changes to the plot and structure as you’ve written, this will be super helpful.

At this stage, you’re looking to see if everything works as a consistent story. You want to check to see if it feels like it’s the right pace, or if there are bits where it drags or rushes through the action. Why is this? Are there scenes which aren’t adding anything to the progress? Could they just be referred to in passing, or removed entirely without impacting the story? Are there other scenes which need to be added to provide more detail and growth? Is there anything that you as a writer know that is essential to the story, but you forgot to actually put in the text?

“Crafty writers...don't allow Exposition to form Lumps. They break up the information, grind it fine, and make it into bricks to build the story with.” Ursula K. Le Guin

You’re also looking to see if the characters feel true to themselves all the way through. Do the relationships spark? Do they sound like themselves? Can you hear them in your head?

Some people recommend doing several structural edits, with a different focus each time. One pass to look at the pacing, one pass to look at the characters, one to look at the story arc. You’ll work out what floats your boat, but you will be re-reading this story a lot of times before you’re done editing - which is why it’s very important to write what you love and want to read! You’ll go through many stages of hating this story before you let it go, and that will be even harder if it wasn’t something you enjoyed in the first place.

Filter 2 - Line Editing

So you remember I told you to make all those notes during your structural edit? Here’s where you’re going to use them. Now’s the time to go through your story line by line and check that the details in your cheat sheet are correct all the way through the story. I’ve written a novel that I initially set in November, but by the time I finished it, I’d decided it was taking place in early May. I had to go back and fix all the dates and weather descriptions to make sure the action hadn’t actually been yeeted forward six months spontaneously in the middle of a conversation.

Arguably, the line edit will be the most painful part of editing. At this stage, you will be taking a fine-tooth comb to everything you have written, examining it to within an inch of its life, and casting judgement. You’re going to find every stylistic tic you have (for me, everyone is constantly quirking their eyebrows and smirking like they’ve got cramp in their facial muscles), and you’re going to get rid of them (a person only has so many eyebrows, and they can only quirk so far). Now is the time to kill your darlings - don’t hang on to anything unless you feel it’s really doing a job to further the story and the characters.

“Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler's heart, kill your darlings.” Stephen King

If you have ever worried about the unbearable sensation of being Known, the line edit is where you will experience that with every word, and you’ll be doing it to yourself. This is when the doubts will really start to creep in and you will maybe feel like everything you write is unoriginal, derivative trash and unfit for human eyes.

Here I’ll reiterate what I said above:

This is a normal feeling, everyone experiences it when editing. E V E R Y O N E.

It’s a lie. No-one else will ever read your story in this state, no-one else will ever read your story this closely. Of course it feels obvious and uninspired to you - you wrote it. It’s your idea, and you’ve read it several times, it holds no surprises for you. (I may be projecting my feelings from every time I’ve edited something here, but…)

You’ll also be catching any ELEPHANTS or whatever your mammal of choice for placeholder text is that you’ve stationed throughout the story as a flag for you to come back and add in a name, or a food, or a song title later. You know, the things you decided were a problem for Future!You. I have bad news, the future is now.

Top Tip: if you have changed someone’s name halfway through, DON’T for the love of Mike, just do a straight find and replace to correct it. Because that’s when you suddenly find out how many other words actually contain names (Mark became Bill? That’s great, until your characters are going to the superBillet to buy groceries). Some word processing programmes have a “whole word” option which is your friend, otherwise ensure to put spaces either side of the word when you search. If you don’t, you’ve just made another horrible job for yourself...

Filter 3 - Copy Editing

Once you’ve made it out the other side of the Line Edit (and given yourself a nice treat to congratulate yourself because that stage is HARD), we get onto copy editing. This is basically the set-dressing stage. You’ve built the house, you’ve decorated the room, and now you’re just making sure every bit of furniture is in the right place for optimal feng shui.

Here’s where you go through and go, do I really need a dash here, or could I just use a comma? Could I use fewer commas? Could I go in and move all of @kangofu_cb’s commas around because I’m the sort of person who will come into your house and change how you hang your toilet paper or where you keep your ketchup.

Now is the time to be as picky as possible, like you’re an interior designer for the most demanding client in the world and the ornament must be exactly equidistant from both ends of the mantlepiece and facing precisely south-west. Things that may have just survived your line edit will be measured again, and if they’re found wanting, then they get binned.

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” Mark Twain

Another thing you might like to do here is check that all your features and things are correct. Did you make a wild claim about the lifecycle of salamanders, or the average price of corn and then never go back to verify this? Take a second to just do that now. It may be that you decide it’s not a problem (I received one copy edit note saying that an idiom used in a book wasn’t recorded until 200 years later, and I made the editorial decision that no-one would care), but for bigger things you may want to make sure you’re accurate.

If you google it (as I just did, to make sure I was definitely giving you the right information), copy editing is often conflated with line editing, and that’s because in reality a lot of the elements of copy editing actually wouldn’t usually be done by the author, and are probably irrelevant to fanfic. The copy editor is responsible for ensuring the book has a consistent grammatical style in line with the preferences of the publisher (em-dash or en-dash, curly quote marks or straight ones, how you deal with acronyms, what needs to be italicised, etc. etc.), which isn’t necessarily required for fanfic. In reality, for fanfic I’d use this stage as a second, lighter line-edit to see where things can be tightened up in phrasing, as well as perhaps a preliminary proofread where you start to mark up any spelling errors.

Filter 4 - Proofreading

By this stage, you’ll be exhausted, and sick to death of the blasted thing. But the end is in sight! Now you’re onto the proofread. This is another close read, where you go through and check for spelling errors, typos, missing full stops, strange formatting stuff (which probably will be less of an issue as AO3 basically makes everything uniform anyway).

Before you even start this, change your font.

We’ve all been there, thought we’d caught every spelling error, every weird typo, only to spot six immediately after posting. That’s because after a certain point our brain becomes used to the font we’ve written in, and will automatically correct things that aren’t right. AO3 has its own unique formatting - colour, spacing, font - and the minute your fic appears on there in this new format you brain wakes up and is like “oh shit, yeah, that’s not how it should be.”

By changing the font before you proofread, you preempt this step.

Another thing to remember: it’s unlikely you will ever catch every mistake. Published books regularly go out with a smattering of typographical errors throughout the text - how many first editions of books are valuable because of misspellings that slipped through the net? You’re only human.

“Connie's other job was proof-editing which she did very badly. Transferring the author's corrections to a clean sheet of proofs was something Connie was unable to do without missing an average of three corrections a page, or transcribing newly inserted material all wrong... she put angry authors' letters about the mutilation of their books under the cushion of her chair to deal with later.” Muriel Spark, A Far Cry from Kensington

Often, spelling errors and things you would look for in a proofread are things that a beta reader will pick up as they go, as they’re the easiest things to spot, but it’s also worth looking over yourself for anything your beta might have missed.

Whether you decide to follow any or all of these steps, always do the proofread last.There is no point carefully spellchecking a chapter you are then going to delete, or proofreading the whole thing, but adding loads of new paragraphs later that either don’t get looked at or mean you end up having to proofread twice. That’s the only hard and fast rule when it comes to editing, and it will save you a lot of unnecessary work!

FREEDOM

And then, finally, unbelievably - you’re done. Your literary child is ready to leave the nest. Resist the urge to keep re-reading and tweaking. Instead, click “publish” and give yourself a nice little treat. You’ve earned it.

Miscellany and Disclaimers

These editing stages are ones that would be applied to a published novel. An author would probably do this several times - once on their own to get it ready for submission, then perhaps again with their agent, but the really heavy work would be done with their editor. The structural edit would be done under the advice of an agent or editor where the author looks at their comments, rejigs things accordingly, and lather, rinse, repeat until everyone’s happy. The editor would undertake the line edit, and the author would decide what they wanted to keep or change. The copy edit and proofread would be done in-house or sent to freelancers, with queries and changes wafted past the author for clarification or approval.

Self-published authors will often hire freelancers to help at various stages to get feedback and advice.

Very rarely would an author go from draft to final published piece by doing all their editing alone. Because it’s hard fucking work, and because your brain will get exhausted.

In light of that, you need to remember:

You’ve written a fanfic

The editorial standards of fanfic are significantly less stringent than published books

Editing by yourself is really hard work that many people are often paid to do for published books

No-one is paying you for your fanfic

Fanfic is supposed to be fun

Some published authors will edit and rewrite and edit and rewrite again and again. At a panel I attended, Joanne Harris said that if she didn’t rewrite her work at least five times she was being too easy on herself, while Joe Hill said he usually aimed for three rewrites - Joe edited as he went along, going over the previous day’s pages before continuing, where Joanne completed her manuscripts before editing. Elizabeth May has talked about her stages of drafting, starting with her Trash Draft, then her Clean Draft, and then rewriting and editing after that.

These are people who are writing professionally, getting paid for their work, and so the time they put in has monetary results. If you want to write original fiction, their advice is extremely valuable.

For fanfiction, it’s a large time investment for something you’re doing as a hobby for free. If I’m strictly honest, I’m fairly lax with my fanfiction editing. I do structural discussions and tweaks with my beta reader as I write, and then a spell check. I’m also aware that my fanfics aren’t narratively complex, nor do they seem as polished, rich and deep as some of the other works out there. That’s fine by me. You simply need to find the level you’re happy at, where you can still feel proud of your work but you’re enjoying the experience.

In the end - it’s all for fun!

Resources:

Online

Curtis Brown Creative: An Editor’s Guide to Editing Your Novel

Joanne Harris: Ten Tweets About Editing

Joanne Harris: Writing Resources

NerdsLikeMe: Beta Reading vs Proofreading vs Editing

Books

Stephen King - On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Ursula K. Le Guin - Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew

#winterhawk #winterhawk olympic bang #whob #writer workshops #writer workshop: editing #guest post #chronicwhimsy

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malmuses · 4 years

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Hello Mal, how are you doing? I hope things have gotten better for you on the real life side of things. I'm going through some rough times too, so at least the company is good! I wanted to start by saying that your fics have single handedly gotten me through the most turbulent transition period of my life. I'm almost completely finished with your works on AO3 and your storytelling... *many many many chef kisses*. You are easily one of my favorite writers. I love your writing style, ...1/2

...2/2 your characterization, and how well thought out each story is. Each fic is like a decadent treat for my brain. I was curious, as a fellow writer, what your writing process is like. I've tried a few different methods but was wondering what works best for you! I hope the rest of your 2020 is full of peace and love. Also, I apologize in advance for the spam of comments you are about to receive on AO3. I finally have enough spoons for it!

I’m pasting these into one so I can put the answer in one place! (Tumblr is so awkward sometimes.) Sorry to hear you’ve been going through rough times too! There’s a lot of it going around this year, so I think we have plenty of company. In fact, I think the whole world just needs to lower its expectations and standards this year. Woke up? There’s the first gold star of the day. It's only up from here. I’m so glad that you’ve been enjoying my stories and so flattered that you say they’ve helped you so much...*insert feelings gif* I always tell myself when I write something: It’s okay if not everyone likes it. It’s okay if some people hate it. Nothing is for everyone. I just want one person to *love it*. Then I’m totally at peace. Now, if that person is just me? If I’m the only one that loves it? That’s also cool. Each story comes from a different place. My long-winded point, though, was that you basically just validated the existence of my entire catalog of fics so far, so thank you xD Your question about my writing process though - I’m happy to answer. But of course, first, I have to insert the usual disclaimer that as with most creative endeavors, there is no ‘right’ way to do it. I’m sure you know that, but sometimes I think people underestimate the depth of that truth. Each person has their own unique way of doing things. The struggle is sometimes finding the particular way, or combination of ways, that work for you. There’s definitely no harm in sharing what works for me though, in case anyone else can take anything from it. I’m someone who writes multiple things at once. Some people can’t do this or don’t want to, which I totally understand. For me, this is how I (mostly) avoid any kind of writers' block. If I’m stuck somewhere, I switch projects for a day or two. I do usually still have one main project I’m working on, but I usually have at least three others, often at various stages of the writing process. This keeps me in more of a flow state so I keep going with things, and allows me to write every day. It’s a habit. Now, I’m not saying breaks are bad, and everyone should write every day. I just find that for me, breaks should be deliberate. They should be true, chosen breaks, not because I just...drifted into one.

As you can probably tell from all that, I’m very much a planner and outliner. I outline...a lot. I’d be happy to talk more about my particular outlining process on Tumblr someday if anyone wanted. But, basically, I start with a general idea, then break it down into different story beats, so I can see if there’s something missing or too much of one thing. Then I fill in the gaps, then start breaking each overall ‘part’ of the plot into scenes, etc. Chapters come last. In terms of numbers (I get asked this one a lot), it does not matter how long your chapters are. What matters is that the chapter length feels right for the pacing of the fic, in my opinion, and I really think that is something that just comes with practice and knowing your own writing. Shitty advice maybe, but just the truth as I see it. A lot of it comes down to practice and finding what works for you.

Once I have an outline, I generally write linearly. Some people can jump around a lot. That’s a bit of a last resort for me if I’m stuck on something, or alternately if a scene steams into my head fully formed I will write it...with the understanding that I will probably have to change chunks of it when I reach it. It’s just the way it goes.

Now, when I say I outline in detail (there are literal spreadsheets) that doesn’t mean that I magically only write exactly what’s in the outline and I stick to it. An outline can be a guide, not a rule. Sometimes stories take you places, and generally, I find it's better to listen to what the story wants. If my story starts going somewhere else or introduces something I don’t expect, I often revisit my outline and think, “Okay, how can I work in this new thing so that it follows the plotlines and arcs I already have? Am I adding to what I have or just distracting from it?” Most often those answers are obvious to me, but sometimes it’s good to ask someone else. A friend, a trusted beta. (I could talk a whole lot about betas and how that works for me, too, in addition to outlining).

I pretty much zero draft my fics. By that, I mean that I will start writing, and I won’t go back and do very much editing until the end. I will, each writing session, go back and read what I wrote the day before. Get into the zone. And sure, I’ll fix something if it jumps out at me - but that isn’t the purpose at that point, and most things won’t jump out, because it's too fresh. My brain knows what I meant, so it autocorrects for me.

Leading into editing, it’s a two-step process for me. Once my zero draft is finished, I go back to the beginning and go through. This is where most of my developmental editing happens. (Another thing that probably needs more detail...different types of editing.) Once I’ve done that (usually during that pass, I’ve added words) I then put the fic aside. For as long as possible. At least a month, if I can swing that. (Bang deadlines sometimes cause issues if it's a fic for a bang, but I try).

Once that time has passed, I can come back to it with fresh eyes. I’ll see the mistakes much more easily, then. This is where more intensive line edits happen, where SPAG happens, where I insert anything I made note of during my first pass if I needed to foreshadow anything more, that kind of thing.

For a WIP, I do these edits chapter by chapter as it posts. For a Bang fic, obvious I have to do it all in one go. Due to the way I write, if you see me start posting a fic -- that fic is already finished, or in rarer instances (for work that was more time-sensitive) partway through the second draft or so. Oneshots are a little different (and I’ve had some oneshots that turned into chaptered fics of their own accord) in that they are just shorter and less intensive and often only have one main plot thread, so they’re a lot easier to do. I can get one drafted, edited and posted within a few days usually, depending on length.

How much do I write? Depends on the day. I have a high-stress finance job, two kids, and write a mixture of original fiction and fanfic stuff. So sometimes it's more than others. Bad day? Maybe 1,000 words. Good, average day? 3-6k. High pressure? Well, last year's DCBB I wrote in just under three days. It was 25k at that point. I have no tips for speed beyond learning to type fast, LOL!

Okay. I’ve probably bored you, and anyone else who had to scroll past all this, to tears. This is way too long. But even so, more specific questions, I’m happy to answer.

Good luck! Best advice? Just write. Write. Write. "Write a million words, then throw them away” is a changeable quote attributed to several authors but all it comes down to is...practice. Find your own vice and way of doing it. In a million words time, you will be a different writer than you are now, guaranteed.

Mal <3

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ettawritesnstudies · 3 years

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1, 2, and 7 for the fan-tastic ask game?

oooh these are fun questions..... I'm going to do a short answer for all of my main WIPS! Thanks for the ask!

What kind of readers would be fans of your WIP?

Runaways: People who like The Spiderwick Chronicles, House of Hollow, Narnia, classic fairytales, and wholesome children's stories that are actually really dark if you think too hard about the implications

Storge/The Laoche Chronicles: People who like political intrigue and complex plots with a lot of moving parts, epic worldbuilding, dramatic character arcs and sacrifices, and the promise of a happy ending.

What do you plan to do with this WIP when you finish it? If you HAVE finished, how long did it take?

I have finished the first drafts of both Runaways and Storge, and I'm outlining the Laoche Chronicles! I plan to self-publish all my books, in that order. I came up with the idea for Laoche in 2014, realized I needed a prequel and started Storge circa 2015-2016, and finished the draft in summer 2020. I fully expect it to be another 6 years before these books start to get published just because they're so long and epic and complex and I write so slow.

Runaways on the other hand: it started as a scrap of an idea in a phone note, was outlined, drafted, and finished in under 6 months, and I want to finish editing it by October so I can give it to beta readers with the intention of putting it up on my website as a serial novel. It'll stay there until I go through the actual self-publishing process to turn it into a book sometime in 2023 after I graduate, I think, at which point I'll take it off the website.

You’ve published or shared your WIP and it develops rabid fandom. What’s the fandom known for?

Runaways: I think it would be really cool to see people coming up with their own faerie/changeling/powered OCs and playing in the world I've created. It's a very open concept to explore and I'd get a kick out of seeing people's different ideas! Also, fanart! I love fae character designs and I hope the fandom would oscillate wildly between cute domestic scenes of the girls and literal nightmare fuel

Storge/Laoche: I can see a few options/sections becoming a thing

it would be the Discourse™ These books include a LOT of analysis of philosophy, politics, religion, society, duty/responsibility, and are strongly influenced by my personal (read: Catholic) beliefs and I don't honestly don't think tumblr is ready for those takes which is why I don't talk about current events here and prefer to let my writing speak for itself because otherwise I'd be torn to shreds on the daily but anyhoooowwwww

Ensemble cast + redeemed villain + potential for endless tropes (friends-> lovers, enemies -> lovers, travel aus, etc) = shipping wars for no good reason

people memeing on the out-of-context lines (ie. the cosmere's "I am a Stick!" shtick)/incorrect quotes blogs

I also think it would be really cool to see OCs for this world because it's also a very open concept and I'd love seeing people's ideas but I have a feeling that would take a backseat to the three above topics.

Fan-tastic ask game!

#ask games #ask answered

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spaceorphan18 · 4 years

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Author Spotlight: Kuhlaine Day 3

Author: @kuhlaine

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

It depends! My first draft is always just a rough 'get the words on the page' type of draft. If it's un-beta'd, I'll transfer the rough draft to a new document and do a fresh pass through the following day to fine tune, then work on formatting and do one last pass through for spelling errors after giving myself a break from looking at the material. If it's a beta'd project, I'll go through and start adding my comments/concerns and shoot them off to my beta. Once we've worked through all of theirs and my comments I do one last pass through for any last minute changes and I'm good to post!

tldr: two and a half-ish drafts for un-beta'd works, closer to four drafts for beta'd projects!

If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

I'd revise Cross the Line, which was the first fic I ever posted! I took a 9 month hiatus before posting the last chapter (which I'm so, SO sorry about, I promise I won't do it again), and I always worried that it felt like there was a distinct shift in the tone of the story once I posted that final chapter months later. I'd want to do a proper outline for that fic and draw out the last few chapters a little more. I had originally wanted things to go down slightly differently, but I felt like it was too late to scrap that draft when I was already months behind posting my latest chapter.

What do you look for in a beta?

I've been working with my beta, Adri, for my past two multi-chapter fics and my next WIP, and honestly I'd say I'd look for someone like her, as shameless as that is to say! She's amazing - none of my work would be what it is without her guidance and influence on the writing process.

Usually, my greatest concern with my work is that the logic is always sound. Sometimes things that make sense to me don't make sense to someone else - likewise, I created these characters, and I control their thoughts and actions. Sometimes I may know why they chose to act a certain way, but the reader might not - so having someone who's able to call things like that out, for clarity and context, is SUPER helpful! A great memory is also amazing because I have a bad habit of forgetting some of the more minute details in my fics (and also forgetting that Adam exists).

If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

Oh gosh, that's so tough... I feel like most of my favorite fics end in really wonderfully fitting ways. I think it'd be fun to take a crack at a Little Numbers sequel - the fic is absolutely astounding on its own, so this would just be a shameless chance to get to try out writing in that very unique format.

Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I definitely take liberties! I like to weave in nods to canon throughout my fics just for fun, and because they make for intriguing plots when put into a new setting/context, but I'm really not one for canon compliance - since I'm not a huge fan of some of the details in canon.

Talk about a review that made your day.

Lots of reviews make my day! I'm very easy to please, honestly. If you say you like it, it makes my heart swell.

One review that particularly stuck with me was someone who said it had been years since they'd read a newer fic, and had taken a chance on one of my fics. When I first rejoined the fandom I was definitely hesitant to read newer works, and wanted to stick with the classic fics that I knew and loved at first - knowing that someone took a chance on me as an author who was very late, and very new, to the fandom really meant a lot to me!

Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

Not really! This is a wonderfully supportive community and I've never gotten anything but kind and lovely comments.

I'd like to think that if I got a negative review I'd leave it be and forget about it - but realistically I'd probably obsess about it for a long time, forget about it for years, then it'll come back to me in the middle of the night years later.

As for critique/constructive feedback - I welcome it! My writing is critiqued/workshopped pretty much every day at work, so it's something I'm always very open and welcome to hearing!

What advice do you have for people just starting to write?

Don't be discouraged if the kudos/comments are slow to start! When I first started posting fic, it took me quite a bit to start getting kudos/comments, but I kept going because I had this thing I really wanted to write, and figured I might as well share it regardless of whether anyone was reading, because I knew I was going to write it either way. I posted (somewhat) consistently, and eventually readers started to come along!

And write what YOU want to write! Don't write something that you're not passionate/excited about or that you feel like you /have/ to write, it'll just make the writing process unnecessarily difficult for you.

Which fic do you most like to discuss with other people? Why?

I'll talk about The Sidhe to anyone who will listen - it's one of my favorite fics of all time.

As for my own fic, I don't talk about many of them very often to others! I'm generally very vague when talking about my non-work-related writing to my friends. Though, I'm adapting Even Then, Especially Now into an original work, so that's the only project I've talked about a little more explicitly with them.

What's one aspect of writing fic that gets you really excited?

Creating worlds! I don't write fantasy or sci-fi, but I think you still do a great deal of world building with any story - you're creating characters and friend groups and social constructs and settings. I love those first few chapters when you're really setting the scene, introducing your cast of characters and what their world is like and how they operate.

I also LOVE finally getting to the climatic point in a story and just writing my heart out! It's the moment I've been waiting for as a writer, and usually the moment the reader will have been waiting for, and it's so exciting to do all this building and just dive right in to this insane, emotional, rollercoaster of a moment.

***

Check out Kuhlaine’s Fics

The First of Many - Kurt Hummel is overworked, exhausted, and desperately needs a drink. Or two. Blaine Anderson is underpaid, heartbroken, and dreading the thought of heading home for the holidays. When the two meet at neighboring bachelor/ette parties in Las Vegas, they wake up with more than just hangovers - a sky high room service bill, and a pair of wedding rings.

My Personal Hell - Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson have never been able to get along, much less stand to be in the same room alone for more than 10 minutes. When their petty rivalry causes them to miss their bus back home to Lima after a glee club competition in Middle of Nowhere, Illinois, they'll have to do more than just spend 10 minutes alone together.

You've Got Kudos! - In which Blaine gets tipsy and posts fanfiction about himself and Kurt on Archive of Our Own.

#author spotlight: kuhlaine

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sheliesshattered · 4 years

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This Isn’t A Ghost Story extras for Chapter 5: The Present

It’s Friday, so the next chapter of This Isn’t A Ghost Story has been posted! Chapter 5 is here on Tumblr, and here on AO3. There are spoilers below the cut, but I walk through the chapter in order, so it’s fairly safe to keep this one open for visual references as you read, if you want.

Those of you who have been following along with my writing process for This Isn’t A Ghost Story may have noticed how the story grew and morphed on me as I wrote. Despite knowing early-on the sort of story I wanted to tell and all the facets of the mystery that would need to be revealed, the story still managed to grow organically and surprise me at various points.

When I finished chapter 4 and started working on chapter 5, I had every intention that chapter 5 would be the final chapter, with a short epilogue that followed -- six chapters total, rather than the eight we ended up with. I knew what plot points and mystery reveals ch5 needed to cover, and I figured I could fit it all into one reasonably sized chapter. Even as late as the last week of July I was still thinking along those lines, and I quite nearly started posting chapters then, thinking I was nearly finished writing.

But something held me back from posting, and when I woke up the next morning I realized that chapter 5 really needed to be split. What ended up being chapter 5 and chapter 6 are together about 12,300 words, which wouldn’t have been the longest chapter I’ve ever posted, but certainly longer than I meant for chapters in this story to be, and thankfully I was able to find a good spot to split it.

As with the rest of this story, my husband Jack has been acting as my beta reader and in-house cheerleader, and particularly after reading chapter 4 he was really adamant that I keep focusing on writing and get through the story as quickly as possible -- maybe partially so I could start posting, but mostly so he could read it and find out the answers to the rest of the mystery, lol. Starting with chapter 5, he began reading chunks of the chapter as I finished them, and then eventually went back and re-read all of chapter 5. And every time he’s read it, he’s commented that this is his favorite line in the entire chapter:

“No,” she told him firmly. “Not unless you take away my say in it.” She didn’t add again, but she knew they were both thinking it.

Jack and I have been together nearly two decades, and I think it’s that shared unspoken language of spouses that he finds so amusing here.

For most parts of this story, I can’t really pinpoint exactly when I wrote a particular line or scene, as I tend to write non-consecutively as bits come to mind, tackle conversations or plot points I know will need to happen and then fill in the gaps in between, and go over any given section dozens of times making little edits or adding whole paragraphs until it reads the way I want it to, with the sort of pacing and emotional weight I think it needs. But this bit in particular, I know exactly when I wrote it:

“Our story, Doctor... It isn’t the tragedy you think it is. This isn’t a ghost story. It never was. It’s a love story. And if I know one thing about love stories? They always have a happy ending, one way or another.”

July 15th. I’d been having a rough writing day, hated everything I’d written the day before (more or less everything from the start of ch5 to that line, in its first draft form), and was feeling really unmotivated. Then I saw some excellent meta about the episode Hide on my dash that @clara-oswin-oswald had just posted. The title for this story comes from something the Eleventh Doctor says in that episode, and here was Sophie talking about that scene again, just when I was ready to stuff This Isn’t A Ghost Story into a drawer and never look at it again.

My intention with the title for this story had always been to evoke that line from Hide, and hope that most people would be able to fill in the second half of the sentence, “it’s a love story”, on their own. But it hadn’t occurred to me until I was reading Sophie’s meta that I could actually have Clara articulate exactly that thought within the story. The 42 words of that line of dialogue was all I managed to write on July 15th, but I woke up the next morning feeling significantly better about the story and ready to dive back in, make the edits that would fix the first part of the chapter, and keep hacking away at the next scenes to come.

Of course, the next bit I was trying to connect up with was actually something I’d written parts of earlier, that corresponded with the teeny tiny detail I’d posted a little poll about way back at the end of June. I knew I wanted to introduce Clara’s wedding ring around this point in the story, but I got hung up on what it should look like. Theoretically that should be a little inconsequential detail, just a single line of prose to help the reader visualize it better, but the results from that poll -- blue, unusual, and in support of world-building -- ended up leading me down a complete rabbit hole of research, that eventually spawned what turned into chapter 8. I’ll wait to share the details on that for when we reach ch8 at the end of this month, but the relevant bits from chapter 5 are of course Clara’s ring and what inspired the Doctor to pick that one for her in the first place.

Clara’s ring is based on these two antique rings:

The center stone is what’s known as a star sapphire, which are known to be particularly stunning in direct sunlight.

The Doctor tells Clara that when he first saw it -- presumably while ring shopping before their wedding in 1923 -- he was reminded of when he took her to see the archaeological work going on at the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in 1921. The Temple does in fact have multiple areas where the ceilings are painted blue with rayed stars. It’s a popular motif from that era of ancient Egypt and shows up in a several other places as well.

I picture the jewelry box that Clara digs up as looking something along these lines:

The other piece of jewelry that is mentioned in detail is the necklace the Doctor bought for Clara in 1925. It’s based on the winged sun disk found on many ancient Egyptian temples:

It’s also meant to be a nod to the necklace Clara wears in The Bells of Saint John and The Rings of Akhaten, similar in both design and size:

From there, we get into one of the final remaining mysteries of the story, which the Doctor is clearly reluctant to talk about. There have been hints about this as far back as the first chapter, and from comments on previous chapters, I think a few of you may have guessed that this is where things were headed. Did this reveal turn out the way you thought it would? Or did it surprise you?

Lots of heartbreak at the end of this chapter, but we’re only a few chapters away from our happy ending now. It has been so much fun for me to hear your thoughts and theories as the mystery has unfolded! Thank you to everyone who has left a comment on This Isn’t A Ghost Story, both here and over on AO3. ❤️

Extras for Chapter 6: The Future

#This Isn't A Ghost Story #This Isn't A Ghost Story extras #process thoughts #my writing #Doctor Who #Doctor Who fanfic #Clara and the Doctor

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lostlitany · 3 years

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ANOTHER!

7: Were there any ideas you had for "Damn Straight Gay" that you couldn’t make work? What were they?

11: Which OC of yours do you think is the most similar to you? Which OC is the most different? Why?

23: What’s one piece of advice you would give to anyone who wants to start writing or posting their writing online?

Ayyyy another~!! This got pretty heckin’ long soooo

7. Damn Straight Gay ideas that couldn’t work

I’ve long since deleted my draft doc for that fic, but I remember there were a bunch of scenes I had planned out that never made it to the final cut. I had originally planned for the chapters to switch perspectives back and forth between Bakugou and Kirishima- but I wrote the first two chapters from Bakugou’s point of view and ended up deciding to keep the whole fic like that.

Obviously with the deletion of Kiri’s POV, there comes the loss of all the dates he and what’s her face were supposed to go on (what did I even name that extra? Like Yuuna or something? Idr). Either way, Kiri’s chapters we’re supposed to center around the actual relationship and the growing toxicity between the two of them. I imagined they would go places and Kirishima would keep bringing up going to those places with Bakugou, which is why we see a lot of Bakugou reminiscing throughout the story. I wanted the story to have Bakugou or Kirishima reminiscing about their past, through either Bakugou’s moping, or Kirishima’s dates, and for that to be kinda solemn and off, and then kinda re-envision those same areas with the two of them being awkward around each other and regretting the breakup.

Another big thing that got scrapped was that I had actually originally planned for Yuuna and Bakugou to meet! I wanted them to hate each other immediately- Bakugou of course would’ve played cordial because he’s a simp for Ei, but Yuuna was going to act more along the lines of “I don’t like you hanging out with him- you should stop talking to him for me”

But, without writing the dates, there really was no need for Yuuna to have an onscreen character. So I kept her separate from Bakugou and all we know about the toxic girlfriend is what Bakugou hears from other people who have met her.

I think it worked better because the story was meant to be focused on Bakugou and Kirishima’s relationship, and having Yuuna like actually around and present may have distracted from the boy’s relationship and put more spotlight on her relationship with Kirishima- So I think it’s a good thing I ended up scrapping so much. It made for a better structured story-

11. Which OC is most similar / different - Why?

So as far as my published work goes, the only OCs I think I really have- are Kirishima’s family. And I definitely haven’t really written enough of them to say much more than I’m most like Satori, the badass mom who teases Kirishima the whole time Bakugou’s over- and I’m least like Mei, the pleasant, sunshine and rainbows cutesy type who giggles warmly at her family’s antics and enjoys sitting back and watching the show.

Just to be obnoxious and not answer the question properly- I will also say this because my characterizations are based off of cannon, but are decidedly not- I am most similar to the way I write Bakugou and least similar to the way I write Kirishima. In both Damn Gay and The Exception, Bakugou and his situation have been practically directly ripped from my life. Some of the words exchanged between him and other characters are real conversations I’ve had with different friends and acquaintances. Kirishima on the other hand, is vastly different. His characterization has been a mixture of my three best friends over the years- and one very special detail that I force onto him that quite a few other authors don’t- is that I make him quite easily manipulated. In Damn Gay he gets caught up in a toxic relationship and gives up everything he actually cares about to force himself to life with this girl that he only got with once Mina accidentally convinced him to move on from Bakugou. In The Exception the same thing happens where he finds something that makes him happy, a couple things go wrong, and he easily leaves Bakugou behind when Mina suggests it. In cannon, I think despite his doubts towards himself, he’s a lot more sure of his friends. But in my portrayal of him, he’s a lot less weak willed when it comes to bumps in his relationships and friendships. I write Kirishima as an easily influenced ray of sunshine who aims to please people, and as soon as things start to go south, he shuts himself up and drowns out his own thoughts, turning to other people around him to make harder decisions for him because he doesn’t trust himself to do it. This is in contrast to Bakugou who makes stupid decisions and jumps to moronic conclusions all on his own, who when things get tough, jumps at the opportunity to push through it as fast as possible just to get over it and get past all the emotions, thoughts, and feelings that would otherwise hold him down. Kiri dwells on it much longer and drags those rough moments out inadvertently, by waiting for his problems to go away on their own.

22. Writing advice for beginners of writing or posting

New writers- Write what you want to read. As I’ve said before I have a whole plethora of OCs that I’ve created and written stories for. I made characters and relationships to fill in my own self indulgent fantasies, and that got me hooked. I wrote for myself and that was it. I wasn’t planning on posting it anywhere, I was too embarrassed to show my friends, I wasn’t aiming to please anyone. I wrote forced story plots and 2 dimensional characters that made me happy. It established writing as a fun pastime in my head. If you go into this looking for follows and kudos and comments, it’s going to get very depressing very fast, and you’re most likely going to stop before you even get started. So ignore the world. Write for you first, and when you figure out how to make you happy, then start writing for real. If you want that shot of straight serotonin that comes from constructive feedback- bug me. Text me. Email me. DM me. Idk. Find me and share with me what you’ve written. We all have to start somewhere and building a solid foundation on your own can be very difficult. If this is something that you want to really do, I’m no professional, but I want to help. Write for you, then find a beta, or a friend. Someone who can gush over your characters and such with you. Create a strong link between writing and happiness in your brain. Hack your mind to make writing fun and rewarding, so later down the line when you’re good enough to get hate, it can’t affect you.

New posters- Don’t doubt what you’ve made. There are 7 billion people on this planet. If you’ve written something really niche and small and overly self indulgent and you think nobody else is going to like it- remember the phrase one in a million. If you are one in a million, there are 700 other people out there like you. That self indulgent fic that you wrote specifically for you? Post it. Because there may be 700 other people looking for exactly that. You never know what people are looking for. You never know what people are willing to try out. 50 Shades of Grey was a fanfiction.......

Are they not part of a fandom? Are they your original characters? Cool, Steven Universe is filled of original characters. So is Avatar. Oh! And My Hero. Every fandom started off as a collection of Original Characters. I’ll read about your kids if you’ll read about mine.

#ask game #writing things #Damn Gay #The Exception

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casual-eumetazoa · 4 years

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Hello! I love your rant about writing, and I agree with you but wonder if you have any advice for someone who’s getting back into writing after a long break? I write a few chapters of a doctor who fixit when I was 13, then one good omens fic when I was 15, and now I’m almost 17 and I feel awful whenever I write because I feel like my characterisation and dialogue are off. I have such high standards for myself and I fell like I’ve wasted so much time and it’s too late now I’m 17. Any advice?

hey there! thank you for thinking that i am qualified enough to answer this lol. seriously though, i’ll try my best but take this with like a whole tablespoon of salt cause i am just one person with an opinion and experience but no officially published works who probably made around 100$ total from my writing in my entire life,,,,

and also i have never read a “how to write” book ever

so first of all, there is no such thing as too late to be a writer! this isn’t a kind of thing like sports or music where age supposedly matters. in fact many famous writers didn’t even start writing till they were in their 20s, 30s, 40s, etc, you get the picture. also things like language ability and vocab richness only reach their peak around 25-30 years of age so your writing will continue to improve naturally as you get older

really the only thing that matters with writing is practice and feedback. the more time you spend writing, the better you will get at it. it’s a bit trickier with feedback cause it is not always helpful, but honestly self-evaluation plays a big role in my experience as well. basically the more experience you get at writing, the better you will be able to judge your own stuff and know how to fix it. at some point you will look back at the stories you wrote several years prior and will know exactly what’s wrong with it and how to fix it. but getting good feedback can greatly accelerate this.

so basically the best writing advice anyone can give is to keep writing! and then the only question is what you can do to write more.

for me, the two important things have always been journaling and writing for myself. journaling is pretty self-explanatory and it has some other benefits, like benefits for mental health and general well-being, so it’s a win-win. i’ve been journaling consistently since i was 14 and i often go back to old entries for a kick of nostalgia, and also to see how my writing ability and style have developed over the years.

i think the problem a lot of people have with journaling is that they find it boring or pointless, like i regularly have weeks when nothing interesting at all happens to me and there are no powerful emotions to process, and writing about what i had for breakfast just doesn’t cut it. that’s why i use my journals more for just writing down random thoughts that occur to me, as well as for writing down random bits of stories. most of those bits just stay in the journals forever but sometimes i find bits of plot or lines of dialogue in my journals that i later use for other stories.

the second thing is just writing stuff for yourself, and allowing yourself to write something bad. like, i’ve written over a million words (and no this is not a number i’ve pulled out of my ass, i’ve actually added it up once for laughs) of horrible self-insert fanfic, most of which has barely (if any) plot, and i know it’s bad so i don’t show it to anyone, but i still really enjoy writing it because i am writing for myself.

it is actually an important writing skill, to disengage your inner critic, because that is the mindset you should always have when writing the first draft. first drafts are always horrible! they only become good when you edit them, typically many times if it’s a lengthy story, and that is when the inner critic becomes useful.

there’s a piece of writing advice that goes something like “write drunk, edit sober”, and there are many ways to achieve that “drunk” state of mind without alcohol (though i do write better after a pint of beer, ngl.........). mostly it’s down to achieving so-called “flow”, which a lot of writers just call inspiration, and it’s a state in which you are doing something without thinking. if you’re neurodivergent or know the lingo, the extreme version of this is hyperfocus - a state in which you even lose the sense of time and can keep writing (for example) for hours on end

writing bad stories for your own enjoyment is a great way to master this. you just sit down and type up whatever comes into your head and that’s it. you don’t even have to read it back, and you definitely don’t have to edit it. since it’s for your eyes only, you can just focus on having fun with it and learning how to freewrite and reach that flow state if you can and benefit from it

another absolutely crucial skill for writing is reading. a lot of reading. and it doesn’t have to be serious literature, just read as much as possible of whatever you enjoy and consider good writing. cause thing is, “good” and “bad” are arbitrary, and you can’t please everyone, so just find the stuff you personally love and try to understand what it is about it that makes you enjoy it so much

there is also no harm in imitating for practice, though this is probably more helpful for developing style. in terms of characterization and dialogue, i think it’s more important to just read other stuff and make mental notes on what works and what doesn’t.

also for dialogue, i find that it really helps to read it out loud. actually that helps with writing anything but for dialogue in particular; like, often i read my stuff out loud to myself after the first edit and sometimes i will read it wrong cause my brain autocorrects stuff and that’s how i know what to fix

for characterization, i’d guess that the easiest way to fix it is to have a beta reader or a friend who is willing to help. feedback is great for any writing aspect as well, as long as it’s good feedback. i find that personally i learn the best from being pointed out what did work, because i am usually aware of what didn’t but just don’t know how to fix it at that point.

also imho at least characterization is one of the things you can take certain liberties with in fanfic, cause everyone has their own interpretation of characters and as long as you don’t stray too far from canon, readers usually don’t mind minor deviations.

so that’s about all i could think of and oof this is a lot of text!

tl;dr:

1) there is no such thing as “too old to start writing” or “too old to get back into writing”; all that matters is practice

2) practice is just writing, as much as you can

3) possible ways to achieve this is journaling (both about your life and as a scrapbook storage for thoughts, ideas, and story bits) and writing stuff just for yourself, and allowing it to be bad

4) “write drunk, edit sober” - first drafts always suck, so don’t overthink it, just write down whatever comes to your mind

5) reading as much as possible, and reading books in the genres you enjoy and want to write in is very important

6) reading out loud can work for improving dialogue

7) getting good feedback, especially imho getting feedback of what worked and what is really good in your story, can really help as well

i also have a note pinned to my blackboard titled “rules of writing”, which i have as a reminder of sorts, and if anyone wants i can share that as well

#ask #anonymous #writeblr #writers on tumblr

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nona-gay-simus-main · 5 years

Text

How To Collect and Organize Beta Reader Feedback

As some of you might know, I previously wrote a full draft of my currently untitled m/m romance novel and got through an almost full round of beta readers before I decided to scrap it and start again, nearly from scratch and with a different premise (It went from two timelines - first love/second chance to a single timeline - enemies to lovers).

Out of nowhere, I decided to start rereading and reorganizing my feedback in hopes to find something that would be useful to me in my current draft. Originally, I just planned to delete everything that wasn’t relevant, but a lot of it was really cute and funny, and I mean, I did write a full book - even if it wasn’t all that good - I at least deserve to keep my feedback from it.

Before I went on this endeavor, I foolishly believed that there’s no wrong way to collect beta feedback and boy, oh boy was I wrong! So I’m here to tell you the wrong ways and the right way. But first, let’s revise our terms:

What is a Beta Reader?

Beta readers are readers, who would be interested in picking your book off the shelf if it were already published. That means you should already have a pretty good idea of what is your genre and age category is. There’s no such thing as a ‘fiction book for everyone’. While certain books might have broader appeal, all books have a target audience. So figure out yours.

The reason to know this from the start is two-fold. First, obviously to know how and where to market your book. Second, different genres come with different expectations and you really don’t want to piss off your core readership. You’re not going to be able to please everyone, and if you try, you’re likely to end up pleasing no one. So while it’s definitely a good idea to look for diversity in your beta readers, you should probably not be looking for genre diversity.

I’m gonna let you in a little secret: for the longest time, I had no idea I was writing a romance novel. Part of it was that I really just hadn’t read a contemporary queer romance, so subconsciously thought that (contemporary) romance was for the straights only. But the bigger part was that my story just wasn’t well structured so I had no idea what the main conflict was supposed to be. And let’s just say... that didn’t exactly do me any favors when I was trying to get people interested in reading it. You can’t really amp others up about a project if you don’t know what the project is about.

Not only that, but I had a cp/beta reader who while wonderful, wasn’t a romance fan, so there were several points where I felt frustrated with their critique because I felt they simply didn’t like certain conventions of the genre. And that’s not their fault - we were just not a great match. Still appreciate working with them, but I know better now.

Where to find Beta readers?

You can find them anywhere. Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook groups, Discord servers and so on. Just look around. I assume you’re writing your story because you want to read something like it, and if you want to read it, someone else probably wants to read it too.

How to collect Beta feedback?

I normally use Google Docs or sometimes Word. Chapter by chapter is definitely best. It’s much less overwhelming to try to read 10 pages than 210. Copy/Paste the chapter in a new document and send it to the beta, after warning them for any triggers or squicks that might apply.

If you’re using Word, send the document over email. If you’re using Google Docs, share it with their email. Make sure to share it through email and not create links (like me), because it’s much safer that way. If you share it, only the person with the access to the email can see it, if you make a link, anyone with the link can see it. Again chances of plagiarism are minuscule, but still.

On Google Docs you want to give them Comment permission. That way they can make comments in the margins and any edits they make will show up like Track Changes on Word. If they are using Word and making edits, simply encourage them to turn on Track Changes.

Encourage betas to make comments while reading, on everything that they liked, disliked, found confusing, or anything that made any impression at all. Even if’s just ‘lol’ or a keyboard smash. Sometimes those are the best comments to read!

But also keep in mind that not everyone will do that. That’s why I always have a questionnaire or do an interview with the beta. Questions tend to prompt people into organizing their thoughts a bit. Because I’m nice, I’ll share my questionnaire with you, (it is actually an adjusted version of @jennamoreci‘s questionnaire from her beta readers video here:

1. What is your overall opinion of the chapter?

2. What do you think of x character ?

3. What is your favorite scene/part/line and why? (You can pick more than one.)

4. What is your least favorite scene/part/line and why? (You can pick more than one.)

5. Are any parts confusing or unclear?

6. Do you think there’s anything specific I need to improve or fix in the chapter, whether it’s the writing, the charters, plot, setting, etc.?

7. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did you enjoy the chapter?

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how eager are you to read the next chapter?

9. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much are you enjoying the book so far (not applicable to chapter 1)?

10. Do you have any predictions?

12. Do you have any other comments, thoughts, suggestions, or advice?

You can also add questions specific to the chapter, especially if you are already worried about a particular aspect of it. You should also ask their opinion on every character who shows up in the chapter.

I prefer to put this questionnaire at the end of the document I send to my beta reader, that way I’m sure they won’t be accidentally spoiling something with my questions and they can go over it right after reading instead of waiting for our schedules to match so we can have an interview. It’s a bit of a copy-pasting game, sure, but ultimately it takes no more than a couple of minutes. I would discourage you from having the questionnaire in the same document you are writing because it might end up messing with your word count, and lie to you that you’ve written more words than you actually have.

Afterward, if you need any clarifications on their answers, message the beta on their preferred platform - for me, that’s usually Discord, sometimes Twitter or Tumblr - to ask for clarifications. Sometimes you can also explain what you were going for, especially if the beta had a question, but don’t overdo it. You don’t want to seem argumentative.

Oh, and be sure to thank your beta readers. Don’t forget they are giving up their time to help you for free. Nothing annoys me more from a beta reader perspective, then to not receive even a form thank you.

How to Organize Beta Feedback?

So this is the big one. After you receive your beta feedback, address all the small things you can like typos and grammar right away (unless you’re already pretty sure you’ll be deleting/rewriting the scene) and mark stuff, that they’ve pointed out is badly phrased, etc. for later. Then delete irrelevant feedback, like one-word answers or ‘no opinion’. The feedback you disagree with might be unpleasant to read, but that doesn’t make it irrelevant. And if something makes you really mad, chances are it’s something you probably need to work on.

Then copy all the feedback - every comment and every answer, even if you disagree with them - into a separate document organized BY CHAPTER, not by beta name. This was the mistake I made. You’ll need this feedback when you move on to revision and you really don’t want to have a million tabs or documents open. Аlso it’s much easier to spot patterns if everything is in the same place. And if several people are saying the same thing, that’s probably something to pay attention to.

Oh, don’t play around with fonts too much. I make everything the same font, but at first, I tried to make it really distinguished between what quote from the manuscript the beta was responding to and the beta’s own words, and honestly, you wrote your book, you know it pretty well. 99.9% of the time you can easily tell what they were responding to and what’s a quote from the book and what is the beta’s own words.

Good luck on your beta journey!

#beta reader #beta readers #beta feedback #feedback #writer #wrting #writeblr #writing tips #writer life #writer advice #writing advice #mine

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teaplease1717 · 4 years

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4 and 10 for the meta writing asks, please!

You asked me right when I sent you my questions. 😂💜 Haha. That made me laugh. Anyways, thank you for the ask, Flour! 💜 💜

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

Ooo! This was a hard one. I ended up choosing the ending of chapter 2 of Ashes of Love and War.

Momo jerked as his hand slipped around her neck to close around her nape. His grip was gentle but firm enough for her to know she was powerless against him.

His thumb stroked over her pulse. “Deal?”

Momo shivered at the unchecked dominance in his tone. She swallowed, but made sure not to drop her gaze. “Yes. It’s a deal.”

His eyes flashed in triumph, and his fingers tightened possessively around the nape of her neck. He leaned down. Momo closed her eyes and forced herself to remain still as his mouth met hers.

She could endure it. She would. Anything to save Tokoyami.

I LOVED this scene. I felt it had captured all the emotions: the terror, the powerlessness, but also the defiance and strength of Momo all in a couple of lines. Even rereading the line I get all emotional. 😭💖

10. How would you describe your writing process?

I’m a plotter through and through. I always go into a story or chapter with the exact scenes I want shown planned out. Usually, I’ll make a rough draft outline of the story before beginning with the key plot points bulleted. Because I’ve found that when I don’t write out a detailed enough plot outline before starting to write is when I get in trouble and end up stopping due to writers block (looking at you Waking the Fallen 😐)

After plotting, I’ll then generally write my chapters in order, unless I have a scene that is burning in my mind or get stuck and need to skip ahead to write where I’m going within an arc. In those cases, I’ll write the scene or chapter that I have a vision for and then work backwards.

In terms of each individual chapter, I’m an annoying perfectionist. 😑 I have the hardest time just pushing through a chapter and then going back to correct it later. I usually end up writing paragraph by paragraph until I have the exact feeling or message I want. Which is annoying because I’ll get hung up if a scene isn’t working, and I’ll end up rewriting it hundreds of times until I realize I don’t even need that scene and just take it out. Ugh. It’s annoying and what takes me forever to finish chapters, but I don’t seem to be able to write any other way. Maybe that should be my next project...just focusing on writing a chapter all the way through and then going back to edit. Haha. Anyways, I usually will eventually finish and read the chapter or one shot over, from start to finish, at least 5 times adding foreshadowing or extra details to make a scene come alive.

The last part, and the part that I really want to stress, is that I always have betas look at my work (and I’m proud of that!). I’ve made some great friends from asking people to look at my work (including you!). They push me out of my comfort zone and really help make my writing come together, outside of just grammar and spelling. 💖

That’s basically my process. Feel free (anyone) to ask any questions if you are interested in learning more. ❤️😄

Thank you so much for the ask! This was a lot of fun. 😆

#writing asks #asks

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thegardenandthegrave · 5 years

Text

My Independent Publisher Roadmap:

[Image Description: Indie Street Marketing branded infographic (red and black text and an empty road in the background). There are five slightly transparent gray boxes in the foreground that contain the five stages of publication as determined by indiestreetmarketing.mn.co. All content in the infographic is also provided in the following text. End.]

for @reshiramgirl88

Oh god, I’m sorry this is so long. Worth the read though, I promise!

Five Stage Publication:

Stage 1 - Drafting

[Image Description: This is where the magic begins, where you start off with brainstorming and outlining and writing. This is the NaNoWriMo stage, the 'let me rant about my WIP' stage. This stage ends with two very important elements. The first is a completed first draft manuscript and the second is an Ideal Customer Profile]

So this is the stage that a lot of writers get stuck in. It’s the quicksand sinkhole of starting over with a new project. There’s nothing wrong with living in this stage, but if you want to actually publish a novel worth reading you have to have two things:

1. A Book.

2. An Audience.

One of my favorite quotes is:

“You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”

― Jodi Picoult

You have to have a book in order to publish and sell a book. This is the hard part for a lot of authors, the part that they get bogged down by for years and years trying to make their debut novel some perfect specimen of literature.

Guys, my friends, my fellow authors; do not allow yourself to be bogged down by the weight of perfectionism that accompanies years of reading ‘the greats’ and thinking you’ll never be one of them. A favorite line of mine from Charles Bukowski goes:

“ don't be like so many writers, don't be like so many thousands of people who call themselves writers, don't be dull and boring and pretentious, don't be consumed with self- love. the libraries of the world have yawned themselves to sleep over your kind. don't add to that. don't do it.”

The second part of stage 1, the part that is almost unheard of with writers who are just starting out or plan to publish traditionally, is the ideal customer profile. I’m actually posting a series on the ICP in a few days so I’ll give you a basic rundown and link back to it here when it comes out.

Essentially, your ideal customer profile is a character sheet for the person most likely to enjoy and cherish your work the way it was meant to be enjoyed and cherished.

It’s important to develop your ICP near the end of stage one because moving on to stage two without it means missing huge opportunities to throw in the little nods and subtle glances that will really thrill your audience.

Stage 2 - Revision

[Image Description: Your revision process may be your own, but the fact remains that you have to have one. For some, it looks like printing out the book and redlining it. For others, it's about re-writing the entire thing. No matter which way you do it, this is where you will put in your foreshadowing and arch phrases. This step CANNOT be skipped.]

I used to write a book and then think it was done.

I used to write a book and then put it into a spell checker and a grammar editor and think it was done.

I used to read through it over and over and over and then ignore it for months as I tried to figure out where the missing part of the story was.

I’m not saying these methods are invalid. I’m just saying that after I learned to pull up a blank document side by side with the original and then write the whole thing out again many of the pains of plotting disappeared and my work moved into the professional arena.

Maybe it was the way I had to focus on the words as I read the story again, or maybe it’s because I’m a chronic underwriter and re-writing gives me a chance to unpack certain lines to expand the story.

I think it might be a little bit because revising is a lot like moving houses. You have to decide what to pack up and what to leave behind, and when you’re done you’re left with a newer, cleaner house and a sense of exhausted accomplishment.

Stage 3 - Editor/Beta Reader

[Image Description: While many writers try to skip from stage 1 to stage 3, others try to skip stage 3 altogether. Don't. Stage 3 is what brings your book into the professional realm and smooths out those rough edges. Feedback from your editor and beta reader may loop you back into stage 2 for another round of revision.]

So my first comment here is directed more towards stage 2 and how important it is.

I’ve beta-read too many books that didn’t go through the revision process. I’ve seen too many authors kill their own work over comments from beta readers that could have been avoided if the author revised their work before placing it into the hands of someone who could hurt them.

The connection between an author and their editor/beta reader is a very emotional one. My editor and I are sharing a hotel room at a writer’s conference in a few weeks. My beta reader is refused to talk to me for a week because of how I left the cliff hanger at the end of the last book.

These two people are your gatekeepers.

Where traditionally published books have agents and publishers to keep the tide of bad writing decisions from seeing the light of day, indie authors have their own poor judgment and a burning desire to see their works in a published form.

Your editor can save your asses (literally, the word was suppose to be assess and I accidentally deleted an S during the final touches stage. My editor caught it before I sold too many copies).

Your beta reader can warn you if your character’s personality changed halfway through or if the room for your final confrontation is a blank white box in their minds because you maybe forgot to describe it every single time your characters were in there before.

Stage 4 - Final Touches

[Image Description: This is where we clean up our blurb, tag lines, cover, and formatting. Creating auxiliary content for content marketing, and developing a media strategy. At the end of this stage, we push publish (or place the book on pre-order). ]

This is my golden stage.

This is what I’m going to college for and what I plan on building a media and consulting company around. This is something I’m going to be posting a lot about so I won’t say as much here.

If you have questions on stage 4 publications pls send them to my ask box, I am always ready to help with the marketing.

Stage 5 - Continuation

[Image Description: The connection between the reader and the writer is a unique one, and is something that many indie authors tend to neglect. Your readers are people. They need assurances that there is another book coming, someone to yell at for the last cliffhanger, and a place where they can connect to other readers. As a publishing author, it is your job to provide them a way to connect. ]

Continuation is really almost an extension of stage 4. It’s the engagement side of being an author. It’s where the fandom is born.

This is where I think a lot of authors make their last mistake. Those who manage to get themselves to this stage tend to drop the ball because The History Of Authors clearly states that we are ethereal and unknowable creatures who mustn’t interact.

Times are changing, folks. Technology is changing us. We are a social bunch and we want that connection. We want the validation. We want the community.

An author that can give their audience a sense of belonging, who can engage them openly and respectfully, and who can make them feel as though they are remarkable is going to be the author who has the competitive advantage.

tldr: come ask me questions about author marketing.

#original #writing advice #publishing advice #indie street marketing #ISM advice #I'll tag other people later #when i have the spoons for it

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shinneth · 5 years

Note

6, 1, 7, 5 and 10 for the fic writer meme!

OKAY. Finally got free from the distractions. Let’s see how well I can answer these.

6. Share one of your weaknesses

Oh, I have a good amount of those. I would say my tl;dr curse (I don’t think I’ve EVER written a fic below four-figures, and very rarely does it end up 5k or lower), but I know there’s many out there who’d tell me that’s definitely a strength and that they’d love to be able to churn out six-figure epics in their sleep like I do. So let’s go with a more objective weakness.

I have the redundancy curse. I have this really, really really really really really really really bad habit of somehow reiterating a statement twice within the same sentence. Or at the very least, my verbiage will get repeated more times than it should within the same sentence (enough to the point where the sentence sounds very awkward when you read it out loud). This almost always happens because I’ll establish something at the beginning of my sentence, somehow forget about it midway through, and think I need to add it to the end.

I can’t tell you how many times I fall into that trap. Only through rereading my progress to get back into the groove to continue a chapter is when I’ll really have an opportunity to catch these slip-ups. Since I’ve never used betas and I’m pretty much fine finishing everything in one draft and all that. It’s astounding how many of these errors I’ll catch, really. And despite that, a few will always end up slipping through in the final product anyway!

It’s a very annoying quirk that I’d love to fix, but again, it almost always happens right under my nose. No matter how conscious I try to be about this sort of thing, it’ll pop up when I least expect it. So really, all I can do is just try and catch as many as I can after I’ve written my stuff down, but before I finalize my piece.

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

I think the name of the game here is Adaptation Expansion. I focus on a character (or a small group of characters) that I feel

A) Didn’t get as much canon development as they deserved

B) Might have gotten a decently good amount of focus, but I’m seeing many unsolved mysteries/curiosities around said character(s) and many possible routes to explore any headcanons that are raging inside of me.

Or the headcanon itself is just really nagging at me, so I make a whole story dedicated to it.

In your typical Shin fic, the more Shin likes you, the more you should be afraid. Outside of having a wildly creative sadistic streak, my best ideas are usually best suited to my favorite characters, and I happen to be very big on the Earn Your Happy Ending trope. Certain series I feel kind of gave their characters a good conclusion a little too easily, and so I’ve made it my life’s mission to erase any doubt in my readers’ minds about whether or not the characters truly paid their dues to get their reward at the end.

So of course, you add that with the sadism, and that means you’re very likely to get a fic that at least somewhat leans on the dramatic end. I think the vast majority of my Fanfiction.net stories are listed under “Drama”, now that I think about it. But really, drama’s what you go with when you wanna raise the stakes to crazy-high levels. It won’t be melodramatic 100% of the time, nor will it be grimdark or consummately edgy; I do make a point to add some witty humor and even fluff if it’s appropriate. But Shin fics are all about letting you see the kind of hell certain characters could be going through in canon and thankfully aren’t - yet you’re also seeing those same characters achieve a level of greatness canon would have never permitted because they put their all into reaching their goal.

That’s about the gist of it: trying to outdo canon at its own game, giving justice I feel my favorites are due, but only after I put them through the seven circles of hell.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Hm, okay. When it comes to pride, I’m typically very reserved in that regard. However, I was very proud of how This is Who I Am Chapter 5 turned out. I had an idea well before writing it about how I wanted to do a twist on the Mirror Match trope with Steven and Peridot - basically, forcing their light sides to fight off the dark sides of each other, rather than themselves. The more accurate terminology for what I actually pulled off was an inversion of Opponent Switch.

I was very happy how I managed to execute this plot, since so much of it was rigged in the dark sides’ favor and almost insured that only Steven or Peridot would come out of this alive; not both. When it came to Light Steven meeting Dark Peridot, I finally had the opportunity to properly write for Pre-Series Peridot, who I established earlier was a bit of an opportunistic sociopath. I was eager for the chance to make my version of Socio-Peri a legit unsettling psychopath and boy did I revel in it. So, without further ado:

Steven desperately tried to find any trace of hope remaining in this situation. "E-Even if you and him are just the worst things about us made into people, like you said, you are still part of Peridot, 5XG! You're linked, me and the other Steven are linked… and you two shouldn't want to shatter your loved ones, either!"

5XG found herself legitimately enjoying this; savoring Steven's agony and dwindling optimism. It had been far too long since she was able to relish in the pain of another; especially when it resulted in her getting rewarded for it.

"If you're attempting to argue that we don't have a single iota of contempt for one another, I suggest you spare us any more of your unacceptable stupidity by jumping off this platform and descend into the abyss where you belong," she said in a sharp tone. "You'll recall I absolutely despised you for quite some time before my weaker self got the better of me. Past-tense or not, it is a fact you cannot deny. Therefore, it is part of me. Consider it as valid as the fact that, regardless of tense and however I changed over time, I am and always will be a murderer."

"NO!"

Steven was completely shaken up, now driven to tears and cowering away from the Peridot who was his adversary long before becoming his soulmate.

"Please, don't!" he urged. "I've forgiven her already! I-I never hated her for–"

"You hate murderers," 5XG stated in a calm, neutral, but very firm tone that was sharp enough to cut Steven off. "Anyone who takes the life of another, you hate on principle. The cause or circumstance is of no concern to you and never has been."

Steven swore his blood ran freezing cold for a moment after taking in those words. He was stunned to the point of being unable to rebuke any of this.

"The Bismuth told me how events played out when you first met her," 5XG added, readily rubbing salt into the wound. "After knowing by this point how the Diamond Authority were responsible for committing multiple acts of global genocide, how this very planet was on that list, and were prone to shattering members of their own court on a misdemeanor or even on a whim. You were aware of all of this."

Steven squinted his eyes, trying his best to shut away any more tears. He tried to turn away from 5XG; his entire body was shivering while his hands balled up into fists. "P-Please, stop…"

"Yet you admonished the Bismuth for daring to create weapons made for wiping out an enemy with lethal force; legitimate ways to justifiably defend yourself against an enemy you know would not hesitate to take your life if they had an opening. You stood there, and you actually labeled her as one who is completely indistinguishable from White, Blue, or Yellow Diamond," 5XG continued; of course she wouldn't honor his request. "A loyal ally of your maternal unit whose focus was always on doing her best to defend her friends and loved ones, who only fought when forced to by the Homeworld gems… to her face, you belittled her convictions and you said there was no difference between her and the maniacal, genocidal dictators that you yourself were defending against along with your loved ones – just as the Bismuth herself. I honestly don't blame her for trying to kill you that day. You should have died."

5. Share one of your strengths.

Phew... this one’s a little awkward for me. I know one thing I’m objectively good at is writing insanely long shit that is at least good enough to compel people to lose sleep or pull all-nighters as they strive to finish it. I can at least safely say that because nearly every goddamn reviewer I’ve ever had has gone out of their way to mention this. Even if they don’t review, if I ever have a chance to talk to them personally, they’re normally gonna let me know they sacrificed many hours of sleep because of me :P

But really, I’m consistently praised for expanding on characters or concepts that canon either could have touched on more or barely touched at all. Some people have gained newfound appreciation for characters they didn’t care about or even hated because of my portrayals, and that’s pretty damn empowering to hear. I’ll often get remarks along the lines of me taking a character and “really making them my own” - in a positive way. Sometimes I have plot twists that are complete and utter batshit on paper, but then I’ll get commended for making it completely believable to the point where readers tell me they wish it was actually canon.

So, that’s enough of a strength, I would say. I can reach really far and still make an AU story sound like it could have easily fit in canon even if my ideas are ones the staff won’t touch with a 10-mile pole.

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write?

rsilgjdgkljdgsjgahhahhhh, that’s not as easy a question as you might think! Every story has given me a hurdle or two.

I think by default, I’m gonna say it’s Peri-dise: The Capitalist Anarchy. Because while I put my own spin on it and added a lot of things to make a proper story out of it, Peridot’s little Citystate session was almost exactly to the letter like a certain one by GrayStillPlays. So a lot of the heavy lifting was already done for me in that regard. Still made sure to add plenty to it just to ensure it wasn’t SOLELY just a retelling of that video with some name changes.

And that takes care of my first big ask! Hopefully those were satisfactory answers. I’ll... TRY and get to another before I pass out. Really wasn’t fair of CN to drop this leak on the same day I’d have to contend with 3 hours of Monday Night RAW...

#answered asks #nobynaga #meme #fanfiction #writing

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magpiefngrl · 6 years

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Hello, my darling ❤️ as a writer I admire, I have a question for you: It’s sort of universally known that a 1st draft is never going to be the best story you can create, but I feel like there’s a fine line between “bad first draft” and “writing is just not for you, my friend” and I feel like I walk it, hard. It seems to come so naturally to some people, and I know it’s different for everyone, but I can’t help but wonder if I’m just not built for it. How do you gain confidence in your own words?

Hello, my dear, and thank you so much for trusting me with this question.

First, let me say that you’re asking someone who has had a lot of problems with confidence in her writing lately ( @bixgirl1 had some words for me the other day), and so what I’ll describe is the way I try to work past that obstacle.

So, here’s what I remind myself: the first draft is for you.

That’s it, that’s the secret. And the only thing that can keep me going. The first draft is for you. You’re writing something to share, sure; eventually. It’s first and foremost for you. I’d bet a lot of money that many of the most-loved fics were very self-indulgent projects. So, love your first draft, mess it up, write scenes you don’t need, write clunky paragraphs and ridiculous dialogue. Allow yourself to fuck it up. If you’re me, you might start writing a scene from one POV and, halfway through, realise it’s the wrong POV and switch it to the other, mid-scene, and continue writing. This isn’t a made-up example; I’ve done this. Also, in my first drafts, I write loads of “He turned to look at him”, “he turned his eyes to…” So much looking and turning! So little description as well. When I’m in the blissful stage of drafting furiously (being in the flow, as it’s called), my drafts look like screenplays. I get the dialogue down and move on, or often I add: [insert sex] or [they fight, figure out why], and I move on.

‘But how does it get better?’ you might ask. My answer is: revisions. I’m a big fan of editing, and I edit ruthlessly. I once made a post, saying:write as if you’re in a glass cage of emotion, and edit as a stone cold bitch.

Revising is where you start to see your story through the eyes of someone else. Did the motivation of this character come through? Is the plot coherent? Does it make sense they’d do X? It helps to leave it aside for a few days (the longer, the better) before you tackle revisions. You’ll hate bits of it, for sure, but you’ll also find compelling, wonderful parts that move you. Get rid/edit the former and keep the latter. A beta will also catch anything you miss. One of the reasons I love editing is precisely because when I first put down the scene it’s a mess, but with my rewriting and tightening and fixing, it changes right in front of my eyes into something beautiful.

So, writing is like, first you have to word-vomit on page, like pouring misshapen clay on a worktable, and then, little by little, you sculpt the lumpy mass into what you wanted it to be.

Finally, and this is what’s been plaguing me: examine if you’ve set your standards and expectations too high. I’m very guilty of this lately, because I’ve set some expectations of myself that are impossible. I haven’t been in the flow in months. I write and stop after a sentence to edit it, worrying, always worrying. I’ve realised (after a stern chat with myself – journaling helps so much!) that my standards are not only higher than before, but punishingly high. This is where encouraging friends and some self-reflection help. I’m writing a gift fic that I adore and an original romance novel that I’m keen to play with, but neither work has made any progress this month, because I’ve put an incredible amount of pressure on myself. Any initial desire I had has been drowned by doubts and the fear of failure.

(Guess what has made me continue my romance story? Telling myself that it’s for me. That no one needs to see it, and I want to have fun exploring this world I made and the new characters I created, and if it isn’t any good, oh well I tried and I had fun doing it, and fuck anything else.)

Anyway, I’ve no idea if this was helpful at all, but tl;dr: 1. Keep telling yourself writing is for you, 2. edit a lot, 3. examine your expectations to see if you’ve set them too high.

Don’t doubt yourself, please. There was a time when I was certain I didn’t have what it takes either. This is fear talking. One last thing: forget the result (completed fic, posted on AO3, published novel etc) and think of the process. In my opinion, to be a writer, you’ve got to love the process. You’ve got to want to spend weeks or months writing something with no certainty of reward at the end (kudos, sales etc), because you’re completely enamoured by the story that’s coming alive on your page. Focus on that, and ignore the rest. For now.

If you need a beta (and the fic is short), let me know. In any case, I look forward to reading it

#writing #drafting #editing

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papofglencoe · 5 years

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5 7 11 54

Thank you for asking me these! You don’t have to, but I’d love to know your answers for these too. If you decide to take the bait, tag me, chica.

5. Books or authors that influenced your style the most.

Probably terrible books I picked up for a dime at a garage sale in Podunk, Michigan when I was ten. lol. Crap that I read once and then horrifically absorbed by osmosis because I didn’t know any better. But in general I grew up reading a LOT of YA horror/fantasy/suspense like Christopher Pike and Richie Tankerlsey Cusick. Diane Hoh and Caroline B Cooney (even as a kid I thought RL Stine was a hack, so at least I had that much taste ;p). I think my love of plot twists and unreliable narrators and angsty, fucked up characters probably comes a lot from those guys. I also loved the Sweet Valley High series, so that explains my love of trashy, tropey romances. In high school I was all about the dark and dystopian stuff- classics like 1984 and Brave New World (because YA dystopia wasn’t a thing yet). And then in college it was all about everything British. Harry Potter for funsies. Ian McEwan. The classic Regency, Romantic, and Victorian authors: Austen, the Brontes, Elizabeth Gaskell, Dickens, Eliot. I’d like to say any of these authors have influenced me. At least when it comes to subject matter, they have, if not style.7. Favorite author.

Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte (who, as a fun fact, loathed Jane Austen’s writing and found it to be facile).11. Describe your writing process from scratch to finish.Do I ever really finish though? lol. Writing for me is a painful process. Some people find it exhilarating (or so they say...). For me it’s a blood-letting. It’s like putting a bunch of leeches on my body to suck out the poison, but all it’s really doing is killing me slowly. Usually a song lyric will inspire me, or some scene will come to mind, and then I’m off from there. And by “off” I mean at a crawl... maybe ten lines at a time, one day at a time? Before I can write anything new for the day, I have to sit down and edit what I wrote from the day before. If I’m starting a new chapter, I will sit down and reread the entire story before moving forward. I edit more than I write. I wouldn’t recommend that to others, but I think grad school inculcated in me this obsessive need to write as airtight of an “argument/thesis” as I can before moving forward; it’s so easy for a paper or article to go horribly off the rails when you write, and a professor will call you out at the very first sign of a bullshit, straw man argument. And I just don’t have it in me to write a shit draft and then go back to fix it. My goal before handing any story to a beta is to have not a single suggested correction. Not one missing comma or misspelled word, not one plot hole or OOC description. Obviously I have never succeeded at this, but writing for me is a competition with myself to be better than I was the last story. I really only have one part of my process that I find to be healthy or helpful, and I’ll include it next...

54. Any writing advice you want to share?

Chart out your dialogue before you “write the scene” itself. Just sit down and write out the back-and-forth. No dialogue tags. No physical cues or stage descriptions (or keep them minimal if they are essential to the dialogue itself). That way you can create dialogue that sounds natural to the ear. It might be annoying to some readers, but I like to include a dash of “ums,” “ahs,” “likes,” etc to replicate how we actually speak, or to indicate hesitation. In real life we’re always searching for the right words (and regretting the ones we’ve chosen), and I like to try to capture that in dialogue. Having said all this, I consider dialogue to be my weakest point. Some people angst over smut, but for me it’s simple conversation I stress over. This is exactly why I chart that shit out. If you need me to describe a chair, I can effortlessly spew out four paragraphs about it. But dialogue? *Cue the mortal terror.* So I cover my ass and map it all out before I write the scene.

#personal #get to know a blogger #writer meme #long post #lovely-tothe-bone

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