#WHAT is with me and my inability to finish anything that doesnt have any direct consequences or impact on my life beyond increasing

[lovingaeth]

honestly honestly REALLY honestly i need someone to smash a fucking pan over my head i am so sick of myself

[thorne93]

Helping hands is so good!! I can’t wait for the next part! Keep up the fantastic work! Also, I was curious about what keeps you going when it comes to writing series? Because I have tons of ideas for series, but I always get lost on actually writing it all out and getting it out. How do you stay inspired with a series? Do you get it all written out or do you do each part individually? I just want tips on stuff like that, I guess... 😅 Sorry about how long and intrusive this is.....

1) Thank you! So glad to hear you’re still enjoying it!! ^.^ 

2) This is a good question. Typically I can stay pretty inspired if I have a particular scene, or maybe a particular ending I want. Something to work towards. I always write in order, but every story starts with an idea, a “what if” moment. Or in most cases “imagine if”. Like my “No Matter What” series. I think my “what if” was “What if you met Bucky for the first time during Civil War and developed feelings for him?” Then flashes of protecting him during all the fights came in my head, the initial halt of the breathing when you first spot him in his apartment. Etc. A lot of times it’s really just me working through an entire series for me to get to ONE scene i imagined. So it’s a lot of “what can I do to get these characters to that point?” “what has to happen in order for THIS to happen?” Honestly, I don’t usually burn out on any series. I know a lot of writers start ideas, get a chapter or a few written, then they lose inspiration and never go back. I’m fortunate enough to not have that. Here’s why: If I have a good idea, a solid idea, one i can outline, I can write it. I guess the mantra to take from that is: if i can outline it, i can write it. Out of all my “wips” right now, I have one “abandoned” wip, and that was a collaboration. Both of us had an idea, but no real “end”. Other than that, if I have started writing on it, I felt strongly enough for it. Now, I’ve had several ideas that pop in my head, prompts I read, etc, that for a second, I’m like “that would be cool to write” but I never write it. But if I can’t even write down a proper outline, there’s no hope for a full on story there. I always write chronologically. Mainly because I think i would get confused if i jumped around. Like “wait, have they kissed yet at this point?”  “Oh, wait, she doesnt know that about him yet.”  “Dammit. His brother isn’t introduced yet...” etc. So I have to write from start to finish. That isn’t to say i don’t think ahead! I might be writing chapter one, and i”m brainstorming with friends and family for chapter 9. Or often times, if i know a certain scene is coming up, sudden dialogue or inspiration will hit and I write it down for later (like in the outline or just jot it down or whatever.).....Music also helps keep me inspired. It’s not to say I don’t get frustrated with series. I get writers block often, and i am constantly (like every day), asking myself “okay, what’s next?”....And when I get writers block, I just keep pushing forward with it. I hammer the ideas and hammer the ideas until I finally feel inspired enough to write it. I think another part of it stems from my inability to cope with unfinished work. Like, to me, if I’ve written something on it, I obviously had some sort of direction to it, ya know? 

Man, that was long winded xD....Sorry about that. So the take away points are this:

- Start with an idea, a “What if” or an “imagine if” moment. Play around with that in your head before you write anything. Once you establish the “What if X happened?” build off of that. Think of how you’re going to get to that point, and what’s going to happen after. 

- Listen to music. Is it an angsty idea? Listen to some sad music that might circle around that idea. Is it a happy one? Etc. And when I say listen, I don’t mean listen while you try to write or brainstorm. Literally just pick some songs that maybe have lyrics or a melody that goes with what you’re going for, put it on, and close your eyes. What scenes do you see? What do the lyrics make you think of? etc...

- Outline...Outline...Outline. If you can jot down some points in the story, even if it isn’t a beginning or end, it’ll help be your road map. Something to always go back to. I know how frustrating it is to re-read a series and get to the end (where you’re stuck) and sort of get back in the same rut. So even if you write down “OH i want this to happen at the end.” or “this would be a great ‘first encounter’”. If you have SOMETHING, I bet other things will start flowing. It’s easy to go off of an outline/roadmap. At least to me, because then you can say “okay, that’s right, I have a, b, c, d, and e happening. What happens after e?

- Figure out the medium that works best for you, too. Like I like to hand write notes/outlines. idk why, but i do. it’s just fun/easy to literally scribble or scratch down the shit swimming in my head. But when i WRITE. i have to be at a computer or I’ll go batty. 

- Think about what WOULDN’T happen next. It sounds kind of odd, sounds counter intuitive. but i just read it in a writers block tip. And it’s honestly really helpful. Because once you start narrowing down what wont happen or what doesn’t make sense to happen, you can start zeroing in on what could or should happen. Honestly, when i brainstorm with my family and friends, typically, they don’t give me the idea of what to write, they give me ideas of what not to write. Like my friend last night suggested “Have the disgruntled reader go to a bar and talk about her problems.” and this character isn’t really a bar sort of person, so I said “Well they wouldn’t do that....but they might do this...” and i went in a different direction. (It’s kind of funny though because my family always wonders why I ask them for help or advice, because I typically don’t take it. they say “you just do something different”. and im like “Yeah, but it’s helpful to just get the juices flowing. to think about what they wouldn’t do.”

- And always always always, write for yourself. Don’t write for what you think will get more readers. Don’t write for “fanfare”. Write scenes you’d want to read. Write fights you’d want to be a part of. Now, at the same time, imagine you’re reading. Ask yourself “is this too dark/intense/weird? is this too out of character? Does this make sense in the rest of the story? If i were reading this for the first time, would it mesh well inside of my story?” like....Let’s say you have a shy, female avenger reader. Lets say her power is defense only. you wouldn’t have her have a screaming match with Tony that ended in her punching him, you know? But you might, if it was Dean Winchester and she was a hunter. Hunters aren’t afraid of violence, and in Supernatural, the characters are known to punch each other when really upset. So know your audience, know your story, know your characters. But don’t be afraid. I like dramatic writing. I like big dramatic, angsty, fight scenes. If you read “First Impressions” I had the reader so mad at a dinner party, she accidentally shattered her wine glass in her hand because she was gripping it so hard and didn’t realize it.  Up until that point, the only huge drama was Seb punching a guy for being a rude, sexist prick. But anyway - point stands. Write for yourself, write what is fun for you, what makes sense to you. Don’t think “should i have more action? less angst? more smut? Should i have blah blah happen?” because it won’t come out right. So always stay true to you, what you want, and what you’d like to read. : ) 

I hope this helped!