#and you're like we get it and 2 chapters later the writer character is giving a radio interview to a journalist who

[pinkeoni]

Writing Byler into the Narrative: Chekhov's Lie

Am I making a post about a topic that has already been talked into the ground and needs no further explanation? Yes! Because it's my blog and I get to talk about whatever I want.

So when discussing whatever the biggest "byler proof" is, the easiest and best answer is simply "the narrative." But what exactly does that mean?

Well aside from the characterization and themes tending to point in that direction, there's also a major literary rule at play— Chekhov's Gun

So this is Anton Chekhov.

Famous Russian playwright. Prolific short story author. Very important to the dramatic and literary world.

Chekhov sees one of his colleagues plays and writes him a letter that says "Hey, if you're gonna go through the effort putting a gun on stage, just make sure it goes off, okay? Otherwise, don't put it there." or something to the effect of that.

"Chekhov’s gun is a dramatic principle that suggests that details within a story or play will contribute to the overall narrative. This encourages writers to not make false promises in their narrative by including extemporaneous details that will not ultimately pay off by the last act, chapter, or conclusion. Chekhov’s gun has become a highly influential theory of effective writing that mandates noticeable details are integrated into the plot trajectory, character development, and mood of the work."

Here's a simple example of Chekhov's gun used in the show:

Chekhov's Purple Palm Tree Delight

While burying Hero Agent Man in the desert, Argyle get's stressed out and Jonathan tells him in supposedly a throwaway line to smoke some Purple Palm Tree Delight to help him feel better.

And then later in the Piggyback when they need to distract the Argyle clone in the Surfer Boy Pizza, BAM. Jonathan pulls out a fresh Purple Palm Tree Delight.

What serves as a small detail in one episode, serves a larger purpose in a future episode. It's a very simple yet effective plant and payoff. The gun has been Chekhov'd.

What happens if the gun does not Chekhov?

For this I'll use an example from a different show, here's a scene from Euphoria season 2. (spoilers, btw)

At the start of the scene, the character Nate loads a gun from inside of his car as he is going to confront his dad. We have seen this gun before. Oh my god, is Nate going to kill is dad? The audience may wonder.

Nate then puts the loaded gun into his right pocket as he enters the building where his dad is staying.

Later in the scene, we see Nate reach into his right pocket and pull out the gun he just loaded.

We then see Nate put the gun away into his left pocket, reach back into his right pocket, and pull out— a flash drive?

Granted this flash drive does have pre-established importance, but why the fuck did Nate have that gun with him, if he wasn't going to use it? The most basic rule of a Chekhov's Gun?

I know that it was likely there just to build suspense for the audience, but considering that Nate's gun has already been established (and used) earlier in the season, the show didn't need to build-up the importance of the gun earlier in the scene if it wasn't going to payoff. If we saw Nate putting his hand into his pocket in a threatening way, there might be enough there for the audience to suspect he has his gun in there before doing the twist with the flash drive. It would have given the same effect of suspension and subversion of expectations without it feeling like a shitty non-payoff.

I can only speak for myself, but when this happened I was just baffled and annoyed. What was the point of all that? When a Chekhov's Gun doesn't go off, it feels super unsatisfying.

Another good example of a gun that never Chekhov'd is the Jules-cheating storyline that became inconsequential, was not the reason Jules and Rue even broke up, was seemingly forgotten and forgiven by the end, and did nothing but give fans a reason to hate Jules.

And Now: The Van Scene

We've all seen it and we all know it. Will gives Mike the painting we saw earlier in the season, the one that's supposed to be for someone that he likes, which was a Chekhov's Gun in itself. We saw the painting earlier in the season and now it's being revealed. The gun is Chekhoving.

Really the painting itself has already payed off, but what this scene does is establish a new Chekhov's Gun that has yet to go off, and that's the lie that Will told Mike— that the painting was from El, not him.

Even if this wasn't the "friends don't lie" show, I mean, a lie in a tv show that goes undiscovered and has no major consequences? I mean come on. It's almost too obvious.

Did this gun already Chekhov?

Technically there is still somewhat of a payoff to this lie being told, even if the reveal that it was a lie hasn't happened yet. We see the consequences of Will's lie in this scene here:

Ah yes, the monologue. You know the one, where Will is over Mike's shoulder the whole time, the one spawned by Will remarking "your the heart" which is a reference to the van scene we all just witnessed in which Will pours his heart out to Mike under the guise of it actually being El's feelings? Yeah that monologue.

Contrary to popular belief I am of the opinion that Mike's monologue is NOT the reason El lost to Vecna, however Mike finally confessing immediately followed by El losing does not make it look any better for them. I don't think that the lie had world ending consequences, but it definitely had emotional ones.

The reveal of the lie can lead to one of two things happening (not all once)

Mike finds out that Will lied to him about El commissioning the painting. Mike and El stay together despite it all, Will accepts that Mike doesn't love him back.

Mike finds out that Will lied about El commissioning the painting. El and Mike do not stay together because the feelings of love are not genuine. Mike and Will, despite Will's expectations, end up together since that what Mike's feelings of love are in response too.

The biggest difference between the first scenario and the second scenario is that the first one is already happening right now.

Mike and El are still together by the end of the season, and Will already thinks that he doesn't have a chance with Mike.

Why cock the gun if setting it off is just going to keep things the way they were?

Of course this Chekhov's gun isn't the only "proof" working in byler's favor, and I wouldn't have suggested the second scenario if the show didn't also give Mike an arc where he couldn't say I love you to his girlfriend, make him act weird around Will, actively push themes of non-conformity, among other things.

Combined with everything else, I do still consider Chekhov's Gun to be the biggest proof of byler. Not following through with one of the most popular rules of dramatic writing just to hold together a weak relationship? OK

tl;dr: Byler canon because a Russian playwright said so

[ironyscleverer]

Can I do a little rant about Nate Shelley for a sec? Im gonna rant about Nate Shelley for a sec. Just becuase for a show about masculinity and healthy relationships and self-love, I HATED how they handled his character arc so fucking much.

Nate starts off in season 1 as this meek, nerdy, short, chubby Asian man who's routinely bullied by the guys (players) that he works for. He's very specifically disrespected becuase he's not conventionally masculine. It's important to note that Asian guys especially are emasculated a lot in society, doubly so if you're shy and/or brainy like Nate is.

But then once he starts getting a little respect and attention from Ted, we first get to see his confidence grow, but then we also start to see a nastier side of him emerge. He uses his new position of power to feed his insecurities and he becomes vindictive, cruel and resentful. He takes it out on his players, his former bullies, but even then he chooses the weakest person to pick on (ie Colin, who's a closeted queer man as we discover later).

And I actually think this part of the arc is really well done and interesting; it feels very real and throughout season 2, even though he's absolutely horrible, I can still see how it's stemming from a place of pain and bitterness. Being part of a system that abuses and disrespects you, especially when race is a factor, can really turn people sour and warp their perception of reality. Frankly, I think I would have a lot less sympathy for Nate's character if he was just another resentful white man, but his being brown really adds a lot of layers to the character.

And it's important to note that even once he becomes a coach Nate still suffers becuase of how he presents himself! The people at Richmond do occasionally make jabs at him (Jan Maas and the suit), and you can't tell me the situation at the Greek restaurant wasn't some kind of racist power trip. Even though he has more systemic power now, he still doesn't get respect becuase of how he exists in the world.

In that context, his choice to go work for Rupert at the end of season 2 makes complete sense. Richmond was a toxic environment for him given his past experiences there, and he was not going to get the mentorship or understand that he needed. I hoped that his season 3 redemption arc would involve him untangling his victim complex, learning to trust and stand up for himself, and looking out for people who are weaker than him (so basically this fic lmao). Basically, I wanted him to step up to the challenge of being a head coach and really confront his insecurities and their roots. Maybe he could've talked to another coach of color or something. I don't know.

But ultimately, the direction they went in with Nate in season 3 was frustrating to me because he ends up right back where he started at the beginning of the show; at Richmond, working as a kit man for a bunch of white people. Sure, he's forgiven by Ted and he learns his lesson about power, but none of the actual, very understandable hurts on his end are really addressed. He's right back to the same environment he was in before, albeit a bit less toxic. He isn't allowed to grow or distance himself from that chapter of his life. (the writers also decided to just give him a girlfriend and make that fix everythin which I don't appreciate, but that's another essay entirely).

If I had it my way, I would have had him do the whole scene with coach Beard, reconcile with Ted, but respecfully tell them that he can't go back to Richmond. There's too much history there, and even if they've forgiven each other, it would be a bad environment for him. Then Nate and Ted/Beard/others can have a new relationship as equals, built on respect, rather than a boss/employee dynamic. But maybe that's just me being delusional.

Anyway, in conclusion, Nate deserved a better ending and I'm disappointed that they didn't give it to him. Thank you for reading this completely unedited rant, I may do another in the future about Ted Lasso's queer rep or its female characters. Lmk if you want to hear it.

[joycieillustrations]

Hello! Although I respect the choices made by the writers and directors of HotD, I regret the lack of explanation and development of characters and situations. That said, I would like to know if the positions and choices of the show will affect your stories and if so, how they will affect the work, if there have been changes in plans, etc. With Rhaenys' death, we can only continue reading about her through fanfictions and yours are, without a doubt, among the best ever written about them. Thank you.

Hello there! Thanks for the ask ❤️

This is quite a lot to answer and I'll do the best I can. I still am sorting my head out re. a few things and in all honesty, I'm also not in a particularly good headspace personally right now, so I don't have quite as clear a view as I would like.

Yes, the show has affected my plans - somewhat. Honestly, as soon as it was confirmed that Abubakar Salim was playing Alyn, I knew they were going to make the Hull boys Corlys' bastards, simply because his resemblance to Steve is so striking. I don't particularly like it, particularly because show!Corlys is quite a different man to book!Corlys, and also because I don't think the Hull boys being Corlys' makes much difference to the story in comparison to them being, say, Vaemond's or even a distant Velaryon cousin's or even just two random fatherless boys Corlys claims as his heirs (because hey, what does it matter to Corlys, they'll have his name and Alyn's kids will have his blood through Baela). Honestly, I'd have been more invested if Corlys - who evidently doesn't care about the bloodline so much as he does the name - had simply picked Alyn out of his crew and said: hey, you're a good sailor and I see great things in you. Let me give you my legacy and all I ask in return is that you carry on my family's name.

But I digress: that's the fix it AU I'm not writing. Regardless, it's show canon that they're Corlys'.

With that in mind, I'd mentally plotted out the sequels to Ex libris knowing that Corlys fathers bastards at some point. I also started to pepper things into the later chapters of Ex libris that could be interpreted to be about the boys' mother (e.g. Corlys tells Alysanne that he's loved before in Ch. 13 and mentions having had lovers in Hull in Ch. 23). From Steve's interviews, the show isn't going to confirm anything about their origin in Season 2 (and I think Ryan Condal's lack of information and guidance in this regard - to Steve, to Eve, and to the directors - has been a very poor and inconsiderate move on his part, but that's another post), so instead I have my own timeline of how I think things have happened and I'm going to commit to that because, frankly, the series will never get written otherwise. I've sat here for six weeks waiting for answers and not got any. I want A Song of Sea and Sky to be as canon compliant as possible, but there's only so much I can do while the show is airing; and that's OK, if it ends up being an AU, fingers crossed it's a good one.

Ad amorem will touch upon Corlys' ideas about fidelity. Rest assured, we're not going to immediately see him go out and cheat on Rhaenys; but I am going to explore that this is a source of conflict. I'm not going to sweep it under the rug, because part of the joy of writing these two is the complexity of their emotions and their relationship. They're not always perfect, they do make terrible mistakes, they do hurt each other.

The way I've spoken with my friends about the two halves of Corlys and Rhaenys' journey to marriage is that Ex libris is their love and future idealised, the excitement and prospect of it all; Ad amorem is the reality settling in, the realisation that all will not be perfect, that they have their differences and foibles and ugly traits that they do not like in the other, but they can still endure it and become stronger for it and that, ultimately, their marriage will always be built on love.

I don't want to say much more than that. Overall, the plot hasn't really changed all that much. The same overall arc I had originally planned still happens, just some scenes will just be expanded to talk about this issue.

With regards to Salt and Smoke, it hasn't changed anything plot-wise, though I am considering going through and tidying the fic up a bit. I think I've grown as a writer since I first started that fic two years ago (and then got distracted by Ex libris) and I would like it to match the rest of the series a little better. I'm undecided yet as to whether I'm going to publish the last chapter first or if I'm going to edit the previous chapters before finishing the fic off.

As for my AU fic Office Hours, that hasn't changed. I have other things I want to talk about in that fic before I potentially talk about Addam and Alyn, but I had already figured out how they fit in in this universe if I do change my mind and want to explore it.

Thank you for your compliments about my work. I truly didn't expect to get the response I did and it's both wonderful and overwhelming. I feel an immense amount of pressure for Ad amorem to surpass Ex libris and I do have to admit that currently I am struggling to write Ad amorem because of this. For the time being, I'm writing Office Hours and only dipping my toes into Ad amorem when I have scenes in my head.

I hope that answers some of your questions! Do feel free to ask more, my inbox is always open.

[coraniaid]

(Answering @badwolfwho1's questions for this character ask game; one of four.)

Buffy

5 What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

There's a chapter of my big Buffy fanfic that is partly named after this song!

21 If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Favorite thing: having Buffy think about Kendra and be upset about Kendra’s death in post-S2 fics.  (Meeting Kendra should be such a pivotal moment in Buffy’s life! It’s both the moment she first accepts that being a Slayer is more than just “a job” and rather a fundamental part of who she is, and the first moment she gets to meet somebody else who is like her (“not the only freak”).  Kendra’s death should, equally, be utterly devasting for Buffy.  Not only did the one other girl in all the world die, but she did so because of a series of mistakes Buffy herself made and, because Buffy had to make a deal with Spike to protect Giles, she didn’t even allow herself the opportunity to avenge her!

In actual canon, however, Buffy mentions Kendra exactly once in an episode Kendra doesn’t appear in (in Becoming Part 2). Just a single line of dialogue in the first episode after Kendra’s death and never again after that (not even when she runs into the vampire who murdered Kendra). Who wouldn't want to fix that? 

Something I don’t like: people writing fic in which they pretend Buffy wasn’t ever really in love with Angel, or that she doen’t really love her mother.  Not only is the show itself very clear about this, but it is a huge part of who Buffy is as a person.  Buffy/Spike and Buffy/Faith make no sense except in the context of Buffy having once loved a vampire who lost his soul and she had to send to hell; a teenage Buffy who doesn’t care about her mother’s approval and an adult Buffy who doesn’t still miss her mother terribly are just not recognizable to me as the character we actually see on the show. You don't have to personally like Bangel as a ship or think Joyce is a good mother to appreciate this, and I think if you have Buffy say otherwise you are just projecting your own opinions about the show onto her in a fairly boring and lazy way.    

24 What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Not really a fandom I’ve ever been active in as such (although I liked the Greg Weisman directed cartoon a lot as a kid and I’m still slightly bitter about how it was cancelled) but Spider-Man has always seemed the most obvious inspiration for Buffy as a character? I mean, Buffy’s a wisecracking, pun-loving teenage superhero (whose exact strength and powers vary as the plot demands), one who mostly fights alone and who has to hide her abilities from her family members and work a series of low-wage and low-status jobs rather than take personal advantage of her powers, largely because of her belief that having the abilities she does gives her the responsibility to protect people.

(And, while realistically it would be absurd to think nobody in history had ever thought of the joke before, I’ll admit I was slightly perturbed recently to stumble on a clip of the old animated Spider-Man series from the 1990s in which Peter Parker makes the exact same “mythtaken” pun as Buffy does in A New Man only a few years later.)

[leaderoffestivals]

Poltergeist Chapter 7

The Sketch in the Rubbish Heap Ch 7

Madara: Are those kids, like, SCPs or somethiiing?

Scenario Writer: Akira Season: Winter Characters: Mikejima Madara, Sakasaki Natsume, Aoba Tsumugi, Narukami Arashi

 <An hour later. >

Tsumugi: First off, after discussing with the on-site staff, it's been decided that we'll start by helping out with simple tasks around the place, such as tidying the rooms and washing the dishes.

Uh, by the way, it seems a little late to bring this up now, but it looks like the position of leader has fallen naturally to me due to my past experience in this line of work. Is everyone okay with that? 

This project was originally designed with you in mind, Mikejima-kun, so if you'd like to take on the leader's role, I can step aside and let you have it.

Madara: Nope, it’s fine. I believe in letting those best suited for the job take the lead. Quite frankly, if I were in charge, I wouldn't have the slightest clue about what to do here!

Arashi: I agree. I can only imagine how that would be like pouring gasoline over the raging fires of an already chaotic situation.

Madara: Ohhh, what's this? Aren't you supposed to be halfway home by now, Arashi-san?

Arashi: Seriously? What kind of Onee-chan would I be if I abandoned Anzu-chan here and escaped by myself?

There's no way I could leave Anzu-chan behind in this dangerous nest of demons, especially not when all the men here don't seem like they'll be of any use at all! 

Natsume: AhahA. Your opinion of us is truly scraping rock-bottOM, isn't iT?

Tsumugi: Well, NEWDI has always been completely dependent on Knights for its survival up till now~, so it probably can't be helped if we're seen as somewhat unreliable. 

Anyway, let's get back to the topic at hand. There are five of us from ES and thirty children here. How about dividing them up into five groups, with each of us taking charge of one?

It would be a lot more manageable than dealing with all of them at once. 

In addition, by focusing on smaller groups, we're more likely able to nurture a closer relationship with the children—

—which would make it easier for us to capture the heartwarming moments needed for the show. 

Madara: Indeed. The window available for us to get the footage for the show is reeeally small. The best strategy for us would be to focus on building connections with smaller groups of children in that limited time frame since—

—any plan to win over everyone at once would probably take wayyy more time than we have.

Natsume: That's a strategy one might use in a dating sim or a gal gaME (1), wouldn't you sAY?

Tsumugi: Yes, it is~. By the way, I casually asked the staff here for a summary of the children's profiles, and based on that information, grouped those who seem likely to present lower risks together.

In the worst case scenario, we would be able to use the footage from the cameras following those groups of children for the show, right? What do all of you think?

Madara: I agree. The footage from the auditorium incident earlier definitely can't be used for the programme.

It's only because the kids are, well, children, that the incident could be handwaved as a childish prank, but if they had been adults like us, it would've been considered a malicious act.

Natsume: We would have had a major on-set incident on our haNDS.

Back to the topIC; could you give specifics on how the groups are actually dividED?

Tsumugi: To start, I made a rough first cut by gender.

Some of the children are of an age where they can't go to the bathroom alone, and that could become problematic if they got paired with someone of the opposite gender, despite the fact that all of them are children.

For the girls, I've designated the group which poses the higher risk of danger as the 'Rafflesia (2) Group', while the relatively safer group is called the 'Sunflower Group'.

Madara: Ahaha. It’s almost like you're classing dangerous creatures according to the level of threat they pose!

Tsumugi: Fufu. I'm thinking of assigning Narukami-kun and Anzu-chan to be in charge of these two groups. However…, who will be the one to take up the more dangerous group, though?

Arashi: … … I don't want to do it, but I'll be the one to take charge of the riskier group.

Natsume: HeH~. As one would expect of a gallant Knight; you have to protect a lady from danger at all coSTS, don't yOU?

Arashi: That’s part of the reason, of course, but when you come down to it, Anzu-chan isn't an idol. 

We can't let the Producer-san, who's helping us out of goodwill, do anything dangerous that could result in an injury, right?

We, as idols, signed a contract that included a hazardous duty clause, and we were briefed on the risks involved when we agreed to take on this job. However, that's not the case for Anzu-chan.

Tsumugi: Yes. That is indeed where we differ, in this matter. 

Arashi: Also, although the 'Rafflesia group' might play vicious pranks which might result in totally unusable footage—

According to the staff working here, the girls are generally much more docile than the boys. 

Tsumugi: Yes. And for the boys, who aren't docile at all, I've also grouped them according to the level of danger they pose. From the lowest to the highest risk, we have the 'Rabbit group', the 'Lion group', and the 'Kaijuu (3) group'

Madara: Oh myyy? You've actually resorted to naming some of them after fictional monsters now. Are those kids reeeally so terrible that real-life animals aren't adequate to describe the level of risk they pose?

Tsumugi: That's right. The kids in this 'Kaijuu group' are truly challenging, it seems.

They appear to be problem children in every sense of the word, and the staff have been repeatedly emphasising the numerous precautions one must take when dealing with them. 

Madara: Are those kids, like, SCPs (4) or somethiiing?

Tsumugi: I couldn't say… My sensing of the situation is that the staff here are exceptionally apprehensive of the children, which bothers me a little—

Or—rather than saying the staff are fearful of the children, it feels like they're actually treating these difficult children with the utmost caution.

Natsume: WeLL, they’re dealing with childREN, after aLL. In today's world, where any form of corporal punishment can lead to immediate dismissal from one's jOB, I guess they're strictly following the policy of "not inviting trouble if one wishes to avoid iT".

Tsumugi: I guess that must be the case… … Now then, let's decide on the assignation of the boys' groups, shall we?

I can endure any situation as long as it doesn't kill me, so I'll be in charge of the riskiest Kaijuu group, alright?

Madara: Hmmm~… … No, I think you should leave that group to me.

Natsume: OhH? What's with the sudden change of heART? Why are you so motivated all of a suddEN?

Madara: It's not that I'm becoming motivated or anything, but I've been travelling all over the world while letting my idol career slide, and gaining aaall sorts of experiences in the meantime.

As things stand, I'm in great physical shape, and I'm tough too. That's why, when you consider the fact that the kids here hate adults to the point of attacking them, then—

Tsumugi: —You'd probably be a better choice to deal with those dangerous children than I would, right, Mikejima-kun?

Madara: Yep! Even if they were to physically attack me, I should be able to subdue them without causing them harm—

And if they were to set a trap that would kill Tsumugi-san instantly, I believe I should be able to spot it in advance and stay clear of it.

Natsume: Good griEF. Why does this conversation sound like it should be from a party of adventurers planning to tackle a dungeon full of dangerous monstERS, rather than a conversation among nursery school teachERS?

—————-To be continued——————-

Chapter 6 / Chapter 8

Translator’s Notes: 

Dating sims are otome games (乙女ゲーム) where there's one female protagonist and multiple male love interests. Gal games (ギャルゲー) are the opposite, where there's one male protagonist and multiple female love interests. 

Rafflesia is the world's largest flower, spanning up to 120cm wide. It is a parasitic plant and gives off a smell like rotting flesh. Pretty much a monster flower.

Kaijuu (怪獣) is a Japanese term, referring to giant monsters or creatures, e.g. Godzilla and Mothra which are commonly featured in science fiction and monster movies.

SCP, or Secure, Contain, Protect, is a collaborative creative writing community (Akira is part of it, having written a novel for the fandom.) Subjects of the stories mostly focuses on bizarre humans, monsters, diseases, phenomenon, or artifacts. The SCP Foundation, a fictional organization, detains and researches these entities, assigning them unique case-numbers (which have reached over 7000.)

[bonesandthebees]

I care about Rose! In fact, we started watching house of dragon (only 2 episode so far though) and it constantly makes me think of Rose because you use it as inspiration. Like obviously there’s the coronation scene which reminds me of stars. And there’s the character Willum is sorta kinda inspired by. And it’s an entirely different world, but every time I’m drawn back to Rose wondering how things will play out. (Which is not pressure to finish writing it if you don’t want to. Writer’s block can be a bitch and I get that the motivation for this project has been sucked out, but I just want you to know that I still care, and I’m not the only one.)

Also, I’ve been meaning to start my Ready, Set, Detonate analysis but I keeps getting away from me. I’m not sure there will be much to analyse, but there’s definitely fun details I want to point out. Oh and I am Looking 👀 at the fit/pac tag and kicking my feet. I don’t actually know if they are already in a relationship (I’m sure we’ll find out, but I just loved Fit’s little “Pac’s here?” That man is gone. Oh and I’m so excited for this Tubbo and to read more Bagi and the lore. Just all of it.

Then the original writing is a mood. I keep getting like a few chapters into my story before deciding it’s not good enough or thinking of something else I could do and throwing it all out. It’s this constant loop that never seems to get anywhere even though the story gets more and more fleshed out in my head every time. I think it’s because the opportunities are endless. Like there’s no characters and personalities and dynamics to stick to like there is in fan fiction. It’s free game but that does mean you have to decide everything yourself.

Anyway, best original writing advice I can give is remember the drafting process. There’s going to be a shit ton of drafts, which feels different for you because you’ve been mostly writing stories and posting them as you go, which means some minor or major editing, but leaves you without a chance to do a once over. It’s a sort of pressure to get everything right the first time. Meanwhile, original writing is something you keep close to your chest. There’s different drafting stages ranging from the zero draft (aka excessive daydreaming about all the possibilities) to the final draft (where you just go through and kill all your darlings and pour over ever single word to find the right one).

I’m struggling a lot with the first draft, which is literally just getting words onto a page. It’s a somewhat coherent mess that just allows you to shape the story and its structure so you can work off of that and edit it later on. I don’t know if this actually helps, but yeah, the first draft sucks and then it mostly gets easier. Just write, is kinda shitty advice, but it’s mainly, just get words onto a page, you will get a million chances to fix it, you don’t need to be happy about what you wrote right now.

-🌲

ohhhh I'm so excited you've started watching hotd!! good timing since the second season is going to come out later this year :D I hope you enjoy!! and I'm so happy to hear you're still excited about rose. I definitely want to finish writing it, like I said it's just me worrying about if anyone will bother to read it but a lot of you have said you would so that helps assuage my worries a bit

feel free to send whatever random thoughts you have about ready set detonate you know idc if it's analysis or not I just love seeing peoples reactions!! fit and pac are not in a relationship (yet) in the fic but theres a lot of flirty pining going on lol

god yeah it's so much harder with original fiction because it feels like there's so much pressure. you have too much freedom to do whatever you want so you're constantly second guessing if it's good enough or not. and ofc I know rough drafts are supposed to be shitty but I've tried to hone my skills so that my first draft is always incredibly solid because I rarely have the patience to do heavy edits, but that's with fanfiction. it has to be different with original fiction I know but it's hard to make my brain okay with that. I keep feeling like it needs to be nearly perfect on the first run :( but yeah I'm mostly trying to get words on a page. but then I think back and realize I forgot to mention this or I need to mention more of that etc etc and it's just stressful arghhh

[sometimesraven]

any writing advice for someone writing their first novel? (*cough, cough, aka me*)

<3

Disclaimer: what works for me might not work for you, so feel free to take, twist and scrap whatever you need. I recommend asking/shopping around for ideas and other authors' processes, and it'll take some trial and error before you find what works best for you. But here's how I personally write.

Disclaimer disclaimer: this got real long while I was writing it and I realised how terrifying it must look to a first time writer. Take it step by step, at your own pace. It's not as scary as it looks xx

BEFORE YOU WRITE

(I'm going to be focusing on the story itself, but I'm sure it goes without saying that you should have your characters planned out first)

First things first: have a basic idea of the story beats. It doesn't have to be a Big Old Detailed Outline, just a basic compass to keep you going in the right direction so you're less likely to hit a roadblock. Personally I use the Plot Embryo! Here's my favourite video explaining it:

It's a nice simplified, easy to use tool for plotting. Here's a page from one of my journals breaking it down in a way I can personally come back to and understand:

hopefully you can read my shitty handwriting but I've put a little breakdown in the image description.

I then use these prompts to scribble down the basic idea of what journey I want my main character/s to go through, and use that as my blueprint for when I write.

WHILE WRITING

First things first: if you're like me, and seeing errors or plot holes in the stuff you've already written will bug you forever, do what I do and NEVER READ BACK OVER YOUR WORK WHILE IT'S STILL IN PROGRESS. Sometimes I have to skim back to remember where I am but as a rule, once something is written it's no longer my problem until the whole thing is done.

Don't worry about chapters and other such structure. I use the plot embryo to split things up so I know where I am, but otherwise chapters and scenes Do Not Exist until the editing process. Here's the "chapters" of a WIP as an example (this is a slightly different embryo adapted for romance but you get the idea)

Then just keep going until you're done. You don't even have to do it in order. If I'm stuck on a scene, I'll just put a big word in all caps that I can ctrl+f easily (usually either ELEPHANT or PENIS sklfsgskjf) and move on to the next bit I have ideas for, then come back to it later.

This first finished story will be bad. It'll be rough, patchy, full of holes. THAT'S OKAY. This is what we sometimes call the "Zero Draft". The draft that literally exists just to get the story out of your head to make the whole thing easier.

EDITING

Warning: editing is the longest, hardest part of writing a novel. Your book will go through several different versions, be scrapped and torn apart and put back together again. This is what makes the story great.

This is where every author differs, and there's a whole bunch of ways this can go. Personally, the first thing I do once the zero/first draft is done is put it down. Don't look at it, don't touch it, don't think about it. For at least a month. This allows you to come back to it with fresh eyes that haven't been staring at the same words for so long they just hate the whole thing regardless (and you WILL HATE IT. This is normal).

Then, the first thing I do is read back over the whole thing, adding notes and reactions as if I am a reader. If a part of what I've written makes me go 🥺🥺🥺, I'll write that down. If something could be worded better, I write that down. If you think a certain thing that you would put in the tags of a tumblr post, write it down. Treat it like you're someone else's beta reader, note down every negative, every positive, every ???? part. This will give you an idea of what is and isn't working. Here's some of my funniest notes from my zero draft of book 2 just to prove how literal I'm being here:

Then, and this is a controversial move that doesn't work for everyone but it works for my autistic adhd self-loathing brain: WRITE THE WHOLE THING AGAIN. FROM SCRATCH.

This sounds daunting and it is, but you've already written it once, so the second time is easier. Usually I don't worry about making this perfect because again, this is just another draft. I'll copy from my zero draft anything that I think is fine and write new bits or scrap bits as I go.

Sometimes, the story is fine. Sometimes this is an easy refining process. However, if you're anything like me, sometimes the whole thing is messy and you'll realise halfway through rewriting that the whole thing needs restructuring. Do not despair. This is normal.

I'm using book 2 of the Truth Saga as an example for this. I got 40k words into rewriting it before I realised that the reason it felt so 'off' was because the whole thing was sagging in the middle, characters were being left behind, and the whole thing needed restructuring.

It was a rough realisation, as Reckless Truth (book 1) was such a comparatively easy process. I only did three drafts and didn't have to restructure much. Book 2 is giving me so much grief and I'm gonna slap it when it's done.

If you hit this roadblock, it might be time to do what all mood writers hate. Detailed plotting. Go right back to basics. Write down every plot point in detail this time. Act like you're spoiling the whole entire story for someone. Have you ever watched a movie or book review where the reviewer does a full breakdown of the plot? Do that. In this you'll find out exactly where you're going wrong and be able to tweak and fix it. If you have more than one main character, I recommend doing a separate plot thing for each of them and one for the book as a whole so that you can make sure their emotional arc is getting the attention it deserves.

Then, when you're happy with the new plot you've written based on the draft of your story, go back and try to rewrite it again. If this sounds like a nightmare, it is. But it's worth the work, I promise.

From there it's a case of rinse and repeat, reread, rewrite, re-edit until you're mostly happy with what you've got. Then send it to beta readers and editors to tear apart even more and put it back together until you think it's ready! I also recommend joining some writing discords, watching streams or videos about writing, just research research research basically

Happy writing!

[gettingfrilly]

gimme eddy for 2, 3, 6, 14, 21 & 22!

my boy

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

TRAUMA >:) And he's an asshole because of his trauma, but also not a villain tho. Media tends to make abused characters either evil 4ever or these heroic saints who would never let something so cruel befall another. In reality, trauma really complicates a person's development and personality, especially prolonged trauma in early childhood when you're supposed to be learning how to form healthy attachments. Some people are genetically predisposed to be resilient to trauma, some go on to continue the cycle of abuse for the rest of their lives, and most fall somewhere in the middle, like Eddy does.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

Canonically attracted to Nazz :/ I'm very attached to my strictly gay Eddy hc lol.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

I hate being bored so god damn much and I'll die if people stop paying attention to me.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

I know nothing about fashion lol, this is actually something I'm struggling with in the fic I'm writing (chapter one draft is done yippee.) I want to get across that Eddy is a stylish dude who cares a great deal about putting himself together and it's hard to do that when my fashion knowledge is zilch. I once spent an afternoon researching fancy sneakers that were released in 2003 for Eddy to wear in my fic. Would they be Eddy's taste in canon? Fuck if I know. But he's wearing them. So yeah. Closest I can get to describing his aesthetic is butch gay guy who wants to look hip and happening. Probably tries to emulate a lot of stuff that was fashionable in the 70s, but a little more modernized. Maybe. Probably. Guy's a disco queen.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I don't like writing anything it just brings me pain. I only keep writing because the pain of writing is slightly less painful than the pain of not writing.

Other than that, my favorite thing to write Eddy doing is bickering with Double D. I try my best to make his comebacks as witty and quick as they are in the show. I don't like writing Eddy's... thoughts? Or well... doing descriptive imagery in his POV. I typically use 3rd person POV limited, and whenever I'm writing descriptive imagery from Eddy's POV, I feel like my prose is a bit too. Well. Frilly, lol. With some big words Eddy probably doesn't know. And I'm not actually sure if that's okay or not when doing 3rd person limited, because like, Eddy isn't the narrator, I am, but he is the POV, so... bleh. I wish I had a formal education in creative writing. But I had to go and be practical and become a counselor instead.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

I loooooove everyone's different interpretations of Eddy's baby queer era. The denial, the disgust, the fear, the drama... so fucking good. Every time I read someone else's take on it, I'm like, aw man, that's how I shoulda done it!

I don't like torture porn with Eddy. Anything that goes into detail about the smack downs Eddy received as a child is booooring to me. We know he got the crap beat out of him, now let's see how it affects him later in life!

ty for giving me so many numbers so I could rant about my boy ;-;

[dangancode]

Rain Code Chapter 0, and why its Twist F*cking Sucks.

This is going to be the start of a series I call "My Gripes with Master Detective Archives: Rain Code". Unfortunately, they are quite numerous, but I figure it's better for me to split them up rather then write one massive post complaining about it.

Because yeah, I did the writer's equivalent of a rage quit on this game, and it breaks my heart. Not only because the writing doesn't work, but because IT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO.

And what better place to start this then the Massacre on the Amaterasu Express, and why shock value is not good writing.

Spoilers for Chapter 0 of Rain Code, and also for Danganronpa 1, 2, V3, and UDG.

Right off the bat, we're introduced to five other characters besides our infamous protagonist, Yuma Kokohead. Aphex Logan, Melami Goldmine, Pucci Lavmin, Zilch Alexander, and Zange Eraser. They're introduced, provide a bit of exposition to Yuma and the player, and their dynamics seem pretty solid so far. Each of them has room to develop, there's hints that Pucci might be a love interest of sorts to Yuma, and some of even show off cool powers that definitely might come in handy in later cases. But then what happens?

They're all f*cking killed. They last twenty minutes before every single one of them, including the culprit, all die off-screen.

SO YEAH. IF YOU'RE ANYTHING AT ALL LIKE ME, YOU'RE MAD. Not upset, not devastated seeing characters you like die.

F*CKING. MAD.

What Kodaka seems to have forgotten when writing Chapter 0, is that there's a reason the deaths in the Danganronpa series work. THEY EXPLICITLY PUT THE IDEA OF MURDER INTO YOUR HEAD. From the very moment Monokuma is introduced in DR1, he says directly, without any sugarcoating, that the only way the characters can get out of permanent imprisonment is to kill someone and get away with it.

The writers don't say who will die (ignoring the whole 11037 thing), because they don't NEED TO. They know the player is smart enough to use context clues and figure out, "Hey, Sayaka and Makoto have been getting awfully chummy, chances are she's probably kicking the bucket." It makes sense, there's payoff, and the moments leading up to that are meant to build connection between the player and the characters.

WHAT PAYOFF IS THERE IN RAIN CODE CHAPTER 0'S TWIST?!

There is none, because Kodaka forgot to give us, the player, any semblance of a hint aside from the chapter's title that maaaaaybe these characters aren't gonna live much longer so try to avoid getting attached.

And no, saying "it's made by the same people who made Danganronpa so it's on you for not expecting that" does not suffice here. Even if Rain Code were established to be part of the same universe or whatnot (it's not), why didn't they give us a bit more warning?

WHAT IS THE POINT OF INTRODUCING THESE CHARACTERS IN THE FIRST PLACE IF THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE WITHIN TWENTY MINUTES OF MEETING THEM?

The short answer is: shock value.

Take a look at Kodaka's writing, and you'll find that he adores shock value. Between the protagonist swap in V3, the divisive "it's a lie!!" ending, and a handful of deaths throughout the series (Taka, Hiyoko, Yuta Asahina), and it becomes entirely clear that payoff isn't his top priority. It's pulling the rug from under our feet, watching us land on the floor, and when we say, "WTF Kodaka?!", his response is probably, "IDK what to tell you fam, you really should've seen that coming."

No, my dude. Of course I didn't see this twist coming. Because you did a terrible job with your foreshadowing. You introduced five characters whose only purpose is to improve your marketing by showcasing a bigger cast on the game's cover art, vaguely hinted at potential development in later chapters, and then did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WITH THEM.

As a writer, I despise shock value. Not hinting at a twist properly beforehand almost never works, and when it does, it falls in line with what we know about the story and the stakes. But by the time the stakes are set up in Rain Code, Aphex and the others are already gone, so their deaths don't really matter.

If Aphex, Melami, Pucci, Zilch and Zange didn't exist, THIS STORY WOULD'VE PANNED OUT THE EXACT SAME WAY. Nobody mentions these characters again anyway, SO WHY DO THEY EVEN EXIST?

Oh, and I've barely discussed the culprit himself, "Zilch-Alexander-but not-really-it's-just-some-unnamed-hitman-who-looks-and-sounds-exactly-like-him."

You mean to tell me that the real Zilch just happened to look EXACTLY LIKE THIS RANDOM HITMAN? A hitman who, much later in the game, is revealed to be old pals with Yomi Hellsmile, the symbolic leader of Amaterasu?

You're telling me this isn't actually a hitman, he's an insider from Amaterasu who managed to not only get out of Kanai Ward, but only left to kill four detectives, use some intricately designed train to pull off their murders, and then frame the trainee who just happened to have amnesia so his alibi is already pretty shaky?

You're telling me he got past all of the security regulations that Kanai Ward had in place preventing people from getting in or out, and instead of taking this opportunity to spread Amaterasu's influence, HE WENT STRAIGHT BACK THERE AND EXPECTED TO BE GREETED WITH OPEN ARMS?!

Are you starting to get why I have issues with this chapter?

It would've been so much simpler to say "Zilch was bribed by Amaterasu to betray the WDO". Melami or Aphex could even mention something along the lines of, "Not all detectives care about the truth. Some only care about lining their own pockets and making themselves look better in the eyes of the WDO." Which would make it easier for us to understand that detectives don't always have everyone's best interests in mind.

And if it's absolutely necessary for the sake of the plot, to fuel Yuma's desire to solve injustices and learn how to use the Mystery Labyrinth to uncover the truth, why can't it just be ONE DEATH INSTEAD OF FOUR?

I discussed this with a friend of mine on Discord, but rewriting this chapter so that only Zange dies would be incredibly easy. Zange realizes their drinks are drugged, and when everyone else falls asleep, he confronts Zilch. Of course it ends badly, and by the time the others realize he's dead, Zilch's status as the traitor becomes even more apparent. One Mystery Labyrinth later, and Swank kills Zilch for blowing cover, saying something like, "You said this would go off without a hitch." It would make Amaterasu seem more like a threat, since they're willing to go to such extreme lengths to compromise the WDO's involvement in Kanai Ward. Aphex, Melami and Pucci would all join the rest of the detective gang along with Yuma, and the story would proceed as normal.

Do you see how easy that was? I'm not trying to say this would've been better than how it actually played out, but I certainly would've enjoyed the game a bit more, at least.

Anyways, I digress. Rants are exhausting, but I definitely feel better getting all of this off my chest. Of course, you're free to agree or disagree, but I'd really prefer not to be called an egomaniac just because I disliked Kodaka's galaxy brain storytelling on this one.

Have a great rest of your day or night, I'm gonna go lay down now. :')

[ginjithewanderer]

Scout! Polka Dots — Summer-Colored Youths — Chapter 8

Writer: Umeda Chitose || Season: Summer Character appearances: Tetora, Hinata, Hokuto

Tetora helps Hinata take care of the fields at school. As thanks, Hinata invites him to go to a summer festival together, and along the way, they meet lots of people…

Proofread by @mankaissengen

Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8

"This is the sign that I've grown enough to make my own summer festival memories...♪"

Translation under the cut

[A while later. At the original summer festival venue]

Tetora, Hinata: —And, goal!

Hinata: Huff...I was a little faster, wasn't I?

Tetora: The tips of both of our shoes got through the torii gate at the same time, I saw it happen. Phew...

Tetora: ...That said. I meant to get back sooner, but it's gotten pretty late, huh.

Tetora: Even after guiding that old lady, we ended up helping that lost child and finding and returning people's lost items to them. I feel like...today really was a day full of helping others.

Hinata: It was. You really helped me out, too.

Hinata: ...I wonder if everyone went home after all. I did send them messages every now and then, but I couldn't really give them the details of the situation, could I?

Tetora: So you said things like "You guys can look around without us" and "It looks like we're gonna be late, so it's okay if you go home."

Tetora: You were the only one sending any messages, so the others must have been worried. They couldn't even get any replies in.

Hinata: I hope Yuuta-kun isn't mad at me~. Your big brother was helping people out; it's true, y'know~?

Tetora: I'll explain everything with you, so don't worry. Besides, everyone is kind, so I don't think they'll be angry?

Tetora: ...Mm~♪ That said, something smells great! I've been moving around so much, I'm starving!

Tetora: I could've accepted the kind offer from the old lady and her family and had something to eat at the other shrine, but...

Tetora: In the end, I wanted to enjoy the summer festival I had originally decided to come to~. Hinata-kun, what do you wanna eat first?

Hinata: ...Heeey. Tetsu-kun, it's like you're not even bothered that you got here late, too.

Hinata: If anything, you kinda look refreshed.

Tetora: Hmm~? If I look refreshed, it's because I'm feeling a sense of accomplishment, I guess?

Tetora: If we hadn't decided to come to this summer festival, I wouldn't have been able to help the people who needed it or make those people smile.

Tetora: I want this summer festival to be nothing but fun memories. I was just thinking about how until we finally got here, I fulfilled all my duties ♪

Tetora: ...But, I gotta admit...

Hinata: ?

Tetora: I really can't help but feel bad that you ended up being so late because of me...

Hinata: HUH~? You're still on that?

Tetora: You wanted to enjoy the summer festival with Yuuta-kun, didn't you? But in the end, you couldn't spend a single second together, right?

Hinata: It was my own decision to join you, and I told you I couldn't have fun unless you were with me, right?

Hinata: It's not your fault we got back late, either. If anything, don't you think it's because we were together that we were able to get back here now?

Tetora: Even if you say that, I can't just shake the feeling~...At least let me do something for you.

Hinata: You're a stubborn one, huh. Well, you're the guy who wouldn't even let me treat him to shaved ice...

Tetora: Ugh. Hinata-kun, you're not holding a grudge against me for that, are you?

Hinata: I'm used to doing things "for" people~. But with you, you're usually the one doing things "for me".

Hinata: Hmm~, what's something I want you to do for me...

Hinata: I know. I had trouble thinking of something, but how about "that"?

Tetora: By "that," do you mean the yo-yo fishing stall? Do you want a water balloon?

Hinata: Yup. Catching yo-yo balloons with a "koyori" string made of twisted paper is surprisingly hard. Do your best until you catch one, and show me how cool you are ♪

Tetora: Ossu, that's no problem!

Tetora: ...Speaking of which, yo-yo fishing is so nostalgic~. The multicolored water balloons floating in the pool look just as pretty now as they did back then.

Hinata: Back then?

Tetora: Back when I was a kid. My parents both work, so back in those days, they were always super busy, but...

Tetora: They took me to a summer festival once.

Tetora: We walked through the crowd, holding hands...They got me yakisoba from a stall, and bought me a mask, too.

Tetora: As we walked through the light from the other stalls, I saw a yo-yo fishing pool. I begged my parents for one of those balloons.

Tetora: ...But back then, I couldn't catch one for myself. I kept recklessly plunging the koyori into the pool, and it ripped pretty fast.

Tetora: I don't remember clearly whether the man running the stall gave me one for free or my parents caught it for me, but...

Tetora: The only thing that's still clear in my heart is the memory of walking home bouncing that water balloon. I just remembered how much fun it was to spend the summer festival with my family.

Hinata: I see. So that's why you—

Tetora: Ahaha. I don't know if that's why or not myself, either.

Tetora: I just want everyone to have fun and smile, too...

Tetora: I wonder if that feeling was born from my childhood self, with more happy memories of that summer festival than he could carry.

Hinata: ...

Tetora: Okay, what color should I aim for~? Red, blue, green, yellow...The black ones look elegant and cool, too!

Tetora: (...I'm clumsy, so unlike someone who's more skilled at things, it's hard for me to get everything I want.)

Tetora: (But still. I'm not the kid who charged into things with brute force alone and failed anymore.)

Tetora: —I can think hard about things one at a time.

Tetora: This way, I can start to take hold of things!

Tetora: Look, Hinata-kun. It's the prettiest water balloon of them all.

Tetora: This is the sign that I've grown enough to make my own summer festival memories...♪

Tetora: Just listening to the splish-splash of the water makes me feel refreshed~. Nom, nom.

Hinata: The man running the stall was so kind, too~. He said you looked so cool fishing out the water balloon, he decided to give me one for free. Nom, nom.

Tetora: We've had cotton candy, crepes, and candy apples. Hinata-kun, how's the choco-banana?

Hinata: It's super delicious. Bananas and chocolate go together extremely well...♪

Hinata: I should've bought a strawberry one, too. Maybe I'll get another one later...

Tetora: That'd be fine, wouldn't it? You should enjoy the food from the stalls as much as your pocket money will allow you to today ☆

Hokuto: —You two, you came?

Hinata: Hidaka-senpai? Good work todaaay ♪

Tetora: We just met earlier, but hey again. I took that old lady safely to where she needed to go with Hinata-kun ♪

Hokuto: With Hinata-kun...I see, so you really did meet up outside the shrine.

Hokuto: By the way, did you meet up with Yuuta-kun and the others?

Tetora: Yuuta-kun and the others? You mean Midori-kun and Shinobu-kun are still at the shrine, too?

Hokuto: Yeah. All three of them are in the grounds. You were originally going to meet up with them, weren't you?

Hinata: Dammit! Then we gotta go right away!

Tetora: Yeah! Hidaka-senpai, thank you for telling us!

Hokuto: You too, Nagumo-kun and Hinata-kun. I see you're safely enjoying the summer festival.

Hinata: Hehe, the fun has just begun, though!

Tetora: We plan to enjoy this as much as we can until the last second! From now on, we're gonna make more of the best memories with everyone...♪

[END]

---

Finally finished! Thank you so much for being with me as I've translated this (my first full gacha story!) and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have. See you next time!

[thelov3lybookworm]

Hey! Can I ask a few questions? Imma ask my every fav author these.

1. How long have you been Writing?

2. Are you planning to make a profession out of this or just doing it for fun?

3. Who or which character do you prefer to write more for?

4. What do you do when you're out of ideas?

5. Lastly, Will plz give an advice for the young writers out that.

oh thanks for asking babe, feel free to send these in whenever you feel like it ❣️

How long have you been Writing?

so i have been writing for, i would say, a few years now. i think i started writing very early on, but those were very short and weird stories (i was 9, what do i even expect) but i got really serious about writing in 2021. i began to write my original works in the notepad of my tablet from then onwards lol (still havent finished😬)

i only started posting the fanfics on tumblr in june though

Are you planning to make a profession out of this or just doing it for fun?

i honestly want to make a profession out of this but as of now its just for funsies. but i do plan to publish my works later on if i get confident enough ❣️

posting fics here is also for some practising and exercising so i can improve my skills enough to actually do something with it.

Who or which character do you prefer to write more for?

i dont have a problem with writing for any character, though i feel like it is easier for me to get into the mindset suitable for writing characters i have a crush on, ya know?

for example, i love Az, Eris and Lucien (maybe also tam 👀), so its easier for me to write romantic stuff for them. But as for Cassian, (or rhys) i think of them like people i would like to have as a bestie or brother irl, so it takes me some time to actually get ideas for their stories

What do you do when you're out of ideas?

i just go to bed early and lie awake till 3 am trying to come up with something 🫠

or i simply scroll on youtube shorts until i find a random ass movie clip, and use it as inspo

Lastly, Will plz give an advice for the young writers out that.

okay so it is sooo hard to come up with something, but i would say to not hold back or stop posting or not post what you write at all.

you have to be very very vulnerable to be posting something you will very likely be judged for on the internet, where some people like to be mean for no reason, uncaring that a real person is reading their comments and probably getting hurt.

but there are good people too, who appreciate what you do, and so for them, and yourself, please post that fic you've been hiding in your basement for years, even if you think no one's gonna read it.

(i never thought i would post anything anywhere, but then reading stories from the amazing people in here, i posted the first chapter of a fic on wattpad (no one actually read it, which discouraged me a little) but then i decided to try tumblr, and here we are 🥹❣️)

[cricketsatnight]

hi there, i just wanted to let you know that a writer named errantrue posted a story on AO3 called Occupied in the olivia benson/elliot stabler tag that has plagiarized from the mile high chapter of your fic (two days later) the hours in-between and after. she forgot to replace a "Joyce", which led me to search the jopper tag for mile high fics, which is how i found yours.

Hey anon!

First off, thank you SO much for bringing this to my attention. You are a true fanfiction hero. (Seriously like... I want to buy you a coffee. May you be blessed always.) I know these things happen, but I have never had it so BLATANTLY happen to me before.

This fucking sucks. New milestone moment as a fic writer, I guess? (That I know of. Yeesh.)

Here's the fic in question on AO3. I imagine it won't be up for much longer, because I will be commenting there. Here is my fic. (The plagiarized scene is in Chapter 2.)

I saved their fic, also saved it in screen shots... what a headache.

You know, typically, I try not to engage in... well, being pissed off online.

But lol.

Since you're following me, and have been since October 2022, hey @errantrue - what gives? This is so disrespectful. I'm glad you fucked up with plagiarizing my work by leaving Joyce's name. Incredible clown shoes moment for you! (Joyce Byers, stay winning.) Moreover, I'm sincerely glad there are readers on AO3 that care enough to look into these things when something is off. (Anon, stay winning.)

Why would you follow me, assuming because you liked my work, and do something so rude and uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh terrible? Shitty? I'm at a loss for words, think you could help?

I do this as a hobby. I do this for free, when I have the time, because I love writing. I share what I write in fanfiction with a lot of trust: all fanfic writers do. I trust readers to simply, in good faith, enjoy that I want to make the fictional people kiss. Not to rip my efforts off.

Everyone is capable of writing. I implore you to write what you want, but with your own fucking words. Not just bare minimum changes and tweaks. (Especially when you're copying and pasting a different character's name.) I think about how many of us get anxious wondering if we are writing things too alike to someone we admire, or the hellish what ifs about if there was a catchy phrase or descriptor we picked up in a story years ago, etc etc. These things do happen. I would never care much for or about that; creation is... a lot of fine-tuning and stumbling.

Don't do this.

I get sad when I am on a hiatus (like right now) because fanfic-writing is a beloved hobby of mine. Really one of the few creative pursuits I have that capitalism can't suck the joy from. Shit like this makes me more likely to extend a hiatus than come back smiling, though I know that feeling will pass.

I'm posting this and calling you out PRIMARILY because I am pissed off but also because chances are I'm not the only person you've done this to. Barring you don't panic-delete off of the internet, maybe other writers will figure that out when they comb over your fics.

Putting the passage the anon mentioned (and another) behind a KR link because they are NSFW passages from E-rated fics.

(This is my fic.)

(This is "their" fic. Fucking lol, where did Joyce come from???)

(My fic again.)

("Their" fic.)

[victoriousscarf]

For the "get to know your fic author!" 2. 13. 69.? Also I swear I didn't go automatically to question 69 I was genuinely interested in that and only noticed it's the funny number afterwards :'3

2. Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

Listen I'm lucky if I have an outline that's just a list of "things I can't forget before the story moves on." I will have a vague notion of "these are 3-4 scenes I need to do nextish" but always with room for them to go off the rails or somewhere totally different.

13. what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

I mean I feel like the obvious one is just write. Like don't stop, don't edit, just write and figure it out later. You'll have a lot of fuckery doing this but you'll also /write./

Also a more obscure bit that I think about sometimes: when I was in 6th grade our teacher made us do these worksheets for everything we wrote where we would have to write down the first word of every line and every paragraph and then like, what type of word it was (noun/verb/etc). I hated doing it at the time but I think about it a lot while writing like whoops too many "he's" in a row lets mix it up.

69. What work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?

I mean, the shit I wrote when I was 13 is the most basic answer lmao. I semi-recently went through and yanked it all off ff.net onto Ao3 and took so much mental damage just from copying and pasting it.

But also more generally as a creator you're always going to have things you regret, or things you thought sounded cool at the time that now make you want to die when you think about (Like sorta messing up Nick Fury back in 2012 because it was easy to make him a bit of an antagonistic dick and in hindsight that's not really right but the whole fandom really turned it into a Phil vs Nick thing for a while and the first time I tried to write a cross-dressing character who was probably more of a drag queen than transgender but good lord someone should have taken that away from me a decade ago.)

So I'm not giving you specific fics but like as concepts I have things that looking back make me hide behind my fingers but also you're always gonna end up with bits like that as a writer. It's a good thing when you can look back and be like, wow that was a choice. It means you've grown and will probably do better next time.

[hedgehog-moss]

It’s always embarrassing when a character in a book is a writer and publishes a book that you’re told is incredibly well-written and a best-seller and you get a suspicious amount of fawning over how brilliant the character’s book is and how clever the title is and how glowing the reviews are, until you realise you’ve been ambushed by an insidious form of self-insert fanfiction in what looked like serious literature. I once read a book in which a character was writing a book whose plot was “structured like a cathedral” and I was like well that sounds nice, I wish I was reading that book instead. It’s fine to have a character who’s a successful writer but as a rule it’s not a good idea to frustrate your reader by making her feel like the book you wrote is inferior to the fictional book

[sleepyjuniper]

U

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

First of all, as a caveat, I'd like to say that I don't actually spend a lot of time reading fic. I have read lots of fics, over the span of the last 5 years, but I don't really follow writers for just their writing, I tend to be drawn to stories that are unique and interesting to me. If I get brave enough to try reading something, I usually get sucked in. Also, this post got long, so I made a read more. Fic/author appreciation under the cut!

1: So, obviously, I'd say @thedemonsurfer! Permission Slip is the only fic I'm fully invested in, since writing for Security Breach is harder when I'm thinking about different fics that have different scenarios/interpretations than mine.

And what a fic Permission Slip is. I can tell they care a lot about the story they're telling and the characters they're portraying. Their writing has the perfect balance of tenderness, humor, and tension, to the point where I can go from tearing up in one scene, to giggling hysterically in the next. I actually adore how they do humor; it's not just the dialogue, it's the prose too, they have HILARIOUS descriptions for things in the characters' inner monologue. AND I also enjoy how they're flipping between perspectives like in my own fic. (These were both being written before we even knew about the other person's fic, which makes the coincidences all the more hilarious)

I like seeing the differences between Gregory's weary distrust, and Sun's nervousness about skirting the rules. Also Moon's frustration and discomfort that he's apparently constantly feeling while affected by the glitch. Very compelling. Getting to see inside every characters' head is a real treat.

My favorite scenes from the latest chapter are when Sun screams when the map bot jumpscares Gregory instead of Gregory screaming, and then Gregory later getting scared by the wet floor sign bot. Those two scenes seem like they go hand in hand, and I think about them all the time.

2. Bam! I'll say why I enjoy @bamsara 's writing. Solar Lunacy is phenomenal, and it makes sense that it got as popular as it did. What really drew me in was how clearly I could picture Sun and Moon doing the things they wrote about in the early chapters. They were unfamiliar, strange and uncanny, and still are, but we're getting to know them better. Moon is perfectly unsettling, having some of my favorite dialogue scenes and descriptions. I love how gremlin-like he is. Sun is also interesting; he's obviously more talkative, but he seems almost as threatening as Moon, due to how much he hides. I'm loving the depth to the characters in SL and the subtle hints and foreshadowing Bam puts throughout the fic. Very very clever writing. My favorite chapter so far is certainly 7 (because I haven't read chapter 8 yet kjhdsfhdfhgdsfg) And all of Moon's shenanigans were a delight. I love the visual of him sitting on the rafters just out of the light's reach 👌

3. @sycopomp, the author of Our Orbit is Elliptical, or OOIE as we like to call it. I was excited for the fic just by the concept-- an x reader fic where they DON'T immediately like you? Monnie really popped off with the concept, so I have to give praise to her as well- @madame-mongoose you're a mastermind btw <3

OOIE has the most interesting writing style I've ever seen. It fluidly drifts between the reader's perspective and the DCA, and it is CHILLING. The way Sun/Moon address the reader as "you" when it's from their perspective is really cool, it makes it feel more personal somehow. That first chapter is AMAZING, and I can't wait to see where it goes from there. There were so many times where I read a part where Sun was being mean and just dropped my fucking jaw. You know that kind of shocked gasp you make when you read something surprising? Like when you're reading OOIE? It has the BEST pettiness in it, and I love it so much. I was floored. Also, my favorite part is when Moon realizes the reader is about to make an even bigger mess with the ball pit machine, and just doesn't say anything and watches it happen. Dick move, 100/10

There! That's 3 of my favorite fic writers. Dear god help me I've been writing this for 2 hours. I'm never doing this again

Anyone not mentioned here is because I either didn't have room, or I haven't read/finished reading your fics! I'm so sorry, it WILL continue </3

[eternally-lame]

✨✨Writeblr Intro✨✨

Hi! I’m new to writeblr and I hope to become more involved with the writing community on here!

I’m a university student majoring in Archaeology which of course means I’m obsessed with everything old and ancient, which can be seen in a lot of my stories (*cough* time travel *cough*). I’ve been in love with making up stories and characters since I was little but I never really thought of myself as a writer. Honestly, I didn’t even think about writing my ideas down until this past winter when I started using Wattpad again. I found some amazing stories (shoutout to @screamingatanemptyroom) that inspired me to start writing and now I can’t seem to stop.

Anyways, here are a couple of my stories in the works✨

Introverted University student Evelyn Chandler has been enlisted by her history Professor to travel back in time to 1890s New York to gather firsthand information from the past. When Evelyn is betrayed by one of her team mates, she suffers brain damage and is left to navigate the past without any idea of where (or when) she is from. With the help of an awkward detective, she fights her way through oppression, a corrupt government organization, and a dangerous serial killer who seems hellbent to have Evelyn by their side.

—————————————

“This could go one of several ways:

1. We could get there successfully, complete the mission and come home.

2. The machine could blow up killing us all in the process.

Or 3. We could end up somewhere completely different wearing our asses as hats.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?”

——————————————

Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery, Romance.

Progress: 24 chapters (not published)

*My first story ever and it’s my pride and joy

Emilia Rosewell is a normal, high school hating teenager who wants nothing more than to graduate without too much drama. Unfortunately, an attractive new guy mysteriously sweeps into town and ruins her plans.

While vampire romances have never been an interest to her, Emilia finds herself in the middle of a magical world of bloodsucking hotties. Unbeknownst to them, she's not going down without a fight. She'll have a normal life, even if it means defanging a couple thousand immortals along side a brooding vampire hunter to get it.

————————————

"This is what I am, Emilia. I'm a monster." He whispered.

I thought for a moment, stunned but also realizing the true weight of the situation.

"Damn straight you are."

"Wha—" he began but I cut him off, justifiably enraged by this new information.

"You've been asking me out, telling me you're in love with me, and this whole time you were an old perv in a younger body!?" I shouted, pointing an accusatory finger. "It's extremely apparent that you're a monster, just not in the way you thought."

———————————-

Genre: Paranormal fiction

Progress: Mostly major scenes, no full chapters

When Ella Reed is transported back in time to the Medieval era, she is taken prisoner by the royal guard. This past, she soon finds out, is far from what she learned in history class. Unless she missed the unit about dragons, magic, and dangerous sorcerers who tempt your morals.

Will Ella ever get back home or will she be stuck in this strange new world forever?

————————————

There was noise coming from in front of me, like something big was running through the trees. The unmistakable sound of an animal came closer.

Is that a freaking horse!? What kind of a budget do these guys have?

I darted to to the side of the foot path hoping the trees would give me enough cover. I dove behind a large bush and hid there for a moment waiting for the large animal to pass. No matter how good I was at track and field I cannot outrun a damn horse.

Two seconds later, a horse carrying a rather large man with a sword drawn zoomed passed. A sword. What the hell does he need an actual sword for? Cutting large vegetables? I wonder if he has a license for that.

—————————————

Genre:Fantasy

Progress: The first two chapters are out on Wattpad now and I’m working on updating soon (can be found here)

Danger lurks within the confines of normal society; corrupt law enforcement, secret organizations with hidden agendas, and human experiments with horrific outcomes.

Snarky and chaotic Nora soon finds herself enthralled in this hidden world and gives her captors a run for their money. Right when she thought all hope was lost he shows up, an infuriatingly attractive new scientist who seems hellbent on her release but she can't seem to pinpoint his motive.

Maybe she could use him to her advantage or she might just get more than she bargained for.

—————————————-

I occupied myself by making noises with my mouth, the only entertaining thing I could think of that doubled as an annoyance to the good doctor over there.

After a particularly loud noise one of the guards snapped his head towards me. "Oh my God, do you ever shut up!"

I took a sharp intake of breath and pretended to ponder on it a moment. "Nope," I said popping the 'p' and continued making the noises.

Maybe I was acting like an annoying brat but I'm not about to be a star patient in this hell hole.

If I have to deal with their bullshit then I'll make damn sure they have to deal with mine.

—————————————

Genre: Fiction, humour

Progress: 4 chapters posted on Wattpad so far (can be found here)

Elara has everything; wealthy parents, a gorgeous fiancé, and her dream job all lined up for her perfect future. But of course not all is as it seemed. Her parents treated her like a stranger, her fiancé was an arrogant prick, and her dream job only cemented her further into this miserable life.

When her fiancé publicly breaks off their engagement for another women, Elara’s life comes crumbling down around her, so she goes to the one place she felt safe; the forest clearing where she and her friend used to play as a child.

But since when was there a glowing lake here and why the hell does the guy guarding it look so familiar?

————————————

"You can't go in there," he said, though he didn’t make any move to stop me.

"Really? Cause last time I checked this is a free country."

"There will be consequences that—“

"Oh spare me the lecture! everything has consequences, the only question is whether you have anything to lose." I stared at the glowing water, an instinctive, ancient desire welling up inside me. "And as it just so happens, I no longer do."

———————————-

Genre: Fantasy/supernatural fiction

Progress: obsessed with the storyline but no complete chapters

✨So far these are all the formulated plots but I have a lot more that I’m still forming, so there will probably be updates!✨

Thanks for reading!