#cause like yeah i am a mediocre writer but I do not post lol

[haas-been]

not me being completely stuck on this life as we know it rewrite idea where daniel comes into shared possession of a child (thanks to the unfortunate demise of his friends, rip) with someone his absolute polar opposite and then having to struggle with being a parent not the cool fun uncle while also falling in love.

[lochrannn]

For the fic writer meme...damn, those are all questions I'd like to ask! Okay: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - and one of your choosing, if you want. :D

You glutton XP (Also thanks for DMing me those [insert fic]s)

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

[AU-gust | August Writing Challenge (29)]

I'm skipping the first one, cause it doesn't really count XD

Established Relationship (16)

Canon-Typical Violence (16)

One Shot (12)

Porn with Feelings (12)

Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot (11)

I'm surprised at "Canon-Typical Violence" and not at all surprised at everyting else XP

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

Porn with feelings definitely is one. Generally, because I've only ever written for Diego/Lila and they're a horny tactile pair, I've got a lot of furtive looks and needy kisses happening. Also, considering in canon, very little has stopped them from just being very in love with each other all the time, even when inconvenient, and being pretty open about it, I like to throw a wrench in in my fic and make them suffer while being in love. ( •̀ᴗ•́ )

4. What detail in The Night me and Your Mama met are you really proud of?

In the second to last chapter Diego and Lila have a neighbourhood BBQ going on and it’s all very domestic and nice but it’s told from Lila’s POV (3rd person, but ykwim) and she is at the same time treating the whole thing like a spy operation, excelling at normie conversation, scoffing at clichés like housewives getting off while sitting on the washing machine, while at the same time (unreliable pov character that she is) she’s actually really in to all of it. She loves watching Diego being neighbourhood dad, and how much fun their kid is having (when she’s not upset about toppled ice-cream), actually getting off on top of the washing machine (okay, this one might be helped by the fact that Diego is there XP). And it’s just, I enjoy sticking to these character traits that I assume about them, for instance Lila being constantly unsure about whether she’s cut out for normal life, but not going route one with them.

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about Kiss with a Fist? Answer it now!

I think I’d like to be asked some variation on whether I think they’re doing okay.

So, in Kiss with a fist, LIla’s having a bad day and then comes in to Diego’s gym to do a self defense class, some things go wrong her frustration spikes and after Diego is being a bit of a dick they end up having an actually hand to hand combat fight which ends with them making out and more. At this point they have an established relationship and I wrote this after s2.

And my answer to are they doing okay here, despite the fact that Lila lets out her frustration in a fight with Diego is, yeah, I think they’re doing okay and I think it’s the same thing the writers tapped into with Lila slapping Diego whenever she’s both frustrated with and overwhelmed with how much she loves him, and why I think Diego doesn’t just roll with it but sort of understands what she’s trying and failing to communicate (maybe a little badly, but going off of every single one of Diego’s reactions post initial slap in s2, he really, really doesn’t mind, more like the opposite). (That or she’s experiencing cute aggression XP)

Do they have unconventional methods? Yeah, are they maybe bad communicators if anyone else was involved in this thing? Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is one of many reasons why Diego and Patch couldn’t work out. Is it strangely perfect for them and are they soulmates? Weirdly, yes.

6. What’s one fact about the universe of the Space AU that you didn’t get a chance to mention in the fic itself?

Lol, you don’t understand what a mediocre writer I am XD

In the same way I can’t visualise, I also don’t really do much world building beyond what I actually write down. If you were to go through that automatic star treck-y sliding door, you’d very quickly realise you’re on a sound stage. Ignore the wires holding Lila up as she spins around in zero G and all that XD.

But there is a detail I only ever implied and that is that in this universe where AI Robots with a Civil Rights movement exist, Diego was totally also a mama’s boy for Robot Mom, but something happened to her and she’s no longer around (like, I’m not being vague or coy, I have not fleshed out what happened to her, but this Diego also lost his Robot Mommy and is still sad about it).

Okay, that was fun! Good questions! Thanks for playing along!

More questions here

[forgotten-daydreamer]

Fanfiction authors deserve respect (read this, please)

I have something to say, and it's going to take a while so if you don't want to read a long post, please scroll down.

So, let's start from this: a person bookmarked one of my works and saved it as "rushed", "typical chickflick", "feels like I've read something like this already".

Now, everybody has their opinion and I'm not saying that what they said is untrue.

I mean, as the author of said work I need to say that it's not completely true either, since the characters don't "fall in love in two weeks" (this person wrote this) as I said mutliple times in the fic, but I get that it can seem rushed. I'm not denying it, I even agree a bit. Some bits I wrote are just... Yeah, rushed.

It can also look similar to some other fic, since it's a super common trope. I'm not the first person who wrote about this trope and I won't be the last, surely.

But... Why?

I mean, why saving it as a bookmark if you think that it's a mediocre work? And, why describing it like that in the bookmarks and not in the comments, where I could have seen it right away and maybe tried my best to fix what they didn't like?

No, they just hit me with that. Kinda hurtful, don't you think?

Of course I'm not saying that this fic is heavenly written 'cause it's not. I'm not a published author, I've never written professionally. I'm just a person who writes for fun. But many liked that fic and, personally, I do too.

I write for fun. I said it already, but I feel like I need to specify that I WRITE FOR FUN.

Nobody pays me to. Nobody forces me to. Nobody asks me to.

I just love writing SO much, I'll never stop.

And I always take into account that people might hate what I write. They might think "wow, this is shit" and comment it on my works.

And I'd take it. It never happened to me so far, but I would say "hey, I respect it. How can I improve?".

My style has been criticised once: I cherished that comment and it helped me immensely, since my style has improved since then thanks to that single comment. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS accepted and I always specify that.

I'm a young adult. I don't know anything. I don't pretend that I do. I really, really don't. And the smallest constructive criticism on any subject helps me more than you can imagine. Really.

Back to that bookmark... "De gustibus non disputandum est", right?

Right.

As the majority of fic authors, I also read a lot of fics. Writing is cool, and reading is just as cool, in my opinion.

And, in its own way, every fic is amazing. Some fics are nasty for their content- let's not pretend that the world is all glitters and teddy bears, there are some f*cking monsters around. But the great majority of the fics is precious, and their authors too.

I have noticed that some say "I wrote this at 4am, it sucks LOL". I used to do it too. I still do, sometimes.

It's not always a lie. Sometimes authors are really up until 4am to update that one fic that's bugging them.

Most of the times, though, saying that is a coping mechanism that those who write adopt to say "hey, if you hate it don't attack me". It's to suffer less. It's because we are scared of hurtful comments.

That bookmark from before is not hurtful, just... Weird.

But it reminded of how some people are threatening authors, they are insulting them for their choices or their style. Again, I'm not talking about creepy fics that involve illegal pairings or themes (and let's not start a discourse on "what themes are too delicate?" because I do not have the necessary knowledge on the topic and I still don't have an opinion). I'm talking about "normal" fics.

I want to say that threatening authors is NOT okay.

Leaving purposefully hurtful comments is NOT okay.

Non-constructive criticism is NOT okay in ANY of its forms.

If you have something to say, good or bad, do it properly.

You are not "savage" if you insult someone's work with no real reason.

You are not "superior" if you feel like you don't owe the author an explanation.

You cannot "read between the lines" if you completely misread a fic.

If you do any of these things, you are simply childish.

I'm not angry at whoever bookmarked my fic like that, not at all. I am disappointed, though. Very.

People like that are disappointing.

And cowards, and selfish. Not only you are saying things behind our backs, no, you are also not helping us to improve.

We are doing something that we enjoy, and we are sharing it with you for free because we want more people in our big happy fandom family, whatever the fandom is.

Please, I beg you on my knees to be respectful. Not toward me, but toward my community. The community of fic writers.