#do not ask me how many chapters i have planned in total I dont want to talk about it

[plantwriting]

I want to write Kian getting absolutely pissed off I need it for my mental well being I need to write him screaming and blaming other people for everything they’ve done wrong I need to write them getting into an argument with Rand and blaming him for her death and then regretting it immediately afterwards I need to write him being absolutely fucking unhinged and then hating herself for it who needs therapy when you can just write your fave snapping

[redux-iterum]

if you dont mind me asking, how do you plan what to write? im trying to do my own rewrite but i'm struggling a bit

So I’ll cover how I do a rewrite specifically, since that’s a little different from original works like a webcomic or a book. What I use personally is the “Snowflake Method” – start big, go small.

Start by figuring out what you want to do with your rewrite. Are you trying to make the story better? Is it an AU with one major change that alters the course of history? Are you just adding mythology? What’s your goal here? Rewrites should have a point that will help define how your story shakes out. For the purposes of this ask, we’re going to assume it’s just a major-change AU.

Once you have the purpose, you can start planning. The first important thing is to get a general, overall idea of how the story will go – something basic like “Firepaw joins ShadowClan right when Brokenstar comes into power, and he ends up leading a rebellion and defeating Brokenstar and his lackeys”.

You may have ideas at this point for small scenes and snippets of dialog (God knows I always do), so write all the little things you want to have happen down in no specific order, just as they occur to you. Save those for later.

With your general idea, start breaking it up into somewhat smaller story beats. “So Firepaw joins ShadowClan, then he’s taught how to fight, and he struggles because the fighting is so violent and cruel and he’s so young. Then he sees how Brokenstar leads and doesn’t like it, and he talks to his Clanmates and discovers they don’t like it either.” And so on, until you get to your ending. Remember, you don’t need to get too detailed right now; you’re just cutting the pie into smaller pieces over time. Those slices can get smaller as you go on.

If you have those small scenes and ideas laying around, start going over the generally-planned stuff and seeing where you can add in those things. Some of them, you’ll have to get rid of, because they don’t work or make sense, or they’re not fitting to the tone of the story. That’s totally fine. Killing darlings is part of the process. Those you can keep will help connect things together.

Continue getting more and more specific as far as you need to. “Firepaw fails his first fighting lesson, then he goes home in shame, then he’s talked to by Nightpelt who is sympathetic to his shame and admits he doesn’t like Brokenstar’s leading methods, which causes a small idea of changing things to bloom in Firepaw’s head”, etc. If you’re a thorough architect like me, you need as many details as you can get, but some people are good to stop at this point, or even before it, with vague notions they can write down and improvise in.

If you feel it would help, at this point you can write a detailed synopsis for the entire story – I do it chapter-by-chapter, listing everything that happens in each chapter so that I have bite-sized summaries that are easy to look through and change things in. Some people just need a general idea and they’re good to go, and that’s fine.

The one thing I want to emphasize is to keep in mind that you're doing a rewrite, and so you should ideally have something that makes your version stand out from canon. Things are a little easier because you have bedrock to work with that you can alter or discard as you like, but you still have to alter if you want your rewrite to not just be "canon but one tiny thing is different".

I hope this helps! Apologies if it's a little scattered, I'm very tired and distracted today.

[tojikai]

I was so hesitant to start “permanent mark” but I finished it and man it was a roller coaster of emotions 😭😭 idk how to feel now that i finished it! I swear you’re so good at making us hate characters (well atleast me) yet somehow leave us “forgiving” them and wanting y/n to end up with them in a way

Maybe it was just me but even before shit went down regarding naomi and rie?they seem very sweet but idk something was off about them lmfaoo also satoru is such an idiot and he was so annoying with rie when y/n was literally fighting for her life, if i were shoko and suguru…..

Rie just kept pissing me off throughout the whole story

Ngl i read a bit of the first and last chapter before truly reading it and once that whole situation happened before tragedy hit…..

I thought y/n was going to lose her baby at the hands of rie for a sec☠️

Now that I have read all your stories, surprisingly “fix you” is still my favorite!🫶

Im a little confused on rie and satoru relationship however and have so many questions on it however aside from that there isn’t anything else

Like:

1: did he ever actually love rie?

2: why wasn’t he over her?

3: why didn’t he take y/n with him when they reunited, was it intentional?

4: did he love rie or grow to do so when everything went down?

5. Did his feelings for rie ever leave? Did he always love her while being with y/n or they just came back when she did

6: what was man’s thoughts or plan with that open relationship shit☠️

7. Was he in love with rie?

8. During his 5 year relationship with y/n, did he ever think about rie or wish it was her instead of y/n, Did satoru actually keep her in his heart while with y/n 💔

Im so sorry if im asking too many questions

Sundered and permanent mark just left me with so many questions and what if’s😭

HIII thanks sm for reading, im glad you enjoyed it !! <3 and yep, rie is a different type of annoying 😭 so many things happened in that series, everything was cHAOS, anwww lets answer your q's !!

1. satoru loved rie. but not when he met her again. as i said, it's just the thought that he can finally be w her. she was a frustration for him then

2. it was a high school sweet heart type of love. it's not really that he wasnt "over her," but it's wasn't "over the feeling of wanting and having her," he felt like he was left hanging and when it was within his reach, he grabbed it.

3. it wasn't intentional that she didn't take yn, but that party was also considered a reunion between hs friend, and that's why yn wasn't there, she might feel out of place.

4. he loved rie, and finally being w her gave him a sense of closure on their high school situationship. he thought that a future w her was not impossible. and when she stayed w him despite the criticism and judgment also made him feel secure with her.

5. no he wasn't in love w rie while he was w yn. he's truly in love w yn during those times and he still loves her. but seeing rie brought out the surging emotions he buried and forgotten from his hs years.

6. help i cant remember the open rs one?😭 or is it his rs w yn during her pregnancy? either way, satoru's just desperate to have some sort of connection to her after all that. their rs got so messed up in that story🥹

7. he was in love with rie, yes. he really fell for her during hs years.

8. and no, satoru never once wished that it was rie instead of yn. he's really in love with yn. all the feelings he had for rie during hs was outshined by his love for yn. even when he was w rie, his feelings for yn cannot be totally contained.

dont worry abt the questions <3 !! im more than happy to answer them, i enjoy thinking back on the stories i wrote ~!! thank you so much for your support<3 have a great day ~

[dogueteeth-fhr]

Fanfic Writer Questions

Thank you @silvery-bluish & @glitchy-npc for the tags! Not sure who else to send it to atm but if you see this on my page and decide to pitch in with your answers feel free to @ me!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I've got 12! Most are oneshots, others are series.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

47002 on AO3 at the moment! And so much more in my docs.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Primarily Fallen Hero, with a dash of TWC and some other fandoms sprinkled in my WIPS but I've been on Fallen Hero brainrot for a long time now so the other fandoms are currently neglected.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Nightmare (surprisingly enough) w/ 28 kudos

focus (it's harder than you think) (also surprising lol) w/ 20 kudos

new pavement w/ 18 kudos

anamnesis w/ 18 kudos

freefall w/ 13 kudos tied with bath(toaster)tub also w/ 13 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to respond to all of them! But some days I just don't have the spoons to and I forget, but I really appreciate any comments I receive.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

HA. you want me to pick??? Ok hrm. maybe bath(toaster)tub? anamnesis also has so me pretty angsty pieces in there.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

PFFF. ok gotta. go look for this one. Maybe sargasso sea, though it's technically not the last iteration in its series between a continued plotline hinted out in after the fall and a third part planned for its series.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet! I think.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

(slaps brain) this bad boy can generate so much smut. I write pretty much any kind? Soft, rough, indulgent, M/M, F/M, F/F, other any everything, kinky or emotional, etc. Just whatever strikes me at the time, but most just dont get published bc I'm mid.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I typically HATE crossover fics they just aren't my thing I do write AUs of X story set in X story's universe, just haven't published them (wait does that still count as a crossover).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nah, considered it once tho.

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

Nope! Haven't found someone with the vibe ig, it's just never crossed my mind to co-write a fic and just never been asked too.

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

(cue strained breath) i have no all time favorites BUT. but. Ricardo/Wei gets me SO soft ok. i just. unrequited years long attraction finally requited and i. AAAAA. place sidestep in there too and i'm just so happy. i need poly rep in my life sometimes ok.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I stare into the google docs hell and ask you how you could expect me to pick one but. BUT. Praeludium//Allegro. A piece meant to dive in how Sidestep is able to experience the moment someone dies through their mind.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Shorter pieces! They tend to be about ~2000-5000 words per part, that's usually when I feel I've done my best. I'm also. Decent at NSFW writing? Sometimes, at least.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Definitely long fics. I had a plan for freefall and have scrapped and adapted it multiple times now, pus it's just difficult to keep myself interested in specific but necessary chapters.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It's fun! I've included Spanish and Russian excerpts into my fics before but I don't do it a lot. Considered writing fully in Spanish at some point for an Ortega POV but I'm not confident in my grammar abilities. Spanish verb tenses my beloathed.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Naruto. On a different old account best left to gather dust.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Hm, I'm not sure if I have a favorite. I do really like the NSFW piece I wrote from Remy's POV, though. Short but good.

[eternalglitch]

Hi Glitch! So I have this fanfic idea, totally different show btw, but I dont know how I would go about posting it or even actually start writing it. I've never been inspired to make a fanfic before, heh. Your my favorite fanfic writer and so I thought I would ask you how you decided to write and post your fic. Thanks, if you respond!

How exciting, welcome to the start of a wild journey! I'm flattered by the pick. :}

First up, you need to have an idea, which you have accomplished.

Next, you need to probe further with that idea– what are the specific scenes that make this story worth it to you? What are the emotions, which tiny details of the moment make you go a little bit feral? I usually pick out the climax scene and maybe some random ones that just get me thinking regardless of where in the story they are. Once you get those, hold onto them; they will help get you through any rougher patches of "oh god I do NOT want to write this part" because you will and you must if you want to get to The Scenes.

Next up, battle plans. They don't have to be detailed, but you want to write down a beginning, middle, and end. They can change as you write but you do NOT want to start on a journey with no idea what direction to head from chapter to chapter. It ends badly.

"Well, where do I start writing?"

You can do the beginning, if you know it. I always look back at the plot chart if I need help on figuring out where exactly that should be; pretty much every solid story establishes their character and then kicks off the rising action to start the point of the story, which is how the character will then change over the course of your work. With fanfiction, the exposition can be almost nonexistent since you are jumping off of a platform.

I think posting is rather the easy part; I use AO3 because it's simply the best place to do so thanks to the formatting and tag filtering systems. Tag as best and accurately as you can, add any needed warnings, and whatever you do make no mention that this is your first story or you can't write summaries or that it won't be good within the tags or summary.

You're fine to mention you are new at writing in the author's notes within the fic itself, of course, but I don't even check out the fics that say "sorry I'm bad at summaries, please just try reading it!" on the proverbial container because a summary can be as simple as copy-pasting a few sentences for a hook. It doesn't have to be complex, it just needs to clue people in on what you are writing about. You are marketing yourself with tags and the summary, don't try and talk people out of giving you a shot.

Most people acknowledge that fanfic is ground zero for a lot of writers, and are very kind about it in comments. It's a great thrill to get the comment notification email, one that will never go away regardless of how many times you get it.

Best of luck! I hope you find great joy and fun in both the process and the result.

[wizisbored]

25, 28, 33, 34, 35 from this ask game

25 - Are there any specific writing tools that you find helpful?

i use the very precise and sophisticated tool known as 'making charts on google sheets by colouring cells'

this is one of a few that helps me keep track of my many many wips. its very helpful in that when i get a comment on a fic wondering if its abandoned and think 'its not been that long has it' i can consult it and take the right amount of phycic damage

got this one for chapter counts as well

28 - What's the most ambitious or challenging fic you've ever written?

ambitious? probably the current big bang fic im writing, just because punctuality and deadlines are in no way my strong suit, but things are actually going suprisingly well on that front. its easier for me to consistently work on something i enjoy than a uni essay, who knew

challenging? anything where the primary goal is comedy. turning an idea for a funny scenario into a fully fleshed out scene while being sure that its actually as funny as you think it is is hard. most recent example is parent creature conferences - its 3 chapters, 7,765 words total, and it took 2 fucking years. and yet i am still planning on writing a sequel because you know what? that shit was fucking funny.

33 - How do you incorporate world-building elements into your fics?

ok so as a primarily au-writer i have had some practice here. this is definately not unique advice but it works - i generally try to either wait for things to come up naturally or find ways to slip them in so it seems like they're coming up naturally. not everything needs to be established from the start - if its not essential to understand the story, it can wait. and i feel like its more fun that way, consistently learning about the setting as the story progresses.

to give an example, netherborne has a bit of exposition-dumping in the first chapter but thats mostly getting the reader up to speed on beetlejuice and lydias relationship and lydias current situation, which is the main thing the reader needs to understand to start the story. on the other hand, the term 'netherborne' and the system of demonic contracts crucial to the setting is not explicitly explained until chapter twelve, because the term 'netherborne' is easy enough to figure out through context clues and the specific details of the system only become relevant in chapter fifteen, so i could just make less detailed references to it while i waited until it made sense for lydia to explain it in twelve. and another thing - if a character is explaining lore stuff to another, i try to avoid it becoming a one-sided qna session with a load of details. better to insert one or two details at a time into the flow of a conversation.

if somethings going to take some explaining, i try to make sure that explaining comes in a slower or quieter scene - i dont want to feel like ive hit pause on the action. (in a similar vein, if i spend a while narrating a characters train of thought i try to make sure theyve actually had the time to think all that.) but if something is simple enough or not so essential to the story that it doesnt need an in-depth explaination, i prefer to have it casually mentioned or reffered to and let people fill in the gaps. maybe ill come back to it, maybe it will stay a fun extra detail to flesh out the world

34 - Are there any fic writing tips or tricks you've learned along the way that you'd like to share?

i know its been said a million times but WRITE FOR YOURSELF. this is a HOBBY it is meant to be FUN. if i catch any of you putting what is going to get you more engagement over what you find fun i will START BITING. we all love engagement trust me i know but genuinely do NOT look at those numbers if you are going to base any amount of perception of your skill on them. i dont fucking know how many hits or kudos i get because it doesnt fucking matter and i dont check!! comments (the content not the count!) and the occasional fanart are the only things that matter to me and i genuinely think i am so much the better for it. on that note please comment on fics i know thats also been said a million times but like. please

35 - What do you enjoy most about being a fic writer?

you can literally do anything with it. once you ditch the concept of 'cringe' there is literally nothing you cant do with fanfic and it doesnt even have to be a good idea. self indulgence is literally the entire point of it! its a hobby about making my favourite fictional characters do whatever the hell i want them to do and then people say nice things about it?? literally winning forever

[cinnamon-bunni]

hm... 4, 7, 11, 12, 17, 21, 22, 24! happy new year, bunni!

4. Total number of words you wrote this year That's hard to find tbh....I didn't end up posting a lot of fics, so i dont only have to just check my statistics on ao3, but all of my possible fics ive written this year in my wip docs as well. the total i got was 58,171 words (~35k of it being WIPs and not posted)! so definitely not as much as i wrote last year which was (i think over 100k), and also not including all of my notes ive written. i did not do a lot of writing this year, so hopefully next year i'll wrap up all of my big fics and post them all <3

7. longest completed fic you wrote this year Again, i did not write a lot this year, much less finish them lmao. if you were to ask about uncompleted fics, we would have a different story--but alas, the longest completed one was Once More, With Needles, sitting at 4,414 words!

11. fandom you enjoyed writing for the most this year hm....obey me, I suppose. its hard to say really, but enjoyment from writing specifically, i'd have to give it to obey me. what can i say, the cast is just really fun to write (even when levi is impossible to write, like what the hell man i have rewritten your part in my undead fic like 3 separate times and am continuing fixing it, like what the hell man i trusted you and then you dont behave for me). like this year specifically i realized how much i love each and every character--those like lucifer reminded me as to why i love the game and the characters, and people like mephisto and raphael randomly won a spot in my heart. theyre all just so so fun to write <333

12. favorite character to write about this year lucifer!!! even though i only have like, one fic that features him thats out and finished lmao; hes such an interesting and complex character, yet is one whose mind i can easily slip into when i need to write when its his pov. idk, sometimes i find myself struggling to write characters like levi or even asmo sometimes--mainly from my own failures to pay attention to their canon interpretations and making them not out-of-character--but lucifer is surprisingly one i can always rely on to be easy and fun to write!! he is angst galore and so emotionally constipated, hes great <3

17. fics you’ll continue next year Heart Melts for sure!! i originally wanted ch3 to be out before the new year, but ive been drafting and redrafting all of my future chapters (i am trying my best to make it a psychological horror in order to match the tag that i put on the fic, but idk if its going to live up to the hype that people have for this fic ^^;;) so i sadly didnt get time to finish it. maybe by the end of January ill have it out--heres to hoping its done by then! and maybe i might continue Dirty? I didn't even update it this year lol--its def one i dont wanna leave discontinued, as i have all of the chapters planned out, but i just have many other projects that i wanna focus on and also i really wanna rewrite it, so ive been debating doing that first or just to finish then rewrite it. in a perfect world, i'll update that one too lol

21. most memorable comment/review I have two that come to mind!!! in all honesty all comments make me sooo happy, but these ones specifically is just,,,idk man, they just hit a certain way that itches that scratch in my brain that needs validation lmao i love rereading these all the time <3 theres these comments for Messy Makeup:

(make me go insane from them saying i wrote multiple fics that were their favorites <33) and of course there's this banger of a comment from @/snugglebunnies!!! idk if youre reading this but thank you thank you thank you for inspiring me so much with your fics!!! i love them so much, and this comment was just incredible! from the fic Heart Melts:

(love when people leave quotes, no matter how long or short!!!! such deep analysis is what i live for!!!!) and of course, sending out so much love to everyone who leaves a comment on any of my fics, no matter how big or small they are <333

22. events you participated in this year i didnt participate in any events this year! i tend not to do events tbh, theyre not really my style, as i dont do well with due dates unless i have months in advance lol;; usually i might do one, maybe two, events a year, but those are usually simple gift exchanges or something. nothing caught my eye this year, and ones that did i just didnt have the time to do, sadly. but! i do plan on doing the sonic big bang next year, which will be my first ever "bigger" event ive been in! exciting, but also really nervewracking as ive never posted sonic content and idk how well i'll do staying on schedule. but its still something i really wanna do (have a great fic planned for it!) so i still wanna give it a shot and do my best on it lol

24. favorite fic you read this year from this year is really hard to say--i think all of my favorite fics were found last year lmao so its a struggle to think of one. @heleentje's BOTW fic Moonlight has been a fantastic read (even though i havent finished it yet;;; i promise will soon!!) and just hits all of the right notes for me!! The batman fic Performance Piece is also definitely up there for me, as it captures so well what i want in my own writing when it comes to writing characters, especially when it comes to inner-dialogue (i might just go back and reread that one again lmao)

as of posting, i have about twenty minutes left before the new year. so happy early 2024!! 🥳🎉💝

[lohstandfound]

🥝🍔🍊

this got kinda long so

🥝Who are your literary influences, and have they shaped your own writing? I've said it before how M.L. Rio influenced the way I write dialogue. And playwrights and poets in general have had a slight influence on my fiction writing.

It feels easier to list influenced for my poetry. The main one for poetry is probably essa may ranapiri. Their first poetry collection, ransack, was focused on exploring gender through a non binary lens. Their second poetry collection, Echidna, is a mash up of Greek and Māori mythology and Christianity.

Also, in regards to poetry (mostly). My museum studies lecturers placed so much emphasis on being poetic and creative and bring wordsmiths when it came to writing assignments I had to convince myself to not write a 2000 word poem for a material culture study. However, the assignments focused on making museum labels gave me an idea for a poetry collection of writing museum labels for people I know. (Also, everything about my museum studies degree has 100% influenced deities au and I don't think I tried to hide that)

🍔What's a headcanon that hasn't made it into a published fic yet? I think most things find their way into a fic??

I think the only thing I haven't put into a fic is a potential concept for a few character's cultural heritage that is very much me projecting and very self-indulgent. The one I've put the most thought into is Jake and it is. Very much. Me projecting similar circumstances. I made a post about it a total of one time ages ago.

It stemmed from a random thought I had that if bmc was set in new Zealand, Jeremy and Michael would 100% go to Armageddon (which I guess is basically like comic con or any other convention). To which it lead me on a train of thought of what else would it look like if it was set in NZ and one of those concepts involved imagining them as Māori. The only one that really stuck with putting the characters back in, y'know, new jersey was Jake being white passing Māori with a huge disconnect from his whakapapa, knowing next to nothing about it. I have a lot of thoughts on it. But. y'know. Self indulgent projecting headcanons that will never make it into a fic. so ive never properly talked about it

in summary, i dont think there's a headcanon that i haven't managed to put into a fic yet.

🍊What's a story that changed significantly from its initial idea to the final draft? The basis of the poets fic is the same: Michael, Jake, Brooke, and Rich make up a poet quartet, working together to workshop poems and spitball ideas and perform at open mic nights. There's still a few unresolved issues between Jeremy and Michael, and Brooke and Chloe. And the poems are still the same.

The original version was so much more rushed and was resolved by Jake and Christine tricking everyone into a group therapy session.

I figured I could do it better, make it less rushed and actually take the time for mostly Jeremy Michael Brooke and Chloe to work out their feelings. Jeremy and Michael have already started, but I have plans for Brooke and Chloe (and Jake).

(In my mind, Rich and Jake have already worked through everything. Brooke and Jake are super close in this fic and I imagine Jake has written so many poems about Rich as a way of processing (what's this? Jake Dillinger has a healthy coping mechanism?) so by the time Rich approaches the trio to ask for help with his own poems, Jake doesn't hold as much anger and is much more willing to talk things through with Rich).

But now that I've taken it so far from the original plot, I'm not sure where it's going. I have a plan for an argument between Brooke and Chloe, and I want a Jake-centred chapter (but I need to write a Jake poem first)

[westanallthegays]

Writing 101 with your favorite queer (EDITED)

Writing is h a r d .

If you think writing is easy, then I'm going to ask you if you've ever WRITTEN A STORY BEFORE because clearly, you're oblivious af.

Writing isn't just w r i t i n g a s t o r y, it's late nights trying to figure out how the fuck to write this moment, it's sleep deprivation to puzzle this character over, it's scribbling ideas down, it's questioning whether your writing is GOOD or not and whether anyone would actually want to read it, it's staring at your google doc or word doc and thinking, "Is this worth it? Maybe I should just quit ahead of time."

It's so many things, but it's not fucking EASY.

Which is why I'm writing this post for y'all. Let's be clear, I don't know everything about writing. I'm in progress, still trying to figure shit out, but I thought I might share what I've learned with you through a very, very painful process.

So ✨here we go✨

One of the things about writing is that everyone has different methods. Here's mine. Use it or not. It's up to you.

I know a lot of people who don't plan their writing out are gonna be screaming at me, but I've found out that having at least a basic plan, if not the simplest plan EVER formed by just a few bullet points really helps.

I'll give you an example (which is miraculous themed because I'm pretty sure everyone at least KNOWS what miraculous is)

Marinette goes to school

Alya gushes to her about this "cool new girl" that has arrived

Marinette reaches school and discovers the new girl is Lila Rossi

shenanigans ensue. Adrien is the only one who isn't clueless. Lie la is a bitch, as usual (what is new?)

Okay, this example was pretty crappy, but you get the idea. It doesn't even have to be an exact copy of what's gonna happen in your story, just the general idea and a few more plot points. Doing this when I'm bored, whether in my sketchbook or on a google doc, really helps. For one, I can just write down a bunch of shitty ideas and later go through them and decide which ones are the least crappy to put in my fanfic.

I'm a planning person, but I don't go super crazy when planning out a chapter. I've heard of some people creating the most intricate plans EVER for their story, and well, sorry, but that just DOESN'T work for me. This method is a lot more simpler, and it's not totally crazy.

(hopefully)

Also, if you're writing a story based on a tv show or book series(*cough percy jackson *cough) Then I find it INCREDIBLY helpful to write down a list of all of the minor characters i want to include in my story, because let's be real, I'm pretty sure I'd forget after like a day.

And I've read too many stories with only the main characters and there being like one mention of a minor character. (*cough GROVER *cough)

So spare your innocent readers (not really) and use this method.

Welp, that's it! I'm sorry this ran on for so long guys, I had a lot to say and wanted to elaborate on it enough so that it made sense. If you actually read through this shit pile of a post, then TYSM IT REALLY MEANS A LOT.

Stay safe, don't fall into a deep, dark hole of depression that you can't get out of, and I'll see ya later~

EDIT:

Hi guys! It's been a few months since I stepped into the world of tumblr and wrote this post. After that i kinda forgot about tumblr with the existential crisis that is school and basic stress, so ....sorry bout that.

Thank you to the two people who liked this post, it means a lot <3

As usual, your girl is here to give some more tips that i learned over those few months i was incognito.

2. Brain dump, second draft, third draft, fourth draft...

I dont know if yall have heard of the brain dump in writing. I recently found about it when despertely researching ways to improve my crappy writing. Basically, a brain dump is when you take all of your ideas and write them down on paper or a google doc or whatever you use. I thought it was a pretty good idea, but i kind of already told you guys this with my previous tip above.

SO I REMODELED IT YOU'RE WELCOME

MY version is that you do a brain dump but in the form of a really messy, chaotic first draft. Write whatever you want using the ideas you have, and you dont even have to put proper dialouge. I find that i obsesse way too much over dialogue, so with my brain dump, i just leave blank spaces where the dialogue should be and put that in the second draft, which is a much more organized version of the brain dump.

THAT WAY, you can have all of your ideas down and begin to edit them into a slightly better piece of artistic creativity. I haven't tried this out myself, so im not sure how reliable it is. if you want to try this out, drop a comment telling me how it went.

Im pretty sure that's it. There isn't much esle to say, and im sure yall are familar with the "first draft, second draft" concept thingie so i dont have to explain that bit.

Again, sorry about my long absence. I would promise to do this more often, but im pretty sure i wont be able to keep that promise, so . . .

anyways, have a great day and ill see you soon (hopefully!)

:)

[anosrepasi]

3, 13, and 15 for Kint?

oh!! I cannot describe how much time I've spent just pouring through Kint again after receiving this ask, especially to answer the first number and like, now I’ve had to be like, oh no this is actually pretty good and holds up a lot better than i remembered oh no. (oh no) 3. What's your favorite line of narration? This is a difficult question!!! This is an insanely difficult question and I've been rereading Kint trying to see if anything jumped out at me but this also made me realize that I really did not do some of the really big "go big or go home" lines of narration like I've done recently in Lingua Franca. I think my favorite one-off choice has to be the use of very basic file management/html functions littered into chapters with Nick POV, especially the use of (C:\functions\automated\non-essential\stimuli responses\scanned\inhale.exe) in chap 3. in terms of very purposeful narration choices, I adore chapter 8. Specifically, I adore chapter 8 because it combines a lot of ideas on how horror reflects the anxieties of a person's time and along that line how people in the commonwealth would probably find comparisons to machines/synths really discomforting because of the synth panic. So in this chapter you get two characters sizing up the other for threats/danger and both use totally different language/metaphors to describe the perceived danger. Shep would use pretty standard descriptions of comparing Hancock to that of an apex predator, which is a pretty common analogy in books i feel. Meanwhile, Hancock's like, this chick has machine vibes. I remember putting a lot of thought into the craft of that chapter and god i still love it to pieces.

13. What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

I have playlists for each character or for a fic overall usually! For Kint I had character specific playlists and for anyone who uses spotify you can listen to them here:

Shep

Nick

Hancock

For each playlist I kinda like to have a “core“ of songs/genres to build my tone for the character. For Shep its a lot of songs about being a loner and also just fem singers talking about committing crimes? My theme song for her is The Mission “M is for Milla Mix” by Puscifer Nick is a lot of songs on the themes of past lives, ghosts, dissociation/numbness, and songs that give off a certain film nior feel. My theme song for him is Cardiac Arrest by The Bad Suns or Flashed Junk Mind by Milky Chance For Hancock is Viva la Revolutionary vibes and general uh “my life is a dumpster fire/here for a good time not a long time” vibes. Lots of twenty one pilots and Panic! at the disco for this guy. My theme song for him would probably be Angel of Small Death & The Codeine Scene by Hozier or Arrows by Fences and like... Macklamore lmao.

15. What did you learn from writing this fic?

The biggest take away from Kint so far has been Space. Out. Your. Fics.

If i can find my notes, i think i have uh. 80? chapters of Kint outlined. I theoretically could divide that into 5 main stories but the way ive set it up it works best as one giant fic. thats insane. ive ready 60+ chap fics before, i dont think i want to really write one lmao. I guess I’m going to in order to write this story out all the way?? I have the epilogue written lmao. In comparison, fics i’ve written since Kint have been much more planned out to have natural ending points if its a long story so it could be broken into multiple fics. I think a lot of this was from the fact that in 2016? when i started Kint i was reading a lot more long fics that had 100+ chapters and that was kind of the trend with a lot of fandoms back then? and recently I’ve read many more fantastic series that utilize multiple fics to tell a really complex story (the first two that jump to mind are Wind_Ryder’s Methuselah's Children for The Old Guard and StudioRat’s Branches and Fate for Legend of Zelda. The second take away, on a positive balancing note, is have fun with the actual craft/physical aspect of writing! Use pseudocode for a robot character, play with how you write character voice and narration! there are no real rules on what you can do with the craft of writing and this fic was my gateway to realizing that, quickly followed by reading Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves. Final thoughts- Thanks for the ask. I’ve already messaged you on this but uh. this may have awakened something in me. I might write for Kint again? I guess? Especially now that I’ve reread it and am listening to the baller playlists i made for the characters? If you want to talk more and exponentially increase chances of future writing feel free to message or like ask more questions or just talk about FO4?

[lazaruspiss]

20 questions for writers

tagged by @roipecheur mwah mwah !!

1. how many works do you have on AO3? - 34

2. what's your total AO3 word count? - 65,516

3. what fandoms do you write for? - its pure DC brainrot babes. maybe that'll change one day, but i have a hard time balancing multiple interests

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos? - A Kind Place To Rest, What’s in a gift?, Indulgence, Always a Kitten, Red Wings

5. do you respond to comments? - i try!!! but know that even if i don't reply i give each and every comment a lil smooch

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? - most of my stuff is pretty fucked up, but Black fish, blue fish, old fish, new fish. and The Leagues That Go Bump In The Night are probably up there? both because they involve Dick experiencing violent assaults with the promise of more to come and because he doesn't compartmentalize/justify/repress it much at all. so he's just forced to experience The Horrors. Damian's chapter in A curse in disguise. is the thing that actually makes me wanna yell though. I wrote that?? I only have myself to blame for making me feel things??? what the fuck man.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? - tough question. hm. I was able to pull up like, 6 candidates, but I'm not really sure how to measure "happy ending". Endings that were the most... more happy by the end than when they started...? i guess? There are a few that end on a "and the ship sailed happily ever after" type note. New Beginnings is a bit more enthusiastically happy, because Dick and Kori are just so damn excited to have babies

8. do you get hate on fics? - most of the hate i've gotten has been tumblr anons, lol

9. do you write smut? If so, what kind? - the freaky kind >:) (22/34 of my fics are explicit)

10. do you write crossovers? - nah. thought about it, have wanted to, but it takes a bit more planning than a regular fic

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? - nah

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? - no, but i would welcome it so long as it linked back and all that

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? - WAIT YES I HAVE. in middle school i think? during a sleepover a friend and i sat together on a couch and sent emails back and forth, taking turns adding onto a smut fic about british gaming youtubers that i dont think they even knew? also our incredibly innocent/prudish christian friend might have also been there lmao. that fic stayed in our emails im pretty sure.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? - ough...h hg..... jay and cole from ninjago. w other series i tend to be more "pick a fav and explore all possible parings involving them", but i only ever picture jay and cole with each other. for me that means something

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will? - oh uh. gotta bust out file explorer hold on. I did plan on making an entire series of fics connected to Little Princess, but I doubt I'll get to that, especially bc im not that proud of that fic anymore. there are a couple more fairly detailed and large projects sitting in my scrapped folder. and i mean, i keep a scrapped folder bc that way i dont have the pressure of finishing it but i still have the option if i want to.

16. What are your writing strengths? - uhm. uh.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? - forget to write the words. i also have a bit of dyslexia and miss stuff no matter how much i proof read

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? - depends? if it's a full conversation then i think i'd opt for <dialogue> or something like that, but if it's for random background chatter or mixed language dialogue then maybe just use the actual words. kind of have to, in the second case. spanglish type talk is fun actually, like sometimes i just talk like that to try and figure out what spanish i remember

19. First fandom you wrote for? - probably minecraft youtubers? the first i posted online was my hero academia tho. dont ask me about MHA btw i literally only care about kaminari and stopped keeping up like 4 years ago

20. Favourite fic you've written? - uh. hm. Aha! only my third fic but it ticks all my boxes and i love it dearly: Lulu Belle And The Cat-Chaser

[majoringinsarcasm]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on A03?

71! I’ve deleted and orphaned a few over the years though.

2. What's your total A03 word count?

491,986

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently on the Ace Attorney train but I’ve dipped into Good Omens a bit, and I’ll never say no to any of my old faves.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Inside Jokes (MHA)

2. Surprise Party (MHA)

3. Complete The <3 (Haikyuu)

4. And They Were Roommates (Haikyuu)

5. Keeping Up With the Reserve Course (Danganronpa)

And because NONE of those are ace attorney haha the highest kudos fic for that fandom is: the kiss and cry

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

I try to do as many as I can even if I’m late because comments mean a lot to me. I have not replied to every single one but I try my best.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

(currently not finished and posted so this answer will change) Uhhhhh all mine usually have a happy ending with angst being at the start or middle. I guess maybe OH duh

“a fizz and a pop” which is a Crowley pov fic I wrote after the season two finale. “a rumble and a hum” is about equal angst but Aziraphale’s pov and I meant them to be a pair so those two for sure

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of them have happy endings but Happiest in universe is probably Indirect Correlation which is a MikexBill fic taking place in a nobody died AU of the second chapter of the IT movies when they’re all adults. Loved that one and it got lovely reception on the timeline when I shared it. Bike night!!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet. Got some comments that I still don’t know if they were trolls or not

9. Do you write smut?

I do and want to improve.

10. Do you write crossovers?

None currently posted but I had a Free! x Host Club fic way back in the day I ended up deleting. And I want to combine some Ghost Trick characters into an AA fic I’m planning. So I’m not opposed if the mood strikes

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge but I’ve gotten one of those scam “we love your work” comments so who knows.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not. (I don’t think I dont remember anyone asking unless they did and I’m forgetting and I don’t wanna go check Again I keep flipping back and forth).

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

Haha does role playing with friends count? Not yet but maybe someday. I’ve written fics that my friends have inspired and I shared the progress with though. Oh no that’s a lie I have once but it’s no longer around. Hope that person is doing well.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

See this is tricky because I have ships I love that I’ve written about and ships I love that I enjoy without creating for it. I’ll say Hinata and Kageyama from Haikyuu though they are a ship for life.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

All of them uhhhh I have a 10k wip that may never see the light of day about cheating and marriage proposals but we’ll see if that ever becomes a thing.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think when the iron is hot my sentence structure for comparing things is really sharp. I love writing people talking and often Hate having to add the proper fillers in between which is why Way back in the day I loved dialogue only fics. And chat fics / social media I LOVE those.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

If someone told me to describe a setting, room or outdoors doesn't matter, or they would put me in a meat grinder I would just jump in. I have a project that will force me to practice though

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I’ve done my fair share of google translate this phrase in the past but I don’t know how accurate that ever is and I’m not skilled enough in any language other than English to attempt it in a meaningful way

19. First fandom you wrote for?

An RPF / Real Person Fiction “couple” and if you don’t know that’s for the better. (It was not Dan and Phil in case people are trying to guess it was specific and niche and that’s all you’re getting bc it’s no longer posted thank goodness)

But aside from that the first fandom is Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. Miss those boys.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

It’s a toss up between Surprise Party (MHA) and you’re in his recent texts, I’m in his shitty car, we are not the same (Until Dawn).

Surprise Party I feel like is the most fun I’ve had with smut and it’s also my first ever fic someone did a podfic for which was so insane I was buzzing for a week afterwards. And recent text / shitty car I just think it flows so well and captures the personalities of Chris and Josh in a way I really love. Not 100% canon accurate but canon in the scenario I put them in if that makes sense.

This was super fun. I haven’t looked at my stuff via statistics in a long while. Makes me excited for the potential of the new year. Anyone who sees this I encourage you to look up your stuff even if you don’t post about it. Helped me remember some of my old favorites

[pencilscratchins]

Okay okay okay I'm obsessed with your Zukka headcanons, more please?

okay this one got long lmaOO

— zuko buys sokka many nice things. he says “my boyfriend enjoys nice things...fine silks...jewels...who am i to deny him this?”and suki says “please zuko these are the royal funds—“

— before they know the next avatar is korra, zuko hopes and prays the next avatar is a swamp bender, because he knows if they’re from the north water tribe it’ll be a whole thing and if they’re from the south he’ll literally never stop hearing about it

— in the beginning, zuko has no qualms about courting sokka. he’s the son of an ally country’s leader like yeah classic political marriage like what’s the issue (other than his own stifling awkwardness of course.)

— — sokka has the brain cell so he’s probably hesitant to jump into a relationship. they’re both public figures and gay marriage was just decriminalized— zukos already a contentious leader. not to mention, sokka has dated royalty before and the devotion to duty only lead to heartbreak. 

— — — kataras the one who straightens him out. she is like “we gave our entire childhoods to these countries— don’t let some grandeur of responsibility keep you from the happiness i know you deserve”

— whenever they’re separated for long periods of time, sokka writes these gorgeous, long winded, purple prose letters about how much he loves and misses zuko, and his travels etc that are upwards of 20 pgs

— — zuko responds with “saw a frog today 👍” and sokka chokes up like “he has such a way with words”

— sokka sleeps on the right, zuko on the left

— just being around each other is enough to put them in way better moods. when one of them is gone, both are insufferable to be around.

— sokka goes on a life changing field trip with redemption arc!azula to find the stone for zuko’s engagement necklace and they bond & really connect in a weird way bc like... theyre sorta of the smartest people either of them know

— — meanwhile zuko, toph, and katara go on a life changing field trip for the metal for sokka a royal hairpiece and accidentally create probending 

— sometimes it will get reeeeall quiet and sokka will just lean over and whisper to zuko “you know your great grandfathers were fucking right?”

— zuko obviously has days where he needs to just like escape and not to talk to anyone, so sokka will take the crown in his absence. 

— — he spends those days doing all the shit zuko hates doing so he doesn’t have to

— sokka still struggles with feeling useless sometimes and thought it baffles zuko how he could possibly think that, he immediately will try to rectify it.

— — so zuko will show him the proof of a history textbook he had to approve, and show him every chapter dedicated to everything sokka invented, planned, or lead during the war and after to prove how important sokka is.

— sokka will be writing and when zuko sits really close to him on his right side, hell just switch the brush over to the left to hold his husband’s hand. 

— when korra is first taken in by the white lotus, sokka insists they spend some time down there. zuko tutors her firebending and she loves him, but she’s obsessed with sokka who sneaks her out and teaches her sword fighting. 

— not really a zukka head canon but when zuko first starts sleeping with the group at the air temple, he looks over and sees aang just levitating a few inches off the ground and is like “what the fuck” sokkas like “oh yeah that’s how he sleeps you get used to it”

— when katara finds out sokka helped toph have suyin, she’s like “it’s so touching that you want our families to be forever intertwined and for our children to always be connected!” and tophs like uh totally yeah 

— — nobody tells her the interaction went “sokka be the father it’ll be funny” and sokka said let me ask my husband and zukos went “lmao do it it’ll be so funny”

— izumi ice dodges when she comes to age and crushes it, which makes hakoda and sokka both cry. 

— — when iroh II wants to ice dodge, izumi refuses. she is however not supported by her fathers who are like “you did it! it’s a right of passage, izumi” “dont be a nerd, izumi”

— zuko, being a huge nerd, does indeed have iroh style his hair before their first date and sokka laughs so hard he cries

— sometime straight people will be like “oh the ladies must be sad you two are off the market!” and they will respond “our ex girlfriends are dating each other.”

— their wedding is extremely opulent, as pure sokkas request. zuko would’ve married him in a broom closet.

— zuko calls sokka “socks” and sokka calls him “zuks” 

— sokka is very much that guy who wants to pretend he’s all cool but brings up his boyfriend all the time

— — “ugh it’s so hot i can’t breathe” “oh my boyfriend breathes,”

[internetgremlin-writes]

FLAT SPIN CHAP 5 SPOILERS!!

OH MY GOD IGGY THAT CHAPTER WAS ABSOLYTELY PERFECT!!!!

The way he asked her to come to Barcelona… SO carlos of him I wanted to cry… AND THE WAY HE METICULOUSLY PLANNED EVERYTHING? I am sorry if you dont like / dont care about zodiacs BUT THE VIRGO ENERGY IN HIM JUMPED OUT, and I respect it soooo much. Everything he planned was so /him/, but also so so perfect for MC — the little gestures? Ordering for her? Translating everything for her? POSTING HER ON HIS STORY? God i literally melted

AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON HIM COOKING FOR HER… because god damn you Know how Weak I am and it was so beautiful, also the British breakfast once again just shows how much he cares for her and understands her🥹 i am just about to combust actually

AND THEN RACE WEEKEND? And everything with the green tractor and also MC and Sebs relationship? Once again nailed it sm god i love these teammates… and how she didnt want to fight Seb / come across like that because he just means so much to her????? Girl you got me on the floor rn…

What I cannot stop thinking about is how shes in for the championship, and as of rn so is Carlos… Will they be fighting each other further down the line or… 👀 Make up sex as an apology for aggressive overtaking again? Or podium celebration sex because BOTH of them ended up on the podium (Silverstone? 👀) So many possibilities omfg dont mind me

AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST (thiugh i still have so much to say but my slow ass brain needs a bit of time i guess) the ending was just perfect… like am I the only one thinking Carlos didnt want to sleep with her pre race weekend bc he wanted to fully focus on her but couldnt with all the GO expectations around him? But now that it was done he could let himself fully focus on her and give her all the attention he thinks she deserves? God I love them sm… And the way you let all those emotions show through during the smut was just CHEFS KISS, the way they understand each other is just so 🥹🥹🥹 i have no words lol other than i’m SO obsessed..,

God i hope this all is legible its 4:14am now and i am prone to word vomit already when my brain is working so this may just sound like incoherent crap but i hope you know this chapter was SO GOOD, also the way you captured Barcelona imo was spot on like I wouldnt have noticed that it was all based on research and not personal experiences (though i guess i must confess i havent been to barcelona since i was 4 either… JSJDKFKF BUT YOU MANAGED TO CAPTURE THE SPANISH VIBES PERFECTLY THAT I CAN TELL YOU BC I JUST VACATIONED IN SPAIN LAST MONTH)

okay oh my god i am back from festival and i am finally going to reply to this without crying halfway through...

firstly OH MY GOD. you... you wrote all this... about my work?? I'm touched, I'm shook, I'm honoured, this is honestly the best feeling and probably as close to a "real" author with people analysing my work as I'll ever get and I am ABSOLUTELY here for it (especially as a literature nerd who loves to pick apart all of my books for fun)

haha I don't *dislike* zodiacs, I don't really follow them to that much detail but I vaguely have an idea of them. To be honest, the way I write Carlos is purely based on the guy we see as a Formula One driver and personality (but now you say that I totally see the virgo energy). ALSO I'M SO GLAD YOU NOTICED THOSE I am entirely convinced Carlos is a very detail-oriented person and especially when he is first seeing someone he would be really careful to go out of the way to do really subtle but meaningful things yanno?

As for the championship fight... well I don't want to give anything away but oh I *definitely* have a plan for MC and Carlos and the WDC ;)

Haha don't worry it all made sense! And thank you so much for the comment about Barcelona... it's a little embarrassing how long I spent on google for things to do in and around the city because I've never been to mainland Spain, so even if it's not 100% accurate I'm just happy the vibes were right!!

honestly just thank you so much for this, it means the absolute world <3 <3 <3

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

Oh my gosh so I also headcannon Jack as autistic! But im not comfortable with writing it yet because idk how. Im not autistic; my little sister is and i know a few things jack could have trouble with... but hes a grown ass man so i just dont know. Im definitely taking notes on what you write him as but could you give me some pointers?....maybe?

Im mostly referencing to Bitter with this

aaaa yeah it definitely presents differently in adults who've learned to mask, personally I don't plan to put certain things in specifically to talk about how he's autistic, I write with the background knowledge of what traits he displays, and then express them when relevant, it's relevant a lot with Jack simply due to how much it affects his life

now this is going to get long, so bare with me, because this is a whole lot more complicated than you might expect

there's really no one correct way to write Jack, since there's no one way that autism presents itself, the way I write him is based on a mix of myself and some people in my family, so I can give you a basic idea of what angle I personally come from

for one, I change the way I write about facial expressions and how emotions come across to Jack, in Jazz's chapters I'll write about the exact emotion she can see on their face, with Jack's I'll go with an obvious base emotion, but then if the person is expressing something more complicated, I'll describe their face in physical details

eg;

Jazz POV - Danny was upset, but his face was tight with frustration

Jack POV - Danny looked sad, but his eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was set in a hard line

it's a subtle difference but it's one I try to maintain throughout Bitter, Jack's POV is based on how I have trouble reading non-obvious expressions, although in my case I also have trouble looking people in the face when I talk to them, that's harder to write in an emotion driven POV story, so I made Jack better at that than I am

his interest in machines is quite obvious, since he's an inventor, and he looooves infodumping on people, he gets very excited about his passions very quickly and his mouth runs off with him, something I also have trouble with, it hasn't been a prominent trait for Jack in Bitter, because he's so out of his element he's mostly confused and in a way, almost grieving his own death, so he's been far quieter than he usually is

his special interest is obviously ghosts and machinery, and in Bitter I cover that he's got a degree in engineering, physics and mathematics. He's good at them, I like to look at it as though Jack rolled high in intelligence and low in wisdom, he's book smart, he knows things that are straightforward and have firm rules, he's less comfortable in topics that are more wishy washy and vague, biology is complicated and has too many variables, he finds it difficult to grasp, there's no one standard rule that applies to every body

I also struggle with vague and unclear directions, I need a solid structure and clear instructions, my strength is in sorting, organising, alphabetising and colour coding, I like things to Look Right, I stick to a particular routine with very specific things, and it's viscerally uncomfortable and even distressing for me to have that order disturbed, I nearly had a meltdown at work because someone had done a part of my job incorrectly, and I had to fix it, it made me genuinely upset on a personal level, it was MY system, NOBODY should be touching it, NOBODY should be moving things around, they do anyway, and I spend a portion of my shifts just frustrated and on edge because of it

Jack also has issues socially, he often says or does things that other people find uncomfortable or embarrassing, I reference that in Bitter, where Jack assumes everyone is mad at him because he said or did something stupid, this I have much experience in, while in the middle of a social situation it's easy to just do what comes naturally to you and not realise it's off putting to other people, because people often play polite and you can't tell that they're uncomfortable, even though people around you find it painfully obvious

sometimes it's easy to see in hindsight after you've been told you made something awkward or uncomfortable, but in the moment if nobody says anything about it, you can remain either totally oblivious, or become anxious and second guess every interaction you have

Jack is the oblivious type, he's fortunate to live in a family that is fairly understanding, they might get frustrated with him, or embarrassed by him, but they don't really take it personally, they KNOW he means well, they know he cares, and Jack does care, he cares a lot, he feels things a lot, he's incredibly empathetic

this is a trait that a lot of media likes to ignore in depictions of autism, because I guess it makes people with autism seem 'too normal', when tv shows always want to be like 'hey wow look at this clever asshole! isn't he clever, but also an asshole! but you can't hate him because he's ✨autistic✨ and he can't help it'

that bothers me a lot, I mean some people with autism do have trouble relating and empathising with people, my brother is one of them, but some people with autism really empathise a lot, some of us feel things very strongly, I'm highly empathetic and it's a real struggle to cope with

so yeah, it is a very complicated thing, so you need to go in with an idea of what their character struggles with, how it affects them, and when it's relevant in the story, also autism falls on a very wide spectrum, some people, like myself, are able to mask well, but that creates a big issue with identity, when you start to wonder how much of you is real and how much of you is mask, then you have to decide if you want to lower that mask and accept the social consequences of expressing yourself naturally

I have a friend who presents a little more obviously, he's very rigid in his ways and he talks like he's reading from a script, I have another friend who can socialise just fine, but will go into a total meltdown when a plan gets derailed and she doesn't know what to do next

another friend I have is highly social and incredibly boisterous, she stims with her whole body, dances around a lot, she's chaotic and that can be off-putting to people, she's had to spend a lot of her life holding that back, she's only recently started learning how to be herself shamelessly

my brother was incredibly social when he was younger, and people always really loved him, but most of that is mask, he's socially anxious and just wants to be alone most of the time, and he's a total prick to his immediate family, I don't take that personally any more, since now I understand that he's so blunt and brutally honest because he isn't masking with us, but also he still needs to be called out when he oversteps, autism might be why he has difficulty empathising, but it's not an excuse to be a complete asshole, even people with autism need to be called out on shitty behaviour, it isn't a get out of jail free card, our self expression shouldn't come at the cost of hurting other people, most of us are more than capable of learning to not be an asshole

I know this is like, A LOT, but these are the things that need to be considered when writing about autism, it is an all encompassing thing that permeates your entire life experience, I absolutely welcome people like you to try to write about it! Because I think it shouldn't be a taboo subject, and I appreciate that you asked for advice and that you want to do it respectfully, you've probably seen first hand how difficult living with autism can be, having a family member on the spectrum, so you already have some experience to draw from, I don't know your relationship with your sister or how old she is, or where on the spectrum she falls, but if possible you can ask her about her experiences in particular situations that you're having trouble writing, if that's something you and she are comfortable with

I hope this helps, just remember to keep an open mind and listen to any feedback you might get, it is very VERY easy to misrepresent autism so don't be too hard on yourself if you don't quite get it right, if someone gives you a critique, take it in stride and use it to become better ~ you can even express that in an authors note, that you want to write it accurately and invite anyone with experience to share their opinion, because like I said, it is different for everyone and my experiences are not universal, and you're welcome to run something by me every once in a while if you aren't sure about it ❤️

[hms-no-fun]

so about the scene near the end of 8.3.1, when j and vriska are like "we dont share a head anymore, we're real!". essentially it has me worried for some implications that could come across as really not great depending on how it plays out. i don't think it will be because you've done an excellent job so far i am just a bit nervous and wanted to let you know that it could be concerning if handled poorly and to ask about how you do intend to handle it if you are at liberty to say.

there's a couple things i want to say in response to this, and they will probably come across as harsh, so first of all i just want it stated for the record that i 100% understand your concern here. this is a sensitive, personal subject that would be very easy to fuck up, and i know a lot of folks are really invested in this story and don't want to see it turn into another thing they resent for getting it wrong in some way. i've watched this happen countless times to art that i was really invested in. i've felt that disappointment and i want nothing more than to avoid that in the case of godfeels.

(this is a long post so i'm gonna put a break here, some spoilers follow for godfeels 3 part 1 chapter 8 act 3 [1/2] lmao)

i'll agree that J and vriska saying "we're real" upon having physical bodies is maybe weirdly mixed messaging compared against J's personal realization of "i'm real." this is something i stared at on the page for a while, because i knew the implications, but i couldn't really come up with a better way to phrase it that didn't involve a much lengthier conversation that felt totally out of place given the circumstances. to my mind, it makes perfect sense that there would be two separate colloquial uses of the term "real" here. when J says "i'm real," it's a statement of personal agency and an affirmation that they do exist as an independent entity. when J and vriska on the beach say "we're real," they're speaking to the fact that they have physical bodies and are separate from one another in a way they've never been before. having them say, instead, "we have bodies" maybe would be clearer for the reader, but it just didn't feel in character to me. maybe it could have been "we're real! i mean, real real!" but i think if anything that would just make your fears even worse. i elected to keep the text as it was published because i felt the context of the rest of the chapter resolved these questions in a much more satisfying way than a simple conversation ever could.

this is, to an extent, why i originally wanted to release chapters 8.3.1 and 8.3.2 within a couple days of each other, because despite its length 8.3.1 is still functionally the middle of J and vriska's arcs. there are a lot of unresolved questions on the table right now and i recognize it's probably a lot harder to appreciate what 8.3.1 is doing when there is this big cliffhanger that we've been stuck on for nearly 60,000 words. it's just unfortunately true that real-life circumstances made it impossible for me to get the last part of this chapter finished in the timeframe i wanted to, and i knew it would be difficult for folks to be left with SO MUCH uncertainty after all the dread i've been invoking for a solid three weeks now. so i can only imagine how all of that could make this uneasy feeling about J and vriska being physically "real" that much worse. and i have sympathy for that! i really do.

but also, i can't say i super appreciate being questioned on my intentions like this. because essentially what you're asking me is "are you planning on doing good representation?" and i just don't believe that there's a way for me to answer this question that will satisfy you. the work will speak for itself when it's done. but i have said multiple times in multiple places that i am looking at this as a plural story, and i've reiterated multiple times in multiple places that i've very explicitly considered these concerns long before this chapter was released. i don't know how many different ways i can vaguely assuage your fears before it feels like what you really want is for me to just tell you what happens, as if you have a right to that information on the basis of anxiety alone.

i know this story means a lot to you, i know you just want it to be the best it can possibly be, and i know you want to make sure i don't wind up tripping over myself in the execution. but the thing is that i am not accountable to your concerns. i never have been, and i never will be. i certainly, 100% take those concerns into account, because i don't want to tell a story that inflicts harm accidentally. but i am not aiming to tell a prototypical narrative in any way. the model of transness i showed in gf2 was not meant to be THE model of transness, just my perspective on it. in the same way, the model of plurality i'm showing in gf3 is not meant to be THE model of plurality, just my perspective on it. chapter 8.3.1 was not 40,000 words because i wanted to appease my plural readers. it was 40,000 words because i was reckoning very directly with the psychological reality of my own headmates, and the damage we knowingly/unknowingly inflicted upon each other over the years before i/we recognized our plurality for what it was. which is a thing i feel like i shouldn't have to say!! i really hate toting out the "actually i've suffered so it's okay for me to make challenging queer art" excuse. the work should speak for itself. i'm willing to talk about the art forever, as should be BOUNTIFULLY obvious at this point, but this kind of thing? i don't like talking about my own plurality in public, but i feel like doing so is the only way i can convey the seriousness with which i am treating this story. and that fucking sucks!!! i really just don't appreciate the extra pressure to "get it right." i already knew the pressure was there. you aren't telling me something i don't know by asking this question.

if anything, it feels like a threat. and i know that's not how you intend it, anon. but i have been on this roundabout more than enough times to know where this line of reasoning leads. what happens if i do disappoint you? what happens if you feel utterly betrayed by this work that has helped to define some brilliant piece of you? do i then become the next enemy, the next andrew hussie, the next queer traitor whose name is hissed in hushed tones with derisive vitriol? "she came so close, and then she fucked it all up..."

this exact pressure, from this exact fandom, has literally derailed the lives of several of my closest friends for years. i have watched AND personally endured harassment campaigns both for homestuck fanworks and for discussions around the text of homestuck itself. i almost abandoned godfeels outright last year because i was convinced the joy i felt in telling this story could never be outweighed by the sheer possessive monstrosity with which vocal sections of this fandom treat anyone who tries to do something different. especially if that "something different" involves messy queerness.

to put it as frankly as i can: i do not care about good representation, and i never have. if i cared about good representation, i would have made june exactly the bubbly best-case-scenario post-transition gal that a lot of fanart depicts. if i cared about good representation, i would just have june be plural and immediately start using plural terms and go about it in a very safe and conventional way (insofar as any depiction of plurality can be called "conventional" at this point).

the only thing i, as an artist, have ever cared about is whether my art is telling the truth. if it's not, then it's worthless. if it is, then i believe that accusations of "good representation" will naturally follow, because on the whole i think most readers (especially queer ones) know when you're lying to them. this story has always been rough, traumatic, and challenging, entirely because it is an expression of my own rough, traumatic, and challenging experiences both as a trans woman and now as a plural trans woman. what i care about is making sure that this story is and remains undeniably itself.

and i just don't think that is possible in an environment where i'm also being pressured -even in a well-intentioned way!- to tick the right representational boxes in order to satisfactorily avoid criticism of x y z depiction.

and look. if the last part of this chapter comes out and utterly beefs it, we can talk. i've deliberately not educated myself on a lot of existing plural models because i wanted this to be something that was mine, but it's entirely possible that in the process of that i will end up stumbling over some harmful trope that i didn't know anything about. but fundamentally, my decision to put plurality on the center stage in this narrative was not a "oh i have a lot of plural readers so i should pander to them" situation. i decided to put plurality on the center stage in this narrative because i realized it was always on the center stage, and i was just in denial about it. i would not introduce anything to the universe of this story out of a sense of obligation or fanservice or whatever else. i did this because i believe in it, because i believe it is an honest part of this story that expands and enhances the palette of what already exists in beautiful and unexpected ways. i don't take that lightly. i don't take the responsibility i feel as someone who has, in a very real sense, stumbled ass-backwards into being the steward of what i guess i have to acknowledge at this point is, in some sense, "an important work of plural fiction" lightly.

i know, maybe better than most people, what's at stake here. reminding me of what's at stake only makes me more nervous, thus making my job (which isn't even a job since i literally can't get paid for godfeels) that much harder. so please, just have patience and let me finish this corner of the narrative, and when it's done you can judge it for what it is.