#do they...not know how to write dialogue for esl characters or

[nondelphic]

Hiiii! May I ask for some advice? After a really long time of not writing fan fic, I recently started getting back into it but have been struggling… So I started using a little bit of the chat.ai help me but I feel icky about it but at the same time, I’m constantly struggling with writers block and being burnt out… What should I do?

i'm actually really glad you asked this because i've been preparing a post about using ai responsibly for writing, might just post it here lol:

tldr: this post isn’t about using ai to generate your story for you. it’s about how to utilize ai to enhance your writing process while still keeping your voice and creativity at the forefront.

the rise of ai has stirred up a lot of talk about ethics, originality, and how much tech should really be in our creative space. as writers, our work is highly personal, it's a reflection of our thoughts and experiences. so it’s totally normal to feel icky about bringing ai into the mix.

here's a hot take, though: ai isn’t here to replace your creativity. it doesn’t get the deep, emotional layers that only a human writer can bring. sure, ai can generate text, but it doesn’t really understand what it’s saying. that’s where some of the ethical concerns come in—if we rely too much on ai, we risk losing that personal touch that makes our stories resonate.

on the flip side, when used thoughtfully, ai can actually boost your creative process instead of taking away from it. think of ai as a helpful assistant, it can take care of some of the boring, tedious stuff, giving you more space to focus on what really matters: writing your story, your way. it’s not about letting ai take over, but using it to support and streamline your process.

this is not a post about my experience with ai, but i have to say, that as someone with adhd, ai has been a game-changer for me. it helps me keep track of my ideas, organize my thoughts, and even manage my writing schedule when my brain is all over the place. it's like having an extra set of hands (or, you know, a brain) to help me stay on top of everything, so i can focus more on the actual creative part of writing.

the key is to make sure ai never overshadows your original voice or creative vision. ai should be a tool that helps you bring your ideas to life, not something that writes the story for you. if you’re curious about how to use ai in your writing process while keeping your authenticity intact, here are some tips to do it responsibly:

brainstorming ideas: when you’re stuck on a plot point or character development, use ai to generate prompts or ideas. these can spark new directions for your story, giving you fresh perspectives to explore.

dialogue experimentation: if your dialogue feels flat, try using ai to generate conversation snippets based on your characters. it might not be perfect, but it can give you new ideas for how your characters might interact.

synonym suggestions: tired of using the same word over and over? ai can help you find synonyms or alternative phrases, keeping your writing fresh without losing your voice. i've found this very helpful as an ESL writer!

outline generation: got a rough idea but need a structure? use ai to create a basic outline, then tweak it to fit your vision. it’s a great way to get a head start on organizing your story.

character backstories: use ai to brainstorm character traits, backstories, or names. you can take these ideas and expand on them, adding the depth and personality that only you can create.

quick research assistance: save time by using ai for quick facts or historical details. it lets you focus more on storytelling and less on getting bogged down in research. (disclaimer: never 100% trust what an ai generates, fact check everything). i've found it a great starting point if i have a very niche question for my research.

editing help: use ai for basic grammar and spelling checks to speed up your editing process. just remember, it’s your judgment that will shape the final draft, not the ai’s.

plot analysis: use ai to scan your draft for plot holes or inconsistencies. it can help identify gaps in logic or missing links in your storyline, giving you a clearer idea of where to tighten things up.

tone consistency: ai can help you maintain a consistent tone throughout your story by analyzing your draft and suggesting adjustments where the tone shifts unexpectedly.

pacing adjustments: ai can review the pacing of your story, highlighting sections that may be too slow or too rushed, helping you find the right balance.

character consistency: track your characters' traits, behaviors, and dialogue to ensure they remain consistent throughout the story, preventing out-of-character moments.

theme reinforcement: use ai to analyze how well your themes are being conveyed across the narrative, suggesting areas where you might strengthen or clarify your message.

draft comparison: if you’ve gone through multiple drafts, ai can compare them to highlight what’s changed, what’s been improved, and what might have been lost in the revisions.

to answer your question more personally, i think we can never please everyone, and ai will continue to be developed and get better and better. i understand feeling icky about using ai, and you might get judged for it, but do what you need to do, tbh.

i have found myself in a writing routine where i use most of the advice above in my writing process. i write most of my work myself, but i use ai as a tool to bounce ideas off of, and it's been a life changer. i managed to finish my first novel draft with the help of ai, and it fuelled my creativity to have "someone" (or rather something) to feed my ideas and help them identify what i could do better.

[cealesti]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

(though as far as I can tell there's just 19 questions? is the 20th question the tagging?)

Thank you so much for the tags @00queasy00 and @izharmilgram !!! this was a blast!!

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 15!

2. what's your total ao3 word count? 221370.... wow that's wild

3. what fandoms do you write for? mostly harry potter, but i also have some bnha works!!

4. top five fics by kudos: (from most to least) "with eyes like these (who sees anybody else)", "Ridiculous", "with friends like these (who needs anybody else)", "Curious", "can't commit to anything but a crime"

5. do you respond to comments? ....i've been trying to but i'm generally not very good at it ;v; i think i've managed to respond to all comments on "with eyes like these"!

6. what is the fic your wrote with the angstiest ending? uuuh that'd be "it's my problem, it's my problem (if i feel the need to hide)", a hurt/no comfort bakugou-centric oneshot

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? oh i'm not very good at those. "hope is a four-letter word" i suppose!

8. do you get hate on fics? not really!

9. do you write smut? i've recently started dabbling. i find it very difficult ngl lmao

10. craziest crossover? no official crossovers, but i guess all the AFTG characters i slipped into "with eyes like these" lmao

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i know of :^)

12. have you ever had a fic translated? not that i know of!

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? uh. kinda? not in the way you think :p i'd like to give it a shot though

14. all time favorite ship? tomarrymort <33 though i'm very much not normal about a handful of ships

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? NONE i will finish ALL of them!! (fingers crossed i get to "can't commit to anything but a crime" next year!)

16. what are your writing strengths? i think i'm quite good at writing distinct narrative voices. it's something i enjoy reading and so it's something i put a lot of thought into when writing

17. what are your writing weaknesses? i've grown better at dialogue, so right now my main struggle is with describing actions? i tend to over-explain or explain things awkwardly and only realize it later. probably an ESL thing that i have to work on

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language? if it's mean to be understood by the readers and/or pov character, then it should be used in moderation. if not, then i have no opinion :p

19. favorite fic you've written? oh man. i genuinely can't pick. the "anybody else" series is obviously my baby and i've poured a lot of blood sweat and tears into it. but "hope is a four-letter word" is my greatest writing success and i think "fly high" will be extremely fun to write whenever i go back to it so.... hard to pick!!

i'm tagging @saintsenara @atlantablack @shadow-of-the-eclipse @officialsporkintheroad @obsidianpen and anyone else who might want to do this!!

[raymurata]

H and I for the ask game?

H: How would you describe your writing style?

I don't know, actually? I mean, technically it's easy: present tense (it used to be past tense but as of late I always go for present), third person subjective narration, usually limited to the protagonist but sometimes the narration can point out something that is unknown to the character. I do this in Tarlyn's fics for example because he is Oak's past life and his perception of the world is extremely distorted by cptsd and severe anxiety, and in the present Oak can understand more than Tarlyn could in the past, so I play with that

Aside from that, I'd say my writing is very character-focused; there's plenty of dialogue and it tends to be more descriptive of people's actions and their emotions than environment. I use my share of similes and interesting turns of phrases (sometimes merely on account of speaking ESL and not knowing the correct collocation, lol), and I am pretty good with character development.

I: How many fandoms have you written in?  Do you have a favorite?

So I started writing fanfic after I watched Luke and Reid's romance from the shitty soap opera As the world turns, and they killed Reid off in one of the worst cases of "kill your gays" I have ever seen! I was so devastated bc I loved the character actually, and I had to write myself some fix-it fic. I never posted that.

Then I played Dragon Age, and yeah... That's my fandom, the one I've written, drawn and published in. The one and only that I can remember. I have always been more into writing original works than fandom works.

And I have been writing lots of stories for my dnd characters (many of my fellow players and I are into doing so, in both of my groups! What a find!), but those are only fandoms of five each. XD One of those characters exists in Exandria, so I guess it is adjacent to the CR fandom bc I do include lots of canon characters (I mean, Tarlyn is an Icozrin, brother-nephew to Bodo Icozrin, the foreman who is humiliated by the M9 lol) and little details. 😊

[literary-mafioso]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Ask meme I was tagged in via dashboard drive-by. Consider yourself tagged if you see this post!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 10! Not including side accounts and orphaned works...

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 151,992. Yowza.

3. What fandoms do you write for? As of the last few years I've set up shop in Michael Manndom.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? Some Weird Sin, Rebirth of the Cool, Bulletproof, Hotel Vast Horizon, and If bein' afraid is a crime, we hang side by side.

5. Do you respond to comments? I TRY SO HARD TO and usually yes!!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Probably Every Single Prayer.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? At the Chime of a City Clock, IMO!

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not to my knowledge lol

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes! The kind that's bookended by egregious amounts of plot!

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I do! Although I like them to have some fundamentally compatible DNA. Which is why I wrote Double Trouble :)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Again, not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I've had someone ask me for permission to do this, but if the end result was ever posted, it wasn't to AO3 and I wasn't made aware of it!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have not, and I doubt I ever will! I'm a control freak.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? Neil/Vincent from Heat 1995. Shocking, I know.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Oh man... I try not to start writing something I have no intention of ever finishing. But the Heat 2 novel threw such a wrench in the gears of my original Vincent Hanna & Chris Shiherlis canon-compliant sequel fic that I don't think I can troubleshoot it into something functional that would meet my standards.

16. What are your writing strengths? I'd like to think that I have a distinct style that marries the novelistic and the pulpy, that is intimate and really tunnels inside the head of the POV character while still being brisk and fun to read. I've been told I'm good at mimicking distinct dialogue styles and making it seem natural and inevitable for two characters to get into bed with each other. (Best compliment ever!) My own personal aversion to White Room Syndrome means I put a lot of work into setting and atmosphere, and ensuring that the details in a fic speak to a coherent historicity that is informed by the source material.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Because I lack an editor and/or a beta reader, I am vulnerable to the usual pitfalls: overwriting, preciousness, and basic mechanical inconsistencies/copy errors that would undoubtedly be caught by a second pair of eyes + a brain that isn't mine. Any fic author can be decent on their own, but it takes a fic author and an editor to elevate a Good work to a Great one. I'm also rotten at doing The Lord's Work, AKA producing the kind of down-and-dirty super-indulgent fanservice-y smut that is the backbone of any fandom. I can't write PWP on command and it pains me! I really and truly wish I had the kind of whimsy and confidence to whip up a full-on smorgasbord of raunchy porn. I am prisoner to my highbrow Concepts and Conceits.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I write exclusively in English, which is my first language and the only language I speak, so for me personally this just doesn't factor in as a practical concern. But I have a lot of admiration for ESL fic writers who primarily write in the English language for English-speaking readers. I've found that in many cases they are even better than native speakers at nailing down the stylistic details and idiosyncrasies of particular characters from American/British film and television sources, because (depending on their own background/fluency/milieu) they may pay more active attention to such things as a matter of course.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Hannibal. And not the TV series :)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? If only for the amount of research and soup-to-nuts creative labor involved, Some Weird Sin is my baby.

[alphawave-writes]

My personal headcanon is that this relates to Ahti being away from the Oldest House and/or the Oceanview Motel. In the entirety of Control he never seems overly concerned over the Oldest House. He hates the Clog for some reason, is a little annoyed with the Hiss, but is more keen on getting his holiday and getting his work done before that time. The implication is that he will come back at some point. He just needs a break and will return to help Jesse clean up when the holiday’s over.

Except he doesn’t. Ahti isunable to return to the Oldest House. He can seemingly travel to and from the Dark Place (there’s another theory I have about how he’s also the caretaker for the Oceanview Motel/Hotel and that they’re the same thing perceived differently by Jesse and Alan, but that’s its own separate thing), but as the Firebreak trailers have confirmed, Ahti never returned to the Oldest House in all those years.

Ahti is no ordinary human. An Old God if you will, one associated with water, with the ability to seemingly travel anywhere and possibly with the same eyes as the actual Old Gods of Asgard in being able to see the truth, hence him calling Alan “Tom”. He can traverse freely through the Oldest House, and as stated earlier, the Oceanview and perhaps even the Dark Place itself. But he can’t get back to the Oldest House.

And it’s not because of Scratch—not directly. It’s because of Alan.

During AW2, there are a few manuscript pages that mention Ahti by name, including one that explicitly places him in Valhalla with the other old people there. Just like with Saga, Ahti became a character in Alan’s story/escape attempt. And just like everyone else he became trapped in Alan’s story, forced to play the role of a resident of Valhalla. He cannot leave until the story reaches its conclusion.

Keep in mind, this moment right here is the LAST time he talks to Saga, and the last time he talks in the “surface/real world”. His part has been played, and he has said what he needs to say to Saga. This extra incidental dialogue? This optional scene? This reads to me like Ahti’s first moment of clarity. As an Old God, he gets to snap out of it and see the reality of the situation, but just after he’s done playing his role. That’s why he’s confused. That’s why he wants to go home. And he probably doesn’t even realise that Alan is at least partially responsible for trapping him.

And I do want to add an aside as someone that’s overanalysed his dialogue: Ahti never speaks nonsense. His dialogue is usually perfectly normal English mixed with the direct translation of certain Finnish idioms. If he spoke in Finnish to a Finn, he is talking…well, like an old man, but normal for an old man. In English, if he just switches the idioms to some more “normal” ones, he would also make logical sense. I know that for a fact because I made a giant document full of the translations of numerous Finnish idioms into English for an Ahti fic I’m writing but I digress.

What is truly frightening here is that Ahti has defaulted back to Finnish. There are very few times he directly says something in Finnish, and that’s usually when he’s muttering to himself. This is more in AW2 than Control, but he doesn’t break out the Finnish to other people unless he can’t think of a word in English (a very common ESL experience, I can attest to). For him to mostly speak in Finnish here, he doesn’t register Saga in the room anymore. He’s terrified, mumbling to himself in his native language. He has been let go from the story for a moment, and he is utterly confused.

As for why I say his home is the Oldest House, rather than Cauldron Lake, that’s more because of his lines about wanting to go “home” implying the town isn’t his home. He can travel freely to the Dark Place, seems to know his way around, so that’s probably not his home either, and if you subscribe to my theory that both Oceanviews are technically the same nexus point, that also takes the Oceanview out, leaving the Oldest House as the lone culprit.

And why he cares so much more about going home to the Oldest House? Well, he is the janitor. In Finnish, that word is “Talonmies”. Translated directly into English like Ahti so often does, that means “man of the house”. And that’s what he is, except the circumstances prevent him from being that role. So now he is a man without his home.

An Old God without his Oldest House.

hey apparently there's an occurrence that can happen in AW2 when you play as Saga in the Nursing Home where Ahti just suddenly starts freaking out and talking like a normal person, and combined with the fact Ahti has been in Bright Falls for 3 years and Scratch was pretty much very close to getting the ending he wanted, and everything is centered around the lake getting fucked up when Ahti is literally a Sea God, it probably means Scratch was fucking with the lake so much to the point where it was making Ahti just lose his mind. and its very fucked up and i fucking hate it and i hate hearing him sad and lost and confused. this is the worst thing ever.

did you guys ever watch the movie A Wrinkle In Time. theres a god-like character in it that only speaks using other peoples sentences. when everything starts falling apart she starts speaking fully for herself, using her own words, and specifies to the main character that it means everything is falling apart. the reason she speaks the way she usually does is because the worlds are balanced. her speaking normally means everything is wrong and something needs to be done.

Ahti is never supposed to make complete sense. like you can generally get the gist of what he's saying but most of the time he's basically speaking his own weird lingo. him making complete sense is not good. Scratch was probably close to fucking killing Ahti even. i fucking hate this i hate this so much.

[darthnaderer]

Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Category: Tejas Star Reading List, 2021-22

Summary: In the fantasy country of Santa Maria, Maximiliano (Max for short) lives a mostly happy life playing fútbol with his friends, although he sometimes wishes his Papá would tell him about his Mamá, who disappeared when he was just a baby. What has also disappeared is his birth certificate, and in order for Max to keep playing fútbol, Papá travels to another city to get one for him. While he's gone, Max discovers a compass and is asked to help take his Papá's place as a Guardian to escort a young girl to the mythical Mañanaland that Max's Buelo has told him so many stories about. Max learns about the dictatorship in the neighboring country of Abismo and hopes that by helping this young girl he may also find his mother along the way.

Justification: This is a high-interest fantasy tale that supports bilingualism, often using Mexican-Spanish phrases during description and dialogue, which is why it made the Tejas Star Reading List. In Texas, it's important to have a bilingual or even multilingual book available for students who are ESL, who are learning Spanish and want to practice, or who are already comfortable with both languages. Representation matters, even in the language an author chooses to write in.

Evaluation:

Music in Language - Since her novel Esperanza Rising rose to fame, Ryan has been known for her lyrical writing. One of the phrases often repeated throughout the story is "Solo mañana sabe."/"Only tomorrow knows the answer." As the story progresses, this phrase takes on an even more powerful meaning. Mañanaland is not just a destination, it's the journey to a better future and neither the readers nor Max knows what it might hold in store.

Figurative Language (Allegory) - The entire book is essentially an allegory for those who help migrants and refugees enter a safe country when the borders are closed to them. It could easily have become didactic, but Ryan carefully toes the line between telling a fantastical story and a lesson about how undocumented immigrants are treated. Because of how it is written, students may relate to one side or another more clearly, or they may feel caught in the middle like many of the other characters inhabiting Santa Maria.

Pacing - While Ryan's writing is undeniably beautiful, at times there are tangents that seem to only contribute beauty rather than plot or character details. I feel like Max's character growth could have been more gradual, and that his arc was rushed. The ending also felt rushed. Perhaps Ryan was running out of time or needed to shorten the book. Either way, the ending was still powerful and had me asking, "Do you believe in happy endings?" 

Ryan, P. M. (2020). Mañanaland. Scholastic Inc.

Note: I read the original English version, not the one translated by Alberto Jiménez Rioja.

[crowclubkaz]

vanko, in iron man 2: if you make god bleed, people will cease to believe in him

vanko, 10 mins. later: what you want them do???

boy howdy the writers really just... did that huh

[writingwithcolor]

How to Write Non-Fluent ESL English

@interneet​ asked:

Hey, I’m reading a story at the moment where immigrant characters speak in incredibly broken English. It’s really jarring. Is there a way to respectfully write characters speaking in broken/non-fluent English without it coming across unrealistic and racist or would you advise just leaving that out of your writing altogether?

This is going to turn into a bit of a guide…I’ll try not to get too carried away with linguistics stuff :)

A Note on Terminology

I’d definitely go with “non-fluent” over “broken,” as the term “broken” has quite a negative connotation that also tends to be used in describing stigmatized languages, language varieties, and dialects that are, in fact, used properly according to their own internal rules (AAVE and many Global Englishes, to name a few). 

Another term you should know for this guide is ESL and L1/L2. I’ll use L1 to refer to first language, L2 for second language, and so on—you can keep adding numbers. ESL is “English Second Language,” which is pretty self-explanatory, but there is a crucial distinction between that and dominant language. I myself am technically ESL, as I started learning English at around age 3. However, since I live in the US where English is the dominant language, I quickly gained in English proficiency and lost Japanese proficiency. While I still have around middle schooler proficiency in Japanese, English is my dominant language now. An immigrant character may be ESL but completely fluent in English.

Should You Write It?

It depends on whether or not the character’s English proficiency is plot relevant. Keep in mind that with writing non-fluent english, you don’t want to overload speech with mistakes, or make it incomprehensible. The most you should do is use it to establish character (say a character has just moved overseas, and in the story their English improves over time) or to further plot (maybe there is important info that needs to be communicated and there’s a barrier). If it’s not relevant, and it’s just in order to establish that they’re a foreigner, don’t do it. It’s Othering, and there are other ways to establish culture and culture shock. As I said before, not all immigrants have a poor command of their destination country’s dominant language. 

The How-To

There are two components that I’ll address: 

The types of errors to include, and

Writing accents (or not)

First, grammatical features are better to use than phonetic ones. We’ll get to why when we talk about accents, but for now, note that it’s more respectful to use for ESL errors than pronunciation. Here are some examples of grammatical features: 

Word order

Inflections (eg. the attachment of affixes like -s, -ed, etc. to indicate tense, person, number, etc. of a noun or verb)

The presence or absence of certain morphological constructs that appear in some languages but not others (eg. Japanese has topic markers like wa, and English doesn’t; English has definite/indefinite articles like the but Japanese doesn’t)

If you’re writing an ESL character, ask beta readers & mods on this blog who speak the character’s L1 to see if the grammatical features of your character’s ESL speech are consistent with typical English fluency errors. Here’s an ask I answered on Japanese, and Mod Rune gives a good example on Korean here: 

A Korean is more likely to try and put someone’s title behind their last name (e.g. Obama President rather than President Obama, Lestrade Inspector instead of Inspector Lestrade)

Second, we want to avoid in-dialogue portrayals of phonetic differences, which is also called “eye dialect.” Here are some examples from a piece of media many of us are probably familiar with, but I don’t think deserves a citation: 

“Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?”

“Eh? No, don' go! I've — I've never met another one before”

“Anuzzer what, precisely?”

“Another half-giant, o' course.”

Both speakers have an accent that is shown within the writing through misspellings of the words they’re speaking (one is French, one is West Country English). This is a stereotypical (and often hard-to-read) portrayal of accents that Others the speaker and unfairly puts either their dialect differences or their perceived proficiency in English at the forefront of their dialogue. And this is with European characters! Imagine how this would look on people from other parts of the globe. 

Another major reason why we want to avoid eye dialect is because of the racist history of (pejoratively) writing accents in literature. In early American writing, Black characters were written according to minstrel stereotypes, and with it, a stereotypical way of speaking that was emphasized through eye dialect. Here’s a thesis that explains the history of eye dialect in American literature to supplement that idea, if you want to learn more. In addition, unless you’re a linguist or dialect coach who is trained in the phonetic inventory of the L1 & speaker tendencies, you tend to perpetuate media stereotypes that may not be reflective of actual speech. This can be very harmful. 

Here’s a link on how to describe accents instead, and here are some good perspectives on being a 1st generation immigrant and struggling with accents (how that affects them when they’re teased for it, and also strategies they have taken to overcome a knowledge gap). 

In Conclusion

Before writing an ESL speaker’s English in a different way from the rest of the cast, consider whether or not this is really needed in your story.

If you do decide to write their speech differently, look at the grammatical features of their L1 and talk to real speakers of that L1 to get a realistic idea.

AVOID EYE DIALECT! 

Thanks for stickin’ with me, folks. 

~Mod Rina

[world-by-word]

Hi I have a question. I'm writing a fanfic with a character who is Lithuanian and they go to America. But they don't speak English so im wondering how to portray that? I know Lithuanian and English are very different

(cont.) same anon as before since i realized this is better phrasing. so i suppose what i'm wondering is how would you portray them learning esl as a second language? like especially when they're talking? i don't want to do it bad

Hi! I have never been in a situation where I'd be learning a language in a country where people speak that language while having to start from scratch and having no help whatsoever from someone who'd be able to speak both languages. However I have visited Norway and I'm in no way proficient in it, so in a situation where my poor Norwegian would meet another persons poor English (rather rare), we'd still have two languages somewhat in common to communicate in bits and pieces of sentences and body language and gesticulating with hands. Maybe that would be how?

I suppose it depends on your characters age, education and time period the story is set in, but I find it very hard to believe that this would be someone learning their second language from scratch unless they are younger than 7-8 years old (that's when we start learning English at school). If the story is set some time other than modern day, it would still be hard to find a person who wouldn't know at least one other language besides their mother tongue (if we're talking early 20th century, it would be Russian/German/Polish, if before that - Russian/Polish), which would make it easier to learn a different language and would also give the person a better chance to find someone who would speak some language they have in common and via that they could learn? Or, and this is kind of the most logical, they would take classes?

What I'm saying is, it's important to understand that due to the fact that Lithuania is a tiny country with around 3,6 million native speakers worldwide, every single person knows at least 2 languages (this is like, the bare minimum, most know 3). English is mandatory now (grades 2-12), so everyone has at least the basics.

Considering that this is a fanfic (and I'm assuming that you are not a native Lithuanian speaker), I would suggest writing the dialogues in English, just making them very simple, sentences short and to the point, sometimes using words that would technically be correct but have a much better synonym, adding pauses to indicate searching for the right word... Mixing up the word order wouldn't really work out as the languages have rather similar sentence structure. If you want the character to start from full on Lithuanian, you could try writing in normal English but cursive, and let people know that this is not said in English, for example:

"Sorry, are you looking for something?" the store clerk asked the customer. They looked clearly lost. "Oh, hello! I need.." They said, ignoring the clerks dumbfounded face, and looked around, for something to point at. "Well, like this, to cut." They made a snipping motion with their pointer and middle fingers. "Scissors?" The clerk asked, somewhat relieved that this game of charades was coming to an end. "Scissors! Yes!"

Just a suggestion, but you can surely find a way that works best for you!

[fedonciadale]

Any tips on writing skills ? When did you start writing ? Your command on the English Language is really great .

Hi there!

Thanks for the compliment!

I’ve always come up with ‘fanfics’ in my head ever since I began to read. And when I was young, I wrote a little bit of Arthurian and Tolkien fanfics  (in German). I started writing fanfic for real in 2016 when I fell into the Jonsa rabbit hole. The first chapter of “To go South” is my very first published fanfic - and boy was I nervous!

I used to tell my stories to my friends and siblings and I absolutely loved telling stories to my children. We had this game we played. They would each tell me two or three words and my part was to come up with a story, in which these words were used. The story usually involved dragons and knights and - surprise, surprise - a family in danger.

One thing I’ve also always done was to invent dialogues in my head, playing with my favourite characters.

So, in a way I have written stories long before I actually wrote them.

As for my English, I use English almost every day for my job. And I started reading novels in English ages ago. And I actually had good English teachers, believe it or not. I still make silly mistakes and you can tell I’m an ESL. But I’ve read so many novels in English, that I can’t imagine to write GoT or HP fanfic in German. Sometimes when @maybe-hufflepuff points out some of my mistakes when she does her alphabeta thing I could slap myself.

As for honing your own writing skills, I would say that the most important thing is that you start with something you like, maybe a favourite ship or a favourite scene. The most important thing is that you have fun. Write what you would want to read. You don’t need to cater to the preferred headcanons of your fandom, if you don’t particularly like that.

Find out what works for you: Maybe you want to start with your favourite scene? Maybe you want to prepare your favourite scene and work towards it? I usually postpone my fav scenes. I write all the chapters leading up to that and ‘reward’ myself with the scene I really want to write. One of my favourite scenes in ‘The Phoenix Potion’ was at the very end, and I really wanted to get there. So that was a big incentive. But some people start with their favourite scene and work backwards from there.

When you read something you should take note (not necessarily as in actually writing that down) if you like a story and then really think about why you like it. Do you like that particular plot twist? Do you like how the characters are written consistently? Working out why you like something, helps you to do that yourself, because you can look at your own writing and judge if you would like it as a reader. It also helps to take not of what throws you off.

Make notes on your characters, even if they are already fleshed out in canon. If your fic takes place ten years after canon, the characters should be slightly different. If you write canon bent, try to come up with a good reason why the canon is bent. What additional rules do you want to introduce?

Some writers like to plot, some writers like to take the characters and go for it, with only a vague idea. You won’t know what type you are, not in advance.

The most important thing is that you do both read and write. Be prepared though, that writing will change your reading experience  (as does studying literature). You probably won’t just ‘consume’ any longer. It can be  devastating experience, because your expectations may change as well as your level of involvement in a story. Your tolerance of writing errors might decrease. You might not be able to completely drown in a story any longer, unless it’s well written.

On the other hand, that might happen anyway. If you read a lot, that affects you and it affects your critical skills. I read differently ever since I’ve begun writing, but even before that the fact that I’m analyzing texts very frequently has changed my reading behaviour and my expectations.

The most important thing though, is to try it. Just try it. I did, in October 2016 and I’ve never looked back. I can’t imagine a life without writing fanfic now.

Thanks for your nice ask!

[stvlti]

2020 Creator Wrap

I was tagged by @irolltwenties to do the 2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works tag! Thank you, lovely (*˘ ε ˘*)

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Before I begin, let me just tag some friends:

@reaperlight @3dnygma @drowthelynes @transdankovsky @fantomn @lawliyeeeet @dressed-to-keehl @setfa @0akdown @reidsnor @clubolive @mermaides

No pressure, but it would be fun if you guys share some of your works this year ( ˘︶˘ ) let’s see those fics and edits and artworks!! Get the clicks and views y’all deserve 💕 💕

And now, onwards to my 2020 Favorite Works List!

I didn’t write nearly as much as some of you guys did. And though I did exceed my goal of putting out 1 fic per month, I don’t have 5 solid ones I’m proud of. So I’ll just list 4 fics here:

01 // Growing Pains

I’ve always been very nervous about reccing this one, because it broaches a topic that I don’t really have a right to claim? I’m not transgender myself, but I simply adore the trans Dick Grayson headcanon so much it singlehandedly brought me back to the DC fandom and restarted my fanfic-writing habit for 2020 😂😂 plus the writing quality isn’t half bad, and I still really like the idea/metaphor this little story started with and grew from. 

Fave moment (besides the obvious):

"Ka-Pow!!" The boy ventriloquised. Lego Robin sailed through the air in his fingers. One stubby, outstretched leg made contact with a Lego henchman, knocking all the surrounding baddies over like bowling pins. "Sorry Mr. Bad Guys, guess it's way past your bedtime too!"

"Good job, Robin." The boy lowered his prepubescent voice and tried to affect Batman's gravelly timbre as much as possible. In his other hand, he walked Lego Batman across the floor of the crime scene. "How about we round them up and leave it for the Commish? It's getting quite late."

"Oh oh! Can I have cookies on the ride back?"

The boy swivelled Lego Batman's grinning face around. "I don't see why not."

Another night out in Lego Gotham City, another day saved by the Dynamic Duo. This called for a celebration indeed. The boy set the pair of heroes down by the Lego Batmobile and reached over to his own plate of Alfred's after-school chocolate chip cookies. He took his sweet time with the last piece, savouring each bite, sighing at the way it melted on his tongue.

02 // Transference 

This is my best-performing fic in terms of the kudos to hits ratio, so I feel validated in being proud of this one :’) It’s a pretty good marker of the distances I’ve covered since getting serious about reading the comic source material end of 2019, as you can see from the much broader and varied cast of characters I focused on for this story. It also definitely cemented - to me, at least - the fact that I can write action scenes. When I went into “Second Chances” (a fem Jay fic) earlier this year, I was so nervous about writing the action sequence there, because I’ve never written a serious action scene up until that point! To me, this fic definitely showcases the growth I’ve experienced as a writer this year ^_^

Fave moment: (CONTAINS SPOILERS, PLEASE READ THE FIC FIRST IF YOU HAVEN’T!)

When the trio return, Ivy takes her place at the meeting table with a severe expression on her face. She chooses her words carefully, when she speaks. "The odds aren't pretty. We just accepted 100 refugees over the weekend, and the Green is still repairing itself after last week's attack."

Rose exchanges a glance with Jason. He gives her hand a reassuring squeeze, though he's not looking any better than she feels.

"But, each and everyone of us stayed behind to defend the Garden, because we all believed in giving a sanctuary for the civilian survivors out there.

"So bring them here. I'll take them in."

No sooner has Ivy finished the sentence, than Zatanna and Constantine have fired up their teleportation portal, and Harley's cheerful "Good luck!" is lost to the mad dash off to the rescue mission. The rest of the Shadowpact scramble after Rose as she launches herself through the portal—

—and slams into Arsenal, pushing him out of the way seconds before a meteoric explosion of green fire incinerates the very spot he'd been standing in.

03 // Paying It Forward

This one is important to me if only for the reason that it’s the first time I’ve written character dialogues that flowed. And I didn’t even need to plan them out meticulously beforehand! Do you know how rare that is for me as an ESL writer? Dialogues have been the bane of my existence since I started writing as a wee teen. Luckily, the Titans TV show has some solid character dynamics for me to fall back on. And from there I started reading NTT era Dick & Donna, and I just fell in love with their friendship. And now, I can turn to this fic as proof I still got it whenever I doubt my abilities as a writer c:

Fave moment:

Dick glanced at her, eyebrows raised. "She ran out on you?"

"No, no, we never really... I don't think it counts as running away if it never led to anything more."

"But you wanted it to be more." Dick paused, taking in Donna's silence, which would've fooled anyone else but him. "You still want it."

"I-- yeah." Donna sighed and held her hands up as if to say you caught me. "I'm... Sorry? For stealing your girl?"

Dick laughed, bemused. "She was never mine. She knew what she wanted, what she needed - and I wasn't in the right place to give her that."

"And you? You think I'm what she needs?"

"Better you than me. You're Donna Troy. Older, smarter, prettier..."

Donna gave him a deadpan stare.

"... And you know who you want to be. She likes that in a partner. I'm still figuring that one out for myself." Dick stretched his arms up and then leaned back into his seat, lacing his fingers behind his head as he stared up into the ceiling.

04 // When I'm down on my knees, you're how I pray

I’m including this one just to showcase I got the range, babey. And honestly, the fact that I was able to write this fic and actually receive positive reviews for it was a surprise to me too!! This was the first time I ever attempted to write a real darkfic with dead dove subject matters, and I managed to nail the emotional manipulation, somehow ;__; It was a real learning experience too, learnt so much about Catholicism just to write about Dick’s guilt issues in an AU setting nobody asked for 🤡

Fave moment: (dead dove warnings apply)

"Not at all, Richard," Roman said. The boy would come to him, eventually. "Now, it's getting late. If that's all, I'll have Jason fetch your room keys. Seven Hail Mary's before bed, and think about everything we've just discussed. Tomorrow we'll do a proper debriefing."

"I... Okay." For a moment, Dick sounded like he had more to say. Instead, Roman heard a muffled sniffle, one that Dick likely tried to disguise with a hand over his mouth. Silly boy.

"Thank you again, Father," Dick said, after a beat.

"All in a day's work, my child." Roman unlatched the door and stepped out of the booth. He nodded at Dick as the younger man ambled out of the booth after him. "Goodnight now, Richard."

As he set off for the living quarters, Dick called out. "Wait!"

Roman turned around, inclining his head.

"Will you stay?" The candlelight chased shadows away from Dick's face, and for one glorious moment, Roman could see the depth of the desperation shining in Dick's blue eyes.

"Guide me through my prayers. Please."

Roman smiled.

-

Oh did you think I was done? 😂 It did say Favourite Works and not just Favourite Fics, so I gotta include this one on the list too:

05 // 2020 Jason Todd Birthday edit

I said Robin Jason deserves better and I meant it! 👏👏 This edit took me 12 hours and 67 layers ‘cause I made a mistake on like my 8th hour into the editing process o__o but it ended up being my most popular serious graphic edit, so it was worth it. I guess! 

I mean the likes to reblog ratio is still fucked but hey, I broke 1k, which is more than I can say for any of my other edits

[redprotons]

Writing Tag Game

I was tagged by @kelkat9 Thank you :D 

How many works do you have on AO3? 3

What’s your total AO3 word count?

268,769

What are your top 5  3 fics by kudos?

1. Earth’s Secret Army  - Torchwood / Doctor Who / Sarah-Jane Adventures cross over / Ten/Rose reunion fic, using the Torchwood storyline ‘The Children of Earth’ as a base plotline. 

2. Hidden in Plain Sight - Another Ten/Rose reunion fic (hey, what can I say), involving a fob-watched Ten in 1913. It borrows a few things from Human Nature, but the story’s pretty different. 

3. Back to the Beginning  - A - sort of - follow on from Earth’s Secret Army. A sleep deprived Doctor is forced to live in the Tyler household for a few days. Found family, hurt/comfort fic. 

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! But I tend to wait until I post the next chapter in the story to reply. 

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

None?? I’m all for a helping of angst, but it has to have a happy ending. 

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Back to the Beginning?? But all of them end pretty happily. 

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

No, I only have room in my heart for one fandom obsession. 

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really hate, per se. But I have had some rather, harsh, nit-picky criticism, which I didn’t ask for on this particular fic.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No, not really. It’s not something my ace self tries to work into the stories I write. Nothing against it though.  

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. 

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope. 

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Tenth Doctor/Rose, basically all I write lol. 

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

The thirteen and fam, meets Ten, Rose and Jack story I’ve been stuck on for ages and haven’t touched in six months. 

What are your writing strengths?

Storylines?? I want to say. I’d like to think I’m good at linking characters and events together. And my ‘spin’ on things, I guess.  

What are your writing weaknesses?

SPELLING, GRAMMARRRAHH, STURUCTURAH! Not what you want to here from a ESL teacher, but I’m absolutely abysmal. Even putting the chapters through text to speech (which takes ages >:[) I always miss something. 

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Pretty neutral as long as it’s not offensive. I’ve done it for a few words here and there, and plan to do it with a fake language in a future story of mine. 

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Doctor Who

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

...I think, Earth’s Secret Army? But I’m really enjoying a new project I’m drafting right now. 

I tag... anyone who wants to do it :) 

[velvetsehun]

What are your pet peeves as a writer and a reader? Also I am in love with BTD like it is one of the things making me go insane while still safeguarding my sanity💗💗

a lot of things lmao.. I don’t overstep my place as a reader but sometimes from a writes POV, stories can be very difficult to read for me! 

my pet peeves:

 i’m very much someone who needs to be gripped in the first chapter, i cant be reading through multiple chapters just to get to the good parts of your writing 

inconsistencies in writing, i can tell where you’ve REALLY tried in parts of your story and let the others fall off - it makes me feel like you’ve only planned scenarios and bridged them together rather than planned a cohesive plot

Grammar doesn’t bother me, but misusing or not understanding/not bothering to look up words does; do not use big words for the sake of making your writing sound more ‘educated’, it just looks flowery and out of place if you don’t know how to use the word your using, id rather a very well thought out and “basic” sentence than misusing something. It can also be very unhelpful to ESL people if you’re not using words correctly - don’t just use a thesaurus and hope for the best!

Characters doing things that are out of character just for the sake of a shallow “plot progression”, don’t misuse your characters because you didn’t plan - its infuriating to readers to see a character they’ve read for so many chapters just do something not like them without a VALID reason. 

I don’t like mary sues and thats that on it tbh, no one is unrealistically free of weaknesses. Stories are an escape, but idealised self-insertion doesn’t make an interesting story, believe it or not you’re human and you are not without faults. 

people that use ‘special fonts’ from fancy text generator in stories, its ignorant of people that use screen-readers, make your story accessible to everyone 

this may be extreme but nothing sets a fire under my ass and gets me heated like people who don’t use speech marks (””) for dialogue, don’t give my of this (,,”) or use (- [text] ) or even (‘’), please JUST USE SPEECH MARKS FOR DIALOGUE IT MAKES YOUR WRITING UNREADABLE

Trigger Warning....Using things like rape/non-con/sexual assault for a quick plot device, its distasteful to actual victims to reduce their problems as a quick plot trope that you quickly get over, this goes hand in hand with the mishandling/misunderstand of abuse/PTSD 

Romanticisation of toxic/abusive relationships, i’m not your mother but i will sit you down and explain why that isnt okay.

I honestly have so many more... but ill keep it short and sweet 

im glad you’re enjoying BTD, dont worry it has the same effect on me ;) 

[docholligay]

Doc Loves Garbage: Overwatch

 Out of all the horrible things I love, this is the one I wish I perhaps didn’t so much. Which isn’t to say I wish I would stop writing it. YOU MIGHT, but not me, I love the little sandbox world I’ve created out of it, I genuinely get a lot of pleasure out of writing it and noodling on it, but only when I manage to convince myself that nothing the actual creators (or the fandom) say matters. 

BUT I CAN’T STOP MYSELF FROM WATCHING EVERY SHORT AND READING EVERY COMIC AND SHORT STORY THAT COMES OUT. I cannot let go of my love for every little nugget of the world, like it’s a grab bag of delightful things that I might want to sprinkle into my own interpretation of it, but like most grab bags, I find it’s generally just filled with cheap bullshit. 

THE TIMELINE. 

You would think that google wouldn’t be very difficult to use, but I don’t think they use it at Blizzard, as it took me all of about ten minutes to confirm that there was no way Lena could be a fast-jet pilot in the RAF, become a corporal (which in the RAF system is like being a section commander, admittedly that one took me more than ten minutes but it’s also not relevant to anyone but my overly-invested ass), get into OVerwatch, which we are meant to believe is an elite force, get lost in time, get brought back by Winston, BY THE TIME SHE IS 20. YOU CANNOT START FAST JET TRAINING BEFORE THE AGE OF 18 AND ON AVERAGE IT TAKES TWO YEARS. THIS IS WHAT THE ROYAL AIRFORCE FUCKING WEBSITE SAYS. 

And then when the fandom collectively was like, “Oh 26 is when she got lost in time and as a symptom of her condition and its treatment her body doesn’t age” they were extremely quick to be like, “Oh she totally ages normally we’re just idiots.” HOW DUMB DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO TURN DOWN A SOLUTION GIVEN TO YOU??? (I actually would like it if they would take what MUST be the implications of Lena’s disability more seriously, period, but that’s a personal little thorn in my fucking side) 

ESPECIALLY BECAUSE WE KNOW YOU WILL NEVER ALLOW A WOMAN IN OVERWATCH TO AGE

It’s been more than seven years, since this must be before the SlipStream and Jack has gone completely grey, but Mercy looks the exact fucking same because reasons I guess oh wait all of them are “we need fap material” 

BUT I CAN’T BREAK UP WITH THEM!!! I CAN’T STOP MYSELF I NEED AN ADULT. 

QUICK QUIZ:

IF I COVERED UP THEIR FACES WOULD YOU KNOW WHO WAS TALKING? Write out the lines, put them next to each other. Could you possibly guess? I picked more extended conversations because obviously small sentences from person to person are often the same, but I feel like no one on Blizzard’s writing team has ever listened to a human being talk. I’m not even talking accents, I’m literally talking about sentence structure, word choice, personality. Even something like “In your prime minister’s infinite wisdom, he’s decided we’re not wanted there.” could be answered with “Well, I didn’t vote for him, did I?” and lend a million times more character to Lena (I KNOW I KNOW I’M GOING ON ABOUT HER LISTEN I LOVE HER AND THIS IS MY PERSONAL CROSS TO BEAR AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH) than anything she’s given. 

This is a consistent and constant problem all throughout the writing of Overwatch, with the exception of some of the earliest shorts. Winston shows an exceptional amount of personality in a 2 minute teaser:

But when it comes to the comics and short stories, everyone sounds like an American dude. Which makes sense, as Michael Chu, and likely whoever will be replacing him, is an American dude. But characters should not sound like the author, and this is where the trick of saying dialogue out loud as you write it can be a trap. If you only recognize your own syntax and grammar as “natural,” everyone will sound the same. (Also often, though certainly not always, ESL speakers will have interesting constructions, as well as the fact that Standard American English and Standard British English have some different constructions, but literally all I’m asking for here is that characters sound different from EACH OTHER) 

But here I fucking am lapping it up, I have read every single comic religiously, more than once, I have made notes, I do this like some day something is going to actually satisfy me and I will stop having to wander this desert endlessly. 

This isn’t even going into the fucking obsession with the original trio, which was supposed to be the past of overwatch and not its fucking future but I SWEAR TO GODS I DO AND DO NOT BELIEVE IN, out of the comics and short stories, 6 of 21 heavily involve/revolve around the old guard. That doesn’t sound huge, but wait, it’s 28% of the comics and short stories. NEARLY A THIRD. 

Hey remember when this came out, and we thought these were going to be our main characters: 

I actually came up with a whole little ficlet thing about each of them (That I had picked up for myself) and why that was their line, how it represented them. Remember when Pharah was supposed to be a main character? Wasn’t that a great time for all of us? ANd now she gets thrown over for her mother ALL THE TIME. Her character has been totally sacrificed in the name of Ana Fucking Amari, to the point that 75% (I checked) of the stories involving her are about Ana. Can she have a little intrinsic motivation? As a treat? 

BUT I KEEP GOING BECAUSE I AM SO FUCKING STUPID!!!! This is completely indefensible! I mean, i can paste up pictures of Tracer all “Do ir for her” but the story is no longer concerned with Tracer anymore even though she is literally the face fo the game and oh my god if Overwatch 2 kills Jack and Ana off and we can stop fucking thinking about them ever I will be so fucking delighted. But you know what? I still follow them! I know, I KNOW, that they will write up something and I’ll so dissect it, because I!! AM A STUPID PERSON!!! WHO DOES NOT LOVE MYSELF!!! 

I am not even going to go into the fucking asspulls they do and fandom letting them get away with it (pharah AGAIN, but others also) becaue I have bene at this an hour and I already want to die. WHY DON’T I LOVE MYSELF

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

Teen Titans: Speech Quirks!

I came across a post yesterday that went into the dialogue quirks of a couple SU characters, and it made me realize just how much I wanted to analyze the verbal quirks of the core Teen Titans! (Taken from the 2003 cartoon, specifically.) I’ve always loved paying special attention to their spoken words while writing, but today, I’m actually going to compile the verbal trends I’ve noticed in each one. 

I’ve already gone into SO many details for my OCs, and maybe I’ll do one for them later. But for the canon Titans? Buckle up, kids, ya writer over here is HUGELY hung up on Characterization Through DIALOGUE!

Basic tl;dr: - Beast Boy has the “dude” thing, puns, quick emotional exclamations, and longer half-rambling speech when he’s excited. - Starfire has distinct ESL patterns (confusing idioms, mixing up similar words), Tamaranian vocabulary, and the (overused but still valid) insertion of an extra “the”. - Cyborg uses familiarity terms (”man”, “cool”, possibly AAVE?), technical phrasing, drops a “g” here and there, and the occasional emotional yelling. - Robin has a direct and decisive speech pattern, observations and follow-up questions, and directives/imperatives. - Raven uses brief/blunt phrasing, her mantra, succinct and honest commentary, sarcasm, dissembling, and the rare big word/concept.

(Commentary, sharing, and discussion are encouraged!)

And now for the essay portion of my treatise!

Beast Boy

Everyone knows about the “dude” thing. It’s probably the most iconic catchphrase of all, maybe tied with Raven’s “Azarath Metrion Zinthos.” ‘Dude’ is a lot more multi-purpose, used as a happy addition or a worried exclamation.

But he also uses a lot of other quick casual phrases, and slang (“My bad.” “No way!” “Nice one!”) He also makes a lot of quick not-really-verbal exclamations in emotional moments. (”Eek!” “Hey!”) Plus a lot of moans and groans rather than verbally professing his frustrations. He may not use a whole lot of words to talk about it, but he’s actually very emotionally expressive.

Even if he’s the least serious character in the cast. You really can’t write Beast Boy without the jokes. Puns are basically a must. (”Cyborg can do the robot!” “the great blue-dini”)

Even when not directly in joke mode: he uses a flippant tone most of the time, making light of even the most serious situation. He uses a sillier, simpler sort of word choice, using more familiar and brief words befitting a casual conversation, even in the heat of a mission or distressing emotional moment. (”Not only that, but something about this place seems really familiar.” “...being a total GOOBER!” “Terra took you down. WAY down!”)

But when you get him really excited, he can launch into long-winded explanations, like when he makes pitches (for his bathtub tuba or stankball), or when he’s theorizing (on how/why Robin would be working with Slade).

Starfire

Her unfamiliarity with the English language is one of my favorite things to phrase! But for other writers, it might be hard to pin that unfamilarity down without knowing which complexities of the English language real-life IRL speakers get tripped up by.

- Similar sounding words (when she says “here here, Cyborg” instead of “there there”) - Different prepositions (ESL speakers sometimes use “for” when Native speakers use “to”, “of” instead of “from”, etc.) - Words that would typically be omitted remain used because it’s grammatically correct, technically (for example, her addition of articles like “the”. Which has become overused in a certain Flash-ified show to the point of wearing out its unexpected amusement factor, but it’s still valid to throw in a fic every now and again.)

+ IDIOMS! Oh my gosh, this one’s fun. I can’t think of any examples in the show off the top of my head (an expression she might voice as “from the surface of my skull”). But I once wrote her saying, “Perhaps she awakened on the wrong side of the pillow.” She has the general idea of the saying, but: 1.) while “awakened” literally means the same thing as “woke up”, the connotation is different, and she’s unfamiliar with the exact verbiage of the phrase.  2.) Mixing up the sleeping implements there (”pillow” instead of “bed”). These things combine so you still know what she’s trying to get across, but it’s received just slightly awkwardly.

Even when she’s using her own verbiage: There are subtle transpositions in the way she orders her words. Like asking questions: She’ll often start with the subject, then the whole verb phrase, then the details, and skip the contractions. A question an experienced English speaker might phrase as “Won’t that hurt her?” could be transposed to “Will that not hurt her?”

She also uses some Tamaranian words, of course! Like IRL ESL speakers, she uses them in emotional exclamations (”You are a KLORBAG VORBLERNELK!” “Somebody’s claws are on my grebnaks!”). And randomly peppered words in casual conversation. (“these tunnels go on for at least [measurement I’m not sure how to transcribe]”, “for your thoughts, I would give two [currency maybe?]”) 

But you can’t confuse Starfire’s linguistic slip-ups with a lack of thought and feeling behind them. She’s very PERCEPTIVE, especially of emotional subject matter; the girl’s got a wicked high EQ, and it’s a big part of her character. She’s very honest in what she says, and very sincere and open about it, as well as prone to vocal emotional expressions (like frightened squeaks, feral yells, and shocked gasps). She’s also VERY emotionally expressive; even if her sentence structure is plain and direct (”No she will not”), there’s a lot of feeling in her tonal delivery.

Cyborg

This one brings a little duality, because he comes off as calm and casual at some times, and intensely emotional at others. Cyborg is a character of BIG expressions-- he’s very emotional, and he seems to feel things with his whole being. And he’ll readily flip modes whenever a reason arises. (While playing videogames, and in the lead, starting off with a broadly-smiling cocky “You can’t pass me, you can’t pass me!” And then dropping to a disgruntled “You passed me”.)

He has a very technical vocabulary too, and while he won’t use Unnecessarily Educated Phrasing in most conversation (read: his casual demeanor), when it comes to something technological, medical, or scientific, he really knows what he’s talking about. 

While I think this one is more prevalent in the comics: He does drop some “g”s at the ends of verbs in the show, too. I can’t think of any specific instances, but it’s a subtle pronunciation that colors his speaking.

As far as the content of his dialogue, he actually throws in a lot of little asides, like additions or conclusions to someone else’s thoughts, or surmising and theorizing. (”Maybe he had an extra remote. I mean we got, like, nine.”)

And there’s another thing: “We got” instead of “we have”, or “we’ve got”. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that’s AAVE grammatical structure? While he doesn’t use it heavily, sometimes AAVE still comes through. (As I only have a passing familiarity with it, and I’m certainly not fluent in it, I can’t really go in-depth with the nuances of phrasing and grammar, but I know it when I hear it.) + And of course, the “like” in casual ~approximation~ usage.

Robin

His personality tends to come through very clearly in his dialogue. He’s very motivated and intense, and speaks mostly through ACTION. (What he’s doing, what someone else will do, how to respond, instructions, solution seeking, etc.)

He’s very analytical, very situationally aware, and makes a lot of verbal observations. And he’ll ask a lot of questions to deepen the subject, especially “why” when dealing with people, and “how” when dealing with missions. (Asking ”Why didn’t you tell us?” about a personal revelation, versus wondering how Slade returned to life.) He doesn’t give commands without having good cause.

He’ll often condense and recap mission objectives, and give directives with concise clarity. As the leader, naturally he gives plenty of instructions. Being a STRATEGIC leader (and person in general), he has a lot of reasons for what he’s asking or instructing, and will often share those reasons.

Sometimes he seems to talk more to himself than the others when he’s musing out loud, and we know (at least if the episode “X” is to be trusted) he has a rich internal narration going on, not just analyzing facts but also contemplating heavier subjects like morality and the consequences of his actions, and how it affects his friends/family.

His criticism can be heavy-handed too; especially in earlier seasons, he’s prone to angry or frustrated outbursts, and you hear a lot of grunting or sighing in those moments.

Raven

She’s my favorite to write dialogue for; Raven is very layered, often presenting the same in generally every situation, but when you manage to get her under emotional duress, you get a whole different array of speech modes.

Her default mode is very quiet, a woman of very few words. When she does speak, it’s sharp and to the point. (When she explained her adventure against Mad Mod by simply saying, “Gym.”)

She often makes sarcastic commentary (”A green mongoose is gonna blend right in”), speaking succinctly and bluntly. This side-commentary often comes with a critical attitude (”That would’ve been a lot more profound without the hat”). She’ll say what others won’t say, or face (”We cannot change the truth, no matter how much we dislike it”). 

As in that last quote, every now and again you’ll hear her spout a pseudo-platitude, the truth as she sees it, as a plain statement, 

But she’s also known to ask questions and make inquisitive commentary as well, also in few words but provoking much deeper thought.

She can occasionally be more verbose, particularly when she’s explaining something mystical, in her area of expertise (”Mixing my powers with his could destroy the dimensional boundaries and nullify all existence”). 

She’s also relatively verbose when she has something positive to say that someone needs to hear, too. (”Having that thing inside you doesn’t make you a beast. Knowing when to let it out is what makes you a man.”) 

For all her attitude and sarcasm, Raven can have some very heartfelt moments. They’re still pretty brief and succinct; even in softer happier moments, she uses poignant phrasing. (”So what’s the deal? Are we having a party in here or what?”)

I’ve also noticed that she has a habit of yelling out “NO!”, just a minor speech pattern worth noting if you plan to put her in a really stressful situation.

And of course: “Azarath Metrion Zinthos.”

~*~

As a parting note: I think it’s important to remember, when you’re writing dialogue, that every character’s mood, situation, and dynamic with the other character can change which speech mode they use. Raven and Robin have very different conversations from Raven and Beast Boy, and Beast Boy and Cyborg have very different conversations from Cyborg and Starfire. Robin yells out a delighted “Yeah!” at fireworks, but pulls out grunts and taunts in battle. Starfire is a pile of heartfelt mush around Robin, but a fierce kicker of ass in battle. 

These were just some generalizations of their individual trends, just as all communication in the world can change with mood, personality, and situation!

[mirjam-writes]

Thanks for @zadusk​ for tagging everyone who wanted to play! 1) How many works do you have on AO3? 

Just 8, soon to be 9!

2) What’s your total AO3 word count? 

64636

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? 

Good Omens and Sherlock (and also Harry Potter and Gravitation anime, but those are not in Ao3)

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

* It's finally Christmas * The Case of The Duplicated Detective * The Angel of Justice * Best Places to Hide a Body * It's not even my Birthday (sequel to It’s finally Christmas)

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yess! I do, I love every single one of them! And I don’t get that many of them, so it does not take much of my time. 

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? 

I tend to write happy endings, but maybe  Return to the Grave of Redbeard because the issues aren’t solved but they have a good potential to be solved?

7) Do you write crossovers? 

I wrote one a long time ago (not on ao3, not in english), and I doubt I’ll write another (but I don’t rule it out if the inspiration strikes, and all that.) Sometimes I include characters or places which I know are from another series, but I just don’t tell the reader that, so that might go completely unnoticed. Easter eggs, if you will!

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really, some unsolicited constructive criticism yeah, but I can live with that.

9) Do you write smut? 

I haven’t tried since I was a teen (and thank god those stories are lost in the internet void), not sure if I’d dare now...

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen? 

Not that I know of.

11) Have you ever had a fic translated? 

Does it count if I translated it myself? Otherwise no. 

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

No, I’m not sure if I would survive the pressure to live up to someone’s expectations in a shared work. Maybe with a reeeeally close friend. 

13) What’s your all time favourite ship? 

Aziraphale and Crowley. 

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? 

It’s our time - series. The story works as it is, and my ideas for the sequels are not as good as the first ones. It’s a series, and the fics can work stand alone, so is it really a wip though? And I’m still a bit wary of Sherlock fandom, so... who knows.  15) What are your writing strengths? 

I don’t know? I try to write realistic characters and not overdo the drama, but not sure if I actually succeed. 

16) What are your writing weaknesses? 

I’m ESL, so I’ll say it’s my english. Pronouns (my own language does not have gendered pronouns so I mess them up), articles (again, my own language does not have any counterparts to the, a and an, so I often forget those) and vocabulary, though I’m getting better at it.

Also TOO LONG SENTENCES. Prime example above.

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? 

If there are translations or it’s obvious from the context, why not! Used some when the characters were abroad, but it was actually part of the plot that they did not always understand each other. But if it’s overused, it gets tiring.

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for? 

Harry Potter. In English it was Sherlock.

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written? 

I really like all of them in a way, though I really like how The Angel of Justice turned out. Writing Michael POV was a challenge! And I get absolutely giddy every time someone comments Best Places to Hide a Body and tells me that they figured it out before the reveal! The Case of the Duplicated Detective is my best casefic, though It’s finally Christmas has a special place in my heart because the characters visit my home country to solve a case.

I'm tagging anyone who wants to play!