#even better if you do those two things and then go to hemmingway editor just to see where some issues might be

[duckuwu]

so, obviously, I grew up (fandom wise) in a different time. fics were posted on message boards / email lists, and it was a little community. constructive criticism was common/expected/appreciated, along with comments as to what people enjoyed. this generally followed through to livejournal. in fact, commenting on each other's writing was a way of making friends and spitballing ideas for new works. it was also generally very easy to find a beta (often people would ask to be someone's beta, because they wanted sneak peeks before anyone else / wanted to be part of that process).

I've just been wondering...

Well, it's just that I think that things are much more difficult today? The current structure of the internet, and everything being for profit...it's not really conducive to discussion, constructive communication, easily finding people to share with? Especially with everyone going into their private discords... (Friend locked livejournals, and membership only lists was a thing, but for the most part it was to protect us from being sued (by a.rice or others).

And I guess I'm just wondering where people who are new to writing / fandom mechanics / etc are supposed to go to get the courage to post their work, find people to beta their work, gain the confidence to handle constructive criticism? As much as I love AO3, the comments can be as scary as that of a popular YouTube video.

I want anyone and everyone who has a story to tell to write it. I believe the next best story is just waiting on you to write it.

I know I have hard fic opinions (I won't read incomplete fics (unless it's Lynne because, really, but don't tell her I said that), I absolutely loathe unhappy endings, I think character/reader fics are a big nope, I basically can only read on AO3 because I've got a skin that helps my eyes... etc), BUT those are just my preferences. There's people out there who will like what you're writing, there's people who are out there waiting for you to write the thing you want to write because it's exactly what they've been hoping to read.

I especially have so much love and respect to all you folks out there writing in a language that is not your native language. That takes so much courage, and strength. I have a hard enough time writing (and speaking, let's be real) in my own language, I certainly wouldn't be able to do it in another one. I'm telling you, personally, I don't back out of reading a fic when I notice that it's written by someone who doesn't have English as their primary.

Writing is scary, and that's without writers block. Which is why I constantly talk about needing a beta or betas, some sort of proofreader. You know what does make me turn away from a fic? When I see an author's note to the effect of "not beta'd we die like men". I'm grateful for every single one of the betas I've ever had, I learned so much from them, they helped me and my stories grow and be better. And I get that the "die like men" thing is a meme, but it's still a toxic mindset.

Which is why I'm wondering how new to fandom people are supposed to find people to help them in this isolating and clique based culture that the internet currently is. Is there a betas r us Tumblr?

Maybe it isn't an issue and I'm just being a fandom grandma, worrying too much about the kiddos doing well.

[alloveroliver]

Author Interview

I was tagged by @peacheat and @dear-mrs-otome THANK YOU GUYS!!! (I also added more Qs if you want to answer those as well *sweats*)

Name: Ash Knight

Fandoms: Now: MLQC, Ikemen Revolution, Ikemen Vampire, Ikemen Sengoku, Mystic Messenger, annnnnd one or two other otomes I like lol.  Want to do in the future: Obey Me (Currently playing) Ikemen Genjiden (translating got to be too much but its GOOD!) Tokyo Debunkers (when it comes out in April!!!)

Where You Post: Mostly Tumblr but also Ao3!

Most Popular One-Shot:  By far Victor x MC “In This Moment.” I’m glad cuz I spent a lot of time on this one and I love the concept of Victor stopping time because he know’s he’s going to miss MC <3

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: Mmm, I don’t have any muli fics yet BUT I do have 10 chapters of my blood thirsty fics!  they are all oneshots though. 

Favorite Story You Wrote: Its actually my first Oliver fic I posted around Aug of 2018 (Omg have I been doing this for that long???) It needs to be rewritten BUT heres the link. Oliver x MC “Giving Up Control” I still think about this fic often lmfao. Femdoming Oliver is 🤤👌

Story You Were Nervous to Post: Ooof, a recent Oliver fic. Only because it had alcohol themes and smoliver asking her on a date. Just due to his curse and things I didn't want to change too much but it was all consensual with adult Oliver. I was just nervous some people would read into it and take it the wrong way :( Oliver x MC “In A Perfect World You’re Happy With Me” (Looking back at it, it actually got a good response! I am surprised cuz I posted it then tried to put it out of my mind lol. #thanksanxiety

How You Choose Your Titles: First thing that comes to mind. Song lyrics, one word that sticks out in the fic. Or if its a common word or a word/title I’ve used before I put it into One Look Reverse Dictionary and find a similar word that means the sameish thing. I don’t dwell on titles too much tbh. 

Completed: Last I counted, I had over 500 short stories under my belt. You can read them all on my blog but not everything was put into my masterlist. This was just due to the tumblr purge we had and I had to make a new masterlist since a lot of my fics got shadowbanned due to the tagging system back then. I didnt wanna repost them all lol

Incomplete: I have an entire spreadsheet that I plop all my ideas on... and it is FULL. I organize it by fandom, suitor, and fluff vs. smut. Ummmmmm.... See below: Coming soon lol. 

Do You Outline? I usually start writing when I have an idea and if I need to step away from my computer I will do a quick outline. AKA just some quick bullet points of what I was thinking would happen next lol. If I ever take the time to properly do a full outline, I 100% go off the rails and do my own thing away from the outline. I am what is called a ‘discovery writer’ lol. I discoverer my own story as i write it then go back and edit it and act like I knew what I was doing all along lmfao.

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started: I have 3 substantial WIPS (like 2-3k words) I bounce between that I’m working on. Victor x Mc, Vincent x MC and Faust x MC. 

A plan to do part 2 of Gavin x MC’ s ”Distortion” . 

I also have an long running AU fic with Gavin x MC (8k currently) but that is far away from being done lol. 

There is also an 11 chapter fic I am planning. I have 2 chapters written but I cant seem to figure out one major plot detail and its keeping me from getting it done anytime soon :( 

There is a chapter fic im writing for a cradle born MC, however its a mesh of our MC and my OC and its kinda complicated. Also its fluff and I’m less interested in writing that BUT I really want to share this story <3

Valentines day is actually prob going to be the next thing yall see from me tbh and that is TBD

Do You Accept Prompts? I used to every once in a while but I have so many WIPS and no personal computer at home rn. (SOON THOUGH!) So I don’t have the chance to write as much in my free time as I used to. I’ll take prompts but I let them sit in my ask box until I am able to write them <3. I am not the person to ask people to stop sending them, cuz I like to see what yall want me to write and take that into consideration for sure. I like taking asks for Thirsty Thursday (even if its not thurs, I will hold onto them until then) and answer them 😍 I love those because more people are involved other than me and I like being a part of something bigger than myself 🤗

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: My Victor x MC story. Its UMMMMM........ ITS SLOW BURN YALL. LIKE WHO AM I?! lmfao. 

*(I am going to personally add a few questions to this tag that I am interested in knowing about others as well lol)*

What do you use to edit?: I pay for Grammarly (its AMAZING even the free version is super worth it) 

For word meanings, synonyms, and better wording I use OneLook Reverse Dictionary ALL THE TIME for every single fic. (and like I said before, to help with titles)

When I feel like something is off and grammarly doesn’t quite know and I don’t know, I put the fic through Hemmingway Editor. It tells you HOW readable a sentence is. If its hard to read I rewrite it and make things a bit simpler for the eyes. Its free in the browser. 

Writing setup: Ideally, the sun is coming in through the window, It’s cool inside, I’m wearing a fuzzy sweater, I have hot coffee or tea, and my head phones are in. 

I listen to lofi music station on youtube but If its distracting I put on lofi without lyrics. I love THIS playlist. (this is live so it’ll prob break but here’s an alt link to their offline playlist) If I am in an upbeat mood I like “Electropose” music. Or I listen to the ‘setting’ a fic is in. Like if its raining in the story, I put on rain ambiance and things like that. 

Do you use a beta reader? No 😬, not really. Anytime I have someone beta read and they comment on the content and not the editing I get way too nervous to post the fic and suddenly it get sick to my stomach laskjdlsdj. I trust a couple gals to beta read in an editing mind set but I don’t bother them all the time. I like to go balls to the walls and trust grammarly, post the damn thing, and bite my nails hoping for the best. 

Where do you get your writing inspo?: Bruh, #1 READING! Reading books, reading fics, reading summaries for things. Also, reading the routes in otomes, watching anime, and letting my mind wonder lol. I also like to chat with people on discord and let the stories unfold. Inspo has also come from a lot of my dreams tbh. My dreams are hella vivid and I try to write them down when I wake up if they are interesting lol. 

Can we get a quote from an upcoming WIP?: 

[     Without cars and crowds, the evening wind picked up nothing but serene sounds. Crickets gently chirped and leafs quietly brushed one another. The branches rustled together, making an organic symphony that the wind carried up to the balcony you leaned on. 

*****’s warm hands ran up and down your forearms, warming your chilled skin. From behind, he bent forward and nipped at the shell of your ear. 

“Is that better?” His silky hands moved faster, creating heated friction. 

“Mmm,” You relished in the sensation. “Much better.”

His gentle chuckle against your pulse made you wiggle into him. ***** pressed his solid chest against your back and sighed. “Maybe if you were wearing more than just my shirt, you wouldn’t be so chilly.” 

“I just want to be out here for a moment. The fresh air is nice.” You pressed your lips together into a small smile and angled your face up to him. “Don’t you agree?”  ]

tagging: @somethinglacking @pseudofaux @tarralin @steph-writing @kiarigirl @otonymous @jennacat84 @xathia-89 @toloveawarlord @moonlit--river @thequeenshuntress @thirstyforbishiesimagines <3 Honestly I want to tag more people but I don’t wanna be annoying SO if you do this feel free to tag me cuz I am soooooo curious about other writers! Lets be friendsssss <3 

[ohsalome]

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do pls go into legthy rant

~~I’m glad you asked~~

Please enjoy the list of All the Things Wrong with “Midnight in Paris”, aka the reasons why it shouldn’t exist in the first place

The first thing is the one that annoyed me the most through the film - poor character writing. I can’t even call it one-dimentional, it’s just blank character archetypes walking around and spitting out empty lines of dialogue. The protagonist, misunderstood nostalgic white guy, arguably one of the most annoying tropes ever. An aspiring author as well, who is currently trying to publish his self-insert fanfic but it Isn’t Just Right! (Gogol has an idea or two of what to do with it). Apparently, being into classic literature is such an rare thing, he can never find a person to talk with! So he is born in the wrong generation. Oh, alas, if he were to live in the romantic age between WW1 and WW2, it would’ve been So Much Better (wink wink to ukrainian followers).

And here comes in the supporting cast - people present there for the sole purpose of contrasting our protagonist’s fragile artistic soul. The main theme is kept, because they don’t have any shadow of personality as well. These shallow, ignorant people are only interested in shopping... and burr something something... and shopping! Despite having literally no single shared interest, he still plans to marry into their family for some reason. Because the idilly of mutual disdain is #relationshipgoals, probably? Why do they act the way they do? Who knows! What are their backstories? Who gives a fuck! And thus, these pillars of uncanney valley in field of character development set of on an adventure!

But like, there is the big moral revelation at the end of this journey. Sorry if I spoil it for you, but in the end our clueless protagonist realises that all time periods have their pros and cons, and it’s in human nature to be dissatisfied with their life. Now, the notion itself isn’t bad, but it’s the kind of revelation I would expect from a primary school kids, not from a grown ass man who also happens to be a fucking writer! And it takes him - just think of it for a minute - travelling back in time (and wasting 1,5 hour of my precious time) to get this deep realisation. All the effort could’ve been saved if he just took a shower in the middle of the night. 

In case I didn’t make it obvious enough, the protagonist whose name I couldn’t bother to remember in a lifetime is The Most Generic Joe ever (in addiction to having no personality). So when he gets to hang out with the intellectual elite of the Paris, can you guess what happens? Of course, people run out of their way to befriend him! He instantly becomes BFFs with the Ferginands and Hemmingway and they start sharing their personal problems with him right away. Perhaps mr.Woody is a bit alien to the human traditions of communication, because that’s not how relationships fucking work! Naturally, gorgeous women are throwing themselves at him, in case you had any doubt. And of course he gets a hot soulmate by the end of the movie after talking to her like... twice? Now, I’m starting to wonder if protagonist’s name was Mary-Sue. But I digress - back to the point when he instantly got along with reserved & repulsive assholes those artists were. Then Hemmingway introduced him to his favourite editor, who agreed to edit his novel - for free! Perhaps I’m wrong for wondering about character’s motivations, but then again mayve this movie wasn’t made for an audience capable of thinking.

Now, the terrible misinterpretation of the artists he made... It’s just as bad as you can imagine. I can’t even call it skin deep, it’s just blantant stereotyping sold off as cheap quirky jokes. Quite obvious Woody didn’t even think about researching about the people he was making a movie about. And of course the time-travelling protagonist had to prompt them with the things those artists became famous about, because the cliche gods must be satisfied.

Back to the incomprehensible motivation of the characters - they make all the cliche mistakes you can imagine. Like, can you imagine a real, human person being that would try gifting his fiancee’s earrings to a chick he met yesterday in order to get into her panties?? Omg why, i feel horrible even remembering this scene. Apparently, the only emotions woody can make me feel are secondhand embarassement and cringe.

Whatever do the critics praise the movie about, i don’t get. “The guy travels back in time for some unexlpained reason” is literally the plot line i used for my middle school fanfiction. The pretty scenery? I recon you don’t have to be a genious to film a pretty picture in fucking Paris. Including famous actors, some of them even being talented? He has to be fucking punished for dragging them into this mess. Cinematography? Meh. It’s not blantanly horrible and honestly invisible so let’s thank him for that.

Notice how i didn’t even have to include the fact that he’s a racist sexist pedo to critise the guy. He’s a horrible person inadequate for his job, so my question remains: for what fucking reason does the filming society keep him? He must be a fucking blast at parties to overcompensate all this mess.

ugh, idk. there’s probably more to say, but i’m already to annoyed from remembering the movie. feel free to add