#i've written a third of the story and outlined the full thing

[ejunkiet]

hi hello i’m LOVING the updates on ropes and fangs and I really can’t wait to see where this project takes you (already the growth in writing from the first snippet to the one you just posted aarargagarg i could go off about how much ur style has evolved but but that’s not truly why i’m here)

what advice would you give to someone who really wants to branch out into writing “homebrew” work who really has only written fan work. where would u recommend posting or how? if you have Any Idea of who Else I could bother about this pls let me know

I’ve been wanting to post some of my more original work for a series I’ve been writing but I just. Don’t Know How (fan work is already something I struggle with cause I can’t seem to write anything that means to someone else what it means for me)

jfhdask BLESS you, moth; your timing is impeccable, as I was working on r&f this morning >:3 <33

so. ADVICE. You've been writing Homebrew Blorbos, and you want to get other people interested in them. The first thing I will say, is that it is hard, and it will always be hard. getting people invested in your worlds/characters takes work, and without the fandom platform, it's difficult to direct traffic your way in the first place. i.e. ao3 has an original fiction category which is good for hosting a work you don't want to publish, but it's not as if people follow that tag there.

I love reading original work, but I need one of two things to get me to read it: one, I love the author's fanwork and want to read more of their writing (if I love your fic, I will read your book okay); and two, the concept itself is interesting / what I'm looking for -- but for that, I need to find it first.

so. how do you get traffic your way?

tumblr is a good means for advertising. so. there are online writing communities on tumblr that only write original work, and only write the kinds of things I'm interested in reading. it's how I found a few authors whose books I've bought >:3 my advice is to look into tags that contain the same themes / dynamics of your original work, and see how other people are posting their work / talking about their work, and what gets the most traffic. learn from others!

I won't be posting large sections of my original work on tumblr, because once something is out there, it's out there. people can and do steal fiction and self publish it on amazon. also, as much as I love tumblr, it's not a good place for publishing full works, as it's clunky as hell, and posts older than a month vanish into the nether.

so you need to decide what your want to do with your original work. will it become a book? will you post it as an online serial, and then rework this first draft into a book? (like the gabe and odessa fic!) aside from tumblr (which has a thriving short story / serial story community), ao3 (for fic hosting) and amazon (you can publish your story as a serial there, although it's US restricted, and difficult to get noticed amidst the crowd), I don't know really of any other good original fiction hosting platforms aside from self publishing.

(real publishing is a nightmare, and if that's your goal, kudos to you! I know a few authors in fandom going that route for different genres, and they are incredible writers, but breaking through is goddamn difficult.)

but if you just want people to read it, and give you feedback, then talk about it!! post snippets / chapters, talk about the characters, utilise the tags on tumblr and ao3 to find people with similar interests.

...one thing I will say though, as a final note, is from what I've seen, the quality of original work by people not in fandom <<<< people in fandom. you've had years of practice writing characters and scenes, and once you make that leap into original work, you're pretty much set <3

[nicosraf]

You inspire me…. Any advice for writing books ?

!! I'm honored u get a little inspiration from me! That's very sweet of you.

I struggle with advice because I've only written about 5 books and published... two-ish. (An old fanfic and ABM, which as you know is basically fanfic). But I think I have some specific advice since I'm revising right now and have a lot of thoughts... Here is what works for me (!):

Outline. I know it sucks but... please try it. (Or you'll end up like GRRM).

Draft without going back to read what you wrote, or at least don't read your unfinished manuscript in full. You will want to edit it. Don't edit it. Yes it sounds bad; yes you used the same word 8 times in a paragraph by accident; yes you can see a major plot hole. Don't fix it yet, maybe write it down somewhere so you don't forget to fix it later. You need to avoid editing while drafting or you will never finish the draft. This is the biggest advice I can give anyone, especially if you haven't written your first book yet.

Give each character a strong backstory, even if it never shows up in the plot. Sounds obvious but sometimes I have to remind myself of this.

Give your characters friendships, not just romantic relationships. Include tender scenes with friends.

A lot of writing is tedious and boring. Drafting is hard, editing is hard. You have to be disciplined. But finding motivation is also hard. Don't motivate yourself using the dream of a fanbase or the dream of becoming famous. You're setting yourself up to be hurt. (Not because any of that is impossible but because achieving it in the way that you dream is virtually impossible.) Motivate yourself using something more personal, if you can.

Re-do your outline after you draft. Why? Because you probably changed things while you drafted, you probably made some stuff up on the spot, character dynamics changed, etc. A new outline is good because you can see the story you actually wrote, which is helpful for editing for plot cohesion, moving scenes, adding and removing stuff.

Your draft is going to be bad. Don't freak out. Drafts are always bad. You're going to want to analyze the hell out of it though. What did you plan, what did you write, what worked, what didnt work, what themes are on the page, what themes should you remove, what themes should you amplify.

When editing a scene isn't working, rewrite it entirely. Yes it's more work. You'll be much happier though, I promise.

The first to second revisions should be for plot and characters and pacing; these should take the longest and be the most difficult. The last third to fourth revision should be about prose. Don't focus on prose when you're trying to fix the plot.

Let characters fuck up unforgivably.

Consider your audience heavily when you edit, but don't consider them when you draft.

I've given this advice before but when it comes to plot devices/objects, you want to give each device a moment of introduction, a moment where it's recalled, and a moment of use. (Ex. A knife is introduced in chapter 1, its mentioned again casually in chapter 7, then it's used to kill someone in chapter 14.) This is mostly to give each object its own arc that feels satisfactory but ur the boss about what works best.

Kill all your characters, but not physically (unless you want to). Make them change so much that, by the end, they would barely recognize who they were at the start.

This is book advice for the type of books that I've written. Things are very different if you're writing, say, contemporary romance, but I think this list is pretty general !! I hope it helps. Good luck!!

[tarabyte3]

Fic Updates

It's been a while soo....

I Want You to Show Me Weak — As I've stated before, there are only 2 chapters left in the entire fic. I'm going to be finishing both of them before I post chapter 26. Then I'll be posting chapter 27 the next day. Gonna end the fic with a bang 😏 I have everything outlined and thought out, I just have to finish writing it (I'm very excited about what I have planned/written for the final chapter, which includes the ending). Though I will admit, it's been difficult to write knowing I'll be saying goodbye to this story. I'll miss my boys SO much 😭, as well as this version of Kino x Reader, but I want to finish it for myself and for all of you! Besides, there's always the possibility of oneshots set in this universe in the future AND I'm not done writing for Kino. Not even close! I have no date estimate at the moment, but I'm trying to give this one my full attention so 🤞

The Devil Makes Us Sin — Once Show Me Weak is done, I'm going to give this one my full attention for a while. (Though, to be honest, even though I'm trying to focus on finishing Kino first, I still keep this document open and regularly pop in to write a paragraph or two. What can I say, David is VERY fun to write for 😏, I love him, and I must follow the serotonin). The next few chapters will be shorter so they should go quickly, and I already have around the next 4 of them half written (I actually have about ~25k of future stuff written last time I checked, including parts of chapters MUCH further down the road 😅).

Other Wips

While my focus has been on my ongoing stories, I do have a few other WIPs I have actual content written for! So here's an update on those as well. For fun.

Personal Trainer!Kino x Reader Modern AU — I have the beginning of this story and a few scenes written, and SO many notes for it. (My relationship with my trainer is fantastic. He's 50% big brother energy, 50% wingman energy, but he says THE most out of pocket shit so I immediately write it down after my sessions. Because him saying it does nothing for me, but imagining Kino saying it?? 😵‍💫🫠🥵) It will probably end up ~5 chapters total. Probably.

And Your Heart, Love, Has Such Darkness (David x Reader smutty Oneshot) — I started this one a year ago because I wrote something for TDMUS that didn't quite fit, but I liked it enough to keep it and make it its own thing. It's over half done right now, so it will likely be the next oneshot I post.

I Didn't Want to Hurt You, but You're Pretty When You Cry (Dark!David x Reader) — I think this one will end up about 3 chapters long and will contain a lot of content warnings. It's going to be more horror focused (with splashes of dark humor because I cannot help myself). I adore the opening chunk I've written. It gave me goosebumps.

Secret Andy Blorbo x Reader Oneshot — This one started as a joke on Discord about an Andy blorbo that is not only incredibly niche/unknown, but is actively not attractive (one of the very rare times Andy Serkis does nothing for me. In fact, when I see him, my vagina makes the windows shutdown noise). Except I made the mistake of saying, "I want to try to write for this character as a fun challenge just so I can sexually confuse everyone." And it, uh, spiraled from there and made me rethink my entire stance on this character (thank you for not only indulging me, Hannah, but encouraging me and giving me more ideas 💖 I loved [redacted] thirst day in TNBF)

Halsin x Tav — That's right, I'm writing for the sexy druid. It'll be 2 chapters, and it's about a third of the way finished. This Tav will be a human fighter, but is otherwise written more like a Reader Insert. (Side note: going back to 3rd person POV after writing a lot of 2nd person POV is harder than I imagined 🙃)

Paz Vizsla x Mando!Reader Oneshot — That's right, I'm also writing for the big Mandalorian. It's about a third of the way finished as well. (These last 2 are actually a little intimidating because the fandoms are MUCH larger, but I need to get them out sooo fuck it, it's happening.)

So as you can see, even though I haven't posted very much outside of Liam Black, I'm still writing a lot. Apparently I just have commitment issues and a lot of ✨thots✨ 😌💖

[suga-kookiemonster]

Sometimes I see people being curious about the dishwasher shitter and let me tell you how I found out it was a person shitting in a dishwasher:

English is not my first nor second language, it is in fact the third, so when I read sometimes my head goes blank on a few words. For example: the phrase "who shit in the dishwasher?!" In my head I read "who shit in the rhjdndbhrnrbbrhdn?!" Because it's easier or whatever (and they're not very common in my country), sometimes that happens with names, it's very convenient when reading stories, specially smut, because I associate the character without caring about the names and I detach from hurtful plots.

So, I was rereading Ego last year and let me tell you, for some reason I processed for the first time that it was in fact a dishwasher and became extremely disgusted I was immediately on Joon's side, not that I wasn't before, I just saw the disgust for the first time😅😅for some reason my head pictured a washing machine and somehow that was less disgusting because how do you clean that shit? I would never use it again if I lived there and wouldn't associate with anyone that lived there as well because what if there's still poop there? How is it possible to disinfect and trust the process like that?

That being said, it had to be one of them that's fucking with Joon or all of them are in on it so no one snitches when they see because there's no way no one caught the person in the act.

I think I never saw you answer this before, but I didn't follow you when you started posting Ego, what prompted the fic to be written? I think there are a few fics that came from specific pictures of Tae, but I was curious to know what prompted the baby angel Kookie to grace us with his exhibitionist ass🥺

Anyway, I'm waiting patiently for Kook's new fic💕💕💕💕💕

first of all, you are the coolest for speaking 3 languages 😮‍💨 i am in AWE!!💕 secondly, your commentary is hilarious and it never crossed my mind when i was writing the fic that dishwashers aren't necessarily a universal thing 🤣 though fraternities are distinctly american, so i guess that would automatically set the lens the fic is read through. in any case, thank you for validating ego!joon, though i think we all are definitely on his side on that topic 😂😂

to answer your question on why i originally wrote the fic, ego was the first bts fic i ever wrote, and i started it right around the time i first found bangtan in 2017 and my obsession with the group was going full force LOL. i've been in fandom spaces for most of my life, and once i have a new obsession, my first task always seems to be to check out the fanfic and see what's up. i read a number of fics i loved and some others that weren't my cup of tea, but what really made me want to join in was that nearly all of the second-person writing (which i had never seen done before in fanfiction) was obviously written from the perspective of a white person. i, as you know, am not white, and there were only so many times i could read about "my" face flushing red and running my hands through "my" hair before i started to wonder if this new fandom i had found actually wasn't very happy about me (or others who look like me) interacting with the content. so, i simply said fuck it and decided to write my own "reader-insert" fic that i could actually insert myself into!

at the time, i was intrigued by irl jungkook's duality--he's such a shy sweetheart, but he certainly knew how to burn up the stage! and this idea floated into my mind where you accidentally walk in on sweet, shy jungkookie railing another girl, and though he sees you watching, he doesn't stop. so, that scene in the first chapter was the genesis for the fic, and everything else spiraled from there! the characters kinda created themselves as i wrote them, and though i obviously had a broad outline of the fic before i started writing it, a lot of the shenanigans popped up while i wrote each chapter. it was a lot of fun! haha

anyways, thank you so much for asking 💜 i can't believe it's been that long since i started writing ego, and that certainly took me back 🥹💕 i appreciate you, and thanks for looking forward to my next fic!

[crescencestudio]

VELOX FABULA: A TALE OF DELUSION AND MEMORIES

So… I’ve been keeping this relatively DL on this side of the internet. Twitter got a couple of sneak peeks, but in case you all didn’t know, I participated in Velox Fabula, a game jam where we are given a community theme and have 10 days to make a full game.

And when I say I participated, I mean I Participated.

Before I get into things, let me just say that as a disclaimer… I had Every Intention to enter this jam as an Extreme Sideline Supporter.

Shall we get into a “post-mortem” of sorts?

Let’s set the scene, shall we?

Crescence has just finished Intertwine and Otome Jam. They are feeling Good and Creative. Alaris has made good progress in the month of July and starting weeks of August! Crescence Sees Velox Fabula, and while wanting to participate, decides not to because they’ve just done one jam, they want to focus on their main game, and maybe they’ll touch grass a little. Who knows?

Enter about 1-2 weeks out of Velox Fabula, and people are posting their teams. Crescence gets FOMO. Many besties are involved in Velox Fabula. So Crescence reaches out to a team that’s pretty big and offers to do just QA! Help with brainstorming, scoping, narrative design, etc. That’s not too bad!

Another friend reaches out.

This is someone Crescence has always wanted to work with. Crescence will just be a writer! Again, that’s not too bad! Why not!

So now, come VF Jam, and Crescence is on two teams (I was originally on three actually LOLlxoap).

First 24 hours go off with a bang. The theme is Unreliable Narrator. There's lots of brainstorming, throwing ideas around, refining, and eventually we land on two ideas.

On team one, we have an otome game inspired by [REDACTED] that will feature and MC who is [REDACTED] and a character who [REDACTED]. The game ends up having three love interests and is Deeply Ambitious but with 10 people onboard we decide to push ourselves.

On team two, we have a point-and-click game with a rich story that explores MC's background and a narrative twist where [REDACTED]. It's fantasy-inspired, because bitches know me and fantasy. And has MC choose to cherish or forget their memories through the ingredients they decide to add to a potion.

Both of the stories are fun and relatively different compared to what I've done so far. One, while still fantasy, has a writing style that is more vivid and emotional compared to my usual more grounded writing. The other is, well, Horror. Which I have no experience writing.

And so the Jam begins

The first third of the jam is a blur of frantic writing, editing, narrative design, and more. It's a hodgepodge of ideas on how the script and gameplay will go together. What's the visual identity? What is the Story we're telling? What's the Mood? And how do we unite all of these things to elevate the atmosphere of the game itself?

Enter the second third, and I'm wrapping up writing on team two. I get asked to do GUI for potion team, which I hadn't anticipated. But hey, I'm feeling inspired. Plus, I want to learn how to code all of these GUI features in for Alaris. Why not use this as a learning experience? So I agree. Horror team needs some help writing, so I jump in as well. I've never written horror, but there's already an outline. How hard could it be?

In the span of maybe 3-4 days, I end up writing about 15k words and editing maybe 10k worth of words. Somewhere during this time frame, I've also made progress on Alaris

Enter the last third of the jam and these games needs to be Made. I code the GUI for potion team. I reformat both scripts for both teams to Ren'py format to ease the burden on coders while they figure out other game features.

Enter the last 12 hours, and I am still coding and QAing both games. Not even caffeine runs through my veins anymore; it is straight adrenaline.

Enter the last 30 minutes. Horror game has submitted. I am still QAing for potion team. Are the labels getting called correctly? Is the dialogue showing up when it should? We submit with less than 5 minutes to spare LMFASODLIJ

i still laugh at this

As I come out of the Jam haze, I feel two main things:

Proud of myself. Like I fckn did that. Considering the context of how I had come into these roles (as an NPC if u will), I contributed pretty heavily to these games. And I think not having to be director made me see the skillset I've slowly built up as a game dev. It was that moment where you step back and fight that imposter syndrome a little bit, which has been a Heavy companion with me throughout my game dev journey.

Tired but (Creatively) Rejuvenated. I think this jam was surprisingly what I didn't know I needed for Alaris. After Otome Jam, I definitely made progress and was excited to get into Alaris. But after this jam, where I feel like I am Done and 100% satisfied, there's no longer any temptation for any other project. Like I feel solely focused on Alaris, which is extra exciting because the next couple of routes are some I've been most excited to write!

At the end of it all, I feel like I learned so much from so many talented people. And I think my writing, GUI, and coding skills have come out for the stronger because of it. Something I like to do with my games is integrate every component together (biggest example is Intertwine and how the GUI plays a part in the narrative itself). Watching people who are exceptional at coding, GUI, etc. helped me learn different ways to approach my own creative process. And I am so unbelievably excited to bring all of this into Alaris! Velox Fabula was an unforgettable experience---it was cracked, fun, delusional all in the best ways. And I'm honestly pretty proud of the products we've made from it! If you haven't gotten a chance to, please feel free to check out:

A "beautiful and melancholic" game that explores the power of memories, emotions, and more in a fantasy potion setting:

And an eerie horror game with twists and turns that lurk around every corner, only to be interrupted by Cute Love Interests

[jenanigans1207]

Hi, i was wondering if you have any advice for a first time smut writer? Especially when the writer doesn't even have experience kissing?

I've had an idea for a bonus nsfw chapter for my long term GO wip, and over the months, I have created a detailed account of what will happen with dialogue in my head. But I'm worried that only reading NSFW fics will not be enough to help write it well.

I would ask in a discord server, but may end up gifting it to a friend, and they're in all my servers 😅 Getting advice there might ruin the whole "surprise! I've written a sexy fic!" if I do end up gifting it.

Hi!! Oh man, I don’t know how much help I’m going to be, but I’ll sure try!

I think the biggest thing I can say, and I genuinely can’t stress this enough: you’re going to feel awkward as hell the first time you write smut. To this day I still feel super awkward when I write smut, like I need to look over my shoulder in case someone is looking at my computer screen or this happens to be the moment I’m finally proven right that mind-readers exist and one is reading the smut straight from my brain. So if you feel that way when you write it, don’t panic! It’s not a sign that you aren’t meant to be writing it or that you’re doing a bad job writing it!

My second biggest piece of advice is to remember that this is part of a larger fic. And I hope this makes sense when I say this! It’s not just smut that you’re writing, it’s a natural progression of the dynamic that you’ve been building up for all those chapters. By now you have the character voices and personalities in your head— trust those! Lean into it a little, let them take the lead a bit. If you don’t end up liking how something is written, you can always rewrite it! (Though I will always advocate for simply pasting what you’re getting rid of in another doc instead of outright deleting it just to be safe!)

Third: remember that they’re people. Whether it’s an au where they’re human or they’re still celestial beings, the boys are disastrous idiots at the best of times (that’s why we love them). So don’t be afraid to let it be awkward or uncoordinated sometimes. If you feel like one of them doesn’t know what they’re doing, okay! A lot of us don’t!! And depending on the scenario you’ve put them in, maybe one of them hasn’t ever kissed before either, which allows you to lean into it a little and hopefully make it more comfortable! The point is, nothing is ever perfect. It’s messy, it’s full of emotions, and it’s usually clumsy and heartfelt and it’s okay to write it that way!

If you don’t have a deadline or need to post/send to your friend right away, I recommend taking a few days away from it and reading it again. It’s hard to look at anything you write objectively when you’ve been so close to it for so long. Taking a step away and coming back gives you a better chance of seeing the story the way your readers will— and I guarantee you that you’ll think it’s even better than you remember it being. Even if you thought it was the best thing you ever wrote, you’ll love it more when you are able to look at it a little more objectively! If you can’t take the time away, totally fair. Find someone you trust, someone who knows the rest of your fic so they have the whole story, and ask them to read it.

If you get stuck, and you have someone you trust enough, you can do what I do with my writing friends which is playing Questions! You talk a little about where you’re stuck at in the plot and they just ask you any question that comes to mind. Not always huge, plot-relevant questions, but questions about how a character feels, or how an outside character would respond, etc. and in working out the answers to those questions, I think you’ll find the bits of plot that you’re looking for! It’s always been a huge help to me, and it’s tons of fun!

Oh, and lastly— I think it’s absolutely phenomenal that you wrote an outline of everything! I’ve never been great at plotting or outlines so I’m jealous. But remember not to hold yourself too rigidly to the outline. If you forget something or veer off of where you intended to go for a bit but you like the outcome, don’t beat yourself up over it! Like I said before, you can always rewrite something you don’t like.

So I guess my biggest piece of advice is don’t take it too seriously and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. It’s still writing and it’s a natural progression of a story you’ve already spent all this time telling. You know how the story goes, you know how the characters act, you got this!!!

I don’t know if this ended up being helpful at all, but I hope it is! It’s lovely that you’re doing this for your friend and I’m sure they’re going to adore it!!!

[evienyx]

Hello!! I’m reading fractures right now and I must say I haven’t been captivated by a fanfiction like this in ages. Every chapter I get more and more intrigued and have, many times, been so emotionally effected by the fic. It’s just so damn good!!

My question is, what’re your plans for the story. I believe I read somewhere that you’ll be doing multiple books (which I’m extremely excited about!).

You have read that.

I've got five books planned in total. We're almost at the end of Book 1. To be honest, the Prologue could probably count as a book of its own, but whatever.

Books 2 and 3 are going to be the second work in the series, and Books 4 and 5 are going to be the third and final one. I already have the outlines written for the series as a whole, as well as for the books, but the individual chapters are not at all outlined.

Honestly, I can't really give much more away, because I really don't want to spoil anything, but I do have a lot more things planned. I've got a document just full of different sides and alliances, and there are far more than you might expect there to be.

[princesscolumbia]

Author Thoughts

I'm approaching the end of my third full novel I've written in my life.

One was supposed to be a licensed work but then that license holder got bought by another company that cancelled the IP that book was based on, so now sits on my hard drive. I go back and read it every few years or so, mostly to see how far I've progressed as an author since my early twenties.

The second was pure catharsis, a fanfic about trauma and homelessness and found family and dealing with pain and loss. You can find it on FiMFiction.net and AO3 if you're interested.

My most recent will not be appearing here due to the Dead Dove content (Explanation for those who needed this defined like I did: "Dead Dove" fics are those that have clear tagging, especially on AO3, that there's "problematic" content in the work but people who are triggered by the clearly tagged problematic stuff read it anyway and get upset. Based on the "Dead Dove" meme where the guy looks in the bag clearly marked, "Dead Dove, do not eat" and looks inside and finds, sure enough, a dead dove), but has been some of the most interesting, challenging writing I've ever done where I'm allowing my creative brain to intentionally think, "What's the bad ending and how do I make it interesting?"

When I was writing my first novel, I got to a point about 3/4's through and my writing slowed down significantly. It took two years for me to write it, nine months of that was just on the last 1/4 of the book. It wasn't any more lengthy or challenging than the rest, just I suddenly felt like I was running out of steam and couldn't keep going, even though I'd plotted out pretty much ever plot point and story beat down to specific timing for the climax chapter.

When I was working on my second (completed, I've started a few dozen since my first) work, I got to about 3/4's through...and slowed down. It took over a year to write and, just like my first book, the last 1/4 took the lion's share of that time.

My current book I've been hammering on since early December 2023 (if you're reading this later than the posting date, the first chapter is currently only about a month old by this point), and I actually wrote a full outline complete with copious notes so I wouldn't forget anything I wanted to do with the fic. I'm on Chapter 9 of 11 chapters and an epilogia (Epilogia - n. - collection of epliogues. See also, "Prologia" and "Blame Brandon Sanderson") and sure enough, as I put some paragraph marks between "Chapter 9" and my notes, suddenly I started slowing down. I took an entire day off, thinking I was just burning out, but no, I only didn't want to write as I sat down to actually do the writing.

I've been pondering this for the last week-ish, and I believe it has to do with the project being just about done. This has taken pretty much my entire free time since I started and is a tremendous source of dopamine, and now that I'm getting closer to the end, my idiot monkey brain is seeing the end of the dopamine and is trying to delay the end, hoping that'll keep the dopamine rolling in.

Something that I've been working on may be a solution. I've been dropping little Easter Eggs into my fics so fans of one body of work can be pleasantly surprised when they see something from that work turn up in an apparently unrelated project. A character from My Empire of Dirt might appear in Deviation, an epilog on another project will be a big reveal about a character based on the sudden and unexpected intersection with Lost in the Dark. Sunset Shimmer from Redhead/Redhead winds up meeting with Ranma "Sailor Moon" Saotome from Fission. That sort of thing.

Basically, I'm going to convince my monkey brain that it's ALL just one, massive, ongoing "novel" and the dopamine will flow forever so long as the writing does, too.

Will it work? We'll see if it did based on how quickly I can get Ch. 9 out. 😋

[drearybanana]

In order to make myself depressed I decided to write down all my longfic wips and categorize how many words they are and how finished they are.

When the Dust Settles- Danganronpa, multiple pairings - 80k words, 75% done.

drv3 kids are rescued before the filth murder and sent to Jabberwocky island to hide from Danganronpa. Not canon compliant because I forgot some of the details about how the third game ended when I started it, then decided I liked the misremembered ending better.

Baby, Don't Hurt Me - Sk8, Tadaai - 39k words, 20% done. maybe. my outline for this one is pretty loose.

Tadashi takes a bullet for Ainosuke, forcing them both to reconsider their relationship. Mostly a kind of Ainosuke rehabilitation fic about him loosing pretty much everything and having to rebuild his life from scratch. Honestly very attached to this one, but it's also sort of a 'Am I good enough to write this the way I want it' kind of thing...

The Snake, the Sun and the Blossoming Branch - sk8, matchasnakeblossom, 29k words, ?????% done.

Sequel to Recovery where Adam is dead and Tadashi is badly injured after their fall of the cliff. Tadashi doesn't know what to do with himself, but ends up with a job as the manager of Sia La Luce. This one is... complicated. I have a lot of ideas but no real plot, or maybe a lot of different ideas for plots that I'm not sure about. TBH I think I've probably written, like 60k words and shuffled them around, deleted and undeleted and I'm just stuck. A big problem is the Adam in Recovery is not really my actual impression of the character? Like, I started recovery very early in the show when Adam was still kind of Skateboard Hisoka so I just made him a pretty one-note villain, so it's hard to try and write all the Tadashi relationship stuff when the adam in that fic isn't really consistent with how I view adam... I still want to write it though. I like what i have and I like the character interactions.

Royal Pardon - hq!!, Sakuatsu, 37k words, 50% done

ABO royalty AU. Sakusa takes over Inarizaki, which was kind of a shithole. Atsumu and Osamu were planning a coup to dispose their father, and Atsumu convinces Sakusa to marry him in order to legitimize him to the people. Sakusa's a suspicious bastard and Atsumu's a tricky bastard. my first ABO fic and I was like 2k in before I realized I fucking forgot about Betas T.T. still, I have a solid outline for this one.

Star Crossed Rivals - p5, shuake, 18k words, 15% done

Up and coming actor Akechi accidentally falls in with Ren, who is working as a barista at LaBlanc. Ann is starring in a movie with Aketchi, and Shido is a retired actor who runs Akechi's talent agency that he joined to get close to Shido.

ok lol, so almost 200k words and five projects I should be working on. that's on top of an 'ideas' doc that's almost at 90k words and a handful of <5k word stories that I spun out into their own projects but haven't worked on much. that includes Plucked Strings, which I published the first chapter of and I have a lot of ideas for, or the full version of my vampire!Langa/hunter!Reki AU I wrote a short story about.

Honestly, now that I'm done wtih the Big Bang and Stolkholm is getting posted I need to decide what to work on. I always kind of want to pick dust settles since I'm so freaking close with it I just want to get it done and out there. I think I have the most momentum with Royal Pardon though...

[dumdumsun]

⚠️If You Read Any Of My Fanfictions, Please Keep Reading⚠️

Hey, y'all. I hope I don't sound rude at all in this post, this is just something I've been needing to say in consideration of my stories. This also serves as an update for each and every one of them. If someone doesn't see this and they ask questions that this post will answer, I'm just gonna end up sending them a link to this post because I'm a little irritated with repeating myself. This is gonna be posted to my Wattpad, Quotev and AO3 because some of this speaks right to those audiences.

Alright, so, I just wanna give you guys an update on how each of my series are going because some of these things I don't speak on enough, and some of them, I repeat too much. So, here we go.

Actually, before we start, I just want to point out that all of my stories are written before they are posted. I write my stories in full, and then I post chapters weekly. I repeat this a lot, so I just want everyone to know, even though I post publishing schedules.

Of Starlight Series - The Umbrella Academy - Five x Reader: This series is still going strong. I have been very busy lately. One week, I went to Georgia to visit family. While I was on that trip, I got COVID and was sick for the next week. I just got home last night from a trip to Chicago. I've had no time to write lately, so sorry about that. But the third installment of this series, "To Nightfall", is outlined and will be written starting tomorrow afternoon (that is 07/20/2022, if you wanna quote me on that). There's no need to worry about this series, I have everything planned and I am 100% dead-set on continuing this story.

Forever and Never Duology - I Am Not Okay With This - Stanley Barber x Reader: I know. I know I said there would be a sequel. I know. I started it (there's actually 3 1/2 chapters written), but the story is garbage and it makes no sense and I needed to re-outline the entire thing again. Haven't done that yet because I don't know what to do anymore. I'm not even sure if the sequel will happen. That doesn't sound or feel right to say or type out, but it's how I've been feeling for a year. That might change eventually, though. As a reader, I wouldn't get my hopes up on the continuation of this series.

The Loveliest Lies of All Series - Over The Garden Wall - Reader Insert: This series is a one and done. There is no sequel and I never planned on it. I like the idea of it being a singular story just like the show and I have no intention or desire to continue it. It's amazing how it is.

Ranidaphobia Duology - IT - Reader Insert: I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. This is another fic that has been promised for a year now. However, with this one, I have every intention on continuing it. The problem is, for MONTHS, I have been on chapter 5 of 13. It's such a struggle to sit down and write for this story in particular. I know I don't have writer's block, so maybe it's just this story. I really do not wanna discontinue it because I wanna write it SO BAD and I've been promising it to you guys for so long. It will get done, I can promise you that. I can't promise you when.

Lost and Found Series - Stranger Things - Reader Insert: This fic is literally the biggest reason I'm making this post. I've got some things to say. Now, Tumblr users, I'm not really talking about you guys, mainly my other audiences. For one, this series is going on strong. As of right now, the sequel, "Break and Mend", is written in full and being released weekly. The third installment, "Wax and Wane", will not be written for awhile. I have other things I wanna do. On another note, I am getting VERY sick and tired of seeing things about Doc and Will. I am aware that Will's sexuality is being explored by the show. I don't know if he's gay (I'm pretty sure he is) because promotion kinda queerbaited us throughout June and that was pretty shitty. But cast members have been saying the same things about Will being gay. If the show continues as it is with his sexuality, then Doc and Will are not endgame. That's obvious. If it turns out everyone is a liar and Will is straight, then I'll keep them together. But as of right now, I have a plan to break them up. I have a story to tell and I will not pivot away from what I'm doing, especially when I can make this work without disrespecting Will Byers. Doc's feelings for him will never change, that's just the truth. But their relationship status is what I have the responsibility to change. And I will do so when I tell the story. Let me tell my story and please stop commenting about how I'm being homophobic. I know there are writers out there completely ignoring Will's sexuality. I'm not doing that, I promise. Just be patient and enjoy the story, please. Like I said, Tumblr users haven't said anything, this is for my other audiences. It just needed to be said.

Wild World Miniseries - Stranger Things - Eddie Munson x Reader: Oh my god, this will get done. Part 3 and maybe Part 4 will get done eventually. I'm mainly focusing on my main stories right now. The Eddie miniseries really started out as a thank you for 500 followers on Tumblr, and then y'all begged me for a Part 2 and I delivered. I'm not really worried about this miniseries right now. Just know that there will be one or two more parts before it's over.

I have other series I want to write. I was contemplating a Euphoria reader insert and even started a first chapter, but we'll see how that turns out. I definitely am planning a reader insert for The Walking Dead. The problem with that fic is just outlining. I need to plan better for that before I start writing it.

I am eternally grateful for all the love and support I receive from all my audiences from all platforms. All I'm asking is that you guys be patient and kind to me. At the end of the day, I write for myself and I'm kind and confident enough to share it with you all. That takes a lot to do and sometimes it feels like I'm not getting enough in return in terms of patience and kindness. Certain comments (like hateful ones I received this morning) are deleted simply because there's no reason for them to be there, but I'm not usually one to delete comments. I like to reply and interact with you guys. But sometimes, I get tired of answering the same questions and explaining myself on matters that I really don't have to.

Don't worry, I still love y'all. I love that you love my stories and again, I hope I didn't sound rude in this post at all. I just needed to get some things off my chest.

Thank you guys for reading this and I will see my Lost and Found readers in Break and Mend, Chapter Two: Moving Forward. You guys have an awesome week. Much love ❤️❤️

[kookaburra1701]

Summer WIP tag game!

I was tagged by @thana-topsy, I am so excited about what might happen with Halfway to the Sky, I am 💓vibrating💓 and also 👀 at a potential Dark Brotherhood story

I tag @ms-katonic-of-tamriel @mswhich @canonicallymoriche

1) Describe one creative WIP project you’re planning to work on over the summer.

I am working on a trilogy of novel-length fics called Wives of Shor (WIP snippet here: Moth to Flame.) It's a fic that started out as a pastiche of bodice-ripper romances starring Kaidan and Lucien Flavius getting sex-pollened by Sanguine, but it has become a tale about loving someone from an entirely different background than you, having a crisis of faith, and learning how to move on and live a good life when you've done unspeakably terrible things in the past.

I'm planning on having the entire first novel written out + at least most of first drafts of the second and third before beginning to post, so it will be awhile.

OK the game says one but screw that here's some other WIPs I'd like to chip away at, even if they aren't my highest priority:

A Wives of Shor prequel that explains why Lucien only made it to Falkreath before deciding that he REALLY needed some protection on the road.

A fic that explains why there's a bandit trapped in a hay bale in Swindler's Den when a) hay bales require industrial machinery to produce and b) who the hell was baling hay inside a cave. It will also explore the character of Ennis, the goat farmer in Rorikstead, and his relationships with other characters from Rorikstead.

Because I Could Not Stop for Death a short-ish novella that explores how Thane Bryling navigates the transition of being ruled by High King Torygg to his young bride, Elisif the Fair. It was inspired after I noticed that the Holy 80s High School Movie Girl Trinity of Jock-Prep-Goth was present in Bryling, Elisif, and Sybille Stentor. (Yes, all the chapter titles are Emily Dickinson poems ha ha)

I'd really like to get the full summary/outline of a fic my friend TheInducer and I yes-anded into existence. It involves a retelling of the Odyssey by way of Mor Khazgur needing to find a new Chief after theirs went missing. TheInducer did a great write-up on the theory we came up with on r/teslore: Durak is (probably) from Mor Khazgur.

And of course, I continue to hope I will be seized once again by the fit of utter depravity that caused me to write 2K words of Sanguine/Hermaeus Mora tentacle porn a few months ago called La☆Blue Daedra so I can actually finish it and inflict it on the rest of fandom.

2) Rec a book:

The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt. Her first novel is often overlooked by more celebrated/literary ones like Tuck Everlasting but to me this book is the quintessential fantasy story, and it's a very fast read without sacrificing vivid world building and descriptions. Here's my favorite, I think about it whenever I'm struggling with trying to describe something:

There was a lovely greenish glow in the forest, a glow pierced everywhere by tree trunks like fingers thrust into an aquarium full of tinted water; and Gaylen slipped between them like a small fish. With the trees all around him and the rain dancing on the leaves high over his head, he felt as if he were going deeper and deeper into a world that existed tranquil and quite separate from the one he had left behind.

3) Rec a fic:

I have an entire bookmark collection of The Elder Scrolls fic recs!

If I must pick one for this tag game, it would be Like Lightning by Jotting Prosaist. This fic single-handedly changed my opinion on 2nd person POV. It's absolutely masterful and I couldn't imagine experiencing the story it tells any other way. Mind the warnings, it goes to some very raw places.

4) Rec music:

Uh, my musical taste is...eclectic. I guess right now I've been on an early European music and metal kick, so I guess Corvus Corax fits the bill.

5) Share one piece of advice.

Floss daily, check your fire extinguishers and smoke alarms twice a year.

[malevolentmango]

for the writer meme, all the primes (1 not included)!

hi mis you're an absolute terror (affectionate) cracks knuckles okay let's do this. I'm just gonna go ahead and put this under a read more from the get go, it's gonna be long laksjfd

link to the ask meme!

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

I do a secret third thing called "hallucinate wildly about scenarios and then put them in an order that eventually becomes an outline and chapters."

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

see above

But really though, to use wyab as an example, once I had an idea of the direction I wanted the story to go I just broke down the scenes in a way that made sense and tried to keep a sort of overarching theme for each chapter. Which is why those chapters ended up so long. >.>

5. Do you like constructive criticism?

Only from people I trust <3

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

I choose the one that I think would make the fic more interesting! Like, wyab would not have worked if it was primarily Goro's POV, even though his perspective on certain scenes would've been really cool. Though now that I'm thinking about it, I do tend to favor Akira...

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

Been working my way through MistressEast's After Hours at Leblanc series for the past week or so (I'm a slow reader alskjdf), it's fantastic!

Also obsessed with @honeysweetcorvidae's NG+ AU and a certain someone's rebel AU. :3c

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

In high school one of my AP English teachers told me the word "that" is often unnecessary in a lot of the places people use it and can drag down the flow of your writing and ever since I've been culling it from my sentences unless it's actually necessary. There were at least two places in that one sentence where I tried to use it!!

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

Cry. Do something else. Pretend my writing never existed.

Serious answer: Music helps me focus a lot! I either have a full playlist for each writing project, or a handful of songs that work for me for things like oneshots. Reading through what I've already written or my notes can also help because it reminds me why I was excited about the thing in the first place (this is a double-edged sword - sometimes it's just frustrating alksjf).

19. What is the most-used tag on your ao3?

Top 3 for funsies. You might say I'm predictable.

23. Best writing advice for other writers?

Oh I should not be giving anyone advice. Uh. I think my favorite bit of advice in general is that you should absolutely say fuck the rules when it comes to grammar, but you do have to know what the rules are first. Break them in a way that's impactful.

29. What’s your revision or editing process like?

I have trained and worked as an editor, so I can be kind of ruthless with myself sometimes. I do at least one pass where I just pick every line apart and make it sound as good as possible, but I try to limit myself to just one of those, maybe two if it's a scene I'm really into/worried about. I'm also guilty of editing as I write, but I've gotten better at quelling that over the years!

31. Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

I guess technically the characters because a lot of my stuff is very character-centered/driven. The plot often comes from me going "what happens if I put [character(s)] in [situation]?"

37. How do you choose where to end a chapter?

Depends! I try to make it impactful regardless, whether that's a cliffhanger or just something punchy and meaningful. For wyab, I decided that the last scene of each chapter would be from Goro's POV - like we were checking in on him hehe. I thought it was fun!

41. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

Generally one-and-done! But I do reread in certain cases, like when I was writing the epilogue for wyab and wanted to make sure I was calling back to earlier parts of the fic correctly. Or when I'm thinking about sequels... >.>

43. Do you take a sadistic joy in whumping your characters, or are you more the "If you hurt them I would kill everyone and then myself" kind of person?

I am the embodiment of the "angst with a happy ending" ao3 tag so. both?

47. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Answered this earlier but I try to leave it at one pass! If I do more than that I tend to start hating my own writing and/or talk myself out of posting it alskjfa

53. How do you spend your time when it comes to fanfiction? Are you primarily a fic reader, writer, or a perfect 50/50 split of both?

idk if it's a perfect split exactly, but I'm definitely both! I think it fluctuates - when I first got into p5, I devoured a large portion of the shuake tag before writing anything at all. And then I got absorbed in my own writing and barely read anything that wasn't friend fics alskjdf

59. Does anyone in your personal life know you write fic? if not, would you tell anyone?

At this point all of my friends are also fic writers and/or in fandom lmao. But my family doesn't know, and I simply do not want to explain all that to them.

61. Why do you continue writing fics?

Because I love the characters! I want to make them dance for me :3c

67. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

Both! I like going full indulgence with my own ideas, but prompts are great for challenging myself.

71. When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

Again using wyab as an example: The entirety of the fic is in one google doc. Makes it easy to search for things, and to make outlines. Part of the reason I added the p5-esque calendar dates was to keep myself on track, and to indicate that time was passing without having to spell it out every time. Other than that... I tend to stream of consciousness write my notes as they come to me and organize them later.

73. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

oh god uhhhhh. fuck. I guess probably the fact that I try to balance flowery language with overall concise storytelling makes my writing style pretty distinct? And I'm a slut for themes and metaphors, and that definitely comes through too.

[altfire]

Fic asks: 1, 25, 50 :3

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

best introduction,,, i feel like if i wanna put my best foot forward i'd say Behind Enemy Lines (a widowmaker overwatch character study, said by some 2 be my magnum opus) but i personally feel like the horror and the wild (tes oc fic) is more representative of my Current Style And Ability lol

the rest under the cut bc this got long lol

25. What other websites or resources do you use most often when you write?

i write in google docs, but i do a lot of like Scrap Writing and keep a lot of references on google keep. as far as resources, i have a bookmarks folder of articles i reference often. here's some prominent ones:

7 point outline (i use this to lay out the general shape of an outline before fleshing it out in this next point)

my proprietary short story/novella outline (which i made myself and have used for multiple projects. it's flexible and can be stretched out as needed. here's an explanation/example)

STC scene outline (if a scene is giving me trouble i consult this to see if anything is missing)

STC full outline (i mostly use this for vibes and not like Fully Use It but it helps me idk)

OH AND OF COURSE the UESP my beloved ♥ with how much tes fic i write i practically live on the uesp, it's ridiculous

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about! 49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

i have So Many Projects right now but to talk about something other than thatw for a second, here's some of the tun-tei thing i've been working on (~460 words):

It was barely dawn when he finally caught sight of Winterhold, and by the time the sun's first wan rays of light peeked up over the Sea of Ghosts, he was silently picking open the Hall of the Elements. The silence was comforting, and the warmth inside even moreso - thankfully it was early spring, and the cold in the southern holds wasn't so bad, but this far north it was as if seasons didn't exist. Between the perpetual winter weather and the frigid ocean air, Tun-Tei was sure his beloved couldn't have picked a more miserable place to settle down.

 Safely inside the college, Tun-Tei relaxed and opened the door on the left side of the foyer without care for being heard and took the stairs two at a time, despite the weariness of traveling all night. He was revitalized, as always, by what waited for him.

He pushed open the door to the Arch-Mage's quarters much more slowly, quietly, and kept his footfalls soft as he crept inside. He tossed his traveling cloak over a chair and noted the magelights that kept the alchemical garden illuminated were still out for the night - a good sign that his target wasn't yet awake.

A soft sound drew Tun's attention, then, and- and he strained to see, in the darkness, but a familiar motion conjured a healing light in hand and he gestured, curious, toward the stone floor. There - a piece of parchment, blown off the table and to the floor by his cloak. He picked it up, turning it over on reflex.

It was a map, which in itself wasn't particularly interesting, but it wasn't of Skyrim - rather, it was a map of all of Tamriel, and a recent one if the uncertain border between Morrowind and Black Marsh was any sign. Tun was used to maps being dated to the end of the third era, or at the least being admittedly based on older maps. An accurate, up-to-date map wasn't common, and his thieves' sense for loot lit up. To the right buyer, a merchant or adventurer, this could be worth almost a thousand septims. What use had the Arch-Mage for such a thing?

He looked it over for any further clues - anything written in his lover's steep hand, inked into margins - but only found one. One city was circled in noticeably darker, newer ink than the map had been scribed with: Stormhold, right on that uncertain border, placed as the last bastion between the volcanic wastes of Morrowind and the swamp.

Unbidden, Tun's stomach turned over, anxious, as it always did when he was made to think of Black Marsh. He set the map back on the table and put it out of his mind. He could ask in the morning.

[masquerade-reimagined]

Wow, you're actually going to make a trilogy out of it? Color me even more intrigued. 👀 You don't have to go into detail or anything, but do you have basic outlines written out for all three stories, or is it just general notes/ideas? I tried writing a full outline for my own TRM rewrite/sequel, but I got maybe like, two-thirds of the way through before my inspiration gave out lmao

That's the goal! Or, perhaps it's really more accurate to say that I've always felt like TRM was being set up for a trilogy (but unfortunately didn't earn any sequels) and I've wanted to write out the story as I anticipated it going.

It's entirely different, however, to tell a whole story arc over a 15-17 chapter VN as opposed to a who-knows-how-many-chapter novel-esque fanfic. 😅 A lot more needs to go into the latter than the former. So I have strong ideas for where I want the story to go beyond the original, and I have a lot of the major steps along the way planned out. But it would be wrong of me to say it's fully outlined.

I need to get in there and fill in the gaps, which might include pestering my "focus group" for things they'd like to see. Because it really shouldn't be all about me and what I want, right? 😁

Assuming I don't die before I finish this project, if all goes well, there'll be three books for it! If the second and third act don't really fill out the way I want them to, it'll probably be two and a bit of an epilogue.

[wander-wren]

Ok, here goes! I wanna preface this by saying that I've been in a serious writing rut for like the past six months, to the point where I've pretty much given up on my WIPs. It's not that I don't want to write, or that I don't have ideas, but the actual work of sitting down and getting words on the page feels like pulling my own teeth out. So I'm conducting research on writers I admire to see if I can learn anything from their processes. And so, without further ado:

How long have you been writing?

Do you start out knowing what's gonna happen in the story, like with a plot chart and everything, or does the story take shape as you go along?

Do you write in big chunks or a little bit at a time?

How many drafts do you typically do? Is your first draft usually like word vomit or something a little more polished?

Do you have a beta reader?

What's your editing process like?

Is there a certain time or place where you prefer to write?

What do you consider the hardest part of writing?

Have you ever struggled with perfectionism in your writing? Do you have any tricks for bypassing that "EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT" wall in your brain and just get words on the page?

That was a lot lol. Of course you don't have to answer all of them, but any insight you're willing to give will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much <3

woo okay let’s tackle this!! under the cut bc Long. strap in folks

How Long Have You Been Writing?

in any shape or form: since maybe 6 years old? but i started writing fanfiction at 12, started getting serious about writing in general at 15, and threw myself full tilt into fanfic at 17, so currently i haven’t written original fiction Really since june. which is a complicated answer. you didn’t specify if this is about original stuff or fic, but i’ll try to answer from both perspectives bc my process for each is wildly different.

Plotter or Pantser?

for both original fiction and longfics, i’m solidly in the middle; i usually start with a list of things i want to happen, and i always need some idea of where i’m going to end, even if it changes later. from there, i start writing the first few chapters. when i feel like i have a more solid grasp of where i’m going, i outline chapter-by-chapter through one “section” of the story, however i define that. once im done that section, i outline again. this gives me a lot more freedom to change things as i go and adapt to new decisions i make. i also add random ideas to my masterlist of stuff that i might want to include further down the line as i go.

with oneshots i never, or almost never, have a plan beyond the premise/summary, so they frequently get away from me and do all kinds of random things.

Big Chunks or Little At a Time?

i’m gonna say big chunks? i have adhd so i frequently hyperfixate on my projects and can work on them for hours and hours on end, which i don’t exactly recommend, but it happens. at any given time i have a “main” wip or two that i work on pretty much daily, and then others scattered around that i might pick up for a few hours if i get bored. but i try to finish fics as fast as possible bc if i move on there’s a 50% chance i won’t come back, at least not for months.

How Many Drafts?

for fanfic? one. every once in a while if something is REALLY not working i’ll rewrite sections, so that’s like 1.5 drafts, but it’s free labor i do for fun so while i take pride in it and want it to be good, i’m not going to expend THAT much energy, yknow?

for original stuff, like if we’re talking novels…at least three drafts? i haven’t gotten that far with most of my projects so i’m still learning about myself, but my general process seems to be that the first draft is about getting the main story beats and the emotions down. my first draft is always very heavy on the angst and catharsis, sometimes overdramatically so, bc there’s less plot to hold it up. then my second draft is more about plot and realism and structure, but i tend to lose some emotions in trying to do that. my third draft is about combining the two and continuing to polish stories/characters. i haven’t written any fourth drafts, so i’m not sure whats beyond that.

and my first drafts tend to be very polished. i wrote a little rant explaining the history of that aspect of my writing not long ago, so i won’t get into it again. part of that is just how i’ve always been, part of it is practice. i do feel sometimes that i write pretty enough to cover up structural/realism/continuity issues, which can be frustrating when looking for critique from people who can’t see past it.

Beta Reader?

yes! i have a small group of writer friends that i share things with, but that is pretty much always for cheer-betaing and minor critiques unless i ask for actual criticism, which i only do with my original stuff when i get to the second/third draft, partly bc it’s not ready before then, and partly because it’s a lot of mental work for the other people. shoutout to my main bnha betas, @rangerlexi and @spacetime-enthusiast, who are, as i said, mainly cheer betas, tho mav is also my resident bakugo expert bc he’s very hard for me to write sometimes. getting better tho!

can’t recommend finding betas enough, even if just to cheer you on. hell, i can’t make promises about super long works or original fic, but i’m always down to read fanfiction. i don’t even bite, i swear. obligatory note that you do gotta trust ppl tho yada yada thieves exist and mean people exist etc etc

Editing Process?

for fanfic: typically i reread one or two times right away while all my thought processes are fresh in my head. i’ll make spot edits and add or delete things here and there. then depending on how impatient i am, i wait a day or a few to send it to my betas and/or reread and edit again myself. then i post and i’m done!

for original works: i don’t bother to edit first drafts, or even second drafts sometimes. when it’s time to prep for a second draft, i reread and make notes on what i want to keep and what i want to change, then use those notes to make my next skeletal outline. usually my stories change drastically from one draft to the next, but the last time i did a third draft, i wanted it to be pretty close to the structure of the second, so instead of outlining at all i just did splitscreen and wrote the whole third draft while looking at the second, sometimes basically retyping a page word for word, sometimes going “well, that chapter is pointless” and skipping it entirely. when it came to line editing, i used hemingway bc i don’t trust computers to do my editing, BUT the different colored highlights were helpful to break up the monotony. hemingway is a lot more focused on concise/readable sentences and cutting adverbs than anything else, which was good for me as an overwriter. i cut 22k words the last time i used it, from a 130k draft.

Best Time or Place?

not really? i write everywhere and constantly. the advice about finding your niche of productive time never seemed to work for me because, as long as i’m not blocked/stuck, i pretty much always kind of want to write.

Hardest Part?

DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS OH MY GOD IT’S THE WORST. sorry. i hate. doing that. becoming friends? becoming family? falling in love? god. kill me. i love all [thing] to lovers in reading but in writing i tend to drift toward best friends to lovers bc then it’s kind of close. i love writing about people in relationships, tension and banter and softness and fights, but getting there is so awful.

Are You a Perfectionist? Tips?

hm. gonna try to answer this honestly and in the least asshole-ish sounding way possible lmao.

i’m not really a perfectionist? not in writing, anyway, idk about other stuff. but also it’s just like…i know i’m good at what i do. not perfect—i can see flaws in things i wrote even a few months ago—but good. More Than Satisfactory. sometimes fics just don’t work and i abandon them, sometimes it takes me a while to figure out what i’m doing, but i’m not generally paralyzed by the need for anything to be perfect because i’m happy where i am?

that’s a hard mindset to get to, though. and you will for sure feel good about something and then dislike it in a few months or years. that’s just the nature of improving your craft. i think if i had any tips, though, i would say a few things.

watch this video essay, the whole thing but specifically 5:39-9:20. i love cj the x and i agree with many of his takes on art, so. some of his other essays might be helpful as well but that one i know talks specifically about perfectionism.

or if you don’t want to, just have this quote that melted my brain a little when i heard it. “perfectionism is not an inherently bad impulse. but you have to earn that. you don’t get to be a perfectionist if it is unproven up to this point if you can even make a thing.”

read bad stories. like genuinely i’m such a petty spiteful person oops so. i don’t really seek them out much but reading like, really really badly written work is like “well, if that’s the bar, at least i’ve cleared it.” obviously don’t go attacking creators or posting the work to make fun of it, but read it. maybe make notes of exactly why it’s bad for yourself, even, it might help you get better at identifying problems in your own work if you can figure out why things are bad beyond just “i don’t like it.” there, that sounds less mean, right?

just post your shit, tbh. put it out there. most people on the internet, in fandoms, they’re nice, if you curate your space properly. it’s a confidence boost! put something out there that’s less-than-perfect, get a couple of kudos and realize the world didn’t implode, and maybe, maybe it’ll be easier to start/finish next time.

you kinda just gotta accept that you need practice, my dude. like. you can’t closer to perfect without work!! we know this!! just do it. i know i just said to post things but also if you hate what you made no one!! else!! has!! to!! know!! it can be a secret. it’s okay. this coming from a chronic oversharer lol i have the worst time trying not to shove my stuff at people….which, actually, kinda worked better as motivation for me, bc i couldn’t share something unfinished, so i had to Do The Thing in order to get validation/feedback/critique like i wanted. so either way, whatever works better for you.

The End

so yeah, those are my answers, i guess? i hope that makes sense and helps and everything!! i’m really sorry you’re in a rut, that’s the worst. if you have any more questions or just wanna chat about what you’re writing feel free to come say hi again!

[emilyoracle]

@onmywaytobe #this btw is why anything past a first draft is so intimidating#however I do think I’m decent at planning out the development ahead of time?? idk#i hate the idea of a second draft or third draft#i hate the idea of rewriting unless it’s really bad#the last couple steps are fine I’m good at line editing and copy editing#but the development is what’s so intimidating to me

@froggyfroo #incredibly based post#this is fenuinely something ive been struggling with - I've never really got past a first draft before#even tho for a few of my written eorks I'd rly like to - i feel like Idk anything about writing sometimes so this is i valuable to

You guys are SO valid haha developmental editing is also the bane of my existence. My advice, which you can take as you want (or not at all), is to seek out a betareader and/or do things step-by-step.

Finding a betareader is difficult in itself, but once you do, simply tell them you need developmental editing, that you want to look at the story as a whole and ask them specific questions relating to that goal. Does the plot progress too slow? Too fast? Does it make sense? Is the trajectory building in a satisfying way? Etc. Then wait for their feedback and use it to inform your own opinions and decisions. If you vehemently disagree with something, then you know you disagree and whatever they wanted to change you prefer to leave the same! Even that alone is invaluable help, because otherwise you might have not been able to form an opinion at all and/or waffled back and forth about it for ages. More betareaders are better, of course, but sometimes you gotta take what you get. Ideally, your betareader is not a family member or friend. They cannot be trusted to give you the full and unfiltered truth. Find a stranger. There are forums on Goodreads and Reddit dedicated to seeking out a beta, and surely you can put out feelers on Tumblr for betareaders as well.

Step-by-step is admittedly more complicated, I hope to compile an "editing masterlist" of sorts that's basically a checklist of the entire editing process but as I have yet to do that, here's my simplified (coughItriedtomakeitsimpleokaycough) break down of the stages of development editing: 1. Scan through your manuscript and create an outline. Whether this is just writing the chapters and the most important plot point in that chapter, or more in-depth summary of each scene is up to you. This allows you to look at your story as a whole with a quick(ish) glance. Even if you have an outline from before you started writing, it's best to pretend that one doesn't exist and make a new one off the manuscript to be sure it accurately represents it. Now you can track plot progression, see if there are stale chapters or scenes (or unnecessary ones), make sure the plot builds in a natural and satisfying way, etc. There are a ton of different frameworks you can compare and contrast against (like the most famous "Hero's Journey"), so you can certainly look for specific beats of such tried-and-true formats and conform your story accordingly. Personally, I don't think perfectly matching the cookie-cutter molds is necessary for a good story. If you feel confident enough in your own criteria, judge it by that! 2. Do the same thing, except with your important characters' arcs. Again, it's up to you to decide what the important characters are, it doesn't have to just be the protagonist(s) if there are involved side characters, and antagonists can get in on this too. This should be a different outline from the first, and each character should get their own. Really what you want from this is to track the progression of your characters (upward or downward) and see how it lays out. Is there a sudden change too soon or too early? Is the change justified with an inciting incident? Does the arc make sense? Are you satisfied with how the character changes, and who they end up being by the end? Look specifically at: motivations, internal and external goals (I want to be the best warrior vs. I want to save the world), biases, attitude/behavior, virtues, and flaws. Not all of these need to change, and what does change doesn't necessarily have to change drastically. It's up to you. But if the character is important, it's generally good storytelling for something to change in them, for the consequences of the story to have had some kind of effect on them. Keep in mind, an upward character arc generally takes flaws and improves them or turns them into virtues (e.g., an angry, bitter character becoming confident and resolute) and a downward character arc generally takes virtues and turns them into flaws (e.g., an extremely loyal and law-conscious person becoming ruthless and cruel in order to maintain their loyalty and the order of law). Again, this isn't OBLIGATORY, as nothing is in writing, you're allowed to do whatever the heck you want!

3. Consider the changes you want to make. Do this whatever way suits you best. If brainstorming/daydreaming is best for you, then go for it! If you like writing things down, do that. If you need to brainstorm and bounce ideas off another person, find someone to help! Unlike a betareader, this can be a trusted friend, because you might not necessarily need harsh truths, but only a fresh or second pair of eyes.

4. Once you've figured out what you might want to change, add, rearrange, or delete, get back to writing and implementing those edits!

If anyone else has any advice or ideas, feel free to chime in! I am by no means the authority on this, because, as I said, I also hate developmental editing lol.