#more like a bunch of google docs with two sentence outlines

[at-thestillpoint]

how do you outline? im curious because the political au outline has 9k words. I literally put two sentences in my outline 😭

It's not so much an outline as it is a bunch of not-even-half-written scenes, snippets of dialogue, "this should happen here" notes, and other unhelpfully vague ideas in more or less chronological order, which I then go through to flesh out in the outline itself. The bulk of the 9,000 words is the scenes that I've actually started writing in detail.

Tactically, though: I jump around a lot when I write, so I make ample use of headings to help me quickly find the right scene in a really long doc. Google pulls headings into a summary in the side bar, and nests Heading 2 under Heading 1 text, so I'll use H1 formatting for the big narrative beats in the story and H2 formatting as a to write list within those big scenes. Partial screen grabs of the summaries from the other FWB fic (highly recommend clicking into the first photo—I think I'm hilarious!) and the political AU docs below:

Not sure if this answers your question? The more I answer these asks, the more I realize that my writing process is kind of like throwing spaghetti at the wall, but I'm always more than happy to chat!

[grayeyedandroid]

my toxic trait is i have like 30 creative projects and have zero work done on any of them

[madasthesea]

I’m sorry for being so mean. I had a really bad day and didn’t mean to say such awful things. But I am frustrated my fics always get ignored, especially by the big names in the fandom such as yourself that claim to support everyone. I’ve written so many fics in this fandom and have been doing so for over a year, yet I only have 30 subscribers. I get really frustrated and feel like I’m a bad writer because everyone ignores me and my fics. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I’m sorry.

(2/2) For a fan community that claims they are inclusive, everyone sure doesn’t act that way. Everyone already has their friends and people like me who don’t have many friends get ignored. The big names in the fandom don’t support or read the fics by the new people. It’s not just me. I’ve never received a single kudo or comment from you or anyone else that’s popular like you. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but people don’t read my fics.

Ok, I’m answering this in the middle of the night in the hopes that not a lot of people will see it so it won’t become A Thing and then as soon as this fic exchange is over I am turning my anons off forever. Anon, I guess I have to give you credit for coming to apologize, but I have to say, where before I was perfectly capable of laughing off your extremely rude message, I have to say, now I’m annoyed. Because there is not a single instance or bad day or frustration that makes what you said acceptable. You came into my inbox and threw a temper tantrum because you knew my name and I happen to have anons on unlike most of the “fandom big names.” You told me I had the worst fics in the fandom, told me I publish outlines instead of stories and accused me of writing incestual pedophilia because you had a bad day? I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re young because that is the only possible excuse I could give you. As I said in my original response, if I were already an anxious writer, you could have caused me to delete all of my fics and put me off of writing forever. Someone commented on your original message and said that they don’t post their writing because of messages like that one. You’re right you shouldn’t have taken it out on me, and you wouldn’t have if your name had been associated with it. But here we are, and I’m going to try to make it so this never happens again, at least with the two of us. 

Now, onward to your frustrations. I am sorry that you aren’t getting the attention you want, but one) yelling at me on anon isn’t going to fix that. Two) not to be like callous and insensitive, but that happens to almost every writer I know. I’ve been writing fanfiction for 12 years. This is the seventh fandom I’ve written for and no one ever read my fics before this. My first year on AO3 I published six stories and had 500 views total. I get the frustration, but sometimes you just have to get the perfect combination of exposure, plot, and interest. Three) Do you have any idea how many stories get published in the Peter Parker & Tony Stark tag a day? I’m sorry, I can’t read all of them. I don’t want to read all of them, in fact I have 14 different tags blacklisted. Just because I am a “big name” does not mean I owe you a comment or a kudos. If I like your story, I will tell you. Chances are, I haven’t even seen one of your stories, because I’m an adult with a job and hobbies and writing of my own to do. Most of the “big names” are the exact same except a lot of them also have school. If you want someone to read your stories, ask them. Say “hey, I respect you and your opinion, could you look at this for me?” They will probably say yes unless they have a good reason not to. Don’t just sit there and wait for it to happen and get mad when it doesn’t. Also, this is the third time someone has yelled at me for not reading or commenting on their fics and it makes me less inclined to leave kudos in general in case someone comes and gets mad that I read their fic but didn’t comment. So uh… don’t do this again. 

As for the community, do you want to know how to make friends? Send asks (nice ones) not on anon. We can’t interact with you if you don’t know who you are. Reblog our fics. Comment on our posts. You can’t make friends if no one knows you exist. And the only way to show you exist is show yourself in our notes, in our inboxes. Sitting in your corner of tumblr and being bitter isn’t going to help anyone. This fandom is welcoming and it is kind and it is supportive. You saw how many people came to my defense tonight. If you talk to those people, they’ll talk back, but they can’t reach out to every single Irondad blog, it just isn’t feasible. 

And finally, how to get your fics read more. Like I said, part of it is just… luck. I got in at the very beginning, as did losingmymindtonight, parkrstark, several others, and had already established myself before IW came out and the fandom got bigger. Lucky break on my part, but I’m also a good writer because I’m 25 and I have a Master’s in a writing heavy field and I’ve been writing my entire life. Sometimes it just takes practice. But there is stuff that all good fics have in common, so here we go:

1) Good grammar, good spelling, good punctuation.

I don’t know who you are so I have no idea what your writing is like, but this is stuff I had to tell college students as a teacher, so I’m just going to go over it. 

Are there line breaks between every paragraph? No? There need to be. It’s hard to read when all of the words are bunched together, meaning automatic exits will happen, regardless of content.

Do you start a new paragraph every single time a new person speaks? You should.

“When someone is speaking,” I asked, “do you put a comma before the speech tag?” Commas, not periods. Not periods then commas. Punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. 

Are you writing in first or second person (I or you)? Don’t.

Pay attention to your tenses. It is very confusing reading a story that switches tenses every sentence. 

Are you capitalizing the beginning of every sentence and proper noun? You have to. Reading all lowercase takes energy and concentration and readers don’t like to put more effort in than they’re used to. Also it’s just pointless.  

Get a beta reader. Get grammarly (but the free version, don’t pay) or another editing service. Google anything you have a question about. EDIT YOUR WRITING. 

2) New ideas

Every fandom has tropes they love, but not every fic can be a trope fic. Every fic I write is, if not completely new, a spin on a popular trope.

Yes, there are some popular field trip fics, but most of them get lost in the weeds because they are all the same. And most of the people I talk to don’t even like them. (This counts for May dies fics, sensory overload… If you’re going to write it, you have to make it different and you have to make it good.)

Look to other movies or books for ideas, check out irondad-fic-ideas, something. Write something new, something only you can write, and at least some people will notice.

3) Good characterization

Now apparently everything I write is OOC, so maybe I’m not the best person to be giving advice on this :/ (I’m still annoyed. I’m getting over it)

BUT–the best way to write a well-known character is to know the source material. Listen to the way they talk, watch how they move. Ignore fanon. It’s hard, but try. Peter isn’t actually a perpetual ray of sunshine, chatter box 12 year old like we often write him, Tony isn’t 100% sarcasm and incapable of recognizing his own feelings. 

If you can hear the character say it in their actual voice, it’s probably a good line. 

4) Misc.

Fandom rule of thumb: cute fluff and hardcore whump win out over deep character studies on convoluted plot lines. If you’re just looking for hits or maybe a fic to establish yourself, that’s a good way to do it. 

If you’re posting a multi-chapter fic, don’t post it all at once. People will comment on each chapter as you post and you’ll get more hits. 

Respond to comments, especially at the early stages. It makes your readers more invested, it builds friendships, and it makes your stats look better. 

There’s a blog that supports little known writers in this fandom! Rec your fics there!

Make sure to never, ever put “I suck at summaries” or “fic is better than summary” it is an instant turnoff. If you can’t write the thing that makes me want to read the fic well, why would I think I want to read the fic?

Tagging on AO3 is vital. Tag the right relationships, tag the right emotions (angst, fluff, hurt/comfort). I often sort just by these. Always put in the category, (M/M, F/M, etc.) and the rating. There is no reason not to, but not doing so makes people less likely to read. Always tag triggers.

Never steal fics or ideas. If a story inspires you, you can ask the author if you can write something similar and then link in your story back to theirs. Nothing will make you less popular in a fandom than stealing work.

Lastly, I know authors constantly talk about how important comments and kudos are, and they are so important to bolstering spirits, I get that, but if you aren’t writing for yourself first, you will always be disappointed. You should enjoy your fic as much when you read it in your word doc as when you read it online with comments and kudos. And maybe you write really niche stuff that doesn’t appeal to a lot of people, but churning out carbon copies of the Fandom Tropes and hoping for hits is not going to satisfy you and you will keep being frustrated.

Let’s not do this again, shall we? Next time you have a question, ask me nicely.

[kamidoodles]

Someone said on discord this might be helpful.

About working for yourself:

Finishing stuff requires discipline, not inspiration. Doing a little bit each day is more effective than doing a lot all at once.

Don’t work more than your allotted “work time” per day. If you want to work six hours per day, stick to it. Don’t work more than eight hours a day.* *if you’re working under contract for a particular company this may change, but try to enforce good boundaries.

Also, make sure to have a weekend. Be unavailable to clients barring emergencies during your weekend.

Establish boundaries with your clients. Even if your clients are also your friends.

Take breaks during your work day. Take an hour for lunch, get up to stretch, drink and snack.

Work during your work hours. That seems obvious but I’ve also sat here at my desk “working” when I’m really just dicking around on tumblr.

About setting prices:

Charge for the time & service, not the final product. Shift your thinking from “my skill level isn’t worth much” to “my time is valuable”. If you spend 4 hours on work, that’s four hours you could have been doing something else and won’t get back; you should be compensated for it.

Flat fees should be established based on the amount of time you take for a project of that type x your hourly rate

Hourly rate should be no less than a living wage. not minimum wage. living wage. how much does it take each month for you to have food, a roof over your head, and your bills paid, then add on a little fun money for spending and saving. divide this by four (avg. # of weeks in a month), then divide by five (# of business days in a week), then divide by 8 (standard hours in a work day). Final number is your minimum hourly rate.

Experience should absolutely increase your rate. If you’ve been taking commissions for a few years, give yourself a raise. now you’re charging for time, service, and prior experience.

Charge for the time you work with a minimum price of 30 minutes. If a task only takes you 10 minutes to complete, charge the full 30 minutes. But if you spend an hour at your desk and only 10 minutes actually working and you’re not done, hold on to that 10 minutes til you hit 30 or exceed 30.

I can’t stress valuing your time enough. Don’t price yourself ridiculously high, don’t try to undercut your fellow freelancers, but get paid for your time. If you value your time, so will your clients.

About payment:

Always, always send an invoice. Google docs has some great free templates. An invoice protects you and your clients from fraud. Paypal has them too.

Paypal: Don’t try to get around fees with “sending money to family and friends”. This can bite you in the butt -- no seller protection, and no papertrail of them paying for a service.

Large projects should have a contract. It doesn’t have to be stuffed with legalese, but it should outline the scope of the project: who it’s for, what you’re expected to do, what you’re expected to deliver/how/when, and the agreed on price or budget with any conditions about deposits or upfront payment.

Upfront payment on large projects will save your butt. People are less likely to ghost you if they’ve already invested money, and if they do ghost you then you keep their deposit.

About taxes:

If you do a lot of commission work, you probably have to pay taxes. Do your research on what that means, and the minimum amount you have to make annually from commissions before you pay. If you’re in the US, your state laws AND your county laws vary. US Federal law has a low threshold of $400 USD gross earnings annually before you’re technically supposed to start paying.

Don’t freak out about taxes. They can be scary and confusing, but honestly, unless you’re pulling in tens of thousands or more per year in revenue, the tax people aren’t going to throw you in the dungeon. If you fuck up on your taxes, stay calm and talk it out with an agent -- they want their money, and they’ll work with you to get it. If you’re under 18 don’t stress, but it’s probably worth asking your parent / guardian / local responsible adult to help you start learning about taxes. If this isn’t possible for you, seriously, don’t stress about it.

USA: Estimated taxes are a thing. Since you get all of your money upfront, you’re supposed to estimate and pay state and federal taxes every quarter. If you want a tax return instead of a mountain of owed taxes every April, pay into your estimated taxes every quarter.

Set aside 25% of each invoice for your taxes if you can* (if you’re doing emergency commission work, disregard. it’s more important for you to pay whatever it is needs paying ASAP)

Some places require you to have a business name and a business license. See if that applies to you.

USA, but possibly others idk: CreditKarma has a free online tax filing thing that’s super user-friendly.

Interacting with clients:

“No” is a complete sentence. If a client wants you to do something that makes you uncomfortable -- pressuring you for a discount, pressuring you to meet a deadline you didn’t agree to, if the subject matter is iffy, say “No.” Clients that do not respect your “No” will be clients you’ll regret.

Try and keep in contact as best as you can. You’ll struggle as things come up and sometimes you’ll forget. But an attempt at communicating is better than leaving people in the dark.

Family & Friend discounts will bite you on the ass. Don’t do it. 

Scope creep is a thing and try to guard yourself against it. Scope creep is when people ask you for a bunch of little changes outside of what you originally agreed the project was. A change or two isn’t too bad but be wary; offer a maximum # of revisions to start, and stick with it. Scope creep is how you start off with a commission for a forum signature for $20 and then wind up redesigning an entire forum for free. :( press F to pay respects to 2006 kami.

Keep your messages and explanation brief. Don’t be like me and get sucked into a rabbit hole of having to write an essay to justify my rationale. A simple, “It is more effective if we do X” or “Y is not possible, can I recommend Z instead” makes life easier.

Have a separate work email from your personal one. Gmail allows you to connect your gmail accounts together so you can work from one inbox but send from multiple addresses. Use filters to make sure anything being sent to your work email is marked as important so inquiries don’t wind up in spam.

And sometimes, sometimes, “Go fuck yourself” is an appropriate response. Use sparingly.

[ahumansvoid]

Misc WIP Folder

So I’m going through my WIPs folder’s subfolders. 

One is labelled Misc, so that’s the one I’m going through now. Everything will be below the cut because this will probably be a long post, there are sixteen files in this folder. 

Most of them are from different fandoms, so I’ll put what fandom it’s in + what title I have for it in my folder in bold before I talk about it. I’ll be going from oldest to newest. Technically not because I can’t sort Google docs like that, but rather “last modified by me” so, longest abandoned to newly abandoned I guess?

 Also Spoilers for any of the fandoms, maybe? Probably. 

If you have any questions about any of the fandoms, message me or send me an ask. I’m open to talking about any and all of them. 

Fandoms Involved (Ordered by appearance):

Murdered: Soul Suspect (Video Game)

Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia (TV Show)

Gravity Falls (TV Show)

Until Dawn (Video Game)

Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV Show)

The Mummy (2017) & (1999) (Movies)

Assassination Classroom (TV Show/Anime)

Red vs. Blue (Online Show- Rooster Teeth)

Camp Camp (Online Show - Rooster Teeth)

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (TV Show)

Devil May Cry (Video Game + Anime)

Aladdin (2019) (Movie)

Castlevania (TV Show)

Murdered: Soul Suspect - MSS

So there isn’t much in this one, just a bullet pointed outline. Murdered Soul Suspect is a video game, if you don’t know it and are curious you can google it or message me. 

Anywho. This is just a little part I thought was funny.

It’s essentially a Ronan survives AU of the game, pretty standard and I thought it would be fun. Honestly this part about Ronan and his cracked spine just reminded me of Obi-wan and how I write him in ignoring his injuries (and how most people write him) so it made me laugh a bit. 

There’s really not much here, I didn’t even finish the outline.

Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia - trollhunters au

I am very creative with my titles. Clearly. This is another bullet point outline. but this one is longer and irrc I actually started writing this, and that file would also be in this folder so if I did write it’ll also be featured on this post.

This is an au where Claire is the trollhunter rather than Jim.

The top bit is literally just for context on the next star point. Anywho Writing AAARRRGGGHH/ seeing it spelled out is funny to me. Also I’m pretty sure I rewatched bits with AAARRRGGGHH with subtitles on to see how it was spelt and then replicated that.

The second star point is funny to me because I describe annoyance/anger (rightful, both of them) as pissy. And that’s funny.

There’s more but if I’m write and I wrote it out, then that’ll be featured later. 

Gravity Falls - Gravity Falls

... Okay I’m not creative with titles until I have to be. Once more, bullet point outline. So this is an after-canon AU where Bill left a remanent of himself in Dipper and it’s become apparent when they’re in Piedmont.

I just like the rules I had Dipper give Bill. I thought they were neat. Also, I like Mabel convincing Dipper to let Bill live because he’s pathetic. This is a demon who has tormented them for an entire summer, but nows he’s pathetic so lets help him. 

Not much of interest in this. I probably didn’t write it because it’d be a long and day-in-the-life type fic. It’d just be Dipper and Bill coexisting and going through life and IDK how well I’d of written that. So I didn’t write it.

Until Dawn- Until DAwn AU

FYI I’m keeping the titles case-sensitive. Another bullet outline. So this is a Josh survives/exorcised AU, also an Everybody Live AU. I’m pretty sure I wrote this when I was heavily invested in Until Dawn and Josh (because I like him.) And I was reading Until Dawn fanfic in which Josh is blamed for what happened on the mountain. And I think I was getting pissy which lead to this:

So in this AU the Until Dawn Group splintered into Sam, Josh & Chris, and Mike, Emily, Jess, Matt & Ashley. So this conversation/fight is between Chris and the second group. So Chris is the 1st,3rd and 5th talking bullet point. I don’t know who’s talking in the 2nd &4th bullet point but it’s one of the second group. Probably Emily, Mike or Jess maybe. Not Ashley.

Im 90% sure that I wrote out this entire outline just for this little interaction. 

It just tickles my id. I still kind of like it, but I honestly don’t know what else I’d write for this AU.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Zuko is the avatar

Title is self-explanatory. Also, I really like bullet outlines. So. Anywho. 

Aang is still a 12 year old in this, he used up all his “avatar energy” (that’s literally what I wrote) to keep himself alive so he’s just an airbender now.

I just love Iroh. And this is just funny to me.

If I ever wrote this, it’d be a lot of hijinks of Katara and Aaang (and eventually Toph) covering for Zuko whenever he bends anything other than fire. More cracky than serious.

“The Mummy (2017)” and “The Mummy (1999)” - Mummy x Mummy

I watched the 2017 version of the mummy (got it from the library for 2 bucks) and since there are some throwbacks to the 1999 movie I decided to try to combine them. This also became an AU where Evie and Rick save Imhotep in Mummy 2, and due to Evie being revived meant she was functionally immortal (doesn’t age, but can still be killed). And due to everything, by the Mummy 2017 rolls around it’s just her and Imhotep hanging around, investigating ancient egypt and whatnot.

Honestly this is just part of the outline. None of this is really amusing to me, just, if I ever tried to write it, a lot of work. Although, the fact that I can’t remember the blonde lady friend from the Mummy 2017 is kind of amusing and I literally call her ‘BLF’ throughout this entire outline. I think her name was Lisa. Or Sara.

i’ll google it.

Assassination Classroom - AC AU

At this point, I might as well tell you when it isn’t a bullet outline than saying when it is.

This was really just a Reaper/Koro-sensei raises Nagisa rather than his mom.

People panicking around children is amusing to me. Again, long AU. And this was probably an excuse to write some baby assassin Nagisa and whatnot. Honestly whenever I read this I do remember more details on this, that I have never written down. 

Murdered: Soul Suspect - Murdered: Soul Suspect

...

Okay I think this is just a repeat of the one I posted earlier???

I- I don’t know what this was? Like this is newer than the other one? 

?????

Uh, brain weirdness?

Let’s move on.

Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia - TRollhunters

Ok! So this is the written out of the bullet point earlier. I did not write out much. But I’ll talk about it a bit more? So this AU is also a Bular survives and Jim finds him and helps AU.

This is literally all I have written. So, right after this, Jim would find an injured Bular and helps him. There isn’t much to add, but I will add what I had written as Barbara’s reaction from the outline:

Large AU, but it would be fun to write. I would most likely end up writing Claire’s journey of Trollhunting along with Jim’s adventures with Bular.

Red vs Blue - Meta, no, that wasn’t, he wasn’t

Okay, that’s not the full title but also the full title is literally the first sentence. Which is a long one so you get part of it. This is actually a written au, it’s about Agent Maine/ The Meta surviving and meeting up with Siris. This is just the first couple paragraphs:

Nothing I read was particularly funny to me, so just the first two paragraphs. Essentially what would’ve happened is Siris would help Maine find Washington (on Chorus) go to Chorus. Find Felix and Locus. Drama Ensues.

I might actually write this. Maybe. There’s potential, if the drive hits me.

I havent watched RvB in a couple of years, but I did like the series. It was interesting.

Camp Camp- Camp Camp

Y’know since this is ‘misc’ I get just having fandom names. Lot easier to identifiy.

So, this file is currently loading still, but I remember this. It wasn’t that long ago. This wasn’t so much a fic as a comic I would of like to have done. I definitely would’ve needed to brush up on my art skills (I am mediocre at best) but it’s just a small little comic I would’ve done on Camp Camp.

First little bit. I actually wrote out most of this rather than just bullet pointing it. 

There is a little bit I’d have to polish up, but I could probably post this entire thing. But I kind of want to actually do the comic first. But boy that’s a lot of work.

I love how most of the reason I’m not writing these is that they’re a lot of work.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (TV Show) - Project Cheron

This is an AU where Priest is one of the projects of Blackwing. Specifically Cheron and I think my reasoning is that he makes people go where they need to be. IDK. I actually wrote a couple of these. But this one is essentially Priest getting a bunch of projects together to help something. Idk.

This entire thing is weird and would probably be labelled crack if I ever finished it.

Okay. This entire scene is funny to me. Just, this girl rushing out in front of the car waving happily with a decapitated head in her hand. I like it. So, Aine and Herodias are OCs. Both are projects Priest is collecting. 

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (TV Show) - “Dirk

Another Priest is a Blackwing Project AU but that’s not really the focus of this story. This story is about a project (Project Carman- OC) who can trap people in their certain significant memories of her choosing. Carman gets annoyed at Bart, Dirk and the Rowdy 3 so she traps them in memories signifcant to their stay in Blackwing and Priest.

I’ve only written 2 of the six memories, so that’d be fun to complete. These are also just sad. They’re not happy memories. So, random moment that’s somewhat amusing:

Also, title is the first sentence in the fic.

Devil May Cry - “Should I

I- why did I decide to do this from oldest to newest? Part of me is embarrassed, the other part is reminding me I have no reason to be? It’s a video game fic. But also this is a game of my childhood. It’s about Nero looking for his dad and finding Dante instead. Canonically Dante’s twin brother, Vergil, is Nero’s dad.

Just a random moment because I didn’t write that much of it. Also I thought it was kind of cute. Patty shows up in the Devil May Cry anime. Which I watched before I played the games. 

Aladdin (2019) - Aladdin AU

A mix of bullet outline and written. I don’t actually have much of this AU, but essentially before Aladdin wishes to become a prince, he notices some mercenaries kidnapping a little girl and decides to rescue her. 

This girl is the princess of Shiroba, Aladdin takes her back to Shiroba. The Queen/ Sultana appreciates Aladdin going out of his way to help her so she invites him to stay in the palace. 

Eventually word gets to Shiroba that Agrabah is planning to attack so Aladdin and the two twin princes of Shiroba (that I made up, OCs) make a plan to infiltrate and see what they’re planning. They’re not planing espionage, but as Shiroba is a peaceful nation, they want to see if they should start evacuating people and whatnot.

So you get the Prince Ali stuff with the Genie and yada yada. 

I have none of that written. I just know that’s what I intended to do with it.

So, first little bit. Long AU that would take a lot of work. Also, I know this isn’t super popular but I liked the 2019 version of Aladdin. I really like the changes they made. 

Castlevania (TV Show) - Waking up in Jail wasn’t a new experience

Again, title is first sentence. Not writing that out. Anywho, this is a kind of complete canon AU to Castlevania. Essentially we haven’t reached Lisa getting burnt at the stake yet. So, loving Dracula fam. Trevor and Sypha meet earlier due to circumstance. Alucard gets attacked by something and gets rescued by Trevor and Sypha. They travel together for a while. And then Sypha and Trevor get to meet Alucard’s parents. 

That’s where this AU will go if I ever write it. To be fair, last time I wrote in this file was March, so I guess that’s technically possible. Don’t hold out hope.

First couple of paragraphs. 

Also, that’s it! Misc WIP folder done!

Oh, if you’ve made it this far, a)thank you and b) if you want to continue/write any of these, go ahead, but tag me or send me a link. I will be very happy to see/read what you create if you like any of this in an inspo way.

Also. This is long, so, IDK if Imma go through the other folders rn. Maybe tomorrow. 

[alias-levi]

Novel Prep Tag

Big thanks go out to @keen2meecha for the tag! This one took me for ever to fill out but I eventually managed. Also, to save you from scrolling for 30 minutes, I set the cut. I warned you.

First Look

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences

Two hitmen, who learned to keep business and private life separate, happen to meet each other more often than not. Jumping over their own shadows, they get used to each other and things seem to get less work-related.

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be?

That’s hard bc I have no plan right now. I’m trying to push myself to a chapter length of, like, 3k-5k; and aim for a number of 20 chapters maybe. So we’ll end up somewhere between 60k and 100k.

3. What’s your novel’s aesthetic?

A rainy night in a big city. The asphalt is illuminated by traffic lights and neon signs. The air is filled with the sounds of traffic and cars.

But also a quiet house in the middle of nowhere. Two people co-existing, not talking much rather speaking through the music that fills the house.

Additionally, killing. Throwing hands until an arm is wrapped around the target’s neck to suffocate them. Or exhaling, calming the heartbeat as much as possible before gently pulling the trigger. Splattering blood over the walls.

4. What other stories have inspired your novel?

Definitely the John Wick Universe and the Hitman Universe (which I initially got the idea from). My WIP currently takes place in the John Wick Universe but I try to distance it through the second draft/editing phase.

5. Three images that get the feel of your novel

Main Characters

6. Who is your protagonist?

Yrsa Agnarsdóttir. She is from Iceland and in her mid-twenties. Also she works as hitwoman. (For more info check out her OC Intro.)

Alexej Kznetsov. He is from Poland and in his late-twenties. He also works as a hitman. (For more info check out his OC Intro.)

7. Who is their closest ally?

There isn’t really a space for allies in their lives, since both, Yrsa and Alexej, spend most of their time travelling and working (alone).

However, for Yrsa there is still her family and her best friend who have her back. Though, they don’t know about her real profession. In later chapters Alexej joins this list.

Alexej, on the other hand, can’t relie on his (biological) family. Also friends are not really his cup of tea. So, there’s way to go for him.

8. Who is their enemy?

Enemies aren’t really a thing in this story but much rather I’d call it competition/rivals.

If the job offer for a hitman is not exclusive but public, it’s first come forst serve. The first person to show up and get the job done is the one who gets paid. Everyone else to show up after that gets left out in the cold.

9. What do they want more than anything?

Alexej? Probably just for Yrsa to shut up and calm down for once.

Yrsa? I have no idea yet. Maybe Alexej to loosen up a bit.

10. Why can’t they have it?

She doesn’t care. As simple as that. Yrsa doesn’t care about what people (other than her really close friends and family) think about her. But for Alexej? Maybe. Some day.

Alexej is way too reserved. He needs his time to get used to Yrsa, and her lively nature, before he can shake off the stiffness.

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

Alexej feels guilty for his younger brother’s death. He had promised him that he would always protect him. Realizing that he should have been there and save him from the fire, had broken something deep within Alexej.

12. Draw your character

I’m sorry, I won’t make you suffer like that.

13. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?

For Yrsa it would be a family member dying (natural cause) or getting hurt (due to her job). She keeps them very close and loves them dearly. Also a friend, like Einar, dying because of whatever reason would really throw her off the track.

Alexej is less easy thrown off the track. He is quick to close his heart and shut down feelings. Something as shallow as a friend getting hurt or dying wouldn’t be that much of a deal. Also “friends” is a term that he doesn’t usually use to describe anybody. 

Therefore, it must be something that hit really close to home for Alexej. Maybe visiting his parents and realizing that they didn’t change at all in all those years he had been gone. Bonus points if they also blame him for his brother’s death, like he himself already does.

Yes, yes I’m hinting at a chapter throughout the book here. Thanks for noticing lmao

Plot Points

14. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

Uhh... None, actually? This story is just about watching two people get used to the presence of someone else for the first time in a while. Also about seeing them become closer and, uh, dip into a romantic relationship.

15. Do you know how it ends?

Yes, and I plan on making a second part.

16. What is the theme?

The working title is a quote I read online and I think it’s from the Hitman video games or one of the movies.

“We determine who we are by what we do” obviously states that our destiny is in our own hands. What we do, how we act, is how we are. Everything we do has an impact on our future, and it’s up to us to control this.

But this story is also about the things we are forced to do to survive. Sometimes we can’t chose “what we do” and therefore it has less of an impact on us.

17. What is a recurring symbol?

Fighting, I guess. But also relaxing and coming down from the highs in very particular and private places.

18. Where is the story set?

As for the time We determine […] takes place in the modern world, like ours. Regarding a place it’s set all over the world, since both characters travel a lot. Though, there are recurring locations, like Yrsa’s house in Iceland.

19. Do you have images and scenes in mind already?

I’m still plotting and outlining but also started the first draft and make a lot of things up as I go. But I do have the major/key events, drafted and designed to the last detail, in my head already.

20. What excited you about this story?

I guess it was attempting to write something slow, where the characters need to grow before they’re ready to get involved in the relationship. I have never written something like that before so I see this as a bit of a challenge.

Also I haven’t really written anything for a long while. Especially anything longer. That also made me decide to officially pick up on this.

21. What is your usual writing method? 

After vaguely making things up in my head while watching movies or series, I write that down slightly more detailed in an app where I can already structure everything and easily change stuff. Then, when I actually start typing things out, the real creative flow starts and I feed everything into a Google Doc or Word Doc.

Uh, I’m just gonna tag a bunch of people. I don’t know whether all of you have a WIP you work on but if you feel like doing it, here you go!

@liz-pooh @yogurt-writing @anxious-bean-writing @aelenko​ (but I think you got tagged already)

[lost-kinn]

So how does writing the fanfic work? Like do both of you kinda treat character interactions as a conversation between you two, and when writing memories and the narration is it a first draft then fix it carefully thing? I never really seen book writers and such collab so I'm not too sure how it works for some, if not all who collab.

the short answer is that it’s absolute chaos and nobody knows what’s happening ever.

the long answer is that we come up with a general chapter outline based off whatever’s in the master outline (which has the overall plot events from chapter 1 to 11), and then theoretically we both add a few hundred words to the document every day to make whatever’s in that outline happen. for example, aryashi will write 200 words of a conversation between quirrel and lemm, and then i’ll read what’s in that conversation and then add 200 more words. sometimes we talk about who should write specifically which part based on what we’re good at, e.g. long descriptions about the city of tears almost always defaults to aryashi because she’s good at it lmao.

it virtually never goes according to plan because i can’t write chronologically for shit. there’s a bunch of disconnected paragraph, half-scenes, or even singular sentences floating around on a google doc while both of us run around like headless chickens either throwing out new snippets or trying to patch up the giant holes between snippets so that it all flows together in chronological order, and this just keeps happening for three weeks straight until we have something that’s readable.

ty for ask!! this was fun to think about.

[bookenders]

11/11/11 Tag Game: Round... uh... 5, 6, & 7?

I got tagged by a bunch of people ( @quilloftheclouds is this how your 77 question one felt??) so here are a bunch of answers! I think this is the most I’ve ever talked about myself in my life. 

Good gracious, you’re all so nice and have such good questions.

Tagged by: @surroundedbypearls, @waterfallwritings, @bigmoodword, @sundaynightnovels

Rules: answer 11 questions, tag 11 people, give them 11 new questions!

[I’ve done this enough to be able to break the tag rules. Fight me.]

44 questions and answers below the cut!

But I’ll be nice and put my questions right here:

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

When do you title your WIPs? It is the first thing you do? The last? Does it come to you during drafting?

How many inside jokes do you put in your WIP(s)?

Your WIP’s antagonist is now The Riddler. How do your OCs handle that?

Do you use sticky notes?

Laptop or desktop?

Your OC is a wrestler. What’s their hype music?

Do you own any craft books/books on writing?

What’s your favorite book cover?

How many unread books do you have sitting around right now? Which are you most excited to maybe get to eventually some time?

How committed are you to your outline(s)?

Bilbo Taggins: Literally anyone, but also @francestroublr, @sahados-shadow, @a-story-im-writing, @bethkerring, @citruschickadee, @bos-ingit

If I’ve tagged you before, you can totally ignore this. In fact, I encourage you to.

From @surroundedbypearls:

What’s your favourite genre to write in and why? Literary fiction! It’s what I learned in university and the one that fits my themes best. Sci-fi is hard, I’m just getting into writing fantasy stuff, I can’t do thrillers, romance is hard for me, and historical is too much work.

Do you think you have a style/voice that you use more often in your writing? When did you develop that style? If you’ve read one of my stories, you know exactly how my writing voice sounds. It doesn’t change too much. I write like I talk, but if I had a lot more gravitas and charisma. Honestly, I’ve always had that kind of style, but it really developed in high school. It’s been getting stronger since then. It’s one of the things I always got comments about from my teachers and fellow workshop writers. “Your voice is so strong!” Yep. It’s mah thang.

Do you play video games? What’s your favourite? YES I DO. It’s hard to pick faves, but I’ve played Dragon Age: Origins too many times. 

If you were going to do a WIP crossover, which OCs would be most interesting together? (If you’ve only got one WIP crossover with something else) A crossover between H2H and AOPC? Interesting. I think Mel and Keema would get along the best, Oz would have some fightin’ words for Elder Sanga, and Gemma and Teva would be a force to be reckoned with, my god. Two stubborn nerds who believe totally different things but are also very determined to be very good at what they want to do and love their communities to a fault? Fear them.

Do you prefer to plan WIPs in a document or through handwritten notes? I used to do it by hand but I couldn’t read it because my handwriting is terrible and I kept losing papers. I do it in docs now. Much easier to organize and incredibly legible.

Do you multiple languages exist in your WIP? If so how do you address that in the story? H2H is set in the “real world,” so yep. It hasn’t been addressed too much yet, but I have a way for tackling languages. I’ve written multilingual-ish stories before. I never write phonetically and use hella context clues so the reader knows the gist of what was said if another character doesn’t translate.

What’s your favourite animated film that’s not Disney or Pixar? AN AMERICAN TAIL. All of them. It’s on Netflix go watch it and marvel at the way a kids movie talks about Jewish immigration, poverty, and cultural oppression via mice. As a young Jewish child, this movie was my jam. It’s very dark, though.

Do your real-life surroundings influence your WIP’s settings? Nope! One time I tried to write a story set in the same area where I lived and I couldn’t do it. Too weird. Sometimes I’ll write in an item I see near me, or like, a painting or poster on the wall if I need some set decoration, but that’s about it.

Which OCs would be most likely to break the fourth wall? Oz. Lookin’ at the camera like he’s in The Office.

How do you work out your OCs’ personalities? Hm. I look at the story I’m trying to write and make a protagonist that would have the most interesting experience in that narrative. For H2H, I wanted someone who would be loyal as heck to the people they loved while still being experimental enough to try new things and get into shenanigans. The story called for someone like that, and there she was. Mel came about my thinking of someone who would compliment other characters in the story while still being their own person. If that makes sense. I think of dynamics and interactions with the story world in relation to the theme(s). Most of the time they just happen, though.

Do you prefer worldbuilding or character building? Character building! As much as I like making stories about places, making characters is more fun for me, and more interesting. You should see all the DnD character sheets I have. 

From @waterfallwritings:

1. How do you come up with ideas for your WIPs?

At random. Seriously. It’s like my brain has to be running something in the background to function normally, and usually that something is whatever story I happen to be working on. Or I’ll look at a thing and go “huh.” My brain also likes to twist normal things to be a little bit different.

2. How do you get past gaps in the plot?

No idea, man. It’s like throwing spaghetti at a wall. I like to work backwards. If this is what I want to happen, what needs to happen before that to ensure that it occurs? I look at all the elements currently in the story and see if one can be manipulated to fill in the hole.

3. What motivates you to keep writing?

If I don’t, my brain gets all constipated and angry until I write something down. Like, seriously, I get grumpy and frustrated like I’m hangry or something. Aside from physical need, I love writing. I love word puzzles and feelings puzzles and figuring them out. Sometimes I think of how my stories could help someone, or make them feel something that they enjoy. 

4. Do you do any other kind of creative writing?

Oh, man, I’ve done it all. Screenwriting, playwriting, poetry, video game-ish writing, interactive storytelling, short stories, flash fiction, proposals, essays, DnD campaigns, monologues... You name it, I’ve probably tried it. I tend to stick to prose and poetry these days.

5. Do you have any other creative hobbies besides writing?

I’ve gotten into graphic design a little bit. I kind of wanna learn how to knit again. I’m not really very crafty. 

6. What do you do when you’re stuck on a scene and don’t know how to get it out / write it?

Write a different scene, stare at the screen in frustration until I give up and go to sleep, meditate for a few minutes, go do something else to get my mind off of it, clean, work on a different project.

7. How do you decide how to end your WIP?

I mean, see the next question for part of my answer. How did I decide to end H2H? My friend, that’s a big ‘ole spoiler. But I decided to end it at a place where everything, and everyone, comes together.

8. When in the process of writing do you decide how its going to end? Or do you kind of just wait til you get there?

Right at the beginning. If I don’t know where it’ll end, I have a hard time writing the arc. I work backwards: start with the idea, then think of where I want it to end up, then work back to the beginning until I know where its going, then start writing.

9. Why did you decide to join writeblr?

My reasons are pretty personal, but the least personal is that I needed some accountability and motivation. And I missed being in a good writing community.

10. What’s your favourite food?

Pasta! I’m eating spaghetti right now.

11. If you had to kill off a character in your WIP, who would it be and why?

Oz would be the most tragic. Treena would be the most logical. 

From @bigmoodword:

1. using one sentence summaries, can you tell me about your wips?

Nerdy potion woman meets cute odd stranger who helps her solve magic mysteries in their quirky small town.

2. what inspired them?

I saw a zine accepting submissions for magic stories, then an open call for queer shifter stories, and thought “what if wholesome magical lesbians?”

3. which of your ocs do you most identify with?

Gemma!

4. if you’ve ever cried while reading, which book cued the waterworks?

THE SONG OF ACHILLES.  My God, my soul was weeping. Honestly, it still is. Doesn’t matter that I knew the story from the Iliad. Madeline Miller is a feelings wizard.

5. how do you conduct research for your wips and what’s the most interesting thing you’ve discovered in said research?

On an as-needed basis. I used to do way too much research to avoid actually writing the damn thing, so now I only do it when I actually run into a problem that can be solved by Google.

6. thus far, which scene has been the most difficult to write?

The ones that aren’t hugely emotional. Which is... unfortunate.

7. which of your ocs do you like the least?

Rude. On a personal level, Jill. I love her, but I would not be friends with her. We wouldn’t mesh at all.

8. which pov and tense do you prefer to write in?

Third person limited present tense! To the bane of everyone who’s ever edited my work.

9. do you write poetry?

I do! Not often, though.

10. who is your writing role model?

My freakin’ writing professor from college. He is crazy disciplined.

11. if you could give your younger writer self some advice, what would it be?

Hey, you know those people who say your writing is too dark? Yeah, they suck and they’re wrong. They just want kids to live up to their expectations and write happy sunshiny stories about unicorns and dinosaurs having ice cream. And you’re not depressed because you wrote that one sad poem one time and someone asked if you were depressed. What you have is called feelings and they’re very useful for a writer, nay, a human, to have.

From @sundaynightnovels:

Who is your biggest role model? Okay, so I got crap all the time in grade school for never having a role model, and I still don’t have one. The teachers were concerned about me. But my reasoning was, “why should I want to live someone else’s life?” Yeah. They didn’t really know what to do with that...

What are your OCs favorite foods? Sort of answered here!

Which OC is most afraid of the dark? Oz and Mary!

What made you want to start a writing blog/participate in the writeblr community? Answered above!

Did you sleep with a stuffed animal as a kid? Do you still? I did, indeed. I don’t anymore, but I have two that I shuffle around my room when they get in the way. One is a highland cow I got in Scotland (he has a plaid hat), the other is a blue whale I got at the Museum of Natural History in NY.

Do you like donuts? I love donuts. Especially jelly filled ones. Mmm.

Do/would your OCs like donuts? All of my OCs like donuts. I don’t think Mel has ever had a modern one, though.

What is your least favorite food? Cauliflower? I’m the household taste-tester, so there’s been a lot of stuff I don’t like.  ( @sundaynightnovels I hate sparkling water, too, you’re not alone!)

What is your ideal writing environment? Comfy seating, a chair with no arms (stupid elbows), alone, plenty of chosen beverage within reach, headphones.

Favorite line from your WIP? So far, it’s this one!

Favorite quote from a book? Oh, man. There are so many. From recent memory, here are a few: “’Give it time,’ she replies. ‘It won’t be a story forever.’“  and “Everyone has heard stories of women like us, and now we will make more of them.” (both from The Ladies Guide to Petticoats and Piracy) “When he smiled, the skin at the corners of his eyes crinkled like a leaf held to flame.” and “I lean forward and our lips land clumsily on each other. They are like the fat bodies of bees, soft and round and giddy with pollen.” (I could write a goddamn essay about the imagery in this scene.) (It is quite possibly my favorite description of a kiss ever. And the metaphor extends through the rest of the scene so artfully ugh.) (both from The Song of Achilles) “The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and in this way memory and imagination and language combine to make spirits in the head.” (from The Things They Carried)

[quilloftheclouds]

WIP Tag Game!

Whoot whoot, more tag games! (I’m sorry guys these are just so fun and are so easy to procrastinate with. ^^’)

Thanks for the tag from @kidsarentallwrite! My apologies for how long this took to answer, and I’ll certainly get to the other tags, soon! 

I’ll be doing this with One Siren’s Soul, since that’s really the only wip I’m working on at the moment! (Be aware this is somewhat long, since I had quite a bit of fun with the answers.)

1. When starting something new, how much do you know about the story before you start writing?

With previous wips I would normally outline by going... this happens at the start, these major events have to happen at... some point, and the ending? I have no idea, I’ll figure that out when I get there. Honestly though, that was my philosophy for the entire story. I’ll figure it out when I get there, sprinkled in with a few major plot ideas and a somewhat planned out setting and characters.

Now, for OSS, something entirely different: I. Outlined. The. Entire. Thing. Chapter by chapter. I give about a sentence or two for each PoV, with longer parts for major plot events. Still, a lot of room is left for improvisation and new discoveries as I write. (And yet, the outline has changed dramatically since I started writing.) Overall, the outline as it is now for OSS book 1 is about 7 google doc pages at 11 size font. I know all of the characters extremely well (considering they were previous original characters of mine), and the setting is... ennnghhhh, I’m still in the process of researching. I’ll work on historical accuracy later.

2. What draws you to your WIP(s)? Why did you choose to write that/those over anything else?

The ocean. Yep. Short and sweet. I grew up by the ocean, I literally chose my university because it was by the ocean. I can’t live without the ocean.

I mean, I also really like pirates and action-y movies, and I love attempting to shift that into writing. Writing monstrous non-human characters (my siren children!) is also pretty darn neat.

The main reason, though? The characters. They’re so much fun, there are so many twists in their backstories and their motives, I just... really want to share their existence with other people.

3. Favourite writing spot? Why?

I don’t really write anywhere else but my bedroom desk. This may be because I am lazy, or possibly because it’s really the only private, quiet place I can go around here (without it being too cold since it’s still winter here).

4. Share your favourite line of what you’ve written so far! (Oh stars so many spoilers)

A clang of metal against metal resonated through the wood. I jolted, my eye wide.

Something was happening on the top deck. The noise was almost drowned out by the sea, but I could catch the edges of it if I listened. I held my breath.

The sound rang out again, a clangor of screeching, things whistling through the air, shouts and yells.

The clash of blades.

A gunshot.

I needed to get up there.

5. If you had to choose one OC to bring to life as an actual person, which one would it be and why?

HmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMM. This is. Hard. I would say Colin because he’s the nicest and probably the only one that wouldn’t kill me immediately. (Also we have a lot in common.)

6. Are you looking to get published? If so, do you hope to make it a career?

I have honestly no idea. This is the first wip that I’ve actually made a good attempt at writing (and hopefully finishing!) so we’ll have to see when I get further along. If I were to get published, writing would most certainly not be my career. I’m too much of a science nerd. Plus, moneys. And time.

7. What’s something you would read but would never write (or the other way around)? Any reason?

High fantasy! I really, really love reading it, but for some reason... I just. Don’t think I would enjoy writing it? I’m not entirely certain why, but perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I have a lot of trouble not getting carried away with world building so much that I just... fail to write anything.

8. What’s something you are most proud of about your work so far?

Honestly? That I’ve come so far. And I know, I know it’s not that far, I’m only about halfway through the first draft. But that’s the furthest I’ve ever been in a writing project! It exists! I’ll go back and read sometimes when I’m bored and I just... can’t believe I actually wrote that! I did!

9. Badly describe your WIP(s) in one sentence

Magic thingies are stolen from magic people and someone gets accidentally cursed--now the magic people and the non-magic sailors have to work together to fix everything.

10. Why did you want to be a writer?

How does one... answer this question? Hm. I think it was because... I always have such marvelous worlds and people and adventures in my head. But other people can’t see what’s in my head. (At least, I hope not.) And sometimes I’d love to share them, to be able to enjoy them with other people!

I’ve tried many different ways of conveying these stories to others: drawings, comics, music, acting... but nothing seemed to suit my skillset as well as writing did. I read so much when I was younger and wrote so much that it became, well, the easiest, most enjoyable of the bunch!

Taggin’ taggin’ time: @alinakerrin @inexorableblob and @bookish-actor!

If you’re curious about the wip I was talking about, check out the main page of One Siren’s Soul here!

[actualbird]

ummmm its not That Personal but like uh. u write a lot, like a lot and i notice that ur also. depressed? and im depressed too and i like to write but i just cant figure out how to like. sit and write for a while. actually get something done idk if thats something u have any advice for i would Appreciate It

oh! okay well. hum. i have to admit that most of my writing habits that push me to do stuff like write 7k words in a day are actually p…unhealthy? to the self? so i’ll skip over those and give u stuff i do that isnt Bad because my god, we gotta look out for each other:

the absolute beginning of writing a piece starts with ideas and concepts, and i have a google doc filled with bullet points of ideas. this doesnt really have anything to do with the Sitting Down And Writing Bit, but it’s super helpful for when you’re in a funk. just. any idea you think of, no matter how dumb, jot it down. in my bmc idea list i have a bullet point that’s just “they are spies” and another thats even dumber that just says “anti-anxiety rice”. these reservoirs of silly ideas help me out a bunch.

this is something that really depends on you, bc people have differing opinions on this, but i write outlines!!! and it’s something that i find very helpful. i was basically trained to outline everything throughout high school, to the point that i cant even write a 500 word essay without one. outlines differ for everybody, but i find that it’s most helpful for me to write out 1) important details (ex. in my latest fic, i listed down all the dragon characteristics i wanted to give michael) and 2) all the main scenes (ex. in my latest fic, i wrote one sentence for each of the eight main scenes). outlines are really good because you’re getting your ideas out in a tangible form that starts to take shape, but it’s not the Heavy Stuff Just Yet. it’s a nice way to ease yourself into the writing mood, and it’s godsend for when youre already writing because, once youve got all your ideas and plot points out, all you have to do is write the words.

of course, that’s kinda the hardest part HAHA. sitting down and Doing The Thing is a chore hhhhhh. but practice helps you get through it easier and easier each time, i guess. 4 years ago i was writing tiny fics that were barely 1k long and took me a week to write. now i am here. it’s cliche advice everybody gets, but it’s because it’s Real: practice. practice. practice. depression is a big heavy sludge that stops you from doing everything, but if you make something a habit, it tends to become muscle memory. if you can, try to write something everyday. it doesnt have to be big! just a sentence or two. even just a few ideas. just write something. then keep on working your way up. when youre confident with the daily habit, maybe set a wordcount goal. like 100 words a day. or maybe 500 a week (that was my goal back when i had class. it’s a nice, lax goal that doesnt feel too daunting but still gets stuff done!) start small and work your way up!! as somebody who marathon writes shitloads of words in a day, it’s draining. setting a schedule with smaller, broken down increments is much, much better. 

my laptop is Really Weird And Probably A Bootleg, so i dont have msword or any word processor that can count words correctly sdhfkjsdhf. so i write on google docs and i use wordcounter.net . wordcounter is a really useful site for me because not only does it display your wordcount WAY HUGER THAN MS WORD WOULD, thus kinda putting it Out There how much youve got written, but it’s also got cool stuff like reading time and reading level and word density (word density saves my life every fic. it makes sure i dont make characters fukn shrug all the time lmao)

my kamikaze mode, aka what i do when i start and finish writing the bulk of a fic or a chapter in one day, goes a little bit like this: heavy breakfast. write write write. more food. write write write. nap. food. write write write. +various twenty minute breaks in between all the writing. frankly, i dont know how i do this because it passes mostly in a haze, but breaks are!!!! important!!!!!!!!!!! i cannot stress this enough. your eyes are gonna hurt like hell after staring at a screen for hours. your WRISTS are gonna ache. your neck!! your butt!!! if you dont take a break, u will turn into a gargoyle!!! trust me, okay, ive already turned into one once. wasnt great. drink water and stretch and walk around. if you dont wanna separate from ur laptop, at least stop writing and look at memes or read over what u have so far.

when youre actually writing, my philosophy is Never Edit. misspelled a word? mark with an asterisk and come back later. forgot a word? mark it with an asterisk and come back later. transition is wonky? dont fix it, keep writing. mark it with an asterisk and come back later. editing is important, but when youre in the Writing Groove is not to the time to do it. more often than not, editing becomes an excuse that hinders your wordcount progress under the thin veil of “hmmmm this could be better.” it sure could! but fix it later. when im writing, my only goal is to get it done. everything else comes later, because at least by that point, i have a full piece to fix instead of a scene i keep reworking over and over again. the momentum that results from this is Powerful and not even the Depression Sludge Monster That Lives On A Couch In My Brain can defeat it. get fucked DSMTLOACINB!!!!

this is barely coherent, but it’s all ive really got to say….all of this is completely subjective, and what works for me will not work for everybody else, but this is how do stuff. depression is an awful piece of fuck and it sucks so bad and im so sorry youve gotta deal with it, but yo, working past it is possible!! it’s hard, but it’s possible.

i hope you have a great day anon. kick depression in the nuts with ur kickass writing. 

[yvonnelozano-blog]

Walk the Writing Talk: outlining-- "planting"

Hello lovelies, Let's talk about "planting" an outline.

Planting an outline

Is a combination of being a plotter and a pantser. (ha. Get it?)

A pantser is someone who "flies (writes) by the seat of their pants" and word vomits all over the pages until the end, where they have a lovely story. I'm super jelly they are able to do that without planning. 

A Plotter is exactly what it sounds like. Someone who plots out the entire story planning every last detail, including dialog. Character’s personalities and traits, scenes. Locations and so on down to a T. Every -i- is dotted before they actually get down to writing the novel. 

I am also jealous of plotters and their ability to organize their thoughts.

Needless to say-- but going to say it anyways--I fall in the middle.

A "planter" If you will, is the placing of sentences with little to no details as if they were ‘seeds’ to grow upon. Typically ‘outlines’ written with this method are made of one or two informal sentences. They can be changed as many time as needed as the official details are added later, via pantser style.

Most use this method as a way to pump out the entire rough draft of their story from start to finish. It’s quick and simple and I cannot stress the flexibility of this style of outlining enough. The details are added in via the panster method and it can make the official first round editing smoother-- In my opinion.

Some use this method to get an idea of how they want specific scenes to go.

Example: “Emma is on a hunt with her brother, Aiden, and runs into an adventurer, gold rank, who admires her brother's skills while she is embarrassed by her own lack of skills.” 

Turned into:

“A tall, lanky man slid from behind a tree a few yards away. He smiled, dark eyes twinkling in the morning light. Aiden raised his bow and moved to send a volley of arrows flying at the man, only to realize he didn’t have an arrow in hand. He fumbled to pull one from the quiver.

‘Now, there’s no need for that. I was just keeping your friend’s blade clean.’ The man’s voice was deep and rustic—similar to their father’s. He came out further into what little light there was and showed both his hands. A long bow in one, and air in the other. A gold tag shimmered on his chest.

Aiden’s eyes widened in recognition, on a gasp he exclaimed, ‘you’re a Ranger!’ When the man nodded, Aiden’s eyes gleamed, a smile breaking out onto his face. ‘o-o-oh. sir! Y-y-you saw us hunting?’

The man nodded again, his own eyes now danced with amusement between the two siblings. When he glanced at Emma, she quickly hid her face, pretending to be busy picking up her knife—now wet with dew.

‘Do you wanna see my kill?’ Without waiting for a reply, Aiden ran the last few feet to his quarry and proudly raised the dead rabbit by the arrow he’d killed it with as if it were a great beast.

The man gave yet another, simple nod. ‘Right through the eye, a perfect kill.’

Aiden beamed.”

-- Scene from, A Ranger’s Beginning.

How many of you read through that and see a bunch of need-to-be-edited parts? lol. Don’t worry i see them too, but hey, it’s an example of a first draft scenario!

As you can see though, Planting is an easy method to understand.

If you are someone who cannot outline for sh*t, but also can’t word vomit a whole novel by clicking away on google docs or Microsoft, then this style of outlining may be the inbetween you need. 

Remember, there a plethora of ways to outline your novel, or not, if that’s also your thing. Finding what works for you as a writer is important. Sometimes it’ll be the little things that prevent a writer from completing their project, scrapping it and trying again from scratch with another one. If you notice you do this, it might be time to explore different styles of writing.

Anything else you’d like to add? let me know in the comments. And remember, you got this.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and IG: @Writer_Yvonne and @author_yvonnelozano

I also  have a website, where I post more about my current projects and novels.

https://www.authoryvonnelozano.com/

and if you want to read the first three chapters of my upcoming novel, The Catalyst, a prelude to corruption, just click on the link below. Don’t be shy about telling me what you think about it either. Any feedback helps.

https://www.inkitt.com/stories/240616?preview=true

With that, lovelies, stay safe.