#on writing and fantasy sci fi things

[underwaterbanshee]

I fucking love the commentary of what higher power perceives Mother Goose through the permeance of the ink enshrined in the Canonade. 

Characters don’t have agency--it’s the best authors that give that illusion but anyone who has done any sort of media critical commentary will remind viewers and readers over and over that characters don’t make choices. The closest story-telling can get is through the communal act of actual play.

But from a meta perspective, to take this natural 20 fear even deeper, the content of the NeverAfter isn’t only written by the original authors. Fanwork is also being created. 

The perspective of their stories is constantly changing and more versions are being written and more asterixis are volleyed about all willynilly by uncaring content creators who only care about a good story, then after the GrimDark fairytale retelling resurgence of the early 2000s, no wonder the archetypal Step-Mother is swallowing every mother she can get her hands on.

[writeouswriter]

You ever come up with a story concept and think oh this is brilliant, this is so good, this is so clever, I'm a genius, people will love this, and you brainstorm and you outline and you create a whole host of details about it, but also you... don't want to write it, not in a "I dislike writing" or "I want someone/something else to write this" type way, but in a "I love and enjoy this concept and want to be the one to execute it if it ever comes to pass, and yet this story/genre just isn't really me" way, like this is good but I'm not the one to do it, but also I'm the only one to do it, it's mine

[stellanix]

tbh sci-fi and fantasy writers should dedicate more of their stories to infodumping about random irrelevant elements of their worlds. "but who would want to read a whole chapter about the history of some random tree?" me me me, i wanna read that! take me on tangents! let me stop and the smell the roses and bathe in an ocean of whimsical imagination!

[ghoulishbuck]

I think I’m going to be trying a new routine this month. I’m going to try and read until I need a break from reading for the day and then I’m going to listen to music and write for at least an hour afterwards. I don’t know how well this is going to work out but *fingers crossed* this goes well.

I’m also going to hopefully put together two book playlists for two of the three books I can currently see myself writing tonight so I have no excuse to procrastinate tomorrow. The third book already has a playlist.

[seldnei]

Psst! Wanna buy my book?  Check out the links here!  Paperbacks available through Barnes and Noble, ebooks from just about everywhere else!

[im-secretly-a-frog]

What are your main inspirations for your novel?

OMG someone actually asked!!! Thankyou so much!!

I'm writing a YA fantasy. My big inspiration for the setting is Tolkien, but there are a few others that I can't think of right now. The magic system is influenced largely by Greek mythology, which I have been obsessed with since I was about 8.

I always loved fantasy books, but couldn't see myself very easily in the characters, so I'm writing the book a wish I'd had as a kid. One with queer main characters, people who weren't charismatic or people smart, and often made mistakes and hurt people, even when they were trying their best.

I hope this answers your question!!!

I appreciate the ask so much! <3

[zorya-km]

There are times where I wonder if I should even keep writing... Then my hands type shit like "And in the game of thrones, sometimes you must dance with dragons to keep your kingdom whole."

[gender-euphowrya]

there's people who have incredible levels of talent for worldbuilding and subtle storytelling and even visual effects and they use it to make intricately crafted interconnected ASMR videos with fucking lore and shit and most people will NEVER know because they fall the fuck asleep

[thepariahcontinuum]

Reading the scene I just wrote back to myself and it's possibly some of the gribbliest Body Horror I've ever done.

Chapter 120 is gonna be wild

[kanerallels]

Me, realizing that I have to write science-y stuff for the post-apocolyptic story I'm writing: We've really kriffed up this time boys

[hecatesbroom]

Ooh, I was hoping you'd reblog the ask game!! I'd like to ask purple (I always enjoy your music recs!) and black! And also brown, if you'd like to share, for any fic you want!

Thank you so much!! Ask games always are a lot of fun, aren't they?

💜 Purple: Name one song you're listening to while writing your next/current fanfic. How or why does it help the writing process?

I haven't written to music in a while, actually! (At least, not for my current WIPs) but the title for one of them is based on Somethin' Stupid by Frank and Nancy Sinatra. Come to think of it I should listen to it again, because the vibes are perfect for the fic it's related to.

I also have a huge (9 hour) playlist with some of my favourite classical music that I listen to if I want to set the mood for writing in general :)

Music helps me come up with ideas when I'm not writing (music is a great help in allowing me to focus on one thought for an extended amount of time, because usually I have to be actively engaging in a thought -- like writing it down -- to be able to focus on it). When I am writing, it helps set the mood! And occasionally helps keep the flow going.

🖤 Black: Do you think about your story when you're not physically writing it? Does it help with plotting scenes, character arcs, etc.?

Yup! Usually not for very long (I'm very easily distracted). When I do think of them for a longer amount of time, I'm usually in the shower, trying to sleep, or taking a walk. It helps a lot! I think I've come up with some of my best story ideas late at night especially.

🤎 Brown: How did you decide to write (or why are you writing) a certain fanfic? (Asker, feel free to choose a specific story you're curious about. You can also let the answerer choose the story.)

Oo okay, so generally speaking, a wip starts when a feeling and an image (or maybe a line) pop into my mind, and I rush to capture it in words. If the feeling persists, I keep writing the story -- because that means the inspiration keeps coming too!

So I guess the bottom line is: if I feel strongly enough about something, I'll write it! This can be inspired by an episode (my ficlets, for example) or a mutual's post, because you all have brilliant ideas!! (the Grease AU is a perfect example here, as we both know haha)

There's also the episode-inspired fics that are less of a direct exploration, but that did find its roots in an episode. Sleeping with a woman, for example, which I thought of after watching "Isn't it Romantic" but isn't a direct exploration of a canon scene.

Then there's also the "I can't believe no one wrote this yet" fics (my primary motivation for my Maude fic, it's still the same old story) and the ones inspired by real life! I have one of those in the works right now, but I won't tell what inspired it just yet, because that'd mean spoiling the whole premise ;)

Thank you so much!! <3 I had a great time answering these :)

[jack-kellys]

cannot remember if i sent you one sooo

Monster Hunters AU/World War I AU

- @we-are-inevitable ✨

this is the second one u sent but i had like a "funny" thought abt it??

so the time period is wwi. so this is a canon era vibe, but.. without the newsies part lmaoo the gang's like in their early 20s in this let's say.

it's 1919, and the attacks in new york city are the worst they've ever been. (they're bad across the country, but nyc's been hit hard.)

davey's family is stuck in their small apartment, having no choice but to stay since the prices are higher just about anywhere else in the state. the attacks are violent, of course– ravenous, torn flesh, only leaving gory destruction in their wake. but with his family getting closer and closer to being in real danger, davey's been paying closer attention, reading every story he can catch in the other local papers, and the attacks are starting to look strategic. like those things are capable of planning and analyzing.

said things are...hard to classify. he's never seen one, it's rare people do and survive or remember, but the descriptions are never the same. some are large, a decayed color, with no discernible face besides teeth. most are said to have long, sickle-like claws due to the usual nature of attacks. but some are small and run on all four limbs, some have long, mangy manes, or weeds growing out of their veins. they're monstrous, and there doesn't seem to be any other way to put it.

but there's a pattern now, he tells his chief editor (davey's a grammatical editor primarily, not writing the stories quite yet), and how has no one said anything?

until, quite suddenly, the president wages open war against the creatures, finally, though war is a strange thing to call it. but at least davey can do something, and get these things out of his city.

the "funny" part that i was thinking about is like... basically the government puts people into five person individual squadrons based on collaboration of skills and my brain was like "oh like a d&d party"! so davey is assigned into a monster hunting dnd party consisting of uhh lets say. mush, albert, finch, specs.

their second mission after basic training takes them north of the city around sleepy hollow, since plenty of attacks have taken place in vulnerable suburbs. in fact, most of the town had been deserted, most suburban dwellers able to afford housing elsewhere. there's been a consistent group of monsters traced to this area, and they're tasked with taking them out. it's grim, but if it gets these things further than his family, then davey'll do anything.

but it's a battle.

those things are fast, quicker than finch's aim or al's grenades, and davey's commands fall short too. it comes down to close combat, specs shouting out possible exit routes while davey and the rest do their best with knives against claws.

they sink into albert's leg, and finch's side. they scrape specs' face and mush's medical attention can't keep up before he's practically swatted against a tree. davey's arm gets raked, his skin tearing while he stabs the thing the best he can glaring into its deep, night-sky eyes. he gets slammed into the ground, something cracking, hearing albert call out for him before it all fades away.

he's surprised he wakes up, but when he does, he is.. elsewhere.

definitely further into the forest of the town, greenery and tall trunks of trees surrounding them- them, since through barely-opened eyes he can make out his squad. no monsters, though, and his team is bandaged up so mush must have... but mush is unconscious with the rest of them, so who–

"morning, neighbor," is said to him, and davey looks up. a young man is in front of him, accent a bit heavier than his own, but certainly manhattan. davey can barely move–pretty sure he's broken a few ribs–and the man seems to sense this and kneels down. he looks familiar. messy dark hair, deep tan skin with a rosy undertone, and even deeper, night-sky eyes.

davey's own widen. the man grins, and his teeth are a bit mismatched and sharp. now that he has davey's attention, he notices the man has bandages hidden under his shirt from where davey must have stabbed him.

"i'm called jack. i'm gonna tell you a story, but if you don't believe it, i'll have to kill you and your team so you don't squeal. deal?"

not like davey has much choice. "...deal."

soooooo Basically. the "monsters" are government experiments on young humans gone wrong and they are now getting revenge on the country <3. so the war is a front to basically exterminate the government's failure to create what was likely meant to be supersoldiers!!

[bylertruther]

the byIer fandom really is a hivemind bc every time i think i came up with a cool fic idea i'll eventually see posts or fics from other writers spring up showing tht we all had the same exact idea down to even the same exact nitty-gritty details and headcanons for them without ever interacting with each other at all. like... bro. 💀 We're Connected..

[seldnei]

Psst! Wanna buy my book?  Check out the links here!  Paperbacks available through Barnes and Noble, ebooks from just about everywhere else!

[im-secretly-a-frog]

(My writing blog is @overdecorated-furniture, just asking from main.)

What is something you love about your characters that may not make it into the book? Any cool little habits they have, clothes/food they love, or incidents they’d be too embarrassed to mention, etc.

Hope you are having a good day!

I was going to make Thestae (one of the main characters) an artist, but I don't know how I'd slip that in. I do have quite a few deleted scenes that may make it into later books if I end up making this a series as I intend to.

[thefiresontheheight]

ALL THINGS AFLAME

(i.e. The Worlds the Flesh and the Devil isn’t a great name tbh)

Everyone wants to know where Earth is. The Knights Errant want to know where Earth is, the Anarchy Corporations and their predator spaceship want to know where Earth is, even Maybe probably wanted to know where Earth is. Or was, rather, because Maybe Xis has one major problem in fulfilling this, or any other desire. Her memories start only a few days ago, crash landing on a junkyard planet. Without knowledge of her past, or identity, she will have to navigate shifting betrayals, trying wizards, and the desperate desire to find a pack to run with her again. ALL THINGS AFLAME is a new weird science fantasy space opera about identity, belonging, and finding a place for yourself in the face of growing fascism and indifferent capitalism. The found family of The Long Way to A Small Angry Planet meets the space fantasy of Saga with a touch of the weirdness of China Mieville for good measure. And, right now, up until I have edited and rewritten the second draft, you, yes you, can read it in its entirety for free, yes, free, right here, right now!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Az0UjsiRylAND240sxwVe4tNBPW20RvzOhOPSXDtwdU/edit?usp=sharing

Please feel free to comment on this, and thank you so much for reading!