#the don't delete your scrapped ideas is writing advice

[silverskye13]

poetry advice? I write songs, not the same thing, but close enough. I really admire what I've seen you write, and I know poetry is pretty much a "go for anything" field, but I tend to get stuck when transitioning topics. I don't know, just thought I might throw it out there?

Bonus: favorite piece of poetry you've written?

(Good luck with your... 700+ asks?)

Oh oof, I can try to give poetry advice? I'm going to be honest, poetry is a place I'm very insecure. I write it for myself, for a few select individuals, and occasionally as a larger part of art/fic pieces.

I think my best advice would be: read a lot of it. Which I feel like is advice I give to a lot of people about a lot of things, but part of learning is consuming. Read it and look at it critically, collect the things you like and analyze why.

Also, poetry more than anything, I would say, don't delete anything, even stuff you really hate in the moment. Toss it in a scraps document, where you can search for it later. A lot of poetry is curation. It's writing an idea over and over and picking better, more succinct or impactful words, figuring out better alliteration, reworking for a better rhyme. But those discarded phrases might be a jumping off point for a future project, or something that strikes you as tired or rote for one topic might be amazing for another.

Favorite piece of poetry I've written. Ahm. Hm. Well. I'll toss it under the cut since it's long. For this poem, I was experimenting with the idea of continual flow: In poetry, punctuation, not sentence/stanza break, denotes where the reader is supposed to rest a sentence. I wanted to mess with the idea that the poem is a long run on sentence, with no rhymes, that has roughly 6-8 syllables per line, with a sudden stop when the only punctuation finally happens. It took some doing [and it still doesn't flow nearly as smoothly as I'd like] but it manages the sudden stop at the end very well.

Sprinter

I write poetry at a sprint it feels like mania where it swells up inside and it runs and runs like a sentence you can’t breathe through and I was told once punctuation is important but to breathe is to rest and to rest is to end and don’t they know a full stop is exactly that don’t they know a question does not answer and the mark that denotes its purpose is discordant don't they know that to end is to end is to end and you cannot stop you cannot breathe because we are sprinting through every moment we are running to meet an end and every moment is precious but every moment is fleeting and the beautiful wonderful amazing things are but glimpses yet the sadness lingers and its just a moment in time but it lasts forever but forever is shorter than it looks and the horizon stretches but its the edge of the world and don't they know the world isn’t flat but there is a line on a machine and it beeps in mountains and valleys and it screams when it plains don’t you know that I’m sprinting because life is like a box of chocolates it rots.

[mooifyourecows]

I'm sure someone's asked you this before, but I'm thinking about writing another short fic and I'm wondering what your process is for plotting out your writing? every time I try and write something I always struggle with knowing how to move the plot toward what I want. I'm wondereng if you have a structure you tend to follow? if you've answered this before feel free to tag me in that post or something, but it's been so long since I've written something and I want a good structure to start from. and you're one of my favorite authors so I figured you'd be the best to ask

ideas take time. I'm sure there are some people out there who can get an idea and then spit out a short fic immediately after and it's great and wonderful and amazing but personally, I can't do that. I gotta sit on my ideas and build them over time. even the short ones!

it's just not enough for me to want to write something. i gotta be into it, and i'm not going to get into it unless i've spent considerable time thinking about it and developing it in my head. whether that means building up plot or backstory or just witty banter, I need to have a good feel for the story before i can start writing it. most of the story ideas i come up with never get written. i come up with an idea that i'm into but then i can't brainstorm enough meat in the middle so i either tuck it away in my notes to try and salvage later or i forget it and move on

And that's okay! not every idea is a winner. but it's not a waste of time to come up with them. several of my stories were once ideas that i scrapped because i couldn't motivate myself to get into them. Summer Rain was an original story idea i came up with when i was a teenager that i stuffed into the very back reaches of my brain until years later i got into Haikyuu and dragged it out to rethink it into a fic idea instead. GMB too. Hard Times was a fic I started years ago and then abandoned because I couldn't bring myself to think up what should happen after the initial deal is struck.

when i am actually plotting out a story, i don't really have a structure that i follow. I just think of individual things and jot them down in my notes, then change or add to them as i continue to brainstorm. I mainly focus on the BIG parts, working them out in my head until I like them, and then write the little in between stuff as I go. I am one of those writers that prefers to write by the seat of my pants and it's worked well for me so far but I understand how some people prefer not to do that.

none of my stories come quickly though. For many of the long ongoing ones, i'm coming up with new stuff all the time. I've got a big thing planned for ATEGT that i didn't think of until I was like 15 chapters into it. Summer Rain is nothing like what it was supposed to be when i first started it. Ideas are supposed to change and bulk up over time, so if you give them the time they need, you can think up some really fun, amazing stuff!

Don't rush. I understand the need to write something and post it as soon as possible. There are times that i wish i could just bust out a fast one shot and shoot it out there for people to read but it's just not my style. the people who can do that are awesome and i admire them! but it's just not for me. I need to bat an idea around in my brain for weeks, months, or even years before it becomes anything concrete.

other than that, i don't really have much useful advice for you in this area, unfortunately. Just... take notes. Write down your ideas as soon as you think of them. It's not a contract. You don't have to keep them. I'm constantly jotting an idea down in my notes and then deleting it later because i changed my mind. It's fine! Get loosey goosey with it! it's supposed to be fun! don't stress yourself out with trying to force something thats just not coming. let it come to you freely and you'll be pleasantly surprised by what you think of.

i've also found that it helps for me to write my thoughts down as if i'm telling the idea to a friend. Just working through the plot on the fly from beginning to end. "I've got this new idea. So there's Character A who works at the airport and what they does is this and that. then one day as theyre doing this or that, someone comes through the line and then this thing happens and Character A is like what the heck? but they're cool so they're like hey it's no big deal and Character B is cute so Character A is like hey let's see where this goes, so anyway Character A does this and Character B is like that and after that Character C who is Character A's ex and a total douchenozzle shows up and Character B is like yo i'm gonna help you out and so-" you know? Just... write it out. If you don't know what happens next, say you don't know what happens next. "Some other stuff will happen and their bond will grow you know, like fun romantic and silly things where they learn some stuff about each other but it's clear that Character B is keeping a secret but Character A doesn't want to push them into talking about it so they just pretend like they don't notice and-" etc etc.

Walk yourself through the stuff you HAVE figured out and you might think up some others on the fly too. It helps to see it in a linear fashion. "And then and then and then and then". At least it does for me. Especially since my brain doesn't like to be organized and constantly jumps around to whatever is most interesting at the moment. my friends have gotten long strings of messages from me over the years about story ideas i've come up with and just want to get out to see if they have any real potential. and those are the ones that usually do!

sorry i don't have any real tricks or tips about this stuff. i really am just a sloppy disorganized writer and people probably shouldn't try to emulate me because it's a mess over here, take my word for it ��‍♂️

anyway, i wish you luck! You can do it! just make sure you are having fun. your writing should be indulgent and exactly the kind of thing you would want to read. don't think about what other people would want. You're not making a product to sell, you're creating art 🌈

[12timetraveler]

Ever since I found out that you updated the latest chapter, I've already read it three times (yes, I have to take a deep breath every time the secret is revealed). Because I need a translator, it wasn’t until my last read-through of the purely English text that I realized the final scene actually ties back to the title of this fic. I excitedly shared this with my friends—I really love your fic!!!

So, I would love to ask you: For a serialized fic like this, how do you manage to plan out the number of chapters you want to write so seamlessly? When I first read it, it was already marked as having 14 chapters on AO3. However, when I’m working on my own serialized fic, I find it hard to keep it from getting longer, and I either end up wrapping it up hastily or not knowing how to continue (even if I have an outline).

Finally, I just want to say that I can’t stop thinking about the plot of your fic these past few days, and I’m really looking forward to the next chapter. I sincerely wish you good health and happiness every day—thank you so much for your work!!

Hey thank you so much!!! I'm so glad you are enjoying the story.

Originally this fic started out with 12 chapters planned haha. The Christmas chapter ended up getting split a couple times because it was so long. I'm a very chaotic writer in that I do very little pre-planning. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about adding more chapters. If that's what it takes to tell your story, then that's what it takes to tell your story. But if it doesn't serve a purpose, it probably doesn't belong.

As for losing momentum in writing, I completely understand that. It's actually why I don't do a whole lot of serialized fics. I tend to burn out before the end. The only real advice I have is this: anything you add to your story, ask yourself what this achieves. Is it building your character or a relationship in your story? Does it add any foreshadowing or suspense? If there's no real function of that scene/conversation/etc maybe consider leaving it out. It can be hard to do. A common phrase in the writing community is "kill your darlings". Sometimes the ideas you love the most simply do not belong in the story.

However if you do write something and end up cutting it, don't delete it. You never know if you can use it again. I have a whole folder of scraps from different stories. Sometimes I paw through it and see if anything might be useful for a current work in progress.

I'm so glad you noticed the throwback to the title. The title of the fic is inspired by a song of the same name. Something In The Orange by Zach Bryan. I've referenced orange lighting a couple times as a sort of symbol of change. I'm so glad someone noticed. That makes me so happy.

[firstelevens]

👀 🤗 🧠 (the latter for sam)

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

A lot of my headcanons are hobby-adjacent, I'm realizing. My favorite one for Sam is that he's the kind of person who likes to work with his hands, and particularly enjoys tinkering with mechanical things. I know we canonically see him working on Redwing and the boat, but I firmly believe that if he was unable to channel his energy into superheroing, he'd be taking apart toasters and wall clocks trying to make them work better. I've worked it into lots of fics and I firmly stand by it!

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I'm gonna be honest, bud; it has been a rough time for WIPs around these parts and that's not likely to change, given that Ramadan is coming up and I usually don't have the energy to write then.

All I can offer you is this excerpt from a silly installment of the Formula 1 AU, which has been put on pause until my ability to write returns from the war

“There’s finally a real bed here and you have to leave for the airport at 6 AM tomorrow,” Bucky says, shucking off his t-shirt and flinging it towards a random corner of the room. “Take your pants off already, Wilson; the clock is ticking.” But Sam does not, in fact, take his pants off. He doesn’t even stand up. He stays exactly where he is, surrounded by an objectively stupid amount of throw pillows with his reading glasses perched on his nose. And then he smirks, reaches for the hoodie that Bucky abandoned a little while ago, and puts on an extra layer. Bucky blinks. Sam blinks back. The reading glasses are crooked from how quickly he pulled on the hoodie and it’s kind of adorable. “Seriously?” “Oh, was I supposed to be wooed by that?” asks Sam, straightening his glasses. “Efficiency is supposed to get me going?” “You made out with me in the backseat of the truck just for streamlining a grocery list.” “That was forever ago.” “That was last week.”

Third answer is under the cut because it got kind of long!

🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

I think useful writing advice is SO dependent on what type of person/writer you are, but here's a few things that I think would be broadly applicable.

Save your scraps! An issue that I had when I first started writing and still deal with to this day is the impulse to just delete everything when a piece of writing isn't working out the way I want it to. I've learned now to just move that writing into a separate document where I keep all the fic scraps I've written that haven't really fit into a story. It's made me a better writer because now I don't spend all my time trying desperately to make a section of the story work with the rest of my idea, just so the time I spent writing it won't go to waste. I'm much more willing to cut something and if I know I won't lose it forever, and a lot of the time those extra bits of writing come in handy later on.

Trust your instincts. Write about the characters and emotions and experiences that interest you, no matter how wildly self-indulgent they are or how many other people have written the same thing. It's not magically going to mean you have no issues while writing, but it's a whole lot easier to work through a roadblock in your story when you care about what you're writing. (And the truth is that if you write about something you feel lukewarm about, all the kudos and comments in the world aren't going to make you feel less lukewarm about it. It'll always just be kind of meh, so you might as well chase the concepts you care about.)

Read widely. I was a mimic before I ever figured out what my own writer's voice sounded like, and I still shamelessly lift structures or turns of phrase from my favorite authors. I know we all go through times where it's just hard to get through books, but there's always poetry or essays or articles or even narrative podcasts if that's more your thing. Seeing other people do things with words is a really helpful way to mine information or inspiration, but it also helps you figure out what you like and don't like in writing, which makes it easier to figure out how to write things in a way that's satisfying to you.

Set aside a regular time for writing or thinking about writing. This is a skill I literally just picked up last year and it's the only reason I've managed to write the fics I did. Every chapter of the Bake Off AU was worked out during a little chunk of time that I had on Tuesdays where I would sit down at a coffee shop and outline things (by hand, because working with my computer was distracting) or make notes on dialogue/write up sections for the media interludes. Before that, my writing time used to be in bed before I went to sleep, making notes or adding a sentence to a doc on my phone. Even if it's just five minutes at a set time just once a week, if you do it enough, your brain will get into the habit of it. I still feel the itch to sit down and write on Tuesdays at 11, even when I'm in a slow period for writing. It's a nice way to remember that writer's block and packed out days don't last forever, and I'll find my way back to storytelling when my brain gets the time.

[oleander-nin]

OLLIEEE I'm saying hi because you're still fresh on my mind from the other day (and I'm bored) Also I don't think you talk enough and if you're anything like me (you are) then you probably don't talk about stuff unless prompted through ask games because you assume you'll annoy everyone so SURPRISE

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

OLLIE INTERVIEW TIME

(I'm putting questions in orange because it's WAY too uninteresting if it's all blue. And I don't know I just associate you with orange so I'm assigning it to you.)

What's your favourite colour?

Because I don't wanna put stuff in orange if you don't like orange lmao

How much do you research for your stories?

I always get way too caught up researching things to make sure it's accurate, get off track, and then time goes by and I've exhausted myself before starting :(

How much do you outline fics vs how much typically comes as you write it? Does the direction change as you go?

For me, it's the same issue again. I spend way too much time thinking about a proper fleshed out outline before I even BEGIN and then I just. never start

Are there any fics you've started, but ended up scrapping? (And if so will you tell us about them pleeease)

I have. So many wips. Will I finish them? No. Do I at least try? Also no.

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

(Also, am I allowed to just ask questions like this in the first place? More? Less? Should I keep them about writing or can I ask about you? Probably should've asked all of this before. Oops)

(You don't have to answer any of these if you don't want! You're totally welcome to delete this ask and I won't be upset /gen. Just want to bring you out of your shell a little if I can. Or at LEAST let you know I'm curious about you. Also I'm having fun with Tumblr formatting if you can't tell, I'm still new to this lol)

- ☄️

Hi Comet(if you're cool with me calling you that)! and wow that call out was on point lmao. I have a hard time justifying talking on here lol.

My favorite color is yellow, but I basically love every color but green. Never green. I'm very happy to know I give off Orange vibes though, it's top three.

Depends! Usually a lot. I am not a fan of inaccuracies, especially when it's something I can fix by just spending a couple hours reading articles and watching videos. I get the exhaustion thing though! My best advice I could give is stick w/ a video to start with, and watch it while you're doing something else. Whether it's cleaning, cooking, having just the audio playing while you drive(do not watch while driving pls), or anything else. It's good to just absorb the information first and getting into the nitty gritty later.

Ooo, okay. so, I basically make a paragraph of what my idea is first and that's my 'outline'. Then, I kinda just go at it. If the direction changes and I gain a better idea as I'm writing, then I go for it! It'll usually be better with the 'on the job' plot anyways, since it's what flowed more naturally. Don't try to force a plot just because it was in your outline.

Current count is ~39 personal wips. I wouldn't say they're scrapped, just put on the backburner until I finally finish the requests and get motivation to finish them. Though I do have scrapped ones for other fandoms, like a whole fic I planned for a vigilante Midoryia(which I just checked, had only written 3 pages for before ignoring it lol). And also technically the first draft of TWOAL.

Of course you're allowed to ask questions! Anyone can honestly ask me anything they want, though I may not answer all or I'll just be vague with it if it's something I'd like to keep more personal. I freaking love questions, whether they're about me, my writing, or just anything in the world. I really appreciate you doing this, I had a ton of fun and it's nice to know y'all'd like to know about me. Thank you so much.

also take the writing 'advice'/tidbits with a grain of salt. I have had a pretty harsh wakeup call on how I write, and I've learned pretty quickly I'm a bit of an outlier with how I go about it. What works for me may not for you and that's okay!

[prouvaireafterdark]

do you have any tips for new fanfic writers. the iwtv bug has gripped me and iim planning to dip my toes in but ive no idea no how to start. thanks and love your work xxx

Ahh, thank you! :)

And, well, I don't really think there's like perfect or universal advice on how to write because everyone likes different things and has a different process that works for them, but I'll do my best to list some things that help/have helped me!

Know your source material. Whether you're writing a canon compliant fic or something wildly AU, rewatching the show can help you get the character voices down and might make you feel less nervous about figuring out how you want your dialogue to sound or how the characters would behave in the situation you're putting them in.

Make yourself some tea. Idk what it is about a warm, caffeinated drink, but when I'm sitting at my desk with one it really helps me stay focused.

Start small if you're worried about finishing something big. There's no rule that says in order to be a fic writer you have to write 100k word masterpieces. In fact, my attention span is so fucked I usually don't write anything longer than 5k word one shots and I'm perfectly content with that. If all you want to do is try to get your feet wet with a 500 word ficlet to see how it goes, do it! Short fics are fun to read and much less pressure to finish.

Make an outline. No need to go crazy with it, but I usually sketch out the rough plan I've got with a few bullet points just to organize my thoughts and make sure I don't forget something.

Don't be afraid to write scenes out of order. There's also no rule that you have to begin at the beginning. I usually end up jumping around and making the parts I've written meet in the middle. If you vaguely know how you want your fic to start, but have a really concrete idea of how you want a specific part to go, just start there and work your way backward/forward.

If you get stuck, write the gist of what happens next in brackets and then move on to the next part. This goes with #5. I cannot even tell you how often I end up doing this and it helps maintain my writing flow so much bc instead of sitting there like "fuck, how do I wanna say this?" I can just be like "well, that's future Lynne's problem" and keep going with what I do have the words to write lol. You can also like just write a skeleton of dialogue and then go back and fill in the descriptions/their internal thoughts and reactions later if you don't know how you want to go about it yet, I do that a lot too.

Write what you want to read. Everyone likes different things and it's not really helpful to get caught up in trying to find an idea you think other people will like. Like I bet there are people who opened my fics, went "nope," and then backed out, but the thing is, I didn't write those fics for them, I wrote them for myself and whoever else ends up enjoying them. It also sucks trying to write something that doesn't inspire you, so if an idea isn't working for you, just... move on to something that does. You can always come back to it later (she says, avoiding eye contact with the WIPs in her folder).

Write. Even if you don't end up posting it, just giving it a go and seeing what happens is the only real way to start. You can always worry about editing later (either by yourself or with the help of a beta reader) or even scrap the whole thing and start over if you're not happy with it. I literally have docs that are basically just graveyards of whole paragraphs I deleted from WIPs but wanted to save just in case. The main thing to remember is that you're never gonna finish your story if you don't actually sit down and write it, so try to take the pressure off of yourself to make it perfect and just see what you come up with.

[imreallyloveleee]

Writers asks 20, 23, 24? Love your work so much!

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

I don't know if I'm self aware enough about my writing to answer this, lol. I write pining a lot! I'm sure I write way too many descriptions about where people are looking (but, we all do, it is fanfic after all).

23. Best writing advice for other writers?

This is nothing groundbreaking but I think the old "kill your darlings" advice is very helpful. I can't count the number of times I've been stuck on a story/chapter/whatever and the only way I could find to move forward was to scrap content I'd already written, and/or scrap the original idea I was wedded to in the first place. It's frustrating because you feel like when you put the time into something it's a waste to just delete it, but I guess you just have to look at it all as part of the process.

And, vary the length of your sentences.

24. Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you?

I can't think of anything! I only ask my friends for advice and theirs is always good. :)

thank you anon! <3 <3 <3

[goldenlaurelleaveswrites]

6, 13, 20 if possible

I meant to answer this yesterday, but I by the time I got to the end of the day and had some free time I was wiped. Sorry about the delay!

Ask me about my writing.

6. What Topic would you love to explore in your writing?

There are so many topics I would love to explore in my writing (quite a few of which I already have plans for). Even within a single topic, there are so many different facets of a topic that can be explored or twisted in different ways.

One topic I've always been fascinated with is fate vs. freewill (blame it on me being a mythology and classics nerd), and all the different directions it can be taken in and play out.

To spare you all the essay of ideas I find fascinating, I'll list a few of the board topics I'm interested in (if I got into all the ways I want to explore each one then we would all be here all day 😂)

fate vs freewill

identity

ordinary magic

retellings of fairytales with twists

That isn't even close to an exhaustive list, but I think it gives a few of the key ones.

13. What feedback did you receive for your writing that stuck with you?

I think the feedback that's stuck with me the most is people telling me that my writing made their day better, or made them feel something. I write because it brings me joy (even when I'm screaming at the characters because they aren't cooperating 😂) and I love putting the stories swirling in my head into tangible words. I share my stories because I hope they bring joy to others (even if some characters are causing the readers frustration too - sometimes we all have to scream at the page 😂). There will always be areas of growth for me in my writing, because no one is perfect. But knowing that I was able to make someone laugh or cry (sometimes we all need a good, cathartic cry), and ultimately give them a moment a joy through my stories is something that's stuck with me he most.

20. Do you have one piece of advice for your fellow writers?

You asked for one piece of advice... but I'm an overachiever 😅

Some of this advice was passed along to me from other writers, some I learned the hard way 😂

First and foremost, always write for yourself - tell the stories you want to tell the way you want to. Write because you want to.

Find what works best for you. We all have our own processes, what might work for one person won't for another (writing linear vs. crazy quilting, planning vs. pantsing, working on one story vs. multiple at once, etc)

Always be open to inspiration. It can and will come from anywhere.

Rest when you need to. Your stories will still be there when you're ready.

Sometimes you have to cut the line/scene/plot point/etc for the story to work. Never fully delete it, save it to a scrap document because it might be useful later or for a different story.

Always save your work. And save it often. Back it up too, so that you have it in multiple places.

There is an inherent level of vulnerability in sharing your work. Not everyone who interacts with your creations will acknowledge and/or appreciate that. Be careful who you listen to for advice, and you do not need to listen to unsolicited advice from a stranger.

Let yourself fall in love with the process, the good, the "bad," and the messy.

Don't compare yourself to others. We are all at different stages of the creative journey, and we all bring different experiences into our creative spaces.

We all have our insecurities about our writing, no matter how many kudos/likes, shares/reblogs/, and so on that we have. At the end of the day, we're all just people creating because we love to and sharing our creations for our own reasons.

[separatist-apologist]

hi mb!! ive been reading your work for a while now and i love it so much! everything just weaves in together like the plot is amazing, the smut is top tier, i don’t know what else to say 🥺 i would like to start writing but i don’t know how to go about it…sometimes I start but don’t know where to take it, so I abandon it do you have any advice?

Hey! Thank you so much for the compliment!

As for writing, I would say if you're stuck, re-read and see what was working for you and where you got lost. Sometimes deleting a paragraph and moving differently is all I need to unstick myself. And other times I'll sketch out an outline of my bigger points so I know what I'm building to.

And if it's just not working for you, it's okay to scrap and start something new! This is just for fun, right? You don't have to stress yourself out about it, it's just a hobby! If you can't make it work, try a new idea!

[amare-scribere-blog]

Writing Woes: Recycle

Writing in general causes me distress, despite the fact that it is one of my favorite hobbies. Even if my brain is empty most of the time, I enjoy creating. Even if what I write translates to "awful, never do this again," I keep writing. I believe we as artists/creators have heard the phrases "don't delete your work" and "whatever you scrap, use later" before. It's sound advice for me, but not so much for others. And I can see why. I cringe at the thought of storing my conjured garbage, but I do it anyway, even though I think my writing isn't good.

If you've read Retrouvailles (and for those who haven't, spoilers!!! …maybe?), you'll recognize the reveal scene in Chapter 39. It was scraps from the first sentence to the very end of the chapter. I had written it long before I came up with the idea for Chapter 39. In fact, I wasn't sure if the reveal should have been in season 1, but after some thought, I decided not to trash the scene and included it.

I am certain that every creator has experienced writer's block, art block, and so on. Any kind of block will do. And for those of you who are skeptical that this block exists, the answer is yes! We wouldn't be having it otherwise! You could call it a lack of motivation or inspiration, but it is still a roadblock. Moving on, my point is that we've gone through a period where we don't feel motivated to write, create art, and so forth. So we look for "cures." Go for a hike, read a book, browse Pinterest—anything to get your motivation going.

Recycling old or scrapped works could be the cure. Remember that doodle you had in your scraps folder months ago? Or that one scene you wrote and then abandoned to collect dust? Use those scraps if you ever find yourself struggling with your current WIP. Even if you don't believe it, your progress has improved since a few months ago. Rework your scraps and incorporate them into your work in progress. The outcome may surprise you.

[betweenthings2]

talk shop tuesday!!

looking back, what’s one piece of advice you’d give yourself as a writer that you didn’t know when you were first starting

also have you ever fully scrapped a fic idea (any fandom) or are you a firm believer in letting ideas stay and then either finishing them eventually or using parts of them for other projects?

hope your day has been good!

Thank you for the ask!! My day has been good--I love having very few responsibilities =) I hope yours has been, as well!

Were I to offer little fifteen year old me advice when I started writing it would probably be something about figuring out how to plan a story and outline a plot. I'm actively trying to figure that out now, but I think that it would have taken some of the angst out of some of the chaptered fics I wrote and made things cleaner. I would also tell myself not to delete anything, just make a separate folder and cut stuff so I can reuse it if I want.

I don't tend to look at ideas or started fics and just decide that I'll never finish them, but I have a lot of things I just haven't finished and probably won't just because I don't write for that particular fandom anymore. I do recycle things fairly regularly and move ideas from one fandom to another, though. I have a fic that's sort of a WIP but not really because I started it for one fandom but have since decided to write it for a different one and I need to rewrite what I have. I much prefer to recycle or move ideas around just because I've already put effort into something that's made it into my drafts and I feel bad just abandoning things.

[capricornlevi]

1. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY first and foremost!!!!!!! hope your day was awesome :)

2. i am newly free from the shackles of academic writing and as the burnout from that dissipates i can feel my fic writer era loading....... do you have any tips for 1st time writers?? thanks :D

1. Thank you so so so much lovely! I had the nicest time chilling and enjoying being this big new age 🥳

2. Congratulations on your newfound freedom and welcome!!! I too didn't start writing again until I finished with academics so I know the feeling all too well, it is so exciting -- and my number one tip is to harness that enthusiasm, it will be the biggest help to you! One thing I found from fic writing is that when I first started, I wrote loads and loads, perhaps too much, updating fics multiple times a week, and then when that pace inevitably died down I got so disappointed in myself that I couldn't keep it up. So in the early days, as exciting as it is, I would stress the importance of not being too harsh on yourself as you experiment with styles and genres etc, don't base all future output on your first few drafts, and don't be afraid to park something instead of scrapping it! I have a lot of drafts from my early writing days that I didn't feel confident in finishing then, and I'm so delighted I didn't delete them back then because I love revisiting them to work on it!

Another tip that I use is to write down everything, every little line that comes to you, every trope you hear about that you want to try, even every dream that can be repurposed into a story. It doesn't have to be long -- my notes app consists mostly of one-sentence long drabbles -- but I'd recommend getting it written down as soon as you can because the idea can leave surprisingly quickly. I always kick myself for forgetting ideas only a couple minutes after I think of them.

But the main piece of advice is still to keep that enthusiasm! Writing is ultimately for yourself, for fun, to put your passion into a project that you can share with people! If you're ever finding yourself tired or burnt out again, don't hesitate to take a little break -- I always write my best when I'm excited about an idea and ready to fully dedicate my time to it.

Have fun and good luck! If there's ever anything you want to chat about, please do reach out!

[fierce-little-miana]

water, rain, spirit and spring :)

Thank you very much for asking and sorry for the long delay!

Water: How did you start writing?

I don't remember how I started writing but I know I did it pretty early around 9-10 when my parents gifted me their old computer on which there wasn't a lot to do besides using Words (😅).

At the time I didn't even like reading! But I already liked creating my own stories, something I always did I believe. I kept doing that ever since, even if I sometimes did not do actual writing (and not just worldbuilding/researches) for quite long stretches of time.

I started writing in English in addition to French when it became mandatory to do so for my university studies.

Rain: Have you ever made yourself cry with your own writing?  If so, what was it?

Umh? Good question?

I might have made myself cry with story ideas (so before the actual writing) but not with my own writing. The story ideas were probably from the novella I am currently trying to get published and from a notevenaWIPyet horror project, but I am not sure.

Spirit: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received on your writing?

Recently I got some very nice compliments about how my writing style improved (in French) and it is very nice to hear because it comes from different people so I tend to believe it. Since, I have trouble working on this on my own, I am happy about it.

Though my favorite compliment that I got was from a friend of mine who read on of my fantasy short stories and went more or less "I love how massive and full of life the world seems to be beyond the main narrative, it makes you feel like you are reading a tiny piece of a big mysterious all". Since it was the exact effect I was looking for it made me super happy. 100% of the people who read this short told me that the world felt complex, not all of them enjoyed it though.

Generally, even when it is used to jutify a rejection, hearing that my worlds are complex makes me unreasonably happy.

Spring: Have you ever scrapped (a huge chunk of) a story to start over?  Why did the change come about?

No I did not ever scrapp a part of the story to start over. However I did rewrite an entire key dialogue I was unhappy with (and all my readers agreed was cluncky) from start to finish.

And I did delete what could have been an important plot point to understand the psyche of the main character on the advice of an editor. I really wanted a secondary character to explicitly tell her that something bad and malevolent was happening quite early in the story and let the reader see how she decided to straight up ignore it. But, according to the editor that was useless and a bit repetitive and I now completly agree with him.

All of this happened in my novella btw.

Thank you so much for the question @bacchianas!

[ladylynse]

Hello, I apologize if you have already answered what I am about to ask. When you write a story how do you develop the plot? And do you ever think about plot holes? If so how do you prevent those?

Hi, Anon. Thanks for asking!

I start with my idea. Sometimes it’s as simple as “it would be hilarious if Maddie saw Phantom get hit with the Booo-merang when she knows it reacts to her son”. Sometimes it’s a paragraph or two or ten of random ideas smushed together(technical term)--this is more or less the stage my DPxML fic is at. There’s a lot of me going, “Oooh, this would be fun” or “ooh, or I could do this”, and I’ll actually talk to myself like that in my notes. It’s long, ramble-y, grammatically incorrect, and basically the equivalent of me brainstorming some sort of initial idea, the root of the story. (I’m already rambling, so the rest of the answer will be under a read more.)

I then start doing a bit of research on stuff I’ll need to write the story. Depending on how long I’ve been in a fandom, this can be very basic stuff (people’s names) to more specific things (what day does Adrien have fencing?) and will always include some sort of cheat sheet for myself if the characters use slang (like Randy. And Jake.). If I come up with any ideas--or potential ideas--while doing that, I jot them down. Even if it’s a couple lines of dialogue or a way to end a scene, at some point, if I can write that scene into the story (eg Gwaine saw Merlin’s eyes glow gold.) All of this starts in my initial fic document and eventually gets moved to a scrap file associated with that fic. Do not delete ideas/scenes/dialogue/anything even if you aren’t currently using it. You might be able to recycle them into a different fic or later in the current story.

Then I start writing. To see if it’ll work. Even if I don’t have a very clear idea of where things are going yet, and certainly no idea of the end. Sometimes I need to try a few different ways to start a story (Reflections went through various iterations. Mockingbird and my DPxML fic are still in that stage) before I find one that seems to flow. That’s when I look at the situation the characters are in (or about to be in) and try to figure out their actions and reactions to the stuff I’m putting them through. And then I try to let that drive the plot. It’s something I’ve gotten better at over time--making it less obvious that the characters are doing that because that’s the way I want the story to go--but my best plots tend to be character-driven. (This may or may not help you avoid some plot holes. Depends on what the plot hole is. It’ll hopefully help you cut down on the “well, why didn’t they do that like they always do?” sort.)

If you need a character to do something that’s not in character for your plot to go the way you want, you need to give them a reason to act out of character (eg Danny not telling Jake his secret because there’s a paranormal studies/ghost hunters convention in town--and because Jazz keeps ragging on him). If you can’t give them that reason, then you need to find another way to achieve what you want to happen without them doing that--or change your initial idea for the plot. Even if you start with a plan in mind, you will probably have to tweak it at some point. This is normal. You’re just adapting to your story. Sometimes, a story will get away on you--it’ll write itself in a direction you weren’t expecting or past the point where you’d initially figured it would end (hello, Treachery)--but, at least in my experience, if it’s the characters driving the story that way, and you let them, it can actually turn out to be a better story than what you’d initially planned. (Again: Treachery. The unplanned part ie second half is much better than the planned part.) It’s just a matter of keeping them reasonably in character so that things don’t get too out of hand. 

I only think about plot holes once I notice them. Honestly, I’ve gotten good at patching. If something doesn’t occur to me, I can’t prevent writing it in. It’s not so much plot hole prevention for me as adaptation of the story to make it more acceptable once I realize it’s there.

Sometimes, when I’m editing a chapter or rereading something to remind myself of the story thus far/what’s happened, I’ll see something that doesn’t work that I’d missed before. (Random note on the ‘remembering what’s happened’ bit: if you plan a long fic taking place over multiple days, do yourself a favour and make a timeline for yourself in your scrap file. So much easier. That’ll allow you to make accurate references like “last week” and “three days ago”. I did this with Shattered and regretted nothing.) Once I notice a plot hole, I consider the damage. Have I posted something where it’s already stated? If I haven’t, repairing it typically isn’t that hard, though of course it depends on what it is--you just need to give it some justification, shaky or otherwise, or do a bit of rewriting to patch it up. Once it’s firmly written in and you don’t notice it until chapters later, your best bet is writing in justification for it later. In some cases, this involves you turning your plot hole into a plot point. It may be a small plot point or it might be a significant one that will actually shift your intended story a little bit. I did this a lot with my earlier Doctor Who crossovers. I got quite good at retroactive patching there, and my plot hole turned into foreshadowing, although in all fairness all of those involved time travel to one degree or another so that made things a bit easier; I didn’t have to stick to the rules of the actual universe. 

So here’s a plot hole of mine that’s recent that you might have noticed if you’ve read Down the Rabbit Hole: the note on Toby’s bed. Why...why are they communicating that way? Why go to the trouble of sending a note to him that way? Why not just phone or text or email? I missed that initially. And now I see it. And now I have justification (that hasn’t yet appeared in-fic) for not communicating by normal 21-century means. Depending on how things go, it might be hinting at something bigger, or it might just be a small one-off thing.

Now, in case you’re interested in my disaster of a ‘planning paragraph’, this was how Masks began--and please bear in mind I’d seen ten episodes, subbed, at this point and wasn’t entirely sure on what stuff was called:

Blademaster. Fights with knives. Unless it’s someone fromAdrien’s fencing class; the transformation could make that thing deadly sharp.That’s better, actually. Go with that. Marinette actually beats Adrien to thetransformation because she was skulking around waiting for him to come outafter class/lesson/club/whatever it is is over (to just ‘happen to be there’and try to ask him to catch a movie or something in casual conversation) andheard the commotion, while he got caught up in the fleeing people beforemanaging to sidestep and transform. Ladybug hasn’t managed to get the swordaway from Blademaster in the meantime and nearly gets the cord of her luckycharm thing cut for her trouble. Chat Noir shows up and pretty much fences withhis quarterstaff thing until Blademaster starts to cheat, at which point hevaults over him and tags him from behind, hoping the distraction is enough forLadybug to free herself from whatever she ended up in. Evil moth guy isdemanding the gems, so Blademaster starts trying to take a slice out of ChatNoir, who evades rather than parries, trying to draw Blademaster awayfrom…something…and Ladybug takes over when he’s backed into a corner and needsto turn to scale the wall. She yells at him to get the something away if he’sfigured out what Blademaster is after—she hasn’t, yet; just that the blade isprobably what the akuma is in—and Adrien, being there for the transformation,knows exactly what happened and can oblige. But he isn’t long out the door whenhe hears Ladybug scream; Blademaster had either grabbed another blade orsomehow acquired something sharp—I’ve never fenced; I’m not entirely sure howsharp those things are—and while avoiding one blow, she jolted off the courseof the other and got her earlobe sliced off/the gem ripped out. Blademaster hasa gem—moth guy is rejoicing and demanding he now get the other one—andMarinette, with one hand clamped to her ear, has to get out of there despitethe pain because as much as she needs to get Tikki (?) back, she doesn’t wantto risk her identity and—more importantly—she’s not sure how much longer shecan remain upright. She hits the change room or office or something, aiming fora first aid kit or at least a wad of toilet paper, and Chat Noir is shocked theLadybug is gone. He manages to defeat Blademaster and retrieve her gem, but itis inactive, and while he manages to catch the dark butterfly in a fencingmask, he doesn’t have the means to banish its evil OR to erase the ill that hashappened here; that’s Ladybug’s turf. But how is he supposed to return hergem—return her—when he doesn’t knowwho she is, and his own transformation is wearing off? (Marinette will bepulling a new hairstyle or modelling a hat or just plain skipping school—ifthere IS school; what day was fencing class again?—and getting Alya to coverfor her with her parents on the pretence that she’s trying to work up thecourage to do something with Adrien, perhaps, and she really doesn’t want tohave that conversation with her mom,when in reality she’s just trying to find Tikki. Not sure what happened withTikki, exactly. Needs to regain energy, which Plagg (?) would know and informChat Noir accordingly, but with them trying to keep secrets from each other….)

and that will give way to notes like this:

Tikki, PlaggMiracle Stones/MiraculousHawkmoth

Ladybug – lucky charm at end, always ends up with somethingshe doesn’t know what to do with at first and then figures it out; yo-yocompact; BOTH EARRINGS for the miracle stones…but maybe ripping one out woulddeactivate the other. She is the ONLY ONE who can cleanse the akumas. Chat Noir – (allergic to feathers), ancient destruction/cataclysm; batonYeah, if that ring comes off, the Kwami is forced out and the detransformationis right awayPlagg is SUCH a glutton, he’ll even chase after stuff he thinks is food

----

Okay. Adrien picks up Tikki and Miracle Stone, so Marinettefinds nothing and tries to track down Chat Noir, but Tikki, once recovered, canjust tell Adrien who Marinette is. Problem solved. That’s not fun. Unless Tikkidecides to respect Marinette’s wishes?

Or maybe they each find one earring, and Tikki isn’t wellbecause they’re divided?

Adrien and Marinette can both find nothing—Marinette because she hasn’t achance to look, Adrien because he doesn’t know TO look—but unless Tikki’strapped there, she gotta be able to get out.

Wait, Adrien’s chivalrous. He’ll respect Ladybug’s wishes.Even if he hates it

----

If Plagg can’t see, when they transform, Adrien won’t beable to see, either.

“What do you mean, I can’t transform?”“If we transform, this thing would get sucked in, too, and you won’t be able to do anything.” [lines from the Rogercop episode]

Statue set on green stone (granite?) with the top edgejutting out about chin height for Adrien

-------------------------Nope, gonna have to go back and change Blademaster’s restoration to Phillipebecause that DOES seem to be after Ladybug’s restoration. [turns out I was right the first time with this, but I’d checked with someone else and they’d thought no one changed back until after the Miraculous Ladybug bit, so I’d changed my initial plans here, and a few months later we got an episode that confirmed that, no, the magic link just needs to be broken, things don’t need to be fixed yet.]

[yellowocaballero]

11 & 35

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

Actually, yes, absolutely. Character wise - I've had a long-standing idea that I've talked about here before that, as a side result of people writing stories around their OCs instead of the other way around, they end up with a character who is just not a good fit for the story they are telling or the narrative they're trying to craft. And we all know that in fandom specifically people really project or get really attached to a specific character or really struggle with showing them in a potentially negative or difficult light, and it's extremely detrimental on the actual story that they're telling. Your DnD character can be great for DnD and it can, occasionally, be really bad for a story.

And of course story wise sometimes you really do just need to scrap the entire plotline and start over. I've killed a lot of scenes or subplots. I don't edit as much as I should, but when I do it always involves a lot of rewriting. If you're hitting a block where you are, you probably need to backtrack and see what isn't working. And you'll probably have to cut that. But never delete anything! I never erase an entire scene, i just stick it at the end of the word document or put it in a different one. Everything gets recycled or massaged into something else. I rarely have to full-out kill a darling, just rework it.

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

All three people have asked me this and my answer is so bad, I don't know any writing rules, I don't know writing, nobody's ever told me anything, :( :( :( :(.

Thinking on it further, maybe I do have one thing to say about it: my 9th grade theater teacher was incredibly pretentious (nobody cares that you went to Yale, man) but he did say two things that stuck with me. One was the fact that, before you break a rule, you really have to master the rule. You have to really know how to play by the rules before you deviate from the rules. I hate the guy, but look at some of Picasso's stuff from when he was a teenager - the man had absolutely and 100% mastered the technical skill of art so young, and it was only once he did that he went back and broke every rule of art. Breaking a rule you haven't mastered is just ignoring stuff you don't like. I see a lot of people on Tumblr talking about breaking the rules from a philosophical or ideological level, but generally speaking I'm not certain that's always the best approach.

I don't know a lot of rules, but I actually do try to rigidly stick to the ones that I do know. Because I'm not a master, and I'm not better than the rules!

Thanks for the ask!

[fruitcoops]

Hi Eve. I have a question...what does your writing process look like? I'm asking because I've finally begun to write a story that's been in my head for a few years now, but writing isn't going as smoothly as planned. I know that it's going to be a long one, and I've already planned out my chapters, but I struggle to sit down and start writing. I'm more of a bigger picture kinda gal and I struggle to write smaller details and tend to write more dialogue than action. I was wondering if you had any advice for me? I think you're and amazing writer and I hope one day I can be as good as you

-Lillian

Congrats on writing your story, Lillian, that's awesome!

Half-Joking Advice: Tea + computer (and charger) + whatever it was that gave you inspiration for the story in the first place (movie, book, news article, etc)

Actual Advice below the cut:

Unfortunately, I don't really have a process for writing--since I mostly do oneshots, I'll sit down, pick a prompt, and just go for it until it feels right. For longer stories, I like to do a vague outline to get all my ideas in one place. Details don't matter much at that point (though I like to put my favorites in so I don't forget them). My skeletons frequently change as the characters and plot progress, so it's okay if yours do, too.

The big picture is super important, but I guess my best advice for details is to remember that your readers know nothing about your story going in. They don't know what the setting looks like, what the characters look like, how anyone talks, or how the world around them acts. But you do! Tell and show them! I write a lot of dialogue as well, since I'm not super confident in action, and I tend to make up for that by combining them (i.e. "[name] said while [doing a thing]").

Writing rarely ever goes according to plan. Plots get scrapped, characters get scrapped, some days you write 1000 words and then delete them all because it feels like you're running yourself into the ground. That's okay. That's normal. The thing you have to remember, though, is that the good stuff doesn't come until the bad stuff is out of the way. Those scrapped thousand words made it onto paper (success!), and once they're gone you now have room to put down the better version. You can always go back and edit if you need to.

Also, this is a hobby! Unless you're a professional, nobody is paying you to do this, so have fun with it. Write the story you want to read, no matter how cheesy or dramatic it might seem. It's a good story because it's your story. You're a great author because you're an author at all, and I'm so proud of you for doing this. Have an amazing day lovey, and good luck!

TLDR: Let your outlines adapt, bring your readers into your world, don't be afraid of a few rough drafts, and actually enjoy what you're doing <3