#to one-sentence-and-lots-of-enthusiasm-in-a-google-doc

[cowherderess]

Tagged by @kittensittin @dee-thequeenbee @waywardted - thank you friends! 😊 tagging @thatsrightjohngoodman @boglady @sunflowerromcom and anyone else who hasn't done it yet and wants to!

Rules: Pick a bunch of your WIPs and summarize them as badly as possible, then ask your followers to vote on which one they’d be most likely to read. Multiple/all/none options are completely optional.

[togansweep]

TOMGREG IKEA?????🇸🇪

ooooh yes the ikea fic!!! @hickeywiththegoodhair asked about this as well. so basically this is a fic I kind of accidentally wrote with @tomwambsmilk, we were texting and before we knew it we had written 2,5k words. I copied our messages to a google doc and started making it less messy and actually write a story around it, I've done some of the beginning & the end but the middle still needs a lot of work. the first draft is around 4,5k words now, I'm intending to finish this one soon! (soon meaning 3 weeks or 6 months lmao).

the fic is about tom's bachelor pad era; after the whole italy situation he crashes at greg's place but greg's living situation is... questionable. at first glance it looks fine, but upon further inspection there are some issues: despite having guest rooms he only has one bed, his room looks like a raccoon's nest, he has one item of everything (one plate, one spoon, one fork etc)... tom has to use all his power to fight his desire to sleep in the same bed as greg and tells him they can't go on like this, they have to go shopping. tom first wants to go to some fancy furniture store, but upon further consideration it doesn't seem like the best idea to spend a shitton of money while the threat of divorce is looming on the horizon. and greg insists they go to ikea, and who is tom to deny him anything.

reluctantly tom drags himself through the store. no, that's a lie, he'd never admit it but he's actually enjoying this. greg's childish enthusiasm about the showrooms, testing beds with him, and good god ikea's meatballs ARE amazing.

after their little daytrip they get the furniture delivered they chose delivered to greg's apartment, but then the next struggle arrives: putting it together. tom wants to do it himself, because how hard can it be? really hard, apparently. tom can't get it done. after lots of screaming and calling ikea about their useless furniture he gives up. now they still don't have an extra bed, it pains tom to say this but there's really no other solution than to share a bed for now.

honestly I don't want to spoil the fic any further because that would ruin the fun, but it includes sharing a bed, hospital visits, tomgreg being idiots, and lots of toxic stupid pining. you know how it is.

here's a little snippet from the beginning of the fic:

Greg leads the way to a room in the back of the apartment. Tom thinks he almost looks a bit nervous, like he's about to reveal to Tom that he's holding some poor girl hostage to play house with.

Greg opens the door for Tom and steps aside a little to let him in.

"A real gentleman, aren't you, Gregory?"

Greg tucks a non-existing long hair behind his ear. "Oh well, it's nothing, I-"

Before Greg can finish his sentence Tom interrupts him, putting two hands over his mouth. "In the name of all that is holy, what happened here?!"

There’s laundry all over the floor and a towering stack of random books and papers on his bedside table that looks structurally unstable. A horrifying smell comes from a bowl with the remnants of something that probably was ice cream once, and are those joints taped on the wall…?

"Did I just walk into a hunter-gatherer's cave? Maybe I should get my lance and kill a mammoth for you, we can roast it above the fire and dance around it in our little leaf skirts. We’ll get married with rings made of its bones and make a bridal veil for you out of its skin."

It's a ridiculous analogy, but he did marry Greg in a way, didn't he? That evening in Tuscany, both of them in their white suits, knees brushing. The wedding band playing in the background, the cool air of a summer night full of promises. Selling their souls, a marriage bound by the devil instead of God.

Greg isn't wearing a white suit now, instead a white button up and a grey pantalon are clothing his tall body. He's still standing in the doorpost, eyeing Tom with that slightly confused expression he always seems to have.

"I never got really good grades in history class but uhm, I don't think marriage was a concept they knew of in primeval times."

"Of course I know that, Greg, I'm not some uncultured idiot. I just said that to make the story better."

"How does that make it better?"

Unsure of how to answer this, Tom just hums and picks up a dark blue tie with a silver thread pattern from Greg's enormous laundry mountain.

"Look at this beautiful, expensive Armani tie that I bought you, just laying here all lost. That's not how you treat pretty things, leaving them on the ground."

There's a metaphor in there that Tom doesn't want to dwell on, so instead he throws the tie in Greg's face. It's dirty now anyway.

"This room asks for some serious Marie Kondo, Greg. Why the fuck do you have half-used joints on the wall? Do they spark joy? Does seeing these joints bring you happiness?”

"They do spark joy actually, I'm like, really happy when I'm high!" Greg fumbles through his pile of garbage only to reveal an old shoebox. It's from the cap toe Oxfords Tom bought Greg when he first started working for him, the fact that he kept it would've made him smile if it wasn't for the next thing Greg says, "I have this box where I keep all my used joints, and when I have enough I want to make a weed-wall maybe? Like, Banksy style.”

“I highly doubt Banksy has ever made a so-called ‘weed-wall' Greg. And I didn’t know you took such interest in art? I should take you to the MET some time, show you some real masterpieces.”

“I mean, I don’t care about art, not really. But Banksy is pretty cool. And there’s this other guy who taped a banana to the wall and he got like, a shitton of money for that? So my weed project would definitely get artistic approval, I think.”

Greg picks up a doobie and twirls it between his fingers, looking at it like it's made of gold. God help him, he seems to be actually proud of his weed-wall idea.

“I don’t care Greg, this is not how we’re going to do this. I’m going for a little stroll around the block and get us both coffee because I sure can use some, and when I return I don’t want this room to look like a wannabe modern art gallery anymore. Are we clear, Gregory?”

Greg puts the joint he was inspecting back in the box with a deep sigh. “Yeah, yeah, alright.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.”

[meow-bebe]

Pairing: Moon Taeil x reader Genre: fluff, high school au, best friends to lovers Word count: 1.1k Warnings: swearing A/n: psst @neonun-au​ this ones for you! youve been complaining about a lack of taeil content so heres a little something to keep you from having to reread your own work for the next few days heh. oh and google docs was bugging out and i had to write this whole thing on my phone so its unedited oops

[Taeil: Meet me at the playground in fifteen minutes?]

[You: Dude it’ll be dark soon]

[Taeil: Yeah i know and im sorry]

[Taeil: Please come before i change my mind]

[You: Well at least now i have an excuse to use the super cool lights on my bike wheels]

Your tone is harsher than the meaning behind it, and you’re sure Taeil knows that. He’s your oldest friend, after all.

You’ve been through so much with him. You met him the first day of school, and you clicked immediately. He had been with you through so many things, all your years of school, the time you broke your arm in seventh grade, your first major breakup. And on top of all that, he was the first person you ever truly loved. Not that he knew that of course.

He would do anything for you, and you would do anything for him. Which is probably why you found yourself leaving the house as the sun sinks below the treeline with what could barely even be classified as an excuse left for your mom.

The sky is still light, giving the trees that certain look of darkness that they only can achieve at a very certain time. It’s your favorite time of day, and as you turn your bike onto the path through the woods that connects to the other side of your neighborhood you find that you don’t actually mind that Taeil dragged you out here. The sky is beautiful, sporting the colorful oranges and purples of sunset, and though it’s surprisingly cool for the end of July the weather is perfect.

The wind caresses your face and whistles slightly through your wheels as you pedal quickly to the elementary school. Biking has never been your favorite means of transportation, but it was easy and cheap and if you went farther than over to Taeil’s house you could always get someone to drive you. Usually there would be a lot more complaining involved, but tonight you feel a strange peace amongst the trees despite your heaving breaths.

You catch sight of the pole which may or may not have once had a sign on it that indicates the exit from the path. From there it’s just a short ride down the street and around the corner before the school—and more importantly the playground—rises up before you. The gate has been left open, presumably by Taeil taking the same path, and as you ride through you spot his bike abandoned by the tree he always leaves it by. Taeil sits on the swingset, moving back and forth only slightly. He stares off in the other direction, and he seems nervous. You’ve known him too long and too well to not recognize the way that he obviously wants to fidget but shoves it down in order to remain mostly still.

“Hey!” you call out as you hop off your bike and set it down next to Taeil’s. He whips his head around in surprise and returns his own greeting.

“So what was so urgent that you called me out here to talk now?” you ask as you meander over to the swingset and take a seat on the swing next to Taeil, immediatelykicking at the ground to give yourself a bit of momentum. The nervousness that you detected in his body language a moment before surges up, swelling into his face as he gulps and twists his fingers together.

"Oh, nothing much. How're you?" His words are almost too calm, and he still refuses to meet your eye.

"'Nothing much'?" Your disbelief is obvious as you quirk an eyebrow upward.

"Just answer the question," Taeil mumbles.

You roll your eyes, slowly kicking your legs back and forth. The air has begun to chill slightly, and goosebumps begin to slowly form on your exposed skin. "Oh you know. Still going through constant internal turmoil over college. Go to college with my best friend and not have to separate myself from you or go to the best college for my major. Same old same old. You?"

"I'm in love with you," Taeil blurts out.

Your eyes pop open like a cartoon character's and you just barely manage to stop yourself from falling off your swing in surprise. "Holy fuck."

Silence falls between you as you try to gather your wits enough to form a sentence and Taeil sits statue still. The chorus of cicadas and the wind in the trees hums in the background as your surprise slowly fades enough for you to regain brain function.

"This is nothing much—"

"I understand if you—"

You speak at the same time but quickly cut off, each chuckling slightly. He was still Taeil, and you were still his best friend.

"You go first," you say with a slight smile that Taeil returns, if with slightly less enthusiasm.

"I get it if this makes you uncomfortable," he begins, taking a big breath. "Trust me, it weird me out just as much." You roll your eyes good naturedly and open your mouth to respond but Taeil barrels on like a runaway train. "I'm sorry this is so sudden but I needed to tell you and you've probably going to a different college than me and that's terrifying on it's own but the thought of you never knowing—"

"Taeil," you say, setting a hand on his shoulder, "do yourself a favor and actually breathe." He nods vigorously and wheezes in a breath, looking very much like he was about to continue his crazed monologue. Unfortunately, you couldnt hold yourself together anymore and burst out laughing. "You dumbass!" You finally cackle  "I love you too!"

Now its Taeil's turn to almost fall over in surprise. "What?" You've never heard so much shock in his voice and for half a second you wonder if perhaps you just caused his brain to disintegrate. "Since when?"

You count backwards in your head, finally coming to the right year. "Eighth grade."

"Eighth grade?" He demands. "You mean we could have been dating this whole time?"

You snort out a laugh, "I don't know about that, anyone in their right mind would've dumped tenth grade you."

Taeil grimaces. "Good point."

"But hey," you say, a grin taking over you face, "others may arise but this solves one problem."

"Which is?" Taeil asks, fingers brushing across yours where they grip the chain suspending you from the swing set. You take his hand and swing your conjoined fingers back and forth between you. He offers you a small smile, happiness glowing on his face.

"I know which college I'm going to.”

@kpopscape​ @neowritingsnet​ @nct-writers​

[tonyglowheart]

okay here’s.. where I get a lil bitchy lmfao,,

so tbh I am? in fact? really happy that there are alternate TLs of MDZS out there? Like I am honestly very unsatisfied with the ExR translation, and I think their tl is part of what kept me from really enjoying the mdzs novel as much.

for example the chap I just rb’ed. I don’t think it’s perfect; there’s some grammar points I’d change but for example from boat-full-of-lotus-pods’ translation:

The battle had taken a huge blow on every sect involved. It had taken the Four Great Sects three full months of recuperation, reorganization and planning before they’d finally become ready to take seize upon Burial Mound in retaliation; at last “exterminating” the last remnants of the Wen Sect along with the deranged Yiling Patriarch himself.

compared to ExR’s:

Due to this battle, the cultivation world was quite badly wounded. And since this was the case, after nearly three months of conserving energy and scheming plans, the Four Great Sects were finally able to successfully pull off a siege on the demon’s den, Burial Mound, returning the word ‘massacre’ to the Wen Sect’s remnants and the maddened YiLing Patriarch.

this one reads to me more like a literal translation, and not really narrativized into English very well.

another example:

ExR:

Wei WuXian, “Now it’s time to ask just whom it is that treasures it so much. It’s like Wen Ning. Back then, some certain sects or so were scared to death of the Ghost General. They said they’d kill him on the surface, but behind their backs they hid him for over ten years. How strange. Who was the one that said his ashes had been scattered back then?”

boat-full-of-lotus-pods:

Wei WuXian, “I think the real question to ask here is who’s the ones obsessed with it. Just like the Ghoul General. Hadn’t some sect once screamed loudly for his annihilation, yet somehow managed to secretly hide him up for over a decade? Strange. Who were the ones who’d claimed to have already scattered his ashes back in the days again?”

vs the google doc tl from the tl’s post:

“As for this question then we’d have to ask who exactly wants it so badly. Just like Wen Ning, a certain sect seemed to be scared to death of the Ghost General, calling for his destruction, yet keeping him in secret for over ten years. Strange, who was it back then who had insisted that he had already burnt the Ghost General to ashes?”

I mean even grammar issues aside, and TL differences aside, I just find the other two so much more readable in EN? I think with ExR sometimes I feel like I’m constantly reading garden path sentences, where I have to be readjusting my understanding as more words are read, as opposed to just reading. so like... rip lmao

Plus, ExR was so vocally against other translation groups lol and insisting that theirs was really great quality and that part of their concern/anger at other ppl translating is that the quality is bad? And of course, I don’t know what specific TL they’re talking about, maybe it was a rough TL they’re reacting to. But like I’d been going through their TL, as laborious a process as that was for me, because I wanted to enjoy the novel, and structural awkwardness aside, there’s a lot of grammatical awkwardness too with off tenses, or plural vs singular issues, or whatever. And those are ones that, if you copy it into a word doc, have already been marked out by the machine as issues, let alone someone reading through.

I know it’s bad form to criticize fan translations since like, I get it, we’re all doing this not for profit (well except for ExR’s patreon I guess lmfao) and for fun, so being critical is seen as mean. but they were SO vocally against other TL’s lol, as if other translations will be infringing on the quality or nobility of the art of translating or something. And I guess they apologized, but the fact that they did was. ugh. Plus, they’re fan translators? It’s not like they’re a licensee protecting their license? so I don’t know where an individual or individual group feels like they’re the only ones who can be fan-translating something and that since they called dibs, everyone else should back off. Especially if like... and I”m going to be honest, I don’t think their TL’s are that high quality.

so yeah here’s where I’m skirting fandom etiquette, but I mean I’m only tossing this here and it’s untagged and under a cut, it’s not like I’m mass-publicizing any sort of denunciation, so I’m going to voice my unpopular(?) critical opinion here.

 and also like... ExR’s vibe has done a lot to kill part of my enthusiasm for MDZS the novel and I have salty with them for that

[imagines-of-the-creed]

Talk too Much (Jacob Frye)

Had this just sitting in one of my google doc and decided to finish it. It started off good, but the ending isn’t the best, so please forgive me. Hopefully you’ll enjoy!

Word Count: 1986

~~~~~~

“This such a waste of bloody time,” Jacob scoffed while he paced back and forth inside the chilly attic of some abandoned building, rubbing his calloused hands together generate some warmth, “we should be out there, hunting down actual templars, not watching over some poor bloke, who probably doesn’t have a pound to his name, to see if he’s a Templar. Evie has gone mad, I swear…”

You rolled your tired (E/C) eyes, “You need to calm down, everything and everyone has a purpose, right now we are currently trying to find that man’s purpose,” You turned your head in his direction, letting your soft curls invade your view for a brief moment before brushing them back with the slight brush of your smooth fingers. “Besides, we haven’t even been here that long, maybe an hour, and you are already complaining. We’ve been on worse missions and you’ve never complained. Why now?”

Jacob’s hardened hazel gaze met yours and only softened for a moment before he let out another scoff and shook his head slowly while he continued to pace around the attic, “Our purpose is to rid London of the scum that tries to control her. We’ve been here an hour too long and a lot can happen in an hour, the poor being beaten, gangs killing plain in the streets; we do better when we respond with action rather than words or research.”

It was your turn to scoff as he was taking an indirect dig at Evie, “Evie said she would patrol the streets and I believe her, you should too, after all, she is your own sister.” You let your gaze drift from Jacob’s brooding walk to the slightly foggy window, looking at the other house across the street for any signs of activity; there was no activity since you had gotten to the location, you believe that you didn’t even see the face of your target anywhere in sight.

Jacob sucked in a sharp breath, ready to say something on your comment, but instead, he let it go and let silence take control of the conversation. The only sound from behind you was the consistent clicking of his worn boots on the creaky wooden floorboards and his soft muttering about the whole mission.

While you continued to sit by the window with a small gas light to illuminate your bored face, the winter breeze crept into the attic through the cracks around the window and wrapped your body in a chilly blanket. Your cheeks and the tip of your nose were a rosy pink despite the fact that you had been inside longer than it would it take for those to form if you went outside.

The silence was bothering you and you could tell it was having the same effect on Jacob as well. You were still trying to wrap your head around the fact that Evie would pair you, a smart, sarcastic, short-tempered woman, and Jacob, a cheeky brute, together on a mission that required patience and critical thinking, skills that either one or the both of you lacked. When you briefly asked her about it, she brushed it off as you both needing to learn how to one way or another. You had faith in Evie, but just like Jacob, you were starting to doubt the purpose of this mission.

“You do know that you don’t have to sit at the window like some dog, waiting for something exciting to happen, you can step away and join me in trying to stay warm; you’ll probably freeze to death before the night’s over if you stick to that terrible window.” Jacob motioned for you to get up from that chair of yours and walk around with him.

“You can get your point across without referring to me as a dog,” you narrowed your eyes as you turned around in your chair and watched him slow his pack so he could focus more on you, “And if name-calling is the game you want to play, I got so many for you that I could write at least two books from them.”

“Just two?” He smirked while your frown grew; he liked upsetting you, but he only did it for fun and games. “Come on love, if you were listening, I referred to your action as being similar to a dog, not you yourself and if you want to play a game why not some questions? I feel like you must not know a lot about me if you didn’t know that I was only messing with you moments before.”

A sigh of defeat escaped your lips while you hesitantly got up from your chair, “What about keeping an eye out?”

“Come on now, love, you and me both know that this mission was a sham to get us out of Evie’s hair, believe it or not, just because you are the complicit one out of the both of us, you test her nerves sometimes just as I do.” He laughed at the end, thinking back to all the trouble he had caused for her.

You knew he was right; Evie wouldn’t waste your talents on a simple recon mission, but you did tend to smother her at times as well too. “Alright, I’ll play your little game, for now.”

“I’ll ask you something first…” He paused for a second, touching his chin while he pondered on the question that was on the tip of his tongue, “What do you like best about me?”

“This is supposed to be a game about finding out things about one another yet you turn it into all about you.” A scoff left your lips and created a wispy ghost in front of your face; it only lasted a second, but it captured your attention and reminded you of how cold you truly were.

“Oh love, get off your high horse and just answer the question, I’m sure it’ll be a good one.” He smiled at you with his eyebrows slightly raised. Just seeing his face like that made you feel a certain way; you weren’t sure if you wanted to slap him because of his words or smile back sheepishly because of his own smile.

“Alright… I like your enthusiasm, how charming you can be--only on missions, may I state--and how you are with the urchins; they’ve had a rough life since birth and it’ll only get harder, it’s nice when someone is able to be kind to you.”

Jacob chuckled, “I’m glad to hear that you think of me as a charming; I know you don’t mean just during the missions, but I’ll keep that between the both of us.”

“Don’t be a fool, oh wait, you already are,” You smirked at him as he clutched his chest to act as if he was wounded by your comment, “my question shall be the same as yours.”

“Well, I believe you just answered that question about me, but I’ll gladly add some things I do love about myself--”

“You know what I mean, you halfwit.” You chuckled as he began to get excited when he was about to talk about himself.

“Oh love…” He paused for a moment and stared at you adoringly, taking in the contours of your face that were made by the gaslight illuminating your features, “I love a lot of things about you, so many things that I believe that I could write a book on each thing I love.”

Your face turned red at his comment, so red that you could feel the warmth returning to your face and all over your body. You turned away from him so suddenly, you had purposely let your knife fall out of its holster and clatter on the ground just so you could have an excuse for your sudden actions.

Jacob laughed at your actions, knowing full well that he had gotten the reaction he wanted. His smile grew and your blush deepened. You told him to knock off his wordplay, but he did quite the opposite. While you two threw more questions at each other about what foods you liked and where you would love to travel, his compliments kept you warm and brought a smile to your face and never allowed it to fall. You two were so involved with one another, you had long forgotten about the mission you two were on.

“You are unbelieveable, you know that, Jacob?” You chuckled as he turned away to laugh at his own words. You placed a hand over your chest to calm yourself from the fit of giggles that had just taken over you moments ago.

“That’s what everyone has told me.” Jacob mused, looking at you and then at the window behind you to see the snowfall that must’ve started long ago into the night, “It’s snowing.”

“Like I said, unbelieveable,” you chuckled while you brushed the curls out of your face once more, “even if it is, we’re inside.”

“We may be inside, but you and I are still freezing to death, aren’t we?” Jacob spoke as he stretched out his limbs, “Why don’t--”

Jacob was taken back by your sudden actions once again as his sentence was cut of by your lips landing on his. You gave him no warning and just hoped on his lap and planted your lips on his and wrapped your arms around his neck, interlocking your fingers in his hair. While your eyes were closed, his were wide with shock, but once he registered what was happening, his body relaxed and his calloused hands snaked their way up your back and into your silky (H/C) curls. Your lips moved in sync with his and the longer the kiss dragged on, the more your the both of your actions became needier.

You broke the kiss, slowly pulling your face away from his to get a large breath of air into your lungs once again. Your (E/C) eyes were illuminated by the gaslight, showing the mirth plain in them. Jacob’s mouth was slightly agape, still trying to process what exactly you had initiated.

“You talk too much…” You whispered, a soft smile crawling onto your reddened lips. “I had to get you to stop talking somehow.”

Jacob could only smile at your words and brought his hands to rest on your hips, “Thanks, love.”

You sat on his lap for a few moments longer before getting off and walking over to the window to see the snow build up on the window ledge. “I guess you weren’t lying after all.”

“Never to you.” Jacob said as he came to stand behind you, wrapping his arm around your waist.

“I say we just get out of here and make our way back to the train if we do stay here, we’ll most likely be snowed in.” You conclude, inspecting the cool air within the attic with a simple exhale of your breath, watching the wispy ghost stay longer in the air.

“That’s what I was going to say before you attacked me,” Jacob looked at you with a dumbfound look that slowly formed into a goofy smile, “if you would’ve waited just a little longer, we could’ve gotten to the train before you did what you did.”

You chuckled and you turned around and gave him a soft hug before making your way to the door, “Well standing here and talking isn’t going to get us there faster, plus, when we do get back, I do have some very personal questions to ask you, if you don’t mind.”

With a sly smile, you threw the door open and began to start running down the stairs and out the door. Jacob only chuckled and began his pursuit after you, the whole time never letting the smile on his face faltered. He was dying to get back in time to answer your personal questions.

[joeys-piano]

Writing Tag Meme

i was tagged by my peep, @n3rdlif343va ~! If you ever want to flesh out an idea, n3rd is a great person to bounce the thoughts with. Amiable, kind, energetic, and a sweetie-pie are some the adjectives I would describe them as, and n3rd is a cool person to chill with

Alright onto this thing…

1) How many works in progress to do you currently have in progress? Just one right now. Another one is in its outlining-stage so it might count??? I’m one of those people that can’t juggle more than one project at once. If I’m going to work on something, I have to commit to it to the very end.

2) Do you/would you write fan fiction?

79 fanfics on AO3 and about 12 more on ff.net. I don’t regret joining the fanfic-world because I’ve met so many people to talk to, hangout with, bounce ideas with, and to just chill. I don’t gift a lot of works, but I think it’s cool that peeps gift each other fics and just enjoy each other’s company.

3) Do you prefer paper books or ebooks?

Paper book is easier for me to read because it doesn’t hurt my eyes, and I can draw my pencil under the sentences so I can keep track of where I am. It’s so hard for me to read fanfic because I have to use my finger so it smudges my one, the mouse cursor doesn’t move fast enough, and the brightness hurts my eyes.

4) When did you start writing?

Around 7th grade...so, I was 12 or 13 when I started. I told stories orally when I was younger and that was my foundation before I transitioned to the keyboard. I’ve thought about pursuing writing as a career, but I feel safer having it as a hobby. This is how I de-stress.

5) Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with?

@fandomgirl394

is my AU buddy! I bounce ideas off of her every time we see each other, and she’s my best friend when it comes to figuring a story out and developing characters within an AU-scenario~<3

@n3rdlif343va is an amazing person, supporter, and writer. They’ve helped me a lot while outlining and world-building, and their enthusiasm keeps me going when I have to tackle long projects~!

@thewonderfulkatsukinikifrovs and I are goofy peeps who like to squeal when something cool happens in the fandom, and we often reply to each other’s posts to build ideas or HCs and that’s always fun~!

@stormstruck-angel , though we don’t talk about writing a lot, talking to storm has helped me develop a writing-voice for a Victorian-era parody that I’m currently doing~

6) Where is your favourite place to write?

Behind my laptop on a squishy couch with a fluffy blanket so I can snuggle against it. If I have to, I’ll “write” on my phone. I don’t carry around journals where I jot down ideas or leave sticky notes to myself. I tried the sticky note-thing once and my laptop screen was filled with all sorts of notes for myself and it got too cluttered! Just, if I have an idea for something, I open up the preexisting word document on Google Doc, break into a new page, and jot little bullet points of what I want to do

7) Favourite childhood book?

The Harry Potter series was what motivated me to read and create my own stories so~

8) Writing for fun or writing for publication?

Writing for fun. I used to dream about being published one day, but it would stress me out too much. haha

9) Pen and paper or computer?

Computer. And if I’m on my phone, Google Docs saves me a lot. I used to jot down with pen and paper, but I would write so much that it cramped my hands. Technology is easier for me.

10) Have you ever taken any writing classes?

Other than the standard English classes, I took a full-year Creative Writing course last year and wrote fanfic. That’s where the majority of my YoI fanfics came from. I just wrote them for class because I had the time. And I would write fanfic after I finished my programs for Computer Science, but that’s a different story.

11) What inspires you to write?

For laughter, to feel a certain way, to offer a different viewpoint to a topic, for hugs and good feelings when I don’t feel good inside, to vent whatever frustration I’ve been holding, to reconcile an issue between me and someone else, and I hope that my writing has made someone smile. Even if it’s just a little, and it feels great to make someone laugh.

I’m tagging: @vityanikiforova , @d2diamond , @agape-rose , @miraculous-katsukii , @silencedfalcon , @thewonderfulkatsukinikifrovs , @teekettle

[purplefictionmom]

I want you to answer questions 1-25. >:3c

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?Right now, it’s ‘Journey to Heaven’s Gate’, mostly because I don’t see much enthusiasm for it and honestly maybe cause it isn’t as good? Eh, who knows lol

2) what work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?Honestly, my Left 4 Dead stories, at the moment. They were written on a whim at the request of a /lot/ of readers, and it basically took the joy out of it for me? It took the stories places I really didn’t want to take it, but hey, you work for comments and sometimes, you hate yourself for it.

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?Mostly chronological, though I have been known to skip out of order if a scene hits me, or if I realize I started at the wrong place.

4) favorite character you’ve writtenFor characters from fandoms: definitely Undyne, Mettaton and a few others from other fandomsfor OC’s, that would be a self-insert character, or my OC for rping Timmie.

5) character you were most surprised to end up writingDefinitely Mettaton from HIAPOTS; I didn’t think I was going to add him to the story (mostly cause he just doesn’t interest me as a writer), but low and behold there he is, haha.

6) something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change nowIdk, honestly? I don’t think I understand this question, lol.

7) when asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?Depends on who, and then it depends on if I think they’re open to /all/ my writing, or just my original stuff, haha

8) favorite genre to writeI love to write and experiment with any and all, but I love writing adventures, fantasy and sci-fi; and fanfiction overall, really

9) what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?Normally, inspiration hits whenever I hit a new fandom; and its even better if the new fandom helps me think about my other fandoms differently, or helps bring a fresh new take on things I’ve thought about endlessly.

10) write in silence or with background noise? with people or alone?Any mix of these, really? I normally write the best alone with music, but I’ve been known to write in silence, or with people around me just as well. 

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?Dialogue, for sure, but I think everything’s gotten stronger with time.

12) your weaknesses as an authorUgh, definitely run-on sentences. I will use every punctuation I know to continue a thought before I’ll use the period, lol. 

13) your strengths as an authorI’ve been complimented on my ability to make people feel certain things when I write, lol. Other than that? Probably that I don’t usually find it hard to sit and write a certain number of words a day as a goal--whether its for a project or just writing in general to keep me sharp.

14) do you make playlists for your current wips?Sometimes? Its more often that I hear one or two songs that make me think of a certain WIP or a character from a WIP and I listen to that on repeat until I hate it, haha.

15) why did you start writing?I started small stories with I was really young, but didn’t get serious about it until I started writing bad poetry as a child to try and cope with my parent’s divorce. From there it was all downhill, haha.

16) are there any characters who haunt you?A few; some are waiting for me to actually write their stories, some haunt me cause my characterization was unfair. A few haunt me because of what they represent to me as a part of myself.

17) if you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?Start writing 2000 words a day and stop feeling guilty about ‘wasting’ your talent writing fanfiction. It’ll save you the heartache and let you enjoy it more.

18) were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? what were they?Honestly, I try to take something out of everything I read, but there are a few things I read that helped me understand the scope of what I could write, and what it meant to tell a story.

19) when it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?By the seat of my pants, honestly. The big details I remember easily, because that’s a part of characters that I know from head to toe. Its the small details that normally catch me.

20) do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?both, honestly? I prefer to have a long sit down session so I can keep my thoughts organized, but more and more I find myself sending out little spurts over my phone to my google docs.

21) what do you think when you read over your older work?Gross. Lol. Well, honestly, most of it is so far removed from what I am now that I tend to see it more as a reminder of who I was at the time. I can read a few older pieces and remember exactly what fucked-up bullshit I believed at the time because of my family. Sometimes the real me won out and I can look back with a little more pride, but most of it is kinda gross.

22) are there any subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?I’ll write about any subject, but I may not share it. There are some subjects that I think deserve a certain tone and understanding, and if you aren’t 100% sure that you gave those topics the understanding they needed, then sharing it would likely be a mistake. Hell, even if your 100% sure.

23) any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?Any and all, lol. My writing is more fluid if i can picture myself in the scene, so if I’ve done it, or seen someone do it, then awesome.

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?God, all the time. I have so much useless knowledge in my head just because of the stories I’ve chosen to tell. 

25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud ofHere you go, Elaina :D A nice little preview of our fic trade lol:

~*~*~*~

There was a comfort in that. Words didn’t have to be wasted, the two of them could find comfort for their pasts within the silence each other; the kind of silence where everything that could be said had already been uttered and there was no awkward ‘it’ll be ok’ or lies of trying to believe in a future one could hardly guess at. Instead, they drank and soaked in each other’s presence.

[diaryofalexis-blog1]

Advice for CV/Resume & Cover Letter

Original Content By Queen-Dread - Reposting to hide it under a link.

Right now, I’m sifting through 50+ applications for a new entry-level position. Here’s some advice from the person who will actually be looking at your CV/resume and cover letter:

‘You must include a cover letter’ does not mean ‘write a single line about why you want this position’. If you can’t be bothered to write at least one actual paragraphs about why you want this job, I can’t be bothered to read your CV.

Don’t bother including a list of your interests if all you can think of is ‘socialising with friends’ and ‘listening to music’. Everyone likes those things. Unless you can explain why the stuff you do enriches you as a person and a candidate (e.g. playing an instrument or a sport shows dedication and discipline) then I honestly don’t care how you spend your time. I won’t be looking at your CV thinking ‘huh, they haven’t included their interests, they must have none’, I’m just looking for what you haveincluded.

Even if you apply online, I can see the filename you used for your CV. Filenames that don’t include YOUR name are annoying. Filenames like ‘CV - media’ tell me that you’ve got several CVs you send off depending on the kind of job advertised and that you probably didn’t tailor it for this position. ‘[Full name] CV’ is best.

USE. A. PDF. All the meta information, including how long you worked on it, when you created it, times, etc, is right there in a Word doc. PDFs are far more professional looking and clean and mean that I can’t make any (unconscious or not) decisions about you based on information about the file.

I don’t care what the duties in your previous unrelated jobs were unless you can tell me why they’re useful to this job. If you worked in a shop, and you’re applying for an office job which involves talking to lots of people, don’t give me a list of stuff you did, write a sentence about how much you enjoyed working in a team to help everyone you interacted with and did your best to make them leave the shop with a smile. I want to know what makes you happy in a job, because I want you to be happy within the job I’m advertising.

Does the application pack say who you’ll be reporting to? Can you find their name on the company website? Address your application to them. It’s super easy and shows that you give enough of a shit to google something. 95% of people don’t do this.

Tell me who you are. Tell me what makes you want to get up in the morning and go to work and feel fulfilled. Tell me what you’re looking for, not just what you think I’m looking for.

I will skim your CV. If you have a bunch of bullet points, make every one of them count. Make the first one the best one. If it’s not interesting to you, it’s probably not interesting to me. I’m overworked and tired. Make my job easy.

“I work well in a team or individually” okay cool, you and everyone else. If the job means you’ll be part of a big team, talk about how much you love teamwork and how collaborating with people is the best way to solve problems. If the job requires lots of independence, talk about how you are great at taking direction and running with it, and how you have the confidence to follow your own ideas and seek out the insight of others when necessary. I am profoundly uninterested in cookie-cutter statements. I want to know how you actually work, not how a teacher once told you you should work.

For an entry-level role, tell me how you’re looking forward to growing and developing and learning as much as you can. I will hire genuine enthusiasm and drive over cherry-picked skills any day. You can teach someone to use Excel, but you can’t teach someone to give a shit. It makes a real difference.

This is my advice for small, independent orgs like charities, etc. We usually don’t go through agencies, and the person reading through the applications is usually the person who will manage you, so it helps if you can give them a real sense of who you are and how you’ll grab hold of that entry level position and give it all you’ve got. This stuff might not apply to big companies with actual HR departments - it’s up to you to figure out the culture and what they’re looking for and mirror it. Do they use buzzwords? Use the same buzzwords! Do they write in a friendly, informal way? Do the same! And remember, 95% of job hunting (beyond who you know and flat-out nepotism, ugh) is luck. If you keep getting rejected, it’s not because you suck. You might just need a different approach, or it might just take the right pair of eyes landing on your CV.

And if you get rejected, it’s worthwhile asking why. You’ve already been rejected, the worst has already happened, there’s really nothing bad that can come out of you asking them for some constructive feedback (politely, informally, “if it isn’t too much trouble”). Pretty much all of us have been hopeless jobseekers at one point or another. We know it’s shitty and hard and soul-crushing. Friendliness goes a long way. Even if it’s just one line like “your cover letter wasn’t inspiring" at least you know where to start.

And seriously, if you have any friends that do any kind of hiring or have any involvement with that side of things, ask them to look at your CV with a big red pen and brutal honesty. I do this all the time, and the most important thing I do is making it so their CV doesn’t read exactly like that of every other person who took the same ‘how-to-get-a-job’ class in school. If your CV has a paragraph that starts with something like ‘I am a highly motivated and punctual individual who–’ then oh my god I AM ALREADY ASLEEP.

Addendum: Stop sending me rude messages about this post, jesus christ. I DID NOT INVENT CAPITALISM OR THE TORTUROUS HELLSCAPE THAT IS THE JOB MARKET CULTURE. I GET PAID LIKE SHIT. I’M JUST AN EXHAUSTED MANAGER TRYING HER BEST. and i mean if you can’t take honest advice without complaining about how it’s phrased then boy howdy do i have some bad news for you about the big, mean world of jobhunting…

[gemstonestudies-blog]

queendread:

Right now, I’m sifting through 50+ applications for a new entry-level position. Here’s some advice from the person who will actually be looking at your CV/resume and cover letter:

‘You must include a cover letter’ does not mean ‘write a single line about why you want this position’. If you can’t be bothered to write at least one actual paragraphs about why you want this job, I can’t be bothered to read your CV.

Don’t bother including a list of your interests if all you can think of is ‘socialising with friends’ and ‘listening to music’. Everyone likes those things. Unless you can explain why the stuff you do enriches you as a person and a candidate (e.g. playing an instrument or a sport shows dedication and discipline) then I honestly don’t care how you spend your time. I won’t be looking at your CV thinking ‘huh, they haven’t included their interests, they must have none’, I’m just looking for what you have included.

Even if you apply online, I can see the filename you used for your CV. Filenames that don’t include YOUR name are annoying. Filenames like ‘CV - media’ tell me that you’ve got several CVs you send off depending on the kind of job advertised and that you probably didn’t tailor it for this position. ‘[Full name] CV’ is best.

USE. A. PDF. All the meta information, including how long you worked on it, when you created it, times, etc, is right there in a Word doc. PDFs are far more professional looking and clean and mean that I can’t make any (unconscious or not) decisions about you based on information about the file.

I don’t care what the duties in your previous unrelated jobs were unless you can tell me why they’re useful to this job. If you worked in a shop, and you’re applying for an office job which involves talking to lots of people, don’t give me a list of stuff you did, write a sentence about how much you enjoyed working in a team to help everyone you interacted with and did your best to make them leave the shop with a smile. I want to know what makes you happy in a job, because I want you to be happy within the job I’m advertising.

Does the application pack say who you’ll be reporting to? Can you find their name on the company website? Address your application to them. It’s super easy and shows that you give enough of a shit to google something. 95% of people don’t do this.

Tell me who you are. Tell me what makes you want to get up in the morning and go to work and feel fulfilled. Tell me what you’re looking for, not just what you think I’m looking for.

I will skim your CV. If you have a bunch of bullet points, make every one of them count. Make the first one the best one. If it’s not interesting to you, it’s probably not interesting to me. I’m overworked and tired. Make my job easy.

“I work well in a team or individually” okay cool, you and everyone else. If the job means you’ll be part of a big team, talk about how much you love teamwork and how collaborating with people is the best way to solve problems. If the job requires lots of independence, talk about how you are great at taking direction and running with it, and how you have the confidence to follow your own ideas and seek out the insight of others when necessary. I am profoundly uninterested in cookie-cutter statements. I want to know how you actually work, not how a teacher once told you you should work.

For an entry-level role, tell me how you’re looking forward to growing and developing and learning as much as you can. I will hire genuine enthusiasm and drive over cherry-picked skills any day. You can teach someone to use Excel, but you can’t teach someone to give a shit. It makes a real difference.

This is my advice for small, independent orgs like charities, etc. We usually don’t go through agencies, and the person reading through the applications is usually the person who will manage you, so it helps if you can give them a real sense of who you are and how you’ll grab hold of that entry level position and give it all you’ve got. This stuff might not apply to big companies with actual HR departments - it’s up to you to figure out the culture and what they’re looking for and mirror it. Do they use buzzwords? Use the same buzzwords! Do they write in a friendly, informal way? Do the same! And remember, 95% of job hunting (beyond who you know and flat-out nepotism, ugh) is luck. If you keep getting rejected, it’s not because you suck. You might just need a different approach, or it might just take the right pair of eyes landing on your CV.

And if you get rejected, it’s worthwhile asking why. You’ve already been rejected, the worst has already happened, there’s really nothing bad that can come out of you asking them for some constructive feedback (politely, informally, “if it isn’t too much trouble”). Pretty much all of us have been hopeless jobseekers at one point or another. We know it’s shitty and hard and soul-crushing. Friendliness goes a long way. Even if it’s just one line like “your cover letter wasn’t inspiring" at least you know where to start.

And seriously, if you have any friends that do any kind of hiring or have any involvement with that side of things, ask them to look at your CV with a big red pen and brutal honesty. I do this all the time, and the most important thing I do is making it so their CV doesn’t read exactly like that of every other person who took the same ‘how-to-get-a-job’ class in school. If your CV has a paragraph that starts with something like ‘I am a highly motivated and punctual individual who–’ then oh my god I AM ALREADY ASLEEP.

Very good post thanks for this.

Excellent advice for building and submitting job application documents.

This is the first good resume advice post I’ve seen on this site. Much better advice than the “lists of active verbs to use” and “here are resume templates”. Follow this advice.