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How do i even tag my fics?

In the past couple of years I’ve seen a lot of people genuinely confused about how to tag their works properly, so I wanted to explain some common facts or themes of your fics you could tag!

This is Part 2 of my fandom netiquette series here is part 1

But before we get into it: You can tag it whatever you want! Everyone searches and filters differently. Some even comment on the characters/story/writing process in them,etc. But sticking to some of these tips usually serves both the reader and the writer! The main reasons are:

The reader will find the exact thing they’re looking for or at least they´ll be in the right ballpark

It also warns the reader about content they might not like (at this specific moment) or could be triggered by

The writer will have more positive interactions with their readers.

Having said all that, tagging your fics properly boils down to just answering the 5 W-Questions

Who?

Where?

When?

What?

Why?

Who are the characters ?

All the major characters involved

All the minor characters involved (if you want)

if it’s a ship use / or X between the names (character A/character B)

if it’s a platonic dynamic use & (character A & character B)

If it’s a specific version of a character tag it as trait!characterA eg. nerd/teen/autistic!

If one character/ship is shown as less favourable

Anti!characterC/ship

Not Character C/ship friendly

Additionally you can tag the POV

the MC of the fic, POV Character A

The writing style, eg. First person pov

Switching POV

Where does it take place?

The canon world

Canon divergence; it is largely set in the original world but something is different (usually the ship being canon)

Pre/Post Canon, set befor or after the OG story

Alternative Universe (AU)

Alternativ Universe(AU), it is set in a universes different from the canon

Our world, modern AU

Our world, but in a specific place eg. Office AU, coffee shop AU, High school AU, etc.; they might spend most or only the begging of their story in this place

Set in another stories world, world AU eg. Star Trek AU, etc.

A/B/O, omegaverse, there are a lot of different versions and rules for that one, but it would take to long for now to get into

Specific Place AU

A specific city, eg. they´re in London

A Specific planet, eg. Aldeeran

A Specific fictional Place, of the OG story, eg. Limbo

When does it take place?

The time it is set in specific

The era, a different time period eg. medieval, futuristic etc.

Fandom specific era, aka in the canon universe but a specific era

Holiday, from Christmas to pocky day! even fandom specific holidays!

Age, child/teen/adult or older

What is being said or done?

What is their Dynamic going to be?

Friends to lovers

Enemies to lovers

Enemies to friends to lovers

Idiots to lovers

Strangers to lovers

Rivals

Coworkers

Boss/employee

Unhealthy/toxic relationship

What is their relationship status ?

First kiss/meeting

Getting together

Feelings realization

Single Parent fic (Adoption ?)

Fuck buddies

Polyamory

Secret relationship

Arranged/political marriage, whether they like it or not

Established relationship; they’re already together at the start of the fic

Pre slash, it largely takes place before they meet and become a thing, but they might already hear of one another

Past character A/C, they were together before the fic starts and are split up now

What is their job ?

Their canon job

Fandom specific jobs, eg. Jonin!characterA

Modern AU jobs, lawyers to baristas janitors to actors

What is the length of the story ?

One shot, short and sweet stories usually not higher then 15k

Multiple One shots/One shot collection

What type of ending does it have ?

(Eventual) Happy ending, usually it means the main couple ends up together and even has a major group of friends just as happy by their side

Sad ending, usually implied with hurt non comfort

Open/ambiguous ending, usually means, that in the end they are not together ...yet! but there is hope for them to be friends or more (again)

Why are they behaving this way ?

Their state of being

Sick fic- one or all of them is sick, whether it’s the common cold or something deadly. You might tag the specific disease eg. Hanahaki disease

Powerless fic, if they have some sort of powers in the OG story but not in this fic

Deaged, through a magic spell/potion one or more characters turned younger, either into a baby or into the version of them before all the horrors tm. Aka precanon version of them

Injured

Hidden/Masked Identity

Which (major or minor) emotions are driving them to do so?

Angst/pain/sadness, there is at least some sort of sadness involved, it can be tagged Heavy angst/Light angst to specify, how painful it might be to read

Hurt and comfort; whether one or all are hurt, physically or mentally, doesn’t matter as long as one comforts the other(s) in some way …or at least tries

Hurt no comfort; one is hurt and they’re not being comforted (but they might be able to live on )

Crack/Humor, there are some objective funny things in it, whether that’s the main feeling or not

Crack treated seriously, the base idea is funny/out of character but within the fics universe it is very real and serious

Unresolved Sexual Tension (UST), aka they´re so frustrated but incapable of confessing

Jealousy; at at least one point, one of the characters gets jealous of the other/ someone else (seemingly) getting with the other

Fluff/tooth rotting fluff; it is so sweet that it’s like cotten candy aka it’s hella cheesy, major romcom vibes. Usually in combo with humor but can be seen in angsty fics as well

Protective!character, whether it’s verbally or physically protecting them

(Mutal) Pining, they´re constantly yearning for the other(s)

Oblivious character A, they’re completely misunderstanding the others intention, whether they’re believing them to be just nice or being insecure

Reconciliation, whether that is between the ship or other characters

Hate to love, they start out disliking or outright hating each other but end up falling in love

Grief, usually after a death

(Implied/Perceived) Betrayal/cheating,

Smut

PWP (porn without plot) / (porn with Plot)

Any position and type involved

Any emotions involved, rough/vanilla etc.

Top or bottom (specifying the character is written as characterA!top)

Dom or sub (specifying the character is written as characterA!sub)

Toys, if some are used and if so maybe even which ones

Kinks, any kinks involved or just spoken about

Again if any sort of doubt of consent is involved tag that!!

If the characters are minors, tag that as well! Even if you’re a minor, writing for other minors!

Warnings

Any sort of trauma can and should be tagged !! Even if they’re just talked about! Otherwise you might accidentally trigger someone !

Warning signs don’t apply

Trauma

Explicit content (Smut)

Explicit words, Swearing

Alcohol

Discrimination; homophobia, racism, ableism etc.

Any sort of disorder eg. Eating disorder

Any sort of abuse, child abuse

Suicide

(Major/Canon) Character death

Any sort of trauma can and should be tagged !! Even if they’re just talked about! Otherwise you might accidentally trigger someone !

Rape (Attempt)

Non con/dubious consent, aka the moment everyone involved is not giving enthusiastic consent or they don’t know who is truly the one doing it (eg. They’re masked/being lied to etc.)

Violence, any sort of physical altercation

Canon typical violence, this just specifies that it won’t go over the same amount of violent the OG story is t already showing

Fandom specific tags

A nickname

A catchphrase

Common praise for a character, eg. Character B is a good uncle

Common insult for a character, eg. Character C-A+ parenting

Specifying a relationship,that might not be canon, eg. B and C are siblings

Others

The fandom itself of course

The type of relationship(s) (mlm,wlw, multi etc.)

All or some of the characters sexualities

Character A centric, it’s mainly about their thoughts and feelings

Character A study, trying to decipher/depict or explore why the character might have turned out the way they did

One sided,-xyz, whether it’s being rivals or other type of feelings

Miscommunication/misunderstandings, whether for funny or tragic reasons

Trope based, any trope fitting to the fic , eg. sunshine/grumpy,

These are all the tags I can come up with at the top of my head but feel free to add!

Remember: It is in both the writers and readers interest to tag your works properly. It sets up the right expectations and thus a misunderstanding can be prevented. It´s basically like a summary of the fic but in less words!

Of course there will always be people, who either simply do not read the tags or will be mad about even the mentioning of an "unsavory" topic. There will always be a topic you won´t like nor understand! The sooner you accept that the easy it will be! But the ppl harassing creators/fans about them are usually the minority and frowned upon!

Alas I want to encourage everyone to be open minded! Either to genuinely try to understand why certain topics are written about, even if or especially because they´re "unsavory". But if you don’t want to waste your time on sth. you’re sure you don’t like, genuinely: Please just filter these tags out! That´s exactly why we have them!

None of us can afford to waste our very limited free time on arguing with and harassing others about something FICTIONAL …that we don’t even like. Instead, please focus on making and/or supporting art about YOUR favourite tropes/ships/tags! This is not only much nicer to the fans you don’t support but also to yourself! Positive interactions will result in more positive interactions after all! Mostly.

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Under a spell- a truth spell

It always pisses me off when ppl on truth spells are so uncreative. Yeah you can’t lie/ can only say the truth but especially in the west our whole communication system is built on hidden meanings and assumptions, that fill in the blanks. So use that !! Use that as your weapon! Especially if the character in question is already someone ppl tend to assume a lot about and don’t ask too many questions!

“How was your weekend ?

“Well it sure was a weekend. You know how they are!”

“Ha ha ha yeah! Always too short! “

Implication: nothing out of the ordinary happend

Reality: too much happened

“Did you take my lunch? The one I specifically labeled?”

“Oh, I brought my own lunch!”

“Urgh okay, sorry for accusing you. I just really looked forward to it!”

Implication: I ate my own lunch

Reality: Mine was boring/moldy so I stole yours sry



“Could you have possibly seen them enter through the open window when coming home?”

“My bus was late today. Because of the ice. And snow.”

Implication: they arrived later then the usual time

Reality: they took a bus earlier bc of the ice but that bus came 5 minutes late. Thus they could’ve seen the burglars.

Basically I need more truth spell fics, where nobody notices they’re telling the truth, only that they’re speaking a bit more cryptic than necessary. Even funnier when they’re usually grumpy and throw around a lot of insults.

Yes this is for once a humours prompt everyone please snap for me

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The more I write the more respect I have for airplane. Because what do you mean pookie was pumping out 10k words PER DAY??? Even if it was ‘shit writing’ that’s still a lot.

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"IT WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE A ONESHOT!!!" i scream, desperately clawing at the floor, as the fic drags me back into The Depths to continue writing against my will for the rest of eternity

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Writing long fics is fun but if you don't finish them they don't fade away like projects you've never started they stay lingering with you like a ghost that you created.

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It feels like this every time I write a fic

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curious anon-do you have any go-to language/terminology references for your fics?

Yes, definitely. Here's a mostly complete list: if I remember a few more, I'll add them in later. If you find this post through a reblog chain, please keep in mind that the version on my blog will be updated from time to time, so click back for additional references if the reblogged post contains broken links or doesn’t have what you’re looking for.

Masterpost of references for the MDZS/CQL fandom (re: terminology, look here for naming guides and a list of familial terms. You'll also find information on wedding and funeral customs, cultivation lore, MDZS maps and sect history, and novel/audio drama summaries.)

Click here to find the "40 Q&A's" interview with MXTX.

Detailed glossary/explanations of concepts in wuxia, xuanhuan, and xianxia novels. Look here for a guide to weapons, martial arts, more cultivation lore, and a few units of measurement.

Guide to the martial family. You can also find a separate guide through the masterpost.

Guide to modern/historical titles. This is a Wikipedia page and most likely incomplete, but came in handy after the guide in the MDZS masterpost was removed. 

Guide to Chinese nobility. Look here for basic information about the peer ranks of various dynasties.

For a guide specific to the Qing dynasty (aka, the one I used for Flowers in the Palace) click here.

For a guide to marriage, concubinage, and social mores and customs for women, try Marriage and Inequality in Chinese Society.

Guide to Chinese clothing, by @ziseviolet. Click here for information on historical fashions, hairstyles, accessories, and so on. Try this link for clothing/textile references for other countries/cultures.

List of mythological creatures. This is a Wikipedia list of individual pages and is most likely incomplete.

List of Chinese fairy tales and folklore (not comprehensive).

Brief overview of Chinese musical notation and guqin musical notation. Not detailed, but provides a fair explanation of how written music was recorded.

Color terms you're not likely to find with google translate, by @linghxr. These include translations for colors like cyan, indigo, luminous white, etc.

More about colors and their symbolism here.

Timekeeping. Wiki article about the dual hour, fifteen daylight hours, etc.

Traditional calendar. I bookmarked this page for the phenological month names used in TMAAF, but there’s a lot more information here. Look here for a list of traditional Chinese holidays.

For food: someone on Twitter made a detailed guide to the dishes that the characters in MDZS would have eaten, but I’ll have to go looking for it. In the meantime, try these links.

Hubei cuisine (Yunmeng): 1, 2

Hebei cuisine (Qinghe)

Shaanxi cuisine (Qishan)

Shandong cuisine (Lanling)

Jiangsu cuisine (Gusu)

(Note: most of the recipes in the Twelve Moons and a Fortnight verse are from The Woks of Life and Made with Lau.)

For individual words and characters: try hantrainerpro or its full dictionary index. Given a word/character, you can find its definitions, synonyms, other words that contain the character, and a list of different words pronounced the same way. I also use Written Chinese to look up the individual radicals within a character, but there are several better dictionaries out there.

For a mobile Chinese dictionary, try Pleco.

For help choosing Chinese names, click here.

Rhyming in Chinese:

Mandarin rhyme finder by chinese-word.com. To use, replace the “ang” in the URL with the word ending you want: e.g., iao for words that rhyme with xiao, ing for words that rhyme with ying, and so on. If this generates a 403 error, wait for a while and try again.

Wikipedia article about yùnshū (rhyming dictionaries)

Mandarin rhyming dictionary tool by daddehs1

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My writing life in a nutshell.

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You know what I've never really seen realistically depicted in fiction? The way that people in places that get a huge amount of snow deal with said snow. Specifically in the cities. I get that it's probably not exactly an intuitive thing to think about if you've never lived in a place that gets a lot of snow, and even if you do, you probably figure that they must have some really sophisticated infrastructure systems specifically for this purpose. It's not like they'll just scoop the snow off the streets and gather it into huge piles, and then just climb over the progressively larger and larger snow piles every single year for months while waiting for the piles to melt in the spring.

We do. There's no point in planning more sophisticated systems to get rid of something that'll eventually just go away on its own. So they just pile the snow into randomly designated spaces that cars or people aren't supposed to go through, and let it pile up. There's significantly less street parking available in the winter because some spots where you could otherwise park a car are currently the parking spot of a snow pile three times taller than a car.

You get used to it. And if you grow up around here, it never even occurs to you to think of it as something strange in the first place.

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"just write a little every day" ok but what if i write nothing for 3 weeks and then suddenly type like i’m being hunted by god

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Local Writer Shocked As She Realises Planned 'Short Fanfic' Is Turning Into Multi Chapters Plot Oriented Slow Burn Fanfic

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wuxia, xianxia, and cultivation differences meta

translations: wuxia 武俠, xianxia 仙俠, and cultivation 修真/修仙 (xīuzhēn/xīuxiān)

think i’ve seen posts on this eons ago, and i’m pretty sure there are tons of these online, but since this has been written up already let’s just have another one.

wuxia 武俠

wuxia and xianxia sound similar, but basically for wuxia it is about the pugilistic world (江湖 jiānghú). It is relatively more down-to-earth, and people practice martial arts (“kungfu”) in their current life – they do not do it to become xians (仙) and gods (神) however.

Like Thousand Autumns and Faraway Wanderers/Word of Honor, it has more historical background and ties to the current court and kingdoms, because people are living in the moment and concern themselves with worldly issues.

Martial arts may seem unrealistic, but in view of chinese fantasy it would be considered “real”. It consists of fighting moves and internal energy, which they call qi or nèigōng (內功), and at times you see people flying around, climbing hills and jumping across rooftops which is qīnggōng (輕功).

xianxia 仙俠

A level up would be xianxia, where characters in the story cultivate to become xians (and gods, like in the heaven official’s blessing). They don’t really care about earthly issues here now, because their ambitions lie beyond the current world, and cultivation, getting stronger, and an immortal life are majorly all their goals.

You may not always see them working towards that purpose, such as in mdzs they are considered a lower-xianxia society (低魔), meaning people don’t go through all the steps of cultivation and only stay at the stage before the “golden core” stage.

In xianxia, characters still learn basic fighting moves aka. martial arts, but to direct the internal energy they use línglì (灵力), zhēnqì (真气), and fǎlì (法力), all xianxia terms you commonly see. “neigong” is practically nonexistent in this genre. That’s why people building up their “neigong” instead of “lingli” are likely never going to be able to cultivate.

cultivation 修真/修仙

A subgenre in the xianxia category would be cultivation. Characters actively go through the stages of cultivation, and likely for the MC, because they are the main character, they successfully become a xian and exit the world at the end of the novel.

There are many stages of cultivation, usually defined at the beginning of the novel in the synopsis, and a typical example of the different levels would be this:

练气，筑基，金丹，元婴，化神，炼虚，合体，大乘，渡劫

And with a cursory search, an English translation would be something like this, albeit not with all the cultivation ranks identified.

Qi condensation (练气), Foundation establishment (筑基), Core Formation (金丹), Nascent Soul (元婴), and the names after that vary too greatly with translation and fandom so I’ll jump straight to Immortal Ascension

extra info: getting into the philosophy of it all

It’d be interesting to note that the word “xiá” (俠) permeates all these genres. This is something akin to the concept of “hero”, but not at all also, and I’d love to speak more on this but this post has already gone way longer than I hoped it would be, so perhaps another day.

Regardless, it is interesting to note that wuxia has a greater emphasis on “xia” than xianxia. (some joke that cultivation doesn’t have the word “xia” in it, and much of that is because characters have foregone heroism and focused on gaining powers and working towards ascension instead). As a result, wuxia is more confucianism-oriented, though not without its taoism and buddhism influences.

xianxia, on the other hand, is mainly derived from “dào” (道), from taoism, which is another lengthy concept if I ever get to it.

And some may have heard of the “farming” genre, 种田 (zhòngtián). This has to do with golden fingers (mary sues) in imperialistic china, earning a wealth of money, and all that. It has nothing to do with cultivation, alike they sound in english.

that’s it for now, hmu if you wish to ask/discuss!

(and apologies for the pinyin translations, hope it’s understandable still! formally writing pinyin they are supposed to be two separate words not one.)

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The three moods of theory writing. Scratch that writing in general too.

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My brain: hmmm I want to write something.

Each of my WIP: me?

My brain: no 💅

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3 components of worldbuilding:

1. The author’s kinks

2. The author’s power fantasy

3. The author’s political agenda

Plot and logic optional

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when you have a writers block: READ FANFICTION

im not kidding it actually worked so well just find your favorite authors and read/reread some of their works/your favorite works, and boom. somehow.

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How to put on Hanfu (Han Chinese clothing)?

A typical set of Hanfu can consist of two or three layers. The first layer of clothing is mostly the zhongyi (中衣) which is typically the inner garment much like a Western T-shirt and pants. The next layer is the main layer of clothing which is mostly closed at the front. There can be an optional third layer which is often an overcoat called a zhaoshan which is open at the front. More complicated sets of Hanfu can have many more layers.