fortuneshyspirit

[fortuneshyspirit]

Of the fics you've written, which would you consider your current favorite?

Oooooo, a difficult question to answer...

See, it sorta depends on the day, what I'm working on. I love all my stories but sometimes there's a particular one that captures my attention. Obviously I have a bit of an obsession with I Live to Rule by the Sword, that's no secret. But then, These Inhibitors' Flaws has a very special place in my heart - it was the first big story I ever had, hence the re-write that made it even better and bigger! It's what most of my readers probably know me for most, especially those who've told me they used to read my old stuff on Fanfiction.net.

But if I had to answer in this exact moment... By the Blade, We Are Bound might be a good contender, as that's what I'm currently working on.

Overall though, These Inhibitors' Flaws is very special to me. So that would probably be my more general answer. I'm not gonna bog down this response with all the reasons for that, as these answers I give always seem to be as long as a Chaos damn novel, ha. But it is special.

Probably not a very satisfying answer, ha. But the most honest one I can give.

What are all you guys' favourite stories of mine?

[fortuneshyspirit]

You update really frequently and I was wondering if you had any tips for how to do that? I've had some trouble for a while...

Thank you for your question! I'm sorry you've been having trouble.

My trick is working on multiple stories at once so I (in theory) always have something to work on when writers block hits. But I know that's not for everyone; some people prefer more focus. And to be honest, it's not a fool proof strategy - just read through some of my posts and you'll see that.

I struggled a lot years ago when I first got into writing fanfiction, mostly in the motivation department. But, to be honest, I was also in high school at the time, followed by University - both of which I no longer have in my life. I also don't currently have a job and volunteering only takes up a few hours of my week as a whole, so I probably have a lot more free time than most people do too, so it's not a fair comparison. Though not sure how long that's gonna last, so my update schedule might get fucked eventually...

But, on top of that, it's also just kinda the way I write to begin with. I'm sort of a... marathon writer. I guess? Is that the right word? Probably not. I write in long stretches, like a burst of creativity, and then need a while for my brain to recharge. So wait... is that more like a sprint? But then, sometimes that inspiration carries me through days at a time... Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, if I'm in the zone, I can whip out about 1,000-3,000 words in just a couple days. Sometimes, only over a single day. And my chapters aren't exactly massive to begin with.

I know it doesn't really answer your question but everyone writes different. If you don't have a consistent schedule - that's ok! You just need to find what works for you. So my advice probably won't be entirely helpful. And you'll more than likely put out higher quality stuff than me if you take your time anyway, so have faith! It's not a race (ignore the earlier metaphor, ha). Quality takes time.

Besides, half the time I don't even have anything freshly written to update and I'm riding a period of obsessive writing from a few months ago. So not all my writing has been done in the last week or so.

Take some time to really think about the way you write. The time you have to write. When does inspiration strike and what time of day do you work best? Do you have a specific place you like to write in? Any specific requirements that help you write; like music, background noise or silence? A lecturer I had at University posed sort of similar questions to me once. Just some examples of things to think about.

Everyone's different and I know it's easy to compare yourself with others and feel discouraged. Trust me, I do it a lot myself. It sucks. But you have to remember that the way you write is unique to you. Like a fingerprint. Keep working on that and have fun with it. If it feels like you're forcing yourself for any reason, take a step back, take a breath, and allow yourself a break. You're working on your time, not anyone else's. It's ok to miss an update if it means taking time for you. Writing that comes naturally is the best kind. And your mental health is very important, don't neglect it.

Here's me, giving advice to others that I don't always follow myself! Ha, sometimes I suppose it's easier to say this sort of stuff to others than to yourself. Going through my own mini crisis today myself because I got absorbed in reading instead of editing like I was supposed to be doing today. Ah, how the mind works...

Oop, ignore me, I'm fine! Promise.

So sorry if this wasn't helpful! Just keep up the writing! Sometimes just setting aside a few minutes a day to get a couple sentences down can be extremely beneficial. If it leads into a longer writing session - fantastic! If it doesn't, hey, at least you got a tiny bit done, eh?

(Why are my answers always so damn long?)

[fortuneshyspirit]

So Far So Good...

Well, so far I've been able to get a little writing done. Taking a break for some food. I just need to conquer another wall of dialogue (why do I do this so often?) and then do some editing! The second half is rough though. Like, real awful. Borderline unreadable. Even though I wrote that part first. So we'll see how long it takes me to fix that mess.

But, if all goes well... Sunday update?

EDIT: Ok, first half is done! Just needs an edit. I'm gonna tackle the nightmare of the second half tomorrow hopefully. The first half might be a tad unnecessary but I like it so it stays.

[fortuneshyspirit]

I Swear...

I finally decided on something to work on!

Just before midnight. When I have to get up tomorrow for volunteering. And I swear to Chaos, if I no longer want to work on it by tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to huck a metal bottle at my own head.

Anyway... it's By the Blade, We Are Bound. The chapter had already been half-started, so got about 1,500-ish more words to write and then edit. Doesn't sound too bad. But if I don't want to write it after tonight it's gonna be so frustrating. Let's hope that doesn't happen!

[fortuneshyspirit]

Decided to Share an Old Scene

"Someone's a little flustered."

Sonic's breath caught in his throat. His fingers stilled on the keyboard, body stiff to the point of aching. He could feel the jackal's breath on his ear. Hot and damp. Chaos, was his mask off? He dreaded looking over his shoulder, so he kept his eyes forwards, locked on the screen. The cursor still blinking away in the search bar mocked him.

"I think you meant to type 'map' not 'ampa,' hmm?" Infinite said with a rumbling chuckle.

"I-I..."

"Now why would you be looking up the map to a base you shouldn't even be wandering around in?"

The blue hedgehog swallowed thickly, hands starting to shake. He dared not speak again. Infinite sounded too calm, his echoey, gravel-sharp voice dipping into a vaguely amused growl. The jackal huffed at his lack of response.

"You're going to walk on back to your room without a word," Infinite said.

The jackal leaned in further and Sonic shrank away from him, eyes screwed shut. There was nowhere else to go but closer to the desk, stomach pressed uncomfortably against the hard edge. It made breathing a little more difficult. Sonic didn't care. When Infinite next spoke, his voice had lowered a few octaves and he was practically whispering.

"Or I'll drag you there, kicking and screaming."

Sonic shuddered. He tried to steady his breathing.

"Do you understand?" the jackal asked lowly.

"Yes..."

"Yes, what?" Infinite snapped.

"Y-yes, Infinite," Sonic whispered.

"Good."

Sonic turned and slowly made his way towards the door with measured strides, head bowed. His ears were bent back, hoping it would show Infinite he would co-operate without fuss. Still, he could pick up Infinite's steps tapping across the metal floor behind him.

"I do have to commend you on your effort," Infinite said. "You got a lot further than I expected you would."

Been looking through some old notes for stories I haven't written yet. Sometimes they're quickly jotted down notes of a wider narrative with little to no detail. Sometimes, like this one, they're little scenes I thought up that never went anywhere. So thought I might share a quick little dialogue exchange for what would have been a Forces story at some point. I might use it some day, I might not. I'm hoping this little scene captures even a shred of how scary I'd wanted to make Infinite. Justice for his character, he deserved a better story and a better game. He could have been almost as terrifying as Mephiles but he missed the mark which was a real shame...

Not quite sure what I'm working on at the moment. I'm gonna have a little re-read of some stuff, see if anything jumps out at me. In a little bit of a funk recently and just trying to resist the urge to write a new story again (other than the new oneshot that's also giving me issues currently, I'm not counting that right now, I'm currently pretending like it doesn't exist, ha) or start a new re-write. The struggle is real.

If I start anything, I'll let you guys know!

[fortuneshyspirit]

I Don't Even Know

Despite working on three different things at once, I have gotten none of them ready for update. So I'm going to try and edit the next chapter of Help Me... Please! for today. Hopefully I'll finish something else soon.

I don't even know what I'm working on anymore, guys, I'll be honest. Started re-writing that old scene for When to Fight, When to Wait. Then started a whole new oneshot instead. Got stuck with that and then was torn between working on By the Blade, We Are Bound and The Mystery of the Mobian Royals - so, of course, I did the logical thing and picked neither. My brain is mush at the moment and doesn't seem to want to stick with anything.

EDIT: Help Me... Please! has been updated!

[fortuneshyspirit]

Who, Me?

Starting a new oneshot? When I have so many stories on the go to update? And while working on a re-write of a very old scene to add to one of my series too? Couldn't be me. Nah. Definitely not. Nope. No new stories here.

[fortuneshyspirit]

Oops, Ha

Did I technically put out an update post? I don't think so. Oop.

Well, uh... These Inhibitors' Flaws has been updated!

[fortuneshyspirit]

For Those of You Who've Read the When to Fight, When to Wait Series...

Ever wonder what those cryptic few lines about the Holding Facility in But Secrets Are Mine to Keep were all about? For those of you that need a refresher (those stories are all kinda long, so I don't expect anyone to actually remember, ha, they were throw-away lines anyway) here are the lines in question:

The Holding Facility.

An ironic name, since most mobians didn’t have too long of a stay. Every mobian who was arrested under Dr. Robotnik’s tyranny was brought here. Sonic had been in there once.

He’d survived it but his escape had come at a dreadful price. One he would not repeat. Not this time.

His life was not worth the cost of anyone else’s.

Weirdly enough, this was sort of like a personal reference, for me and only me. And I was thinking about it recently. The very, very early version of this story was not even explicitly Underground related. If you want to go back to the very start of some of the ideas that later became this story, it actually began as a little SatAm project I was working on years ago. The Holding Facility just happened to fit what I needed for part of Sonic's backstory in this one. So, it was repurposed for When to Fight, When to Wait.

Except, it wasn't.

Nothing I had written for the original Holding Facility made it into the story. I couldn't find a convenient place to slot it in, not with the format I had chosen. But a scene for Sonic's time at the Holding Facility does exist.

It's old now. The document was last updated in 2021. Made very likely even before that, if you can believe it. It's short, 1,694 words to be exact. The dialogue is all formatted wrong and much of it needs a serious rework (old writing, blegh). But it exists.

And I was considering... possibly re-writing it.

It's not important to the story at all. It doesn't really add anything. But I kinda feel bad for that little story. Because, really, that's where When to Fight, When to Wait's universe technically started. Yeah, it might have been SatAm - but it's still Robotropolis at the end of the day. And the only thing that makes the story SatAm in the first place is a tiny flash-forward section at the end, the barebones layout for what could have been. For what never was.

It won't be a very long story, with not a lot of context inherently for what it is, but... anyone interested in reading it? I know I should be working on The Mystery of the Mobian Royals. A certain scene is causing me trouble with it and I'm still a bit worried about the direction I'll be taking that story. So it'll probably be some time before it's actually updated too. Which, I know, is frustrating. And it's not like I've even started re-writing this illusive Holding Facility scene, or that anyone expressed interest in it either. Just... I'm having one of those days.

[fortuneshyspirit]

Getting There (I Think)

Almost finished the next chapter of These Inhibitors' Flaws. Sorta. Got a chunk of dialogue that needs to be sorted out at the end. Also, somehow, it's not massively eventful again. How is that possible with where we are in the story? No idea, yo. But it's building to the climax very soon, promise. And I've got a lot to explore past that point too, so the story's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Not sure if it'll be ready for Sunday. We'll see.

[fortuneshyspirit]

Just a Pre-emptive Warning

I haven't finished editing chapter one of Unpleasant Conversations yet, kinda just made a start today, but... as a pre-emptive warning, in case I can't fix the issue I'm currently battling, chapter two might be a bit longer than the first. By about 1,000-ish words. Maybe? Maybe even more honestly. I don't know anymore.

Just my usual trend of somehow making Sonic's side of everything twice the length for some inexplicable reason. Damn my extremely obvious bias. Why can't I just... not? Ugh. So, sorry about that. I feel like it makes Shadow's parts seem rushed and that doesn't feel fair. Especially when Shadow's side is literally the first part I write most of the time. I don't mean to do this. And the funny thing is, Sonic's part would be even longer if I didn't force a cut-off way before the point where Shadow's side ends. Like... how? My original plan was to do the usual see both sides thing. But now I don't think I can without it being so obviously skewed. It's frustrating.

[fortuneshyspirit]

Unpleasant Conversations

I'm aiming to get this story up within the next few days. Again, a ton of editing is required and I didn't get through as much today as I'd hoped. So if it has to be a Thursday update, I'll push it to then instead of Wednesday (which has sort of become my norm recently).

But, um, ahead of then, I wanted to leave a little preview. I haven't put out a sneak peek for a while because I know a lot of people don't really like them. But since it's a new story (kinda), I thought I might drop the opening few paragraphs here. As a little taste - and apology for not getting it ready for last week.

EDIT: first chapter of Unpleasant Conversations is up!

WARNING: Sneak peek ahead!

Shadow was seriously thinking about getting some frames. To frame the picture he’d taken of Sonic in the meadow. The one he’d taken with Rouge and Omega at the apartment on his birthday. And the one he found himself looking at a lot recently, from two days ago. From his first ever date. The one he was currently enraptured with once again.

The lighting was awful. Shadow looked fine in the orange glow – the red in his fur seemed to pop more – but Sonic’s fur had come out more of a brown shade. It wasn’t the prettiest, not next to the usually vibrant blue of his pelt. But Shadow loved this picture. He’d pulled Sonic closer using his hand; he could still see their hands in frame, clasped in front of Shadow’s chest. The dark hedgehog was looking at the camera with a soft smile. But it was Sonic that Shadow’s eyes were on right now. His head was turned to Shadow, half surprised and half… something else. His mouth hung open slightly, one ear flicked back. Sonic was bewildered. But, underneath that, Shadow could not figure out what that warmer glint in his emerald eyes was.

It was like he’d been surprised by the presence of the camera, had turned to say something to Shadow and just… paused.

It wasn’t as beautifully candid as the first one. But there was something about the look on Sonic’s face that Shadow was drawn to. He decided he quite liked these little snapshots of Sonic when he wasn’t expecting them, though he would like a few more purposeful ones eventually.

[fortuneshyspirit]

Why Does This Happen?

Well, I'm half working on three different stories right now, ha.

Help Me... Please! is on my radar again, apparently. After two months of nothing I finally have a lot of inspiration for that one. So weird. Mostly just been writing dialogue for the next chapter (and by that, I really mean the one after the next one), quite possibly the one after that too.

These Inhibitors' Flaws is coming along, about 1,500 words done. Fight scenes are hard but I'm tryin'.

And I Live to Rule by the Sword is still tugging at my psyche too.

I'll be honest, not sure when I'll finish any of 'em. But hey, I'm chipping away at them at least, so that's a good start!

[fortuneshyspirit]

Trying to Do Some Writing

I actually started writing the next chapter of These Inhibitors' Flaws today!

And... then got distracted with I Live to Rule by the Sword. Like, immediately. 400 words in and I had an idea I needed to write down.

And now I'm kinda stuck between both of them, oop. Should probably go back to These Inhibitors' Flaws, huh?

[fortuneshyspirit]

Aiming for a Sunday Update

I want to get the first chapter of Unpleasant Conversations up on Sunday. But I'll be honest, it needs a loooooot of editing and I'm busy tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it done in time. So, there's a pretty high likelihood that you'll be getting I Live to Rule by the Sword instead. But I'll give it a go.

Meanwhile, I've tried writing more for chapter two of Unpleasant Conversations today. Had a bit of a... moment earlier today that sort of messed me up though, so haven't been able to get much done. But so far, this chapter is looking longer than the first. And it's not even done. So, I kinda want to fix that. Hence long editing session required.

On the bright side... possibly a bit of a cuter chapter for I Live to Rule by the Sword? It's possible.

EDIT: I updated I Live to Rule by the Sword... couldn't get Unpleasant Conversations done in time, sorry!

[fortuneshyspirit]

Get Ready for More Swirling Spirals of Anxiety!

Workin' on the second chapter of Unpleasant Conversations at the moment. It's not really a spoiler but the anxiety is back for this one, predictably. There's a smidge in the first chapter too but not so much. But, that's just standard with this series.

And... well let's be honest, the vast majority of my stories, ha.

Thinking about a separate oneshot, almost a spin-off but not quite, of this story with another character. Other than the main boys I mean. Except, I can't tell you who it will be about because spoilers. Obviously. But just know something else might be in the works for this particular story~

[fortuneshyspirit]

Incoming Update

As it stands, Help Me... Please! is my contender for an update tomorrow, since it's been waiting so long.

I will warn you guys though, it's a little dialogue heavy. Ok, a lot dialogue heavy. Same goes for the next chapter (which is also almost done now, by the way). Although, it's only the first half of chapter five and... kind of the majority of chapter six that has a lot of talking happening. But chapter six is the start of some serious world-building and lore stuff, so you're just gonna have to bear with me I'm afraid. Hopefully the second half of chapter five makes up a little for the absolute wall of dialogue coming your way soon...

Now that I think about it, the same problem is bound to crop up in chapter seven too. So, sorry about that! Lots of dialogue in this story, oop.

EDIT: Help Me... Please! has been updated!