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Based on some rumblings I heard, I ended up quickly throwing together a fun little WIP bingo sheet! I'll admit I largely wrote the prompts for writing, but I think a good number of them should also apply to art!

Ultimately, the goal is to have fun, and finish whatever WIPs you can (without burning yourself out or having a bad time). If you needed a sign to pick up that project you've been putting off, the time is now!

3x4 Bingo square titled "Finish your fucking fics february"

the top three across left to right read "Update your oldest WIP", "Finish a WIP that's been buried deep in your drafts", and "Finish a WIP that you haven't posted yet"

the second row reads "Finish a recent WIP", "Finish a WIP you're scared of" and "Finish a WIP that's been haunting you"

the third row reads "Update a partially posted WIP", "Finish any WIP/Free Space", and "Finish the next WIP in a series you've been avoiding"

the last row reads "Update your newest WIP", "Finish a WIP that's been ignored for at least 6 months", and "Finish the next chapter for a fic you've been meaning to for months"

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If you're struggling to write sex, write food. if you're struggling to write food, write gore. if you're struggling to write gore, write sex. They're all variations on the same themes.

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"i should work on my fanfic!" i say as i dont work on my fanfic

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real writers don’t have writer’s block because they never start writing in the first place.

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some people think writers are so eloquent and good with words, but the reality is that we can sit there with our fingers on the keyboard going, “what’s the word for non-sunlight lighting? Like, fake lighting?” and for ten minutes, all our brain will supply is “unofficial”, and we know that’s not the right word, but it’s the only word we can come up with…until finally it’s like our face got smashed into a brick wall and we remember the word we want is “artificial”.

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BTW i see these posts all the time like "ohhh i dont know what to comment on fics.." and every response is "keysmashes! or hearts!! anything works :3" and thats GREAT!! thats helpful!!

but: consider. if u genuinely like analyzing writing.. do u know ur just allowed to go through and quote your favorite parts and ramble abt what they mean to u and the author will LOSE IT WITH HYPE?

genuinely. i felt SO WEIRD the first time i did it.. but like. holy shit authors love it. its crack for authors. the first time i did it, it was on a fic that hadnt updated in half a year, give or take, and the author made 3 updates that month BECAUSE OF MY COMMENT.

LIKE. as an author every comment is INCREDIBLE!!! but also, dont feel like your comment has to be short or otherwise ur invasive or smth!! authors ADORE long comments more than ANYTHING.

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writing? oh, i’m definitely writing. in my head. during the most inconvenient times. like in the shower or when i’m about to fall asleep. actual typing? no, no, we don’t do that here.

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sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

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I am completely normal about my interests

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Writing pornographic short fic: moderately difficult; kind of mechanical in a fun way.

Ending pornographic short fic: HOW

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yet another adhd comic

Patreon | Webtoon

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absolutely shocked that my draft doesn't write itself. what do you mean staring at it won't do anything?

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I am thinking about fan fiction writers, but anyone who writes any kind of fiction can answer. (As far as I’m aware, non-fiction is usually written in the past tense - but if I’m wrong do let me know!)

If you like, explain why in the tags!

When I was young I gathered that all serious works of fiction were written in the past tense (past tense third person to be precise) so that is what i did when I started writing. However my mind was blown by the power and immediacy of Margaret Atwood writing in the present tense so I started to experiment with it myself, and now i strongly favour it. I get the impression that past is still the most commonly used, but I’m prepared to be surprised!

Please share!

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Gotten some interesting comments lately and thought I would lay out some thoughts on reading, especially reading fanfic.

Sometimes you need to skip a fic if you see the summary and tags and think, “this is not for me.”

Sometimes you need to put a fic down if you’re not enjoying it.

Sometimes we might read something we only partly like because we’re just really into one aspect of it—one rare ship, one interesting plotline—and not into the rest. (I do this all the time!)

In all of those cases, think before leaving critical comments on the fic. You weren’t the intended audience, and that’s okay! Not everything is going to be for you. Plenty of things will be.

And recognizing what you like and what you don’t is part of learning who you are! That’s a beautiful thing.

Fanfic is like eating walnut cookies. If you don’t like walnuts and choose to eat around the walnuts, that’s up to you! I hope you enjoy it. But don’t complain to the baker that they’re walnut cookies.

They were always walnut cookies.

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create your own 2025 ao3 wrapped: fanfiction log template!!

The only tab you have to update manually is the Log itself with the info about your fics. Everything else is automatic!

Click here for the template!

NOTE: Above is a sample dashboard output generated using a random selection of the most kudo'd fics on ao3. Please don't take this as an endorsement or reflection of myself lol.

In order to use it for yourself, open the sheet and click File > Make a Copy

The Google Sheet is annotated (with notes) that will help you find your way around, but if you have any other questions, let me know! I will do my best to help.

Features:

A year-end dashboard that generates your "dream" fic! (New!)

Columns and functionality for characters, relationships, and additional tags (New!)

Automatically calculates monthly and yearly statistics (word count per month, running word count total, fic count, average fic lengths

Automatically tallies the number of fics you read per category/rating/warning/fandom

Find out who's your favorite: Automatically calculates the number of fics and total words you have read from each author

Provides space for a notes column to record your thoughts on any fic you read

New and improved visual appearance!!!!!

Sheet is set up with ao3 in mind, but can be reworked for other fanfic sites :D

MORE SAMPLE IMAGES:

all these stats could be YOURS!!!

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A slightly revised version of last year's questions! Two ways to play: Reblog and have your followers send you numbers, or answer the whole list!

How many fics have you worked on since January?

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year?

What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.)

How many fandoms did you write for this year?

What ships captured your heart?

What characters captured your heart?

Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year?

What fic meant the most to you to write?

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

What fic was the most difficult to write?

What fic was the easiest to write?

What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year?

What were your go-to writing songs?

What was the hardest fic to title?

What's your favorite title of the year?

Share your favorite opening line

Share your favorite ending line

Share your favorite piece of dialogue

Share your funniest line

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand?

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

How did you recharge between fics?

Did you create fanworks other than fic?

How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!)

If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

What's left on your to-do list for 2024?

What would you like to write next year?

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IT’S NOT ‘PEEKED’ MY INTEREST

OR ‘PEAKED’

BUT PIQUED

‘PIQUED MY INTEREST’

THIS HAS BEEN A CAPSLOCK PSA