#10 Questions for Writers

[scottcyclopssummers]

10 questions for writers

tagged by @scottxlogan

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

12 (of which 4 are discontinued and one is a wip)

2. what’s your total AO3 word count?

126,976

3. what fandoms do you write for?

X-Men mainly because they are my favourite superhero team. Sometimes Avengers and X-Men.

4. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

I do respond to comments and really appreciate them because it is nice to know someone likes the fic. But, I haven't responded to comments for the discontinued fics (if there are any) because I may delete the fics.

5. have you ever had a fic stolen?

No. Not that I know of. It's very unlikely that would happen considering there are so many better, wonderful options from other authors.

6. have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I write very sporadically. So, I wouldn't want to leave them hanging. Plus, I don't think I'd be a good person to collab with. Don't know how much of a team player I am.

7. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

Scott/Warren. I really like their dynamic in the silver-age comics, X-Factor and whenever they are on the same panel. Scott smiles more around Warren. Warren loves it when Scott smiles (IT IS CANON) I also liked Scott/Joanna in Age of X. Basilisk Scott's mask is so much cooler than the visor but the story behind it is horrifying. I used to like Scott/Rogue in X-Men Evolution but I feel like i've grown out of it. I could write more about Scott/Warren but it would turn into a thesis.

8. what are your writing strengths?

I'm still too new to have a lot of strengths, but maybe, silliness? I like writing cute, silly stuff. And maybe, anger. I have a long way to go.

9. what are your writing weaknesses?

There are many areas I would like to improve. I can't write good Smut. It feels like I forget all about sex the moment I write it. Plus, I'm not so good at writing emotions. I feel emotional when I write an emotional scene, but feel detached from it when I read it again. I'm not as attached to my work as I am attached to the characters, if it makes sense?

10. first fandom you wrote for?

X-Men Evolution. It was a Scott/Rogue story which has been discontinued.

Thank you for the tag! :) For anyone interested, the floor is yours.

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

10 Questions for Writers

10 Questions for Writers tagged by @sunnysideprincess

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

156, but two or three of those are Round Robins I participated in, and two are collabfics. The rest are all mine, though.

2. what’s your total AO3 word count?

902,447

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Marvel is my main squeeze fandom, but I've got one Stranger Things fic up and I want to write a few more. I've got a tiny Hannibal fic up, one solitary M*A*S*H that had been a request of one of my besties (and that was definitely enough and I love that show), and there's a Contrarywise/Trickster's Touch ficlet up. Oh yeah, and I have a few Bill and Ted fics up and some other random old stuff that I finally stuck on my AO3 (Lost Boys, From Hell)

4. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

Always. First off, it's so rare these days to get comments because of all the reasons/excuses people give for not leaving comments on fics that to get comments is such a treasure and joy, so of course, I'm going to comment back. Second, if some of those reasons/excuses are true (shyness, anxiety, awkwardness) then I'm doubly grateful for the people who do comment - esp if they are commenting while anxious/shy/awkward - that I want to make sure they realize that their comments are appreciated and that they are not bothering me with their comments. Though I still don't understand that concern. If a writer doesn't want comments on their fics, they'll set it up so that no one will comment. If we've got our comments open, we want comments and you're never bothering us with them.

5. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so. Given how wildly unpopular I seem to be as a writer, I can't imagine anyone wanting to steal what I've written.

6. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yep. I've got two collabfics up on AO3 that I wrote with @scottxlogan, and we've got two more in the wings just needing to be finished so I can post them up.

7. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

No. I don't have one all-time favorite ship. I have many favorite ships - Loki/Tony Stark, Loki/Bucky Barnes, Loki/Steve Rogers, Loki/Emma Frost, Loki/Justin Hammer (don't give me that look, they're fun), Tony/Bucky, Tony/Steve, Tony/Scott Summers, Tony/Emma Frost, Steve/Bucky, Steve/Scott Summers, Steve/Emma, Scott/Logan, Scott/Bobby, Scott/Kurt... I mean, that's just the Marvel list, and it's not even a complete one. There's also Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, and so many others from other fandoms that I may not write for but I like to read.

8. what are your writing strengths?

Apparently humor, Easter Eggs, dialogue, fluff, sexy times, and making people hungry by including food into so many fics.

9. what are your writing weaknesses?

World building if I'm having to create a world from scratch. I can do it, but it's a lot of work and then I get stressed. I used to world-build in rp writing with my former roommate, and when we quit writing, I thought I might take some of our old rps and turn them into og fiction, but there are some that are so wildly extensive in the world building that I will probably stick to re-reading them and not actually trying to re-write them into og fiction.

10. first fandom you wrote for?

If we're talking the first time I ever wrote fanfiction without knowing that fanfiction was a word, that'd be the Children of the Corn fanfic I wrote when I was 12-13. It was in pencil, and it was big time Mary Sue, and I don't even have it anymore because over many decades, the pencil faded/smudged, and I'm pretty sure I tossed it into the trash. (It was sooooooooooooooooooo bad.) The first fandom I was in once I knew what fanfiction was - Jay and Silent Bob. Yes, I still have those fics, and no they aren't posted anywhere, and they won't be. With the exception of a Loki series fic I wrote that has a tiny crossover with Dogma (that was called a therapy fic), I won't go back to that fandom.

Thanks for the tag!

Tagging: @mistressofmuses, @stormxpadme, @soliloquent-stark, @whinysteve, @kleenexwoman, @mcfiddlestan, @chaotic-hypnotic-erotic, @chaoticgardenbread, and anyone else who wants to play!

[carlos-in-glasses]

10 Questions for Writers

Thank you for the tag @orchidscript @heartstringsduet @rmd-writes

@freneticfloetry @reyesstrand @safeaswrites @paperstorm ❤️

how many works do you have on ao3? — 26! My most recent, Keep the Lights On, just went up at the weekend.

what’s your total ao3 word count? — Not including the fic I collaborated on, it's roughly 451k.

what fandoms do you write for? — Only Tarlos/Tarlos adjacent. I wonder if I'll ever be moved to write for another fandom someday (as well as Tarlos, rather than instead of) but right now I can't even imagine it.

do you respond to comments? why or why not? — Yes! It's vital for me to thank readers. People are taking time out of their day to read something I wrote...it's amazing. It blows my mind. Before fic, I was writing into a void and didn't realise how much I needed this sort of community. I'm just really grateful for it.

have you ever had a fic stolen? — Yes, chunks of one. It was a harrowing experience. The Lone Star fandom was incredible about it though. Not to vague but there are certain people here who are my heroes. (Also...the amount of 'yes' answers I've seen to this question really scares me!)

have you ever cowritten a fic before? — Yes! Just once, but I'd love to collaborate more! @lemonlyman-dotcom and @ladytessa74 and I each wrote a chapter for a fic called The Wonder of It for @thisbuildinghasfeelings' birthday. It was a really lovely, fun experience. The fic is one I treasure because it's within Tessa's Elijah Verse, which I'm obsessed with.

what’s your all-time favorite ship? — Tarlos. There is no other ship for me that comes close. Sometimes I wonder if there ever could be tbh. I'm not actively looking for one, but I wasn't actively looking for Tarlos either. Grateful every day that I randomly watched this Rob Lowe Vanity Fair video that changed my life.

what are your writing strengths? — Based on feedback I've had, I'll say: humour, smut, detail, lyricism.

what are your writing weaknesses? — Well according to a total shithead on here, my smut and everything else. But according to me I'd say overwriting, syntax, using the same words really close together ffs. I spend *a lot* of time editing before I post. I'd also love to write a really good thriller but I don't know if I have the skill.

first fandom you wrote for? — 9-1-1 Lone Star/ Tarlos. First and only, babyyy.

Tagging @lemonlyman-dotcom @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @ladytessa74 @welcometololaland

@pimento-playing-hopscotch @alrightbuckaroo @goodways @bonheur-cafe

@ironheartwriter @tellmegoodbye @lightningboltreader @strandnreyes

@theghostofashton

[faketrex]

This feels like the week of tag games and asks and dms here in tumblr land. I'm not complaining!

To those who sent me questions from the fic title asks: thank you thank you! I will answer those. Soon. In the meantime...

10 Questions for Writers.

Thanks to @porcelainmortal for the tag. Also nabbing the open tags from @cricketnationrise and @caterpills...

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 16

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 93,923

3. What fandoms do you write for? Solely Red, White & Royal Blue at the moment, but my AO3 also has works for The Sandman. I have been thinking Dead Boy Detectives thoughts but I don't feel confident enough in the voices to jump in, so.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do! Sometimes it takes me a long time, though. I reply because I post my stories in the hope that someone will enjoy them; getting confirmation of that in comment form is something that I am thankful for and really appreciate about sharing creative endeavors. Also, I just love talking about the story!

5. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of, no.

6. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope! Sounds fun, would try.

7. What’s your all-time favourite ship? Nope! No favorites here.

8. What are your writing strengths? Dialogue, I like to think. Banter, but also just conversations, generally speaking. (Pun intended.) Humor. Depicting modernity in a kind of surreal but relatable way?

9. What are your writing weaknesses? Explicit introspection. I do a bit of it, but I tend to try to lead readers in the direction of characters' thoughts through their actions and what they're saying. It probably doesn't always work. Detailed descriptions are also not something that I write much; I'll happily read them, but I don’t often want to write them. Also: making decisions about plot, gross, ugh, not for me.

10. First fandom you wrote for? I am exercising my right to skip this one!

Aaaaand no-pressure tagging five people who also write words @eusuntgratie @stratocumulusperlucidus @queerofthedagger @schweetheart @sparklepocalypse

[rmd-writes]

Ten Questions for Writers

Thanks for the tags @cha-melodius @orchidscript @firenati0n! I think I did one of these earlier this year but let's go again anyway

How many works do you have on AO3? 86

What's your total AO3 word count? 666,561 but this includes several co-written fics so my actual word count is probably at least 100k less than that but I have no way of tracking that

What fandoms do you write for? RWRB, 911 LS, Schitt's Creek

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes! I try to respond to almost all of them - I love receiving comments and really appreciate when people take the time to leave them vs just hitting that kudos button. There are some collabs that I don't reply to the comments on, mostly because it's hard to tell from my emails/ao3 inbox which chapter the comment was left on and I don't know whether it was mine. I know I can click through, but I don't always have time!

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes and I love doing it!

What's your all-time favourite ship? Yes.

What are your writing strengths? Smut with feelings, banter/dialogue, descriptions of people. One of the best comments I've ever received said that the scene I'd written was so intimate the reader almost felt like they were intruding by reading it 😭

What are your writing weaknesses? world building, coming up with pretty metaphors, I think I'm repetitive

First fandom you wrote for? Schitt's Creek

Tagging: OPEN TAG! but also @kiwiana-writes (specifically to make them answer #7), @welcometololaland, @indestructibleheart, @lightningboltreader, @liminalmemories21,

@three-drink-amy @freneticfloetry @strandnreyes @reyesstrand @heartstringsduet

@stereopticons @carlos-in-glasses @cricketnationrise @myheartalivewrites @alrightbuckaroo

@tintagel-or-cockleshells @hippolotamus @clottedcreamfudge @everwitch-magiks @wordthieve

[caterpills]

10 Questions for Writers

Tagged by the wonderful @firenati0n @alasse9 and @14carrotghoul for this one! ❤️

How many works do you have on AO3? 1 (currently a WIP)

What's your total AO3 word count? 56,853

What fandoms do you write for? RWRB, for now.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes, always. Whether it's just a little thank you or an emoji or something, I want people to know how thankful I am? Not only is it super hard to trust someone to finish a WIP who is new to writing in this fandom or at all, but to stick with them? IDK, it means the world to me that people took a chance. I don't know if people realize how often I re-read comments on each chapter, and it really energizes me when I get through the rest. (Also, just kind of floored when people actually get what I was trying to do, and say so in the comments, I have been PERCEIVED.)

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of? I doubt anyone would, but I guess I can never say never.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have not! But I have this really wild idea for one that I think would just be fun to be co-written rather than staying all with me. Gotta finish one WIP first though!

What's your all-time favorite ship? For ao3 - firstprince, because that's what I write there. (But Pynch, my beloveds, you're my favorite RP writing ship.)

What are your writing strengths? UH. I've been told my narrative voice has been really good? Like my writing style really works with people, which is incredibly flattering! I also think that I can write some pretty good internal monologues where people are having some Thinky Thoughts or I'm good at whipping out some banger lines in the middle of something heart-wrenching and emotional. So my sad songs playlist thanks you.

What are your writing weaknesses? I have no weaknesses, I can never be defeated. (but actually: people/places/things descriptions, flirty banter, first drafts, and imposter syndrome.)

First fandom you wrote for? RWRB is the first fandom I wrote fic for! There was a time when some X-Men "fic" made it into a word document, but middle school me was doing from cringey self-inserts. Let's not. (But I do write a lot in forum RP places, so I've always been writing something.)

Open tag to friends who'd like to play! I'm very curious and I also want to come scream about how good your writing is in the comments, ty. I wouldn't be here without all of you being inspiring, tyvm.

[incandescent-creativity]

10 Questions for Writers/Readers

Always post the rules, answer the questions given to you, write ten questions of your own, and tag ten people! I was tagged by @dreamwishing

What is one thing that often happens to show up in your stories without you even realizing? I accidentally wrote all my stories with female protagonists, and now I’m making sure I always write them. Partly because I find it harder to get into male narrator heads (doable but annoying), and partly because representation, woo.

Planner or pantser? Do you have a reason you prefer your method? I plan the general idea and concept and, if required, the world, but I only give myself a rough idea of the plot. So I plan the concepts in detail and pants the actual words and plot.

Early morning writing or late night writing? Late night. Not on purpose, but I usually end up staying super late when I’m writing.

What is your favorite writing snack? Something healthy, or junk food? An actual light snack, or more of a meal? I usually eat whatever I can get my hands on, but it tends to be more actual light snacking.

When you’re feeling blocked, what is a technique that almost always helps you get at least a little inspiration back? I listen to adventurous music on rpgamers.net/radio. I try to sit back and take a break, attempting to muddle through what should happen next, too.

Are your characters (especially mains) often in a range of ages? Are their ages similar to your own? The main characters are usually close to my age or a bit older, like teenagers or young adults in their twenties. I include characters of other ages, but my mains are closer to me.

Moodboards or written lists for your characters? Here on Tumblr? I mean... I have a list of all my characters in one big ol post that you can find here. I don’t really have moodboards, so if you‘re asking if I make moodboards or lists, I do lists!

Is there a particular routine you often must complete before beginning to write? Not really. I usually listen to music to pump me up and get me in the mood, but I don’t think that counts as a routine. I can’t write with anyone reading over my shoulder, though.

Do you/would you ever post your work online? Why or why not? I’d like to share excerpts, yeah, but I don’t know if anyone would be interested in reading it, and I want to get published someday so I don’t know if that would impede me in any way? I’d definitely put a warning at the beginning of each post that this writing is mine.

If you had to throw a few MCs into a different fictional universe (like Harry Potter or Star Wars) which universe would you choose and why? Hunger Games, because I’m sadistic.

So I tag @eccentricwriterfreak, @write-out-of-time, @author-in-progress, @crazybunchwriter, and @a-sundeen. Not ten, I know, but sue me. If you guys wanna do this, tag me in it, your questions are below the cut because this post is long enough!

What inspired you to start writing?

What inspired you to keep writing?

Who’s your favorite OC? (we all have one don’t lie)

What’s a line you’re really proud of?

Do you let anyone read your first drafts, or do you keep them sealed up tight?

How long, word count-wise, is your longest work? Your shortest?

What’s the most interesting relationship two characters have ever had in your work? (Not necessarily a romantic one, could be a bitter rivalry you really enjoyed writing, or a familial bond) And what makes it interesting?

Who has influenced your writing?

What genre do you read most often? Is that what you write, or is there a disparity?

What’s the one thing that you hate to read in books?

[teaberryblue]

10 Questions For Writers

@cactusspatz​ tagged me in this!

1. Have you ever written in an unusual place? Where?

Not normally.  I tend to write on my laptop on my sofa, or in my bed, or on someone else’s sofa. 

I do write a bit on my phone while on the train, which other people say is unusual, but it’s very usual to me. I commute about two hours a day so it can be good writing time.

Though when I was 23, I went to Italy for a week with my parents.  For that week, I hand-wrote a story in a spiral notebook (I usually type EVERYTHING) in stolen odd spaces around the cities we visited, often standing up against a wall older than my brain can really contemplate.  That was a story about a teenaged girl secretly taking up the mantle of her vigilante father after his untimely death, in a city that ended up being based very much on Siena.  

I realize writing in Italy isn’t out of the ordinary for Italians, but it was more the nature of the writing, in stolen minutes leaning against walls, that is unusual for me. 

I’ve also written in bars on a number of occasions. And I wrote a comic about vampires at my cousin’s wedding.  And one time, when I was having a particularly sad day, after getting news of a death in the family, I walked into Central Park and sat on a rock in the middle of the park and wrote, but I got interrupted by a little girl with pink hair.  I drew a comic about that:

2. The word/phrase you know you overuse, but can’t get rid of it.

Semicolons aren’t a word.  I have a lot of very stubborn feelings about cadence and how phrases scan differently when they’re punctuated with a semicolon versus a period, and I think they have to do with the fact that I’m primarily an auditory thinker.  Everything in my head is sounds, so I hear everything I write out loud in my head as I’m typing it, and sometimes things sound wrong if you punctuate with a period. It makes everything more staccato which doesn’t work if you need something to feel more meandering.  Anyway a lot of my overused things are types of sentence construction more than vocabulary. 

In college, I had a professor who would read a select finished assignment in class each week.  One week, he prefaced his reading by saying, “I started off marking all the run-on sentences in this piece in red ink, and then I realized that every sentence was a run-on, because the story was being told in the first person by someone who talks very fast without pauses.” It was my piece. :-P 

3. Do you keep notes? Do you have a notebook? What does it look like? Add a picture/screencap of your notes.

I’m dyslexic, so everything happens on the computer! Much easier!  When I’m writing comics, I do thumbnails sketched out on paper, though. But for prose writing, not so much. I do keep notes, and I write detailed outlines for each of my fics, though they change significantly as I write. They’re mostly like to-do lists or shopping lists, and I cross off each event as I complete it.

Probably the most complicated notekeeping EVER was for 1796 Broadway– @rain-proof​ and I had different responsibilities and one of mine was the MASSIVE SPREADSHEET.  (When @rain-proof​ and I write together, there are always more notes than when I write alone, mostly because in spite of what some people may think, we can’t actually see into each other’s heads).  

Here’s a snippet from one of the spreadsheets we made to keep track of the chapters in 1796– red things are things that need to be added to the Ao3 work from our Google Drive, things that still needed to be edited (we remade the spreadsheets occasionally) say NEEDS EDITING.

4. What’s the hardest part of a fic to write for you?

I have mentioned this before, but I have difficulty writing sexual attraction because my own experiences with sexual attraction are not super typical.  

I also have trouble ending stories, I think.  

5. Have you ever based something in your fic on your personal experience? What was it?

ALL. THE. TIME. 

I think it’s really important to use personal experience as the fodder for writing. It makes everything more real.  Now, I’m not a stickler for “write what you know” in the sense that I believe only astronauts should write astronauts, but you’ve got to be able to draw on feelings you’ve felt or experiences you’ve had to write stories where characters feel authentic.  That doesn’t mean you have to have had that experience, exactly, but the more you can find parallels between your own experiences and those of your characters, the better. 

I think when I look at things I’ve written, my whole life there have been a lot of underlying themes that get repeated and that I sometimes only notice later are really about me and things I’m struggling with.  I’ve been working on a Cinderella story that deals with gender politics, gender identity, and queer identities for years, and one of the protagonists is deeply, deeply influenced by my own experiences with gender and I may have realized Nat didn’t really conform to the gender binary before I realized that about myself, even though there are scenes literally ripped from my own childhood.  I recently wrote Genesis which is pretty unabashedly about me, to the point that I expected people to call me on a self-insert, there. Tony’s struggles to relate to other kids his own age in Dear Captain America are pretty influenced by my own problems as a kid, and there’s a couple things in Wind-Blown Sparks that are directly based on my experiences observing someone else’s addiction (the part where Natasha throws a bottle at the nurse was actually someone throwing a bottle at me). 1796 Broadway is interesting in this regard because actually quite a lot of things Steve does are things I was on the receiving end of in a relationship, that I thought were very hurtful, but I also based a lot of his PTSD and depression on my first-hand experiences with PTSD and depression.  My version of Tiberius Stone in everything is based on a real-life person, which is probably…not the most flattering thing to say, and is why I’m not saying who that is in a public forum (though a few of you know), but I think it’s a big part of why people are so interested in how I write him, because I have real experiences to draw from there.

There’s also stuff that’s definite personal wish-fulfillment.  The book-trading in Jekyll & Charlotte isn’t something that’s happened to me but is pretty much my romantic ideal.  A lot of Jekyll & Charlotte is also about my feelings about being a New Yorker immediately after Hurricane Sandy.

Sometimes I actually crib real conversations.  The G Nib conversation in Emanata is almost so verbatim a real conversation I had years ago with Tom Hart that I credited it in the fic. 

I also really like using places I’ve been to anchor stories to setting. The more time I’ve spent in a place, the more details and sensory descriptions I can infuse into a story, the more real it feels to me.  

6. What’s that one fic you want to write but somehow know you never will?

It’s probably getting to a place where I feel like I can dive into Dear Captain America again. I’ve also got my TERRIBLY BELATED Big Bang fic from this year that I need to write the last several scenes of and keep delaying to write other things.   I might be delaying because the end is horrific.  

And my weird little Manchurian Candidate-inspired Bucky-and-Bernie-Rosenthal comic, which has about 20 or so pages to go but I just got out of the mood to do it after I took a break to write the Wasp comic. 

I guess it’s more a question of unfinished things I might not ever finish than things I’ll never write at all. 

(I really want to finish the 3490 fic I was writing with @theliterator last year.  Maybe sometime when we’re both not so busy.  It takes place, if we’re going to anchor it in the 616 timeline, in the space between Steve’s death and Bucky taking on the Captain America mantle. But if you know anything about our shared 3490, you know that that particular Bucky is a woman, and a lesbian.)

7. What do you usually do when you procrastinate?

I procrastinate by writing things other than the thing I had set out to write at that particular time.  

In other words, I’m terrible at procrastinating, because I’m just always hopping between creative projects.  I procrastinate by making other things?

8. What’s the funniest typo you’ve made?

Dyslexia tends to mean typos aren’t funny, and I don’t really remember. I do remember the time my phone autocorrected “I love you” to “volcano.” 

9. Do you listen to music when you write? What kind?  

It depends. Usually not, because being primarily auditory means that listening to sounds is very disruptive– I end up focusing on what I’m listening to to the exclusion of anything else.  But I do have some playlists for certain stories, and if I listen to the same songs in the same order on repeat for long enough, they end up being easier to tune out and that helps.  I also do listen to music when I’m cowriting.  Somehow that is fine.  

10. Your favourite comment a reader has left on your fic?

Oh my gosh, so many.  I have been completely flooded with amazing comments from amazing readers. I think the number of people who thanked me for writing Genesis or told me how important it was to them was really amazing, because it kind of shows that so many people have such shared experiences that no one really talks about, and because I did feel like I was being overindulgent in that story.  But I think probably the commenting that @theliterator and @greenjudy have done on my fic is the most important to me because I met them both through the commenting on my stories (like so many others of you, really!) and they are both so incredibly important to me now. The fact that comments on a fanfic cultivated friendships that mean the world to me is more powerful than the content of those comments.  

Tagging @theliterator​ @sineala​ @doux-amer​ @reserve​ @kaijuvsgiantrobotsvsme​ @queerspeculativefiction​ @septimalshenanigans​ @mizzy2k whoever else wants to do this and hasn’t done it yet?