#AO3 Writer

[nondelphic]

imagine becoming a famous author and people still finding your ancient tumblr where you screamed about having no plot for years

[chessalein]

If you like what we write, please leave us a little comment and a kudo! Just a Kudo is fine too, but let us know that you like our work.

I know we do it for fun, but we still love to know that somone likes what we do. That someone truly looks at it.

Each Kudo and each comment, even if its a short "That was a good read :)" will bless us with happiness and motivation. We would die for you, you who took your personal time to read what we made. When we write the next chapter, we will think of you.

"I hope [your name here] likes it :)"

We will post it an see it as a little present we put on your doorstep.

We might even worry too much about if this chapter was too boring for you.

We write our stories for fun, yes, but we also write it for you all, to share it with you. We need a validation that we are doing good as well.

Don't you want praise for things you do good as too? Don't you feel happy when someone tells you the shoes you bought are stunning? That the food you made tastes wonderful? that the post you made is hilarious? Most of you do these things for fun as well, right?

So hit that Kudo button when you reached the end, leave a comment that could even be three simple hearts and remember that now someone isn't just writing a story to share it with the net, its a story they share with you in mind 💖

Thank you for comming to my ted talk.

Have a beautiful day 💖I have a fanfic to write.

crazy how fanfic authors drop the most beautiful and gorgeous pieces of work ever, leaving you speechless and sobbing at three in the morning as you quietly contemplate the masterpiece you just read

and they don’t get paid for it they just do it because they’re having fun and they want to share their joy with you

like I would literally die for all of you fanfic authors out there reblog to swear your allegiance to fanfic authors

[nondelphic]

every writer knows the pain of having an idea that’s “too good” to write because you know you can’t do it justice

[billionbrilliantstars]

Project 2025 makes it very possible that we could lose AO3. It features same sex relationships and smut and could be something that the new administration sees as an enemy. It’s possible that it would simply be banned in the US and other countries can still use it, but since I’m pretty sure it’s an American website the whole thing might just be destroyed instead. So everyone might lose it.

Here’s what we should all do just in case.

1. Download your favorite works as a PDF and back them up on multiple devices so you don’t lose them.

2. If you are a writer, try to publish your works on multiple different platforms like fanfiction.net and wattpad. I’m a Doctor Who writer so I know about whofic, but do research on your fandom to see if there’s fandom specific sites available.

Edit: I want to be extra clear that readers should download works that aren’t about same sex love or don’t have smut too. I think it goes without saying but I want to be very clear that the Trump administration is more likely to ban or delete the whole archive than it is to sort through what content it deems “appropriate”.

[mielwriting]

@imari4444

Writing tips for long fics that helped me that no one asked for.

1.) Don't actually delete content from your WIP unless it is minor editing - instead cut it and put it in a secondary document. If you're omitting paragraphs of content, dialog, a whole scene you might find a better place for it later and having it readily available can really save time. Sometimes your idea was fantastic, but it just wasn't in the right spot.

2.) Stuck with wording the action? Just write the dialog then revisit it later.

3.) Stuck on the whole scene? Skip it and write the next one.

4.) Write on literally any other color than a white background. It just works. (I use black)

5.) If you have a beta, while they are beta-ing have them read your fic out loud. Yes, I know a lot of betas/writers do not have the luxury of face-timing or have the opportunity to do this due to time constraints etc but reading your fic out loud can catch some very awkward phrasing that otherwise might be missed. If you don't have a beta, you read it out loud to yourself. Throw some passion into your dialog, you might find a better way to word it if it sounds stuffy or weird.

6.) The moment you have an idea, write it down. If you don't have paper or a pen, EMAIL it to yourself or put it in a draft etc etc. I have sent myself dozens of ideas while laying down before sleep that I 10/10 forgot the next morning but had emailed them to myself and got to implement them.

7.) Remember - hits/likes/kudos/comments are not reflective of the quality of your fic or your ability to write. Most people just don't comment - even if they say they do, they don't, even if they preach all day about commenting, they don't, even if they are a very popular blog that passionately reminds people to comment - they don't comment (I know this personally). Even if your fic brought tears to their eyes and it haunted them for weeks and they printed it out and sent it to their friends they just don't comment. You just have to accept it. That being said - comment on the fic you're reading now, just do it, if you're 'shy' and that's why you don't comment the more you comment the better you'll get at it. Just do it.

8.) Remove unrealistic daily word count goals from your routine. I've seen people stress 1500 - 2000 words a day and if they don't reach that they feel like a failure and they get discouraged. This is ridiculous. Write when you can, but remove absurd goals. My average is 500 words a day in combination with a 40 hour a week job and I have written over 200k words from 2022-2023.

9.) There are dozens of ways to do an outline from precise analytical deconstruction that goes scene by scene to the minimalist bullet point list - it doesn't matter which one you use just have some sort of direction. A partial outline is better than no outline.

10.) Write for yourself, not for others. Write the fic you know no one is going to read. Write the fic that sounds ridiculous. You will be so happy you put it out in the world and there will be people who will be glad it exists.

[plotsignificanthaircut555]

oh.

[paigegonerogue]

I, of mostly sound body and spirit, request that if I’m ever to die, someone post a new work on my AO3 that says “sorry, she died, ongoing stories postponed forever” because don’t I want my fanfic buddies to think I ghosted them. Amen or whatever you say in a will.

[badassbutterfly1987]

(ID: Twitter post by antithesiscrow with the words, "the thing about fic is that occasionally you come across someone who has incredible, breathtaking, lyrical prose. a true master of the craft. and they're using these gifts to write your favorite character getting sex pollened. what a beautiful world we live in." End ID.)

[jackwolfes]

thinking about that post of people assuming ao3 has an algorithm and also about how bonkers persistent the view is that ao3 is social media lite. like with startling regularity I get comments saying something along the lines of "it's probably weird to comment on a fic this old--" no it isn't!!!! this is an archive I am literally just assuming you searched for a selection of specific tags or sorted by kudos or looked back on my pseud or any other number of completely normal ways to use an archive site ?? kill the tiktok ghost in your brain and comment on old stuff it's NOT weird

[katarinazurar]

“you’re a writer, right?”

me, staring at the one sentence i’ve managed to add in the last hour and the 12 open tabs on the specifics of shoes in 1845 Ireland: In theory.

[remarcely]

Bruce Wayne wakes up in the past, five months after Jason Todd died, and spends most days sat beside the grave because he never found out exactly when Jason had come back and he wanted to be there to save him when he did.

From an outside perspective, everyone is extremely concerned.

[manincaffeine]

[nondelphic]

my goal in life is to write something so iconic that someone makes a bad fanfic about it

[starry-nights-17]

Why I do it. Well primarily I do it cos my ocd brain won't rest until I get the story out of my head 😂🙈...but after that...comments from people saying they enjoyed a fic or connected with it or just lost themself for a few hours....means everything. I'm only writing about a year and a half, having never written anything before and never believing I'd be any good at it...so getting positive responses is the best reward. The real world is such a mess sometimes so if I can help people escape, even momentarily, then that's all that I ask for.

maybe your fanfic doesn’t have to change someone’s life maybe it can just brighten someone’s day for a bit

[risafeywritesdrarry]