#I have a couple of fic recs that I’ll jot down that I feel like addressed societal issues within the dcu in a unique way

[demonictumble]

More thoughts on Batman and what I want to be explored more (copied and pasted from notes bc drafts is still being a dick, and not of the vigilante variety)

Keep in mind that this is coming from someone whose only read wfa, a bunch of fics, and a couple of panels on tumblr. So please do take this all with a grain of salt and not as facts please.

* Bruce Wayne and Batman. I’m curious as to how Bruce views crimes. I think it has been stated that he didn’t go to crime alley much before jason? But anyways, I’m curious as to how raised as a billionaire views the severity of crimes. Like after Jason’s death he is said to be beating people to an inch of their lives for smaller crimes done more out of necessity (I feel like that could be akin to police brutality but that’s a topic for another day and one I’m not sure I’m the best person to talk about it). How about pre-Jason? Like how badly was he beating up people (not to the extent to the icu), did the severity of the crimes match the punishments he inflicted?

* There’s a lot of societal issues in Gotham and how people solve it in varying ways and I want to see more fics about that. About Bruce Wayne grappling with his privilege and using it for good. About Batman being more empathetic to criminals (obviously I’m not endorsing crimes but sometimes it’s not all black and white, it’s the shades of gray in between we need to sift through). I wanna see more of that instead of the constant ideological struggle between the Red Hood and Batman (killing vs no killing).

[thistreasurehunter]

Attention JJ/Pope Shippers!!

Warning: mature adult content beneath the cut.

So, I’d be really interested to know what kind of content all you JJPope / Mayward shippers out there would be interested in reading.

I’ve recently started writing for JJ/Pope (previous fics here). I know there are some amazing JJ/Pope fics out there, written by some really talented writers, but sadly there doesn’t seem to be any JJ/Pope smut [A/N: for the record, in my head I’ve aged the characters up a few years, so they are both 18+] (I might be wrong, but I haven’t been able to find any, and if there is, please point me in that direction!), so my question is: is that because JJ/Pope shippers don’t want to read that kind of content? Do you all prefer your fics a little softer? I’m thinking fluffy, innocent, wholesome goodness? Because if that’s the case, then I can totally take my writing in that direction!

But, somehow, I just can’t believe there aren’t more Mayward shippers out there, like me, that are hungry for some steamy JJ/Pope content! Because if that’s the case, then I’m more than happy to oblige with that too! *waggles eyebrows* Just tell me what you want baby, I want you to feel ~good~, my fingers are at the ready (over my keyboard, obviously! *cheeky grin*)

But seriously, I’m a safe space. Come whisper your naughty thoughts in my ear, lovely anon. I want to hear all the filthy, sexy things you think about these two gorgeous boys. The horny thoughts that make your stomach twist, that make you squirm in your seat, that set off that low insistent throbbing between your legs. Come whisper in my ear, lovely anon, and I might be able to write your fantasies into reality…

Or, you know, maybe that’s not your thing. Maybe I just need to go have a cold shower! Maybe you’d prefer to read something that makes that warm happy glow light up in your chest. If so, I want to hear about that too!

To get the ball rolling, I’ve jotted down a few of my own ideas below. These are nothing more than some half-formed thoughts at the moment, but just let me know if anyone would be interested in me developing any of these. Depending on the content, if these did go any further, I might take some of them out of my After the Rain timeline and have them as one shots (just so I don’t spoil the tone of that slow-build relationship development). But, yeah, these things take ages to write, so I want to make sure there’s an audience for them first.

Also, just to let you know, I’m new around here *waves* (and have a really tiny blog!), so I’m struggling a bit to promote my work and establish myself in this fandom. (HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has liked, reblogged and commented on my work so far – it really means more to me than I can say! And also apologies to my handful of followers for clogging your dash with multiple reblogs of my Master List while I try and boost it!).

Sooooo, if you’ve got this far down this post, and you feel like helping a new writer out, I would LOVE it if you could share this post, or some of my work, with your followers (my Master List is here). A shout-out or a rec from you would literally make me smile so wide the corners of my mouth would touch my ears. I know there are more lovely JJ/Pope shippers out there somewhere, but I don’t know where you are, and I don’t think you know I’m sitting over here in my dusty corner of the internet wanting to make you smile! 😞

So, anyway, that’s my plea and my plug done, now on to the prompts…

Fluffy ideas:

They give each other sensual massages – I’m thinking dim room, warm oil, slowly rubbing each other’s feet, strong hands pressing into the muscles of their backs, boyfriends looking after each other after a long day…

Pope comes out – Pope decides to come out to his parents, and they accept him and JJ with open arms.

JJ’s dad finds out he likes men too – little bit of angst, because Luke doesn’t take it well, but Pope comforts JJ and ends up making him feel safe and valued and wanted.

Cuddles on the sofa – soft eyes, warm hearts and lots of giggles.

Smutty ideas:

Massage with a happy ending - Similar to the massage idea above, but with more moaning and groaning and then they end up rubbing more than just each other’s backs.

Blowjobs – the hot, wet, urgent, I-need-you-right-now sort of thing. Shaking and bucking up, hands pressing on hips, steamy eye contact and then throbbing and pulsing and swallowing.

Rimming – the nervous, stomach-fluttering feeling of being touched ~there~ for the first time

Anal fingering – P-spot action, baby!! I imagine pairing this with a blowjob tbh.

Anal sex – How about: JJ bottoming from the top – straddling Pope, sinking down onto him and riding him slowly. Pope’s mind just blowing from how sexy JJ looks above him. Or, maybe on their knees, Pope taking control, panting and rutting and letting all that primal, cave-man energy overtake them. Or, first time anal: top!JJ and bottom!Pope, something both sexy and sweet as they explore each other in that way for the first time.

Or, trying some other deliciously kinky things together – edging, orgasm denial, tickle fetish, desperation, dressing up, toys, role play…

Or maybe we want to see some more classic fanfic tropes:

Soulmate AU/Bonding – pining and slow burn? Or maybe, surprise!-I’ve-been-bonded-to-a-guy-but-I-didn’t-realise-I-was-gay?      

Undercover relationship – probably speaks for itself, but some kind of slow, dawning realisation that they’re just idiots in love. Probably throw a bit of forced bed sharing in for good measure.

Gender swap (little bit ‘out-there’ but bear with me):

JJ/girl!Pope – him loving to bury his face between her legs, licking and sucking and savoring her sighs and moans. JJ loving giving his girl!Pope multiple orgasms. Slowly fingering her in the hot tub. Basically a lot of clit action. And P in V. Lots of that too.

girl!Pope/girl!JJ – yeah, just a couple of sexy lesbians – tongues and fingers and maybe a strap-on?

Pope/girl!JJ – I imagine girl!JJ would be just as snarky and sassy and definitely ‘wears-the-trousers’ in their relationship. I imagine them having sex against a wall, Pope holding girl!JJ up, hands wrapped around her thighs, pressing into her, her legs wrapped around his waist. And because of the angle, she has no leverage to press back and chase her own orgasm, she just has to hold on and let Pope take her there. And halfway through, I can hear her say jokingly, “If you run out of steam before I cum I’ll pummel you.” (Spoilers: he doesn’t.)

Yeah, so, there you go. I’ll just leave this here and hopefully it’ll find its way to the right people! 💙

[GENERAL DISCLAIMER: In anything I write, the characters are all 18+. I have never, and will never, write underage fic. I think it’s very important for me to make that completely clear.]

[spiders-hth-is-an-outlier]

13 Queliot recs 3/4

Just Lay in the Atmosphere by veganshailseitan

I know not everyone is willing to try a WIP -- I’m not always myself, but there are several really fucking amazing ones going on in the fandom right now.  This is probably the one that has the furthest to go before it’s done, but damn, it starts strong.  An AU where Quentin is a YA novelist and Eliot produces FuzzBeat videos, and they’re forced to work together in spite of a brief but deeply awkward past affair.  It really is barely underway in terms of plot, but oh my god, it just lands punch after punch -- Quentin’s mental health stuff and Eliot’s substance abuse stuff, and trying to patch together a stable life while the whole house of cards quivers under the weight of the things you regret.  If it does keep going, this could really be one of the special ones; all the pieces are in place, and the writing hits on every cylinder.  Get in on the ground floor!

* He’d itemized his List of Problems with Eliot Waugh in the following way:

1. Almost his entire production portfolio seems to consist of videos where people get intoxicated and try various foods and/or activities (Drunk vs. High: Drag Makeup Challenge had been especially entertaining; he was reluctantly starting to understand why these videos were so popular)

2. He hasn’t made or been in anything at all in the last couple months

3a. Somewhat in the face of 1 and 2, he has a massive fan base of people who would probably watch him read a phone book and still leave thirsty comments on the video

3b. There will thus definitely be a huge audience watching Quentin embarrass himself regardless of their interest in his books.

4. Quentin has seen him naked

That last one he didn’t learn from Google, but he’s including it on the Problem List for completeness. *

Just Like the Movies by anotherdoor

Short and funny and sexy s1-era story about possible-hazing-victim Quentin playing truth or dare with Eliot and Margo.  Honestly, I feel like this shouldn’t work?  Truth-or-Dare stories are pretty easy and often have the feel of the ephemeral, but the voices are so good in this that it just landed for me in a way that really outstripped its “they goof around and then have sex” premise, and it stuck in my head for the long term.  It’s just very tight and very college, and it makes me sad that they didn’t get to hang around Brakebills longer and have those experiences.

* Eliot sinks down off the couch and onto the floor in front of him, their thighs just barely touching. He pours himself another drink, settling in and fixing Quentin with a heated look that makes him feel like he might spontaneously combust. “What kind of distraction are you looking for, exactly?”

There’s nothing to explain the next words that fall out of his mouth, except perhaps that he’s already embarrassed himself past the point of inhibition. “Well, I don’t think a blow job story that ends with me getting dumped really shows my skills in the best light, so…”

Eliot’s mouth goes wide in shock and he lets out a laugh. A flush of pink graces his cheeks, but it could be the alcohol. “Wow, what a come on,” he says, leaning forward onto his knees. Quentin’s heart pounds in his chest. “Well, if you’re looking to redeem yourself…”

The weight of Eliot's gaze makes him falter and he struggles to come up with a response. Fuck, the mood has shifted quickly. A small grin tugs at Eliot's lips as he presses into Quentin's space.

"I, um." He burns hot from the shame of being teased all night, of reliving such an embarrassing memory, of the intensity of Eliot's attention. It's so much, he's slightly crazed with it. *

Not Always Folly by HMGfanfic

Look, as a writer, I’m extremely laid-back and hippyish -- I celebrate you all!  I want us all to flourish and succeed!  But every now and then, even I have that moment of, Jesus fuck, how do they do that, why can’t I do that?  This story is so good it makes me temporarily jealous.  But how can I be mad?  I get to read this!  It’s an Emma/Clueless homage (I wouldn’t really say an AU -- technically I guess, but set at Brakebills, they’re magicians, etc), and I have a mild antipathy toward Regency stuff and all things Jane Austen because, I don’t know, I suck.  It’s just a thing I don’t like.  AND YET THIS IS SO GODDAMN GOOD.  Every character is perfect, every *note* is pitch fucking perfect.  Eliot swanning his way around campus with his flashy self-satisfaction masking his need to be loved is perfect.  Quentin’s soft, grounded do-no-harm-take-no-shit wryness is perfect.  Margo pretending for all she’s worth that she’s not in love with Julia is perfect.  *Alice* is perfect, all sharp elbows and awkward honesty and pent-up frustration with life.  I want to just roll around in this fic.  It’s another WIP, but you’d be a fool -- AN ACTUAL FOOL -- to let that stop you.  Honestly, if you have even a second’s worth of interest in this fandom at all, I would urge you to read this appallingly good story.

* “Do you ever wonder,” Eliot slowly spilled out, his legs stretching long on the couch and into Q’s lap, “if there’s more to life than parties and booze and merriment?”

“Nope,” Quentin said, jotting down notes in his book. He didn’t look up. “You should know my motto by now. Let the good times roll.”

“Charming.”

“End of summer blues?” Quentin asked, stretching his arm over his head. It lifted his shirt to reveal a sliver of torso. His light brown hair trailed downward. Eliot glanced away.

“More like end of life,” Eliot sighed, hand on his forehead like he was fainting. “I’m dying. Of boredom. Makes brain talky-talk.”

“I’ll send Margo a condolence card.”

“Please,” Eliot said, leaning his head back against the arm of the couch. “You’d be devastated if I died. You’d cry so hard.”

Quentin smirked and returned to his work. “Eh. I mean, at first, sure. But then with all the newfound peace and quiet? I think I’d get by.”

Eliot kicked his thigh. “I’m actually being halfway serious here.”

“Jesus,” Quentin huffed, pencil squeaking against the paper. “Yes, El. I’d cry if you died.” *

(Hey, y’all, I couldn’t find any of these authors’ Tumblr handles on AO3.  If you know who they are, and they are in fact on Tumblr, can you let me know so I can @ them and shower them with love? Thanks!)

[thelittlestspider]

Plantser, Song bird, and Chronological, for the type of writer ask!

@ravesthewriter. this got a lot longer than i meant for it to lol. 

Plantser : What is the first thing you do when you start working on a new WIP?

it depends. sometimes i’ll jot a few lines for an outline, sometimes i make a playlist to get the feel of it, or i’ll just jump in and start writing whatever scenes i’ve been imagining.

Song bird : If you could pick three songs to capture the feel of your WIP, what would they be and why?

i’m gonna do it for the summer fic bc i already answered for paper heart.

unstable cliffs 

🌊  blame me! blame me! - anberlin: so @plaguecraft​ recced me this song back when it was still an au and it was literally perfect. carter’s state of mind at the beginning of the summer fic is Not Great and all of the same problems he’s had with his mental health and his past relationships comes to a head with violet/matteo. they have a fight, violet/matteo decide to leave for salvation, and carter is alone again. he’s so angry, both at them and himself. but he’s also so numb and bored, he’d give anything to feel something that isn’t being depressed. so he goes back to being self-destructive. it’s not enough anymore. 

🌊  where gravity is dead - laura veirs: this song works really well for joe and carter’s povs about each other. they really want to connect with the other, but they’re both sort of distant? after everything that’s happened in their lives. so they’re slowly rebuilding the friendship they had pre-fire and also building even beyond that now that they’re able to do so without the threat of danger. 

then the romantic feelings start developing and they’re so at sea (lol pun). everything feels so out of reach and they’re so alone and they love each other so much. like “i don’t need you but i love you and i want to be your partner in crime. if you’ll have me. but first we have to meet in the middle.”

🌊  set the fire to the third bar - snow patrol, martha wainwright: i randomly found this on some playlist, no idea which one, and like idk i just immediately fell in love with it. it’s about a couple in a long distance relationship wanting to be reunited again. 

The song title describes an electric heater. While writing in the freezing cold and wearing fingerless gloves Lightbody recalled that as a child his Aunt Jean had an electric heater, and "if we were very good and it was very cold, she'd let us put all three bars on" and he goes on to say how it represents "a beacon of warmth within a song about distance".

The song is about a long distance relationship and its lyrics talk of a couple involved in one: ("I'm miles from where you are") and their longing to be together again ("I pray that something picks me up/ And sets me down in your warm arms"). After their long journey to meet each ("After I have travelled so far") they would settle down in front of an electric bar fire ("We'd set the fire to the third bar") and enjoy being together and warm.

(from the wiki entry)

and like i know it’s partly about wanting to bridge a physical distance, but i thought it was kind of perfect for being a metaphor about emotional distance as well? it’s joe/carter seeing all the emotional obstacles and reaching out for each other anyway. 

I find the map and draw a straight lineOver rivers, farms, and state linesThe distance from 'A' to where you'd beIt's only finger-lengths that I seeI touch the place where I'd find your faceMy fingers in creases of distant dark places

I'm miles from where you are,I lay down on the cold groundI, I pray that something picks me upAnd sets me down in your warm arms

After I have travelled so farWe'd set the fire to the third barWe'd share each other like an islandUntil exhausted, close our eyelidsAnd dreaming, pick up fromThe last place we left offYour soft skin is weepingA joy you can't keep in

no man’s an island

🌴 go your own way - fleetwood mac: one of the core problems of carter/matteo is they love each other but they don’t understand each other. they can’t really understand each other. and it’s sort of the same thing with violet/carter as well. both violet and matteo ultimately want normal lives, they want to start a family, live in a small community, and carter...doesn’t. 

also every time i hear the ending guitar solo i just picture a camera panning around someone’s face while their life falls down around them lol. 

Loving youIsn't the right thing to doHow can I ever change things that I feel?If I couldBaby I'd give you my worldHow can IWhen you won't take it from me?

&

Tell me whyEverything turned aroundPacking upShacking up's all you wanna do

If I couldBaby I'd give you my worldOpen upEverything's waiting for you

🌴 ghost of you and me - bbmak: the first time i heard this song was on some amv when i was a kid, and i’ve been determined to write something to it ever since. i just really like the heartbreak of it and the sea imagery and the image of a candle flickering out. god it’s beautiful. this song and she says by howie day were the inspo behind that one alec/matteo scene where alec puts all the candles to be Romantic for matteo. 

🌴 silver springs - fleetwood mac: uuughh the heartbreak, the betrayal! i love this song. i just love the thought of violet being kind of resigned by the breakup (bc she expects it), but matteo being angry and kind of bitter about it. (and later, much later he and one of the gorls accidentally run into joe/carter at the grocery store while they’re visiting bella, nina, and the rose fam. drama ensues). 

Time casts a spell on you, but you won't forget meI know I could have loved you, but you would not let meI'll follow you down 'til the sound of my voice will haunt youYou'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves youI'll follow you down 'til the sound of my voice will haunt you(was I such a fool?)You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you(was I such a fool?) 

Chronological : Have you ever gotten stuck with a scene? If you have, how do you power through and finish?

a lot of the time i have a vague outline in my head i follow for how i want things to progress and i just try to follow that outline i guess? but that’s not really good in the long run lol. there’ll be some scenes where i just can’t get it right and i’ll try to power through to write it, but there’s just something not working. so i’ll try to keep writing it in my slush doc until it looks okay-ish, or i’ll sigh and admit defeat for a while and leave it there for a while until i can figure out what it needs.

[bigskydreaming]

two writing questions. 1. do you have apl recommendation for phone writing? i get lightbulb moments right before i fall asleep my notes are for psych stuff not fics.

2. how do you choose between a cathartic conversation and a happy conversation? for example, i can choose to not make tim leave after bftc and stay as dick's partner no issue between them or i can choose to have my angst and confrontation and have them actually talk it out, let dick be angry and show it. and i feel bad if i choose the happy path for one character and angst for another, is there a justification? should i be justifying? aside from my own personal bias..

1) I do not have specific recs, no. I literally just use the Notes function on my phone and its less about having a separate app for writing about different things and more about just having a personal organization scheme to what folders I put everything in and how I title stuff so I know where to find notes on various things later. But I know well the curse of lightbulb moments after you’ve already lain down or taken out your contacts or whatetever....and for me getting around that has always been less about turning to specific tools and more about building certain routines to maximize the likelihood of me reaching for something like my phone to jot a quick, workable note for later rather than just deciding eh, is too much effort, I’ll just lay here and let it flop instead.

2) I’m going to take a roundabout approach to answering this, and tackle a couple different things here. And some of its probably like ‘uh didnt ask but thanks’ but eh, whatever. Consider it bonus extras or like, me warming up to the actual point for the part you did ask about, because its like......its in the vicinity, and its on my brain, and here’s an opportunity to say it, so I shall, and you can take what you want and leave the rest, its all good either way.

Which segues into the first part of my point: Because first off, any time the subject matter of writers questioning their writing choices on any level comes up, my go to is always gonna be to default back to “if you’re not sure about something, then why not Both! Both is good!” In all seriousness, like, when it comes to matters like this in fic there is absolutely NO reason whatsoever that you like, HAVE to pick....OR that just because you DID pick one thing over another, that this choice has to like.....necessarily mean more than you want it to. 

Writing isn’t a zero sum game, except in terms of like, spoons and time, etc, but these things tend to be situational and change at different times. If you can only afford to exert yourself on one form of the conversation and never ever go back to it or do a parallel in another fic, etc, then like, yeah you might have to figure out some way to choose for yourself which is the more ideal for your purposes and stick by it....but in most cases, the trick of it is.....you don’t HAVE to choose. Like I mean, you do, in that you need to pick one in order to write ANYTHING, but that choice doesn’t have to be definitive. It doesn’t have to lock you into anything. 

Choosing the catharctic conversation route for one character instead of the happy fun time choice doesn’t mean there’s anything standing in the way of you ever doing another fic that’s essentially the exact same set up except here you choose the happy convo route instead. Picking one route because you only have the spoons to write one version of that particular fic doesn’t mean that you can’t EVER return to it at some later date, or that you won’t ever find yourself again in the same headspace or emotional space that led you to want to write a fic about that particular time in the first place....and that you won’t feel more inclined to take the other route upon that future occasion.

Like, give yourself permission to break out of the expectation that any time you have a choice to make in writing, between two possible directions, that the choice you make has to be the RIGHT one, or that there even IS a right one. Just make the choice that’s MOST right for you right THEN, and try and internalize that this isn’t inherently picking this one direction OVER the other, its just simply picking it as a direction for right now. You’re not picking a winner with the other inherently the losing proposition....you’re simply picking a direction to go in for the moment, while you have the energy to go somewhere, so that at least you’re not standing still.

When on a writing journey, like, unless there’s a specific destination you’re trying to reach, my stance is don’t make it about destinations at all so much as just movement in general. Its so easy to get hung up on the idea that there’s a right way and a wrong way to approach various stories, and that can paralyze you and keep you from making any movements in any which way whatsoever, and the number one cause of not writing is....not writing. The biggest threat to a story’s completion is simply not adding to it. The choice that’s most often the story-ender isn’t making the wrong choice about which direction to go in a story, but rather the inability to make a choice at all.

So just pick one, I say, or having picked one, just be like....so that’s a thing I did, well done, me. Don’t worry as much about if its the right choice or the wrong one, if there was a better way to approach the story or if you optimized your options.....because the less you view individual stories or chapters as singular entitites unto themselves and the more you view them as just additions to your writing library as a whole, still hours logged writing, still forward momentum in refining your craft, still proof of production, practice thinking through things, still analyses of character motivation and experiments in word choice.....the easier it gets to just get out of your own way and just WRITE. Things have a way of becoming so much clearer in hindsight, so when you’re out the other side of a story’s creation, even if it turns out to not have accomplished everything or the specific things you wanted from it, even if you wince and are like yeeesh, wish I hadn’t done that, like.....all of that is still development and absolutely none of that is something you can’t still apply to future writing endeavors moving forward. 

For me, personally, its just about reminding myself that even if I don’t get it right this time, there can always be a next time.

NOW. As far as making certain choices in regards to one character and different choices in regards to the other, like....the only real question is what you’re after, personally, in regards to your stories and story choices, and is there a reason that’s served more by having the one character make the one kind of choice and the other character making the other? I don’t think its about justifying anything, either to yourself or readers, its more about just....interrogating yourself on your own personal choices or prioritizations, so you yourself at least know why you treat them differently or engage with them in different ways? And not because its about explaining yourself or showing your work but rather just because like....self-awareness is good, and we’re never hurting for having availed ourselves of the opportunity to examine our choices and what’s behind our making them. 

Because the flip side of this is fiction is a kind of dialogue in and of itself, its a form of conversation between the writer and the reader, and you can only ever control your side of the conversation. No matter what. The reader’s side of the conversation is always going to be how they receive what was said, perceive the story you wrote, and you can try and steer that reaction as much as possible with your story choices, but ultimately, there is no story choice that can GUARANTEE a specific reception from every reader.....SO the ultimate aim here, I think, should be to focus most on YOUR side of the conversation and what it is you’re trying to say with a story, or what you want to say, or why you wrote it in the first place, and just.....have a self-assessment of your choices, FOR YOURSELF. Because that way, no matter how readers engage in their side of the conversation, no matter how they perceive what you wrote and what you were trying to say....any dialogue you have about what you write, any interaction you have with readers beyond the writing of the fic itself....its only ever going to be as productive as your own understanding of your own work and choices allows for. 

And this isn’t about not listening to criticism or blocking yourself off from the opinions of the people who you’re essentially talking to with your work, which is basically just their side of the conversation and them saying “well this is what I heard, when you said what you said” but rather the complete opposite, opening yourself up to hearing criticism as a conversation rather than a condemnation. Because when its less about “omg are they saying I’m the worst person alive, y/n” and more about “this is what I feel you said here by making this particular choice, and this may or may not be what you were actually MEANING to say by making this particular choice, but its what came across”.....then suddenly you’re in a position to actually MAKE something from that conversation, apply it to future works. 

Because the more understanding you have of what you were trying to say with your work and the why you made certain choices with it, the better equipped you are to match that up to and against what readers said they heard via your work and the choices you made with it.....and then you’re in the driver’s seat in terms of “okay, was the disconnect on my end with what I said or on their end with what they heard, is it something I can do something about by changing my approach or choosing different things in the future and is it something I even WANT to change or am I still comfortable with what I said and why”.

So basically, I think its less about asking yourself is there a right choice or a wrong choice to choosing this for Dick and this for Tim and vice versa.....and more about just asking yourself, just FOR yourself, WHY are you inclined to choose differently for one character than the other, WHY those particular choices, is there a reason for that, and if so, upon examination.....are you comfortable with those choices and your reasons for making them? If so, great, there’s no problem. If not, also great, because now, with more awareness of your own choices and reasons for making them, there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from making different choices in the future, that are now more informed choices just by virtue of you having explored yourself in terms of how and why you make particular choices.

I’m a big proponent of the whole knowledge is power thing, and the thing about justifications, either to ourselves or others, is that they rarely have anything to do with actual knowledge and more to do with just whether or not something is perceived as right. So my take is like, do you want to be right with your story choices or do you want to be knowledgeable about your story choices, and of THOSE two options, which gives you the more power over what you create, y’know? Because that’s the difference between trying to sell yourself on what you pick with any given story choice and trying to INFORM yourself ABOUT your choices, and the trick of it is, the more control you feel you have over your own stories and choices and the more confident you feel about the choices you make and your reasons for making them......the less you’ll feel any need to justify yourself one way or another.

[juliusschmidt]

tomorrow my jan writing break ends and i begin regular work on the sisterhood fic. hooray! hope have it done by the end of may. between now and than i will likely blog much writing angst. ;) 

check out all the fic i read and recced in the end of dec and january here. 

below is a brief scene i jotted down a couple of weeks ago. it may or may not make it into the final draft. enjoy!

Louis sits up suddenly. “Craziest thing. I read in Cosmo the other day that more than half of women report being able to have multiple orgasms at a time. That’s compared to less than five percent of men.”

Liam does not look up from her toenails, but she stops and dips the polish brush back into the pot, deciding to wait until they’ve finished this conversation to finish up. She’s not planning to participate, but she doesn’t want to miss a word of it.

“You needed Cosmo to tell you that?” Niall’s flipping through her phone. “I thought that was the best part of being a lesbian. All the orgasms.”

“That’s such a stupid stereotype,” Louis sighs. “All you straights really need to hold your men to higher standards. It’s not like they couldn’t give you multiple orgasms, even if they can’t achieve them for themselves.”

“Who says I need a man to give me multiple orgasms?” Harry’s running her fingers through her hair, eyes on Louis. Everyone else’s eyes are on her. Even Liam’s looking up now. Harry shrugs. “You all need to loosen up. Get in touch with your bodies. I bet the number’s actually higher, just lots of women haven’t even tried.”

“Okay, Ms. Vagina Monologues,” Louis says. “If you’re so ‘in touch,’ tell us your tricks.”

Harry and Louis engage in a drawn out staring contest, neither blinking for nearly a minute. It ends when Harry says, “Usually, I like to begin by locking my bedroom door and lighting a few candles. Current favorite is vanilla scented.”

“Well,” Niall interrupts. “I think that’s enough of that.”

Harry runs her right over. “Then, I settle on my bed, starting on my back, most of the time. I like to hold my breasts for a moment, you know, feel the weight of them against my palm.”

“I was kidding, Harry, Jesus.” Louis sounds breathless. Of course, she does. Even Liam can tell that Harry’s teasing her.

“Next,” Harry continues, undeterred. “I pluck at my nipples. Sometimes, I’ll lick my fingers, get them really warm and wet so it’s almost like a kiss when use them to roll my hard little nubs.”

Liam flushes. Suddenly, she really has to pee.

Louis saves them all, tackling Harry, smothering the next words out of her mouth with one of Niall’s pillows.

Liam plucks the polish brush back up, trying to ignore the throb of disappointment she feels just below her belly button. She could use a little more information. About Harry’s tricks. This being her summer to explore, and all.