#I write my outlines in present tense and my actual things in past tense

[psychologicalwarclaire]

Hi curly. :]

22, 39, 62, 71 for ask game

Hi Pixel! You always ask the best questions :}

22) Are there certain types of writing you won't do? (style, genre, tropes, pov, etc)

I will never EVER write in second person or current tense. The fact that there are actual published books written in present tense shocks me because it just feels... wrong. There are times and places for that (like on here) but telling a story is not that time.

I also won't do smut of any kind. And for personal and family reasons, I won't include self harm or suicide in my writing at all. Those are lines I draw and will never cross.

If you catch me writing a fic in present tense you have my full permission to gun me down right then and there.

39) Share a snippet from a WIP

Always eager to see more? I COULD share the page and a half that's literally nothing but ticking, but I'll be nice and give you a cute turtle tots flashback.

62) Thoughts on cliffhangers?

Love writing them, hate being on the other end of them.

In the past, I've been a victim of 'cliffhangers for the sake of cliffhangers' (cough kotlc cough) so I try to give mine a purpose. I write what's necessary for the chapter. I felt SO BAD leaving y'all off on the cliffhanger between chapters 14 and 15, but I needed to split them up for narrative reasons. But the chapter 18 cliffhanger, for example, was very evil of me and brought me joy >:)

I think they're useful to elicit strong emotions and to make people eager to come back, but overusing them is just mean.

71) When it comes to complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timelines, etc?

I have a notes document, currently 113 pages long. It has the og draft for Spider's Web on it (would you believe me if I said the entire plot outline was written in one day?) , cut scenes, rants about what Big Mama is thinking throughout certain scenes, color coded charts, and every idea that hits me that I just NEED to write down.

Four turtles, two humans, one rat, one sheep dude, one spider lady, and SO many Yokai are a lot of characters to keep track of. In addition, I had to keep track of the passage of time, Leo and Donnie's mental states, and account for the wear and tear of injuries.

It's hard.

But my main piece of advice for keeping track of things is to not spend too much time focusing on tiny little details. If I can get a general idea of how Mikey has been feeling, or how long it was between fights, or when exactly Viper needs to come back, that leaves more room for me to adjust how characters are feeling based on what's happening in the current moment.

[transhawks]

I know you're writing a fic with Twice is in (and also actually appreciate his character), so do you got ideas, rules whatever, on how to write his dialog? Ll the fics ive read never feels right unless it's straight from the source material 😭

Hey! So, I've definitely played around with this in writing. Let me show some examples and word vomit about Twice. I will say that while I often return to the manga and observe how he talks, I also have developed LOTs of head-canons, so much of this is my own ideas/fanon. When I wrote You in 2020, it was very much an experimental fic, stream of consciousness kind of fic. And I encourage people to play around if they are doing something like solely focusing on Jin. In this case I essentially wrote it in Second person, to emphasize the idea of a fractured mind/depersonalization or the feeling as if "I'm not the real one" that Twice had. Here's how I showcased the split:

This is how I described Jin's initial "split" by the way. Note there's actually THREE different ones - I have a personal theory there's actually three personalities, the dominant Jin who is incredibly traumatized and slightly regressing in maturity, the older, quieter maturer personality who shows up only when we see into his thoughts, who seems pensive and contemplative (most of 115 is his narration) and kind of gives Twice's manga international narration a film-noir like quality, and the vocal "negative" voice that I guess either contradicts voice 1 or functions like an id to the ego.

Before anyone chimes in with "FREUDIAN PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY IS TRASH AND DEBUNK-", yes, I know, but I find the idea of splitting the mind like this useful for literature, specifically, not real life. And I suspect a lot of writers do as well, so the idea of a "split" mind where a voice voices the things no one should want to say or think as Horikoshi has created here works well in that framework. Hence, when I write the split in Jin's mind, I use it as a way for me to figure how what's with his mind.

One of the biggest issues is that Jin's issues are very much pop-culture/fantasy mental illness because no disorder fits him well. For one thing, Jin's trauma is also a neurological one because he clearly had brain damage from the whole experience that cause his scar. And then it's like Horikoshi decided to take elements of schizoaffective psychosis, tourette's, BPD, DID, and OCD and PTSD and throw in "actual force blunt force brain damage" into the loop. That's not to say Twice's struggles aren't realistic/relatable - they totally are, but whatever he has isn't exactly an accurate depiction of anything out there (especially since it's so quirk-based). Personally, tailoring it to fit something neatly, I think, would do a big disservice to his character so I don't strive for that sort of realism and just work with what Horikoshi outlines for us.

Anyway, that is to say that often when I try to depict mental illness in writing, especially from the perspective of the ill person, I try to incorporate elements of disorder into the writing itself stylistically (I sometimes do this with writing Hawks as well). A lot of people just only strictly stick to this past-tense (or present) third person limited way of writing, and I think there's fun in throwing that out and using characters like Twice as reasons to do it. Or just playing around with formatting.

Anyway, this is how I try to depict it from a Third Person Limited perspective in Irreversible.

So first off, I distinguish between the spoken voices Jin has by bolding the contradictory voice. Internally, I depict intrusive thoughts by keeping it bolding, putting in parenthesis, and then justifying the text to the right. It breaks up the paragraph and creates the "element of disorder" I spoke about earlier. Here's what that can look like at it's most disordered, where there's essentially a mental conversation written out.

There's also a clear difference in spoken vs internal because while internally the voice addresses Jin himself to create an element of insecurity (questioning if he even deserves Toga's kindness), it's only in speech that he'll contradict Jin after he says something. This doesn't always happen, and I don't think every sentence needs it. Jin has moments in-manga where he doesn't speak like this and I also think it correlates with emotional state (interestingly a really upset Twice can be more "together").

But it's not as simple as "Jin says something, bold immediately contradicts it." That would make it boring to both read and write. My suggestion to have an actual reaction by a Jin to the bolded words - because it happens in canon (sometimes he tries to stop himself from talking further).

In this sentence, I make Jin immediately refute the previous sentence. It's not a full on back and forth, but it does show that he's aware the other voice is saying things and what it is saying. Lastly, this is more me on how to actually make it matter besides keeping it accurate to canon characterization. First, Jin is funny. Naturally he's funny and very blunt, but his illness is also used by Horikoshi for tension relief and to kill the seriousness or somber mood the LoV scenes can evolve into. Do not be afraid to use this for humor because as a character, Horikoshi DOES do this HOWEVER, this is not all Jin is, and when showing his internal life, there's far more seriousness to it all. But if you just want to write Jin instead of focusing on him, I think acknowledging he has a (wacky, immature and slapstick-y) sense of humor and in turn can be a funny character is not a bad thing. He lends himself well to physical comedy so don't be afraid of writing him doing weird things or making funny gestures.

Two, make the words count. At the end of the day, you're writing a story. You are not only conveying personality through these words, you are hopefully moving plot forward, or using the space you have carefully. Do not be afraid to have the contradictory voice say something poignant, something no one else would say, or ominous that can be used as foreshadowing for later parts of your story. Remember, these are characters that are meant to tell stories so use them.

[bluecatwriter]

⭐ Step into the Light, which deserves way more attention

Thanks so much for the ask! This is one of my fics I'm most proud of. :)

The fic in question: "Some scenes from Quincey Morris's and Jonathan Harker's complicated relationship, from their time in Varna to the end of the novel, told through their alternating points of view."

Spoilers ahead…

-I know that, like most of my fics, this one was inspired by a Tumblr discussion, but I can't remember who started it or exactly what it was about, other than something about being able to surmise a very interesting relationship between Quincey and Jonathan near the end of the book, culminating with Quincey dying in Jonathan's arms. There was just a lot to explore there, and the idea of doing a back-and-forth perspective switch came to mind.

-Figuring out which beats of the story would be from which perspective was a little tricky; this was one of the few fics where I created a rough outline, and some of the perspectives got shuffled one to the other in order to keep them alternating.

-I usually write in third person, but the idea of using first/second person, with Quincey and Jonathan referring to each other as "you" in their respective scenes, got stuck in my head. It gave the story such an interesting intimacy to it, showing how these events are causing their worlds to sort of revolve around each other. To lend a greater sense of immediacy, I made it present tense instead of my usual past tense.

-Writing Jonathan's scenes came fairly naturally, since I've written a lot from his perspective (albeit in third person) and my third-person voice for him isn't that different from his first-person speaking voice. 

-Quincey's scenes were much more of a challenge; I ended up drafting them in my "normal" narrative voice and then went back later to rewrite nearly every sentence, taking into consideration his speaking patterns. Although I don't know anyone from Texas very well, I drew a lot from my extended family who live in the South, trying to capture the vivid phrasing and storytelling sensibility that goes into a lot of their speech. 

-I always have a hard time coming up with titles (which is why half my fics are named things like "Two Men Talking" LOL). But I was pleased with the title from this one, alluding to the lines: "I feel you staring at us like a coyote outside the light of a campfire ring…I wish I could grab your hand the way you grabbed mine just days ago. Draw you into this ring of light, hold your hand till you know you're safe."

-I decided that I wasn't going to explicitly say whose perspective we were in during any given scene, relying on the line breaks and the different in dialect to get it across. I think I succeeded.

-My preferred headcanon of Jonathan during this time is actually a lot less bitter and standoffish, but it was interesting to explore this version of him in this fic. He's running on pure animal instinct at this point, and Quincey is (wisely) treating him as such.

-I got a bit obsessed with the dynamic of Quincey being fully aware that Jonathan would kill him if he ever tried to stake vampire Mina— and him being cool with that. They've each made their promises, and it's Quincey's job to make sure that this clash never has to happen (but to accept the consequences if it does).

-I had to throw in a lil Quincey pining over Jonathan (and vice versa) because I am a big sucker for Yeehawrker. :D

-I am still very happy with the lines, "You'd look good spattered in the blood of a fresh kill. You'd still look good, even if the blood was mine." (Foreshadowing babey)

-Had to let Jonathan have a good cry! I thought this was an important moment, too, because Jonathan being able to not only break down in front of Quincey, but accept his comfort, was a big turning point for the two of them. Live in the moment, Jonno. You got this.

-Originally Quincey's death scene was from Jonathan's perspective, which makes more sense than writing from a guy who's dead, but I actually really like that my back-and-forth formula ended with Quincey's view of his own death; I think it gives the scene an eerie, almost dreamlike feel, and nicely bookends the whole fic through Quincey's eyes. (Present tense to the rescue, too.)

-I decided to draw out Quincey's monologue a bit more, and give Jonathan a couple words, as well as tying back in the imagery of Jonathan covered in Quincey's blood. And of course, we gotta have the final image of Jonathan (metaphorically stepping) into the light, smiling in the light of the sunset. It was a nice image to end with.

I'm enjoying these Director's Commentaries a bit too much! ;) Thanks again for asking!

(Ask game here)

[aranarumei]

hi kiri is it cheating to give you both 15 and 19 for all works you feel you could answer this about . for the ask game

ask me questions from this list about my writing!

“all works” i have an insane amount of wips I could probably “feel” I could answer this about. will restrict myself to three main ones on account of choosing deliberate and practiced restraint. that’s still an Amount tho so under the cut as usual

15. in what ways are you challenging yourself with [project], and is there anything specific you want to come out of the work having improved skills in? on the other hand, which aspects are fully in your comfort zone?

projects, huh… let’s start with the sickfic I’m working on, because that’s the easiest. when I wrote the anomalous agate, that was a challenge in many ways: I hadn’t seriously written first person in years, and I was also trying to find a bridge between my style of writing, while also trying to emulate the general feeling of how the case files of jeweler richard is narrated. these days, I feel pretty satisfied with whatever kind of middle ground I achieved… I only regret that seigi doesn’t call richard some version of beautiful with nearly enough frequency as he does in canon.

this time around, the first person of it all is pretty comfortable for me, and I feel like I’m more comfortable with the fact that my narration doesn’t sound exactly like the novels. what I’m challenging myself with is… I’m pretty good at bashing out a solitary scene, but my completion rate for fics, and writing in general, is like… distressing. You don’t realize how untrained you are in terms of actually chaining together events and concluding things, until you realize that you’ve finished your first multichaptered fic in 2024. to be clear, I would say I’ve been writing seriously as a hobby for a bit over 10 years at this point. I also have not really written a sickfic before. so, even though this fic is shorter than the other two projects, it’s still a bit of a challenge for me to string together a chain of events that will lead into a satisfying conclusion. I also find that sickness is a thing that’s hard to describe in a way that doesn’t get stale.

nonetheless, I’m comfortable with a lot of this—I feel like I get both seigi and richard well enough to execute this, I actually did outline a chain of events, so I know where it starts and where it ends. I know the kind of themes I’m working with, and what I want to say within this fic. and I think I’m pretty damn good at creating an aura of tenderness and intimacy, which feels like a big sickfic thing. worst comes to worst, the first scene can stand on it’s own, so I’ll just post that if I really can’t write the rest.

outcome-wise, I'd like to just get this fic to a state where I can publish it and reread it happily. then I can finally read the next volume of the case files of jeweler richard lol

for cross-examination, my challenge is finishing the damn thing. that’ll be a theme for literally everything. I’m so bad at it, it’s catastrophic. I have an outline for the third chapter. I’ve had that outline for a year. I just can’t write it, somehow. it’s also written in present tense… I used to write in past tense, and then did present tense for a long time, and then I switched back into past tense, and this now means that I can have trouble sticking to a specific tense sometimes. so an issue is whenever I return to this fic, I have to try to get myself back into the swing of writing present tense.

other challenges… I kind of feel like I wrote this fic without really investigating the characters? like, I know them well enough, and I don’t think anything is necessarily wrong about my characterization, but I wasn’t building in-depth profiles about them in the way that I do with some characters now. really the toughest part of this fic is returning to something I feel like should have been completed a long time ago… I still have affection towards the concept, and the fact that there’s a full 3k written of the final chapter means I am dedicated to finishing it.

this comes up with the last fic, too, but this fic also has me have to outline progression in a relationship, from like… apollo and klavier at the end of aa4, into a place where they can actually be dating, and that took a bit of planning at first. it’s hard to find the line of how to pace things in a way where the growth feels real, and it feels like they get together naturally. there’s kind of two definitions of slow burn to me: one where they want each other desperately and the fic is just kind of edging that tension until it breaks, and one where it’s a gradual development and build up of feelings. I’m good with the first one, where there’s already a level of importance each person affords the other, and just no confession, but the latter is a bit harder. this fic acts as a kind of bridge between both, to me—apollo and klavier find each other quite meaningful, even at the start, but they aren’t really friends, and that’s what has to change.

as for what’s in my comfort zone… it’s a very peaceful and kind of gentle tone that the whole fic takes. I’ve been told I’m quite good at maintaining that kind of feeling, where it’s not like it’s saccharinely sweet, but nothing is particularly full of melodrama.

outcome-wise, I want to have it published and done so it doesn't haunt me. there's wips i feel more comfortable leaving behind (i'm just not that person anymore, it feels too flawed to fix) but this is not one of them. and I get out of it another longfic completed, which hopefully trains my skills of like... progression and development.

now, for my jiang cheng fic project (wip title is just aromanticism bc it makes me smile), which I talk about and have complained about for forever… I’ve been working on this fic for so long it’s like… what am I not doing with this fic? seriously, this idea originated in 2021, and like… I work on it on and off, sure, so it’s not like continuous work, but at the very least it’s occupied a good deal of my mind for the last year. I’ve had to rewrite so damn much of it, too…

like cross-examination, this fic tests my ability to write and complete longfic—that meaning, can I string together coherent themes across a large number of scenes? can relationships develop and progress naturally? it centers on jiang cheng and hua cheng, and I’ve tasked myself with taking two strangers into the realm of deep, important friendship. and I want to do all of that while addressing a lot of different resentments that I think jiang cheng feels, and addressing the idea of resentment in general… the value I see in it, and the things I feel that aren’t so great.

It’s very tough because I also haven’t written a fic for the mdzs fandom, well… ever, and I read it the one time like, back in early 2019, and I’ve seen maybe 10 episodes of the show. I think a lot of times, I get too in my head about how my fic interacts with or differs from common sentiments about the characters I’m writing, which is why I don’t read fic for this fandom or interact with that much content nowadays. It’s a really tough fic because I want to do a lot with it, and despite the fact that I’ve had to rewrite a bunch of scenes and scrap some of them entirely (like, at least a good 10k of it’s been deleted… I couldn’t give an exact count as I don’t save that stuff), I can feel myself improving.

The narration for this fic is markedly different—there’s a certain amount of formality/poise I try to imbue the writing with. and I’m trying to see if I can associate certain vibes/descriptors with specific characters, though I haven’t quite worked on that yet. I also push myself into leaving things to be more ambiguous… to let characters be awkward and uncomfortable, and in this case, to write outright conflict. I rarely do this—my fics usually work on tension, but don’t escalate into actual fights. this does. there’s also a lot of worldbuilding involved… I’ve made 4 OCs just for this fic, and not all of them are that important, but there’s just… so much backstory and stuff that I’ve developed and don’t know if it will actually make it into the fic. But it makes everything feel richer, and I’m glad for it.

so, if i had to sum up my challenges, it's probably that it takes quite a bit of detailing and hard work, and I'm not used to sticking through a project so demanding. I think because the fic requires so much, it's also something that needs me to be fully and totally confident in what I'm presenting, and that's something I'm struggling with.

as for what is in my comfort zone, I suppose that even though the description style I’m going with is new, it’s not too demanding, and I always feel comfortable when I write hua cheng. Unlike jiang cheng, who I constantly am debating with myself about (is he canon-accurate? am I projecting too hard? am I representing him as too much of a good guy? does that matter?), hua cheng is a character where I’m like, “nah, I like my interpretation of him fine,” and I just have such a blast writing his dialogue.

outcome-wise, when this fic is published, I want to be proud of the work i did on, again, the progression and development of the themes and character relationships, and I also want to publish it with the intent of kind of never writing an mdzs fic again. I'll get out most, if not all of my feelings about this guy, and then i can just have that to point to.

19. what text/message have you sent about [project] which is most unhinged or incomprehensible out of context?

genuinely i dont send that many unhinged messages. like... i feel like i tend to explain my irritations pretty dryly, and also some of these projects are over years so i dont really have like. a collection of texts. the ones i have saved are usually a long series of texts where i hash out developments, because i need those for reference. so, nothing unhinged, but i thought this one was fun:

and here's a good display of what my texts actually look like:

it's very... rubber duck debugging? that's usually what i do when texting about my writing. i complain a lot and then have to explain what's so hard for me to do and i figure it out that way. that usually helps with outlining. with actual writing though.... thats a motivation / time management problem. i suck at those

edit: literally day i post this ask i get this text exchange:

[k--havok]

‼️💻😭 for the behind the scenes ask game?

Thanks for the ask!!

💻"what perspectives do you write in?"

I pretty much exclusively write in 3rd person limited in past tense. I find it difficult to write in present tense and am not a fan of writing in first person personally. I've also written a few oneshot and scraps of stories in second person which is for sure a challenge. I've also dabbled in 3rd person omnipresent but its so hard to not head-hop that I need to work on my skills with it a bit more.

That being said, I do read First Person as well as 3rd Person limited in present tense! It's just not my preference for writing.

😭"what are the biggest challenges writing your WIPs?"

The actual "writing" part of writing my WIPs... oof.

I tend to get sporadic ideas that are hard to wrangle into a chronological story that makes sense. I really do need to outline more, as I do better with an outline, but I get so wordy and Loss in the Sauce when I do so but it really is needed.

I tend to work better with larger/more general big picture ideas but writing the little details and minutia is a drag for me. It's hard for me to put the pieces together and juggle multiple plots at once too. I tend to get loss in the middle of most my WIPs, which is why several of them have high word counts... 40k and 50k + but abandoned because I get to the middle of the story and end up writing in circles or adding things that make no sense and go nowhere, which frustrates me as I do not how to get from the Middle to where I want to end the story.

I am a partial discovery writer in the sense that the more I work on a WIP the more ideas come to me. But then that requires me to go back and actually write in the missing scenes or ideas. And its a cycle that is really hard for me to break out of. I've always find those "finish the first draft no matter what!" and "just add X if you don't know what happens next!" to be annoying. Sometimes the first draft Just Does Not Work and if I know I'm gonna be rewriting 75% of the novel already, I may as well go back now and lay in the groundwork anyways.

I am not a patient person haha. But it is what it is I suppose!

[eskawrites]

For both Elden Ring AUs, please: 3, 6, 13, 18, 25

you are indulging me and i love you for it

3. Did the idea change at all by the time the fic was complete?

For the first elden ring au, there wasn't really an outline (which is something i never do) because I was kinda just writing it off and on as I played? and the ideas were simply 'badass nancy and broken fantasy world vibes' which stayed the same throughout. nothing really changed until the very end after i beat the game and realized I should have made Robin Melina, which of course led to the second elden ring au, and since that follows the frenzied flame storyline it also didn't change much lol

6. How did you decide what tense and POV(s) to use?

tense is weird because I always write in present tense now but that was like a subconscious shift I made several years back? when I first started writing fic it was all in past tense. I experimented with present tense once in a while for like drabbles and stuff, but didn't think much of it beyond practicing something different until a fandom friend pointed out that any time i wrote in present tense, the story was deeply rooted in emotional angst. and over time most of my stories became more deeply rooted in the emotional side of it all, and that trend sort of just took over until one day i looked around and realized everything i wrote was in present tense

as for pov, it was really just a natural decision for both? since Nancy is the tarnished she's the main character so of course it's her pov (I did consider having more Robin pov in the elden ring au ii for a hot second, but that was a beast enough as it is to write and tbh I don't know what Melina is doing whenever she's not hanging out with the tarnished! I do not understand enough of her lore (read: there is not enough clear lore on her) to really delve into her pov, so it stayed as nancy pov until the lil epilogue bit

13. Did you write any of the fic by hand? If yes, which parts? Do you find you write differently by hand vs typing?

lol no, i haven't handwritten any pieces of fic since college, when i would scrawl scenes and ideas into my notebooks instead of paying attention in bio 101. there were a lot of things put on my phone though since a lot of scene ideas for both these fics came from experiences during my own playthroughs of the game

18. Talk about your editing and revision process

honestly my editing process really just consists of re-reading and then re-reading again (and then re-reading again, and sometimes re-reading again). but i guess for the elden ring aus there was also a lot more cross-referencing with wikis and stuff to make sure i was staying true to the lore while also trying not to get too much into it. most of the big edits when i write though happen when i'm copying rough drafts of scenes from my notes doc or my phone into the actual story

25. Share your favorite line

for elden ring au i: it's a paragraph but

Her words sink warmly into Nancy’s chest, but they settle heavily. She thinks, almost desperately, that it would have been easier if Robin wanted the blade between her ribs.

something-something nancy learning never to trust anyone and robin letting her let her guard down for once, and somehow that's even more dangerous

for elden ring au ii: also a few lines but

It isn’t Robin. Nancy has saved her. That’s worth burning for. She’s doing the right thing. She’s doing the right thing. She’s doing the right thing. She’s doing the right—

this was the closest i could get to mimicking the feeling of a hard cut to black after an emotional cutscene. idk if it worked for anyone else, but i'm proud of it

(fic ask!)

[fazedlight]

20 Questions More

A deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers. Thanks @eqt-95 and @inkedroplets for the tag!!

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship/fandom?

Daydreaming. Writing fanfic is secondary to that. It was only in the past couple of years that it occurred to me that I could write some of it down and see what happens.

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

@searidings is my absolute favorite, the way she unravels the characters' emotions and angst is absolutely superb.

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

Ohhh I really love this question:

Cat in Inauthentic, as well as this ficlet and this one. I love her sense of humor.

Lillian in Darkness in All Things. For the same reason as Cat, I just love her snark.

Zor-El in Even Though You're Kryptonian. He kind of surprised me when I started writing him, and to this day I don't know if some of his lines are driven by genuine confusion or if he's just trolling.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

I'm a never-say-never kind of person. There's a lot that I don't think I would ever write, but I've been surprised on where stories have taken me before, and may be surprised again.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

"Process" might be an overstatement...

I have a "scribbles" doc where I keep my ideas. I cull ideas often (though ideas often make their way back anyway). As I write more into the doc, a certain idea may get too big for it, so I spin it out into its own doc.

From there, I kind of go back and forward between outlining and writing. I write completely out of order. Which is why, so often, my multichaps are almost fully drafted by the time I publish chapter 1. I've usually already made it to the resolution point of the plot (meaning, no one's in danger anymore, the bad guy is gone, etc), though the final chapter often doesn't get written until later.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

I love when I've finished the first pass of a chapter/one-shot, and I'm in the editing stage. The story really feels like it's coming together at that point, and it's before all the self-doubt starts bubbling up (that hits hard just before posting).

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

A friend of mine is a professor in astroparticle physics, so I spent a couple of hours asking him about quantum mechanics stuff. But only a small portion of that ended up being relevant to the fic and the rest was just for fun.

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

When I'm first sketching out a scene, about half the time I write in present tense (it feels more like I'm writing a play at that point sometimes), but I publish in past tense. So I end up needing to do a bunch of revisions 😭

Also TYPOS.

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

Fight scenes are ROUGH, man.

This is probably one of those answers I'll change every time depending what's at the top of my mind. But writing out a fight scene - like in Even Though You're Kryptonian, Darkness in All Things, or It's a Metallo Life - gets surprisingly difficult if there are more than 2 people.

I know exactly how I'd shoot those scenes if I had a camera crew, special effects, etc. But it's hard making sure the audience is aware of where everyone is positioned, why they can/can't act in the moment, etc.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

All the fucking time, man. From the very beginning, even. I was trying to have Lena still be angry by the DEO scene in So I Kept Pretending, but that didn't make sense anymore.

I actually recently had a fic idea dissolve because it wasn't vibing with the characters. Which is fine, it became a ficlet instead!

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

Absolutely Kara. I have so many questions about kryptonian culture and how it drives her character.

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

Trope-wise, I definitely return to the Rift again and again. I find themes around forgiveness and understanding to be really interesting. Can two good-hearted people with conflicting needs hurt each other while still loving each other? How? What does that mean for the aftermath?

I think that's part of what draws me to supercorp - the complexity of their relationship. How they can both be right, and both be wrong, and love each other enough to rebuild from the ashes.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

Coffeeshops and libraries. Getting into slightly busy, cozy environments, out of the house, really helps shake loose the stuff in my head.

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

Especially for longer works, I tend to put the work down (and circle to other works, or go outside, or whatever) before coming back to it. It helps to step away for a bit - it's easier to pick up on repetitiveness or unclear passages when coming back.

Though I always find mistakes in my stories much later, so I'm not sure I'm one to give advice on this anyway 🤣

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Posting anxiety is the absolute worst. If I leave myself in front of my computer I'll end up refreshing constantly waiting for the first kudos (if it's a one-shot or first chapter) or the first comment (if it's a later chapter) to figure out if I've accidentally pissed off everyone in the fandom somehow.

Luckily, my partner will usually pull me away to go on a walk or grab lunch or do something else to take my mind off it 💗

16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

I only publish what I like. Sometimes I'm nervous that other people won't like it, but I will always like it. Stories that aren't going a way I like - even if I think the idea is cool! - will dissolve. Just recently I dissolved one that felt like it was a cool idea, but it didn't make enough sense for the characters.

Kudos and comments always make me feel appreciated as an author!! Sometimes I'll get a user subscriber out of it, too, and it feels like an honor that someone would want to hear from me more than once.

The thing that feels most precious, though, is when someone comments on how something made them feel (I love making people laugh at my dumb jokes, or cry when a story is supposed to hit emotionally), or when they pick up on something that I wasn't sure would get picked up on.

I tend to lean towards understatement in my stories. For me, the biggest success is knowing that someone recognized what I was going for, without me being overt.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character/ship?

Alas, I don't. But given that Kara is canonically a Britney Spears fan and musicals nerd, I feel like my default playlist works 🤣

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

Oh gosh, I don't want to pick someone and create pressure, or not pick someone and make them feel bad. This fandom has so many great artists!

That said, some of my favorites do commissions, you can see everything I've commission here.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

1 supercorp & 1 rojarias (for @supergirlmayhem)

For me, 2-3 is my happy number, so I'm relieved to be down to this after being so high (I think up to 11?) for so long.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

If you're wondering why you can't find that story you want, it might mean that you're the one to write it 💗

- - - - -

Tagging (respectfully and without pressure) @rustingcat @luthordamnvers @sssammich @tinyvariations @thatonebirdwrites @theredcapeofk @sideguitars @luthordamnvers @mycatismyeditor @inkedroplets @nottawriter @snowydragonscave @jetgirl1832 if you want some rapid-fire q's thrown your way. But also anyone who'd like to do this!

[pertinax--loculos]

Heads Up Seven Up

A... while ago (oops) @winterandwords tagged me in a Heads Up Seven Up! As I'm feeling 'share-y', thought I'd put the tag to good use. ^_^

I'm gonna tag back @winterandwords, and also tag @kd-holloman, @thegreatobsesso, @t-lane-writes, @artdecosupernova-writing, @digital-chance, and @words-after-midnight to post their last seven lines, or seven lines they like, or as many lines as they like from wherever and whenever they wrote them, because honestly I myself take the rules of these games very loosely (see below 😅).

So, I'm taking these lines almost verbatim from my zero draft/outline (with a change of tense (because for some reason I'm writing the zero-thing in present and the actual WIP is in past) and some neatening), because it's the last time I was in, like, a flow state and the words came effortlessly. I'm also putting the actual excerpt mostly under a cut, because I haven't decided how much of this is actually spoilery. >.< It's also, uh... much longer than seven lines ahahah I MAKE THE RULES

Hurt and disappointment flickered over Casey’s face, but Ira didn’t care -- he told himself he didn’t care -- because it was so typically Casey to make up a beautiful narrative about an awful moment.

He had basically taken him hostage and Ira was so drunk he barely knew what he was doing last night when he kissed him and Casey didn’t have the fucking right but like with Ally, like with everything, he was still acting like he did. Casey shifted and started to say something; Ira cut him off, speaking automatically with the force that usually made anybody around him do whatever he said. "Just go." More hurt, and a little bit of irritation, flickered over Casey's face as his perfect fantasy was ruined. But at least he bit back, far more authentically, "You can’t make me do anything." And it hurt, more than Ira would like to admit, to smirk a little as he wrapped his fingers around his coffee mug and said, "Maybe. But if you don’t leave now, you’re gonna be late for your meeting." And he watched as Casey absorbed that and glanced at the clock over the window and realised the truth of the statement, and Ira watched as he hesitated, just for the briefest moment, as he considered whether Ira was worth staying for or if it was Gemhance that owned his true loyalty, and he watched as a second later the decision was made. And it was the decision Ira knew it would be, because it was the decision Casey always made; because it was the decision that had torn them apart all those years ago, and had kept them separate and hostile and raw ever since. Casey turned away from him, picked up his briefcase, and walked out the door.

[shivasdarknight]

Hi, sorry for this but you are a writer, so umm.. I was hoping you could give me some tips/advice on how to write?

tbh the way I got into writing is a bit insane, but I do have some advice that can help. gonna put it under a cut just because it got kinda long

honest to god, one of the best pieces of advice is something you're already doing because reading can genuinely help you with becoming a better writer. stepping outside of your usual genres or authors can help expand your viewpoint and introduce you to more narrative styles so you can play around and see what works for you. eg. if you mostly read first person, give second person a shot. or if you're an omniscient third person, try limited third person. or even retrospective first person, because i often see people complain about first person pov when it's married with a present tense story. if you have a first person narrator talking about events in the past as if talking to you, or a journal it often takes an entirely different angle and it's something I've played with in Homestuck fics because that fandom tends to be more open to narrative experimentation. Writing is honestly a lot of looking at stuff you like (much like art) and smooshing it all together. Personally, I've gotten a lot of my writing style from stuff like The Locked Tomb, admittedly Lovecraft was foundational (but this is a great example of why to always remain critical considering his bullshit), so was Homestuck and Rick Riordan's stuff. I'm never trying to copy them wholesale, but I am looking at aspects I like - such as Riordan's humor intertwining with the narrative and narration, or the deeply unreliable narrators that Muir writes, or even how Homestuck balances purple prose with gut wrenching conciseness when it counts. A lot of modern day fast food fiction takes out a lot of the stuff that actually builds a story - pacing, playing with narration and technical writing - so you need to be conscious of what you're looking for in things. Often more established authors get to do weirder stuff than new authors, but don't discredit new ones because that would be leaving out folks like Xiran Jay Zhao and their phenomenal prose.

Another thing that helps greatly is reading writing critique. Video essays on books or even more critical thought pieces on writing, tropes, etc. can help you learn more about why something works. Lots of different channels on YouTube dedicated to dissecting media, absolutely recommend stuff like Hello Future Me, Overly Sarcastic Productions (real world ties + mythology, great basis to build things on), Zoe Bee (writer + commentary), Nerdwriter1 (media analysis + commentary), Just Write, and Tale Foundry. For adjacent suggestions that can help build up alternate perspectives that aren't directly about writing but are about critical thinking with stories (which is frankly an important skill to have), I definitely recommend Princess Weekes, Accented Cinema, Now You See It, Dominic Noble, The Storyteller, and Pop Culture Detective. A lot of this is discussing film (save Dominic Noble, who also talks about books a Lot), but the core essence of storytelling is helpful regardless of what angle it comes in - be it video game, movie, tv, or book reviews and analyses.

Actual writing. Varies on the person on if they do outlines or not and how, but I still recommend trying to do an outline when you're first starting out. One habit to immediately knock yourself out of is writing things chronologically. If you're working on a big piece and have more energy to write something in the middle? Put that in a new doc and leave a placeholder for where you're at. Legitimately, getting words on the paper is more important than those words being good. Because you can always come back and edit things to make sense.

Always edit what you write. I hate the "no beta we die like real men" attitude because people will dunk on editing but then praise stories for having "firm and satisfying" connections which can only really be built through editing. Your first draft is your rough idea. Your second one is when you read through and have it make sense. Three is making that make sense, and maybe 4 is more just grammar and spelling errors. Edit as many times necessary to make sure you like it.

Always work in broad strokes, then move in finer like with anything. Do a general idea for a story, then your main story beats, then how you connect them together, and then the nitty gritty of each. Keep lots of notes - do not rely on your head solely for everything - and just also be willing to let things go if they change.

What I tend to do when I write is I want a good flow. I often get that from reading my writing out loud to hear how it sounds, but I'm looking for a good beat to read along. Because even if the sentence is grammatically correct and structurally sound, it may not be very interesting to read. Like you could say someone feigned a polite expression to not let the other person know that they didn't feel comfortable with a topic, or you could go the angle I went with recently of "she painted herself an interested expression to wear as dread began to gnaw at her gut." Sometimes the more colorful or out there the language is, the better it sounds when you read it. Like instead of saying "that's just how things go for them" you could say, "but Fate had a funny way of making her disdain known for (X character)". And this is where reading other peoples' work comes in real handy because you can get a lot of examples of how people write things.

I also try and reflect themes of the story into the writing itself, like this section of a draft:

Still nothing.  Seemed he wasn’t going to bother with a glass, instead just ripping the top off of some bottle of gin and tipping it back with little regard for himself. Still that chronometer ticked on; still that taught tension like another arrow had been drawn.  A million and more things flooded Ysayle’s mind, itching to loose them at Estinien, yet found herself stuck in indecision as she stared daggers into him - ever her opposite as he just seemed despondent.  The gin bottle hit the extended shelf loudly; one hand a fist around the bottle, the other balled up on the surface - knuckles as white as bone. Still, Estinien said naught. Still, the chronometer ticked on. Still, Ysayle’s heart roared in her ears - poisonous words damming up her throat.

The theme of this story is avoiding the mistakes of the past. How things often can wind up cyclical, and the goal is to break from those cycles and repeats. So naturally, several points of the narration itself repeat itself. This isn't standard writing style, but it gets that point across by repeating "Still" as the scene crawls on. I also use a lot of alliteration in my writing because I personally find it fun? So "a maddening matter made most malign", for example.

It also helps to change up how you write or what descriptors you use based on the character whose head you're in, even if it's third person. Third person can have a voice and I often use it to speak aloud a character's thoughts instead of relying on italicized dialogue-thoughts. It makes the dialogue-thoughts appearing hit more when they do instead of just having to be subjected to internal ramblings constantly. Like in this fic I just published:

“...Can we talk about it on the morn?” “What for?” You don’t know what it is you ask of me. “Tired,” Estinien said with a shrug. “We’ve morning patrol, remember?”

Compared to this fic:

“Yes, confusingly.”  Her tone was flat as she leaned once again on Surkukteni’s shoulder, thankfully on the uninjured side.  “I fear I may have been wrong, though I truly doubt it.  To deny me twice, then throw a fit?  I wonder — why didn’t you go through with it?” Not even Surkukteni had that answer.  For the umpteenth time during that conversation, she refused to look at Her Darkness.  That desire — twisted and poisoned as it was — was one that still surfaced from time to time, yet like clockwork made her ill and was banished from her thoughts.  Why was that?  She felt scorned back then, wishing the universe would correct this error in sparing him but taking Ysayle — but was she not the one who helped save him?  Who helped tear those eyes from his armor?  She easily could — and had previously — bluffed that it was to destroy the eyes and be rid of the threat, but given her hesitancy now? Why?

All of Surkukteni's thoughts are condensed into the narration so that I can separate out her thought dialogue from idle musings since she - specifically - has a connection with something that can talk telepathically. This thing comments on the literal narration of the story, so when she's directly addressing this thing it's thought-dialogue. But her actual thoughts become narration to avoid spending too much time with that, as I find it's better used sparingly.

Motivation for writing is probably the hardest thing, and best I can advise is to get really into critiquing the stuff you like because you wind up finding a lot of material in fix-it stuff, or just wanting to see more of stuff like you. It's part of what drives my xiv stuff due to how they treat female characters, and I really just wanna see more sapphic bi4bi. So considering it's something I've been stuck in for a very long time now and really like the ambient lore and wish it would do better, it's fueling my desire to write. And from there, there are so many other angles to take - like building ocs, building lore. Finding a sandbox is genuinely one of the best ways to do it. Again, like. You'd be surprised at how much is there because of spite. LOTR has Eowyn because Tolkien didn't like that the "can be killed by no man" thing in Macbeth was resolved with a character born by c-section, so he instead wrote Eowyn, the woman who killed the Witch-King of Angmar. C.S. Lewis didn't like the fact that Tolkien believed that modern technology - or slightly less modern technology - didn't believe in fantasy and he explicitly cited lampposts. And this is why there's just a random light post in the middle of nowhere in the Narnia books.

Critique is good and healthy. I'm critical with the stuff I like and my own things so I can work on them and myself. It's fine to like something that you don't wholly agree with, especially if you're using it to inform how you build on it or build your own things. Like I dunno, I looked at Dante from Devil May Cry and went "what if he was trans" and now I've got Rhombi, a character who has stepped really far away from the OG Dante mould, but you can still see hints of it as I used what I wanted to see out of DMC to build this bisexual disaster of a guy. I was disappointed by Elsword not really committing to some of their character concepts, so I kinda just took Eve (and admittedly Add) and made them into Celes and Neilos and took them to their logical conclusions. All three of them were originally fantrolls at some point, so most of the heavy lifting was done when I was back in Homestuck and all I had to do was scrub the barcodes off of them to build them up in an original verse.

Chemistry is also crucial. If characters aren't vibing, move on. Do not force it. Good chemistry can save a bad story (eg. FFXV) and bad chemistry can ruin a good story. Often it's the characters that drive a story so you need to do a lot of plotting and planning. Most writing is honestly just planning before putting the words down.

And I'm very much so rambling by now but my main points are these (+ others I'm realizing while typing):

Plot a Lot and keep lots of notes, and also organize those notes. The contents don't have to be pretty, but you'll thank yourself in advance if you at least sort them by core idea

Getting words down is more important than getting them down correctly. You can always come back and edit it when you have an idea of how to make it work

You can always place a [insert scene here] tag so you can keep your flow and don't get caught on something.

You also don't have to write chronologically - you wanna write the big confession scene before the intro? do it! just jump right into it!

also don't be afraid to delete stuff or remove it from your draft. save things for later to see if they work elsewhere, because maybe it could be a better spinoff.

dont listen to the advice of "if it really matters, you'll remember it in the morning" that advice was given by neurotypicals who don't have memory issues. make notes of EVERYTHING and then delete the ones that don't work

sometimes writing by hand vs computer can really make a difference in how you think. handwriting is slower and makes you think about stuff, so you may want to keep journals for random snippets or ideas like how doodling is good for building up your habit of drawing

Outlines can help but how you outline is up to you. Try a few styles out and go with what works best.

I cannot stress enough that having something like a marker board to write out your broad stroke story ideas is really really nice

Broad strokes first, then narrow it further and further down. Don't get wrapped up in the nitty gritty details

Chemistry is crucial and can often save a piece you're not fully feeling.

Read your stuff out loud while editing because it can help point out stuff that's not jiving! I find it helps a lot with dialogue

Read a lot. Listen to critique. Be more critical. Also don't limit your idea of stories to just books - expand the media you consume and you'll find really interesting stories that can help with yours

Don't be afraid to use tropes, but also don't super rely on them to where you're just checking off boxes instead of coming up with natural scenarios built on chemistry (eg. having the nerdy goth girl is fine, but the way the trope ends in most media ("fixing" her or just having her be a quirky cynical critic) may not fit with your story and it may be better to see how the story plays out rather than forcing it into something it's not)

Iron Widow is a good example here: the relationship between Zetian and Yizhi is pre-established and comes off as sort of "boy next door" vibes, or at least the very dedicated childhood friend. It quickly becomes apparent that he's as much a co-conspirator in her plans as Shimin is. The guy can be ruthless when given the chance, and that's how Yizhi goes beyond the initial trope and defines himself outside of it. Same with the contextualization of Shimin's seeming "aggression" as the "bad boy" and figuring out where that problem/persona actually stems from, and then the shift of viewing it as less aggression and more retaliation and self preservation.

Find something you do really want to write about, like filling a void in a piece of media you like or doing a take on media that made you mad or disappointed. Jane Eyre is technically fanfiction because the author wanted to see more of Jane and didn't get that. The Divine Comedy is self insert fanfiction of Dante Alighieri as he does worldbuilding with Christian mythos regarding heaven and hell. The Riordan verse is his interest in mythology crossed with a desire to give his son a protag that was like him (specifically ADHD and dyslexic), which then became wanting to let kids see themselves in the different halfbloods in the series.

There's a lot of ways you can get started writing, but the best way is to just write goofy stuff for yourself. Get out stuff that may look bad at first, but you go back and read it and critique it. Just getting yourself into the habit of writing helps a lot, because again: it matters less about the quality, and more getting it on the page and actually having something. You can always fine-tune writing, after all.

My first FFXIV fic isn't actually even published. It was just me writing something rambly about my Warrior of Light when I was starting to figure her character out. It looks nothing like what I'm doing now in part because that fanfiction became a launching point for me to work on others. I've got a lot of drafts that will never see the light of day because these were proto-concepts that became the stuff I wound up publishing. It's fine to have drafts that remain drafts because you can take that as practice, and practice is good. Anything that you write has value because you can use it to let your technical writing skills mature.

Also, don't be afraid to look for help. There are beta services on tumblr (or at least used to be when I was a teenager), plenty of writing guides or places set up to ask questions, plenty of youtubers that give prompts for you to work with. The hardest part is always getting started. But once you get past the awkwardness of the start, everything just falls into place and gets easier the longer you go at it.

You definitely have the desire for it because I've seen your very deep love of literature through the Bi-Library, so you can definitely become a strong writer if you put your mind to it 🫶 Find something to fix or address, and that usually is what gets the ball rolling. Worldbuilding is fun and can lead to something, but you can't have a well built world without a story to explore it.

Characters drive story, story is how you explore themes and the world itself, and the world itself is built on your experiences and interests. Embrace the fact that this is coming from your lens and experiences, because no media is truly void of the author and its other creators. Embrace that fact and use it as an extension of yourself. But really, just write. Literally anything. Just get into the habit of writing, and it'll progress from there!

[serendipitous-mage]

Commissions~

*Hello! I'm currently between jobs and actively looking, but no luck yet. The household is pretty hard up on funds right now and any additional income would be so very very helpful, especially with student loan repayments kicking in this month ;w;

*Regardless of the type of commission, I will gladly work with you throughout it and give updates/the opportunity to make adjustments if you would like! 

Drawn

*The examples below range from about $4-$40 USD, ordered most to least expensive, all are based on complexity and time to complete. Prices are open to negotiate prior commitment, and can be made in multiple payments if needed! (some examples are a bit old)

*Anything that’s a meme or I highly enjoy the concept of doing is up for a potential discount :3

*If you’re interested, feel free to message me here or send me an email at serenmage87@gmail.com (anon asks are also enabled)

*Trigger Warning: One example has light gore/blood

________________________________________________

TRADITIONAL

~approx $35-$40 USD

________________________________________________

~approx $15-20 USD

________________________________________________

~approx $5-10 USD

________________________________________________

DIGITAL

________________________________________________

~approx $20-30 USD

________________________________________________

*approx $15-20 USD

________________________________________________

*approx $4-10 USD

________________________________________________

*NOTES -

*I can do lineless digital, but I’m not as practiced with it

*Traditional commissions will be scanned(or potentially sent in actual mail) for optimal quality. More colours/subjects will cost more

*Digital drawing is all around easier for me, and in general will be cheaper than an ‘identical’ traditional version would be

*As mentioned above, anything that’s a meme or I highly enjoy the concept of doing is up for a potential discount, more fun means its less taxing which means i can drop the price a little &lt;3

*Will Draw:

    -OCs

    -AU characters

    -Animals/fursonas/anthro

    -Mecha

    -NSFW

    -Rough/simple animations and gifs (we can talk..)

*Won’t Draw anything:

    -Explicit underage

    -Discriminatory

    -Taking place in hospitals/based around illness

*You can view more of my drawings at my DA Gallery or, for less polished but more religiously updated posts, here

________________________________________________

Written

*I always read a lot in school, and over the years that turned into writing stories. I have a few fanfics running currently, but any commissions would be given priority

*Thinking $5 per 500 words? May adjust depending on complexity/any needed research/longer pieces

*I’ve found I write best with fantasy genres, but you can absolutely commission something else! Some things you may want to consider:

    -Is it original or fandom based?

    -What point of view do you want? First, second(reader inserts), or third person?

    -Past or present tense?

    -Old timey speech or modern feel?

    -Fluff, feels, something in between?

    -Where are you in the spectrum of “can you relay enough information about what you want that I won’t need to overly interpret/fill in gaps myself” and “do you have an end goal or outline, and want me to make the rest happen” ? In other words, how much of this do you already know you want, and what if anything are you willing to let me interpret as the writer?

*Some excerpts:

First person

    The brambles and lower branches suddenly appeared much denser than when we’d come from the other direction, and I kept as much distance from the two of them as I could. Their incessant arguing was still discernible, but not overly so.

    We took our new torches–which seemed a little brighter than they should have been–and set off continuing our search for tracks, holding the fire as close as we dared to any brush and leaves that were near the forest floor. The quiet pulsing of the place at night was almost unnerving, and much different from our campout the evening before. Unseen critters chirped to a rhythm we outsiders weren’t aware of, falling silent if we at any point passed too close to them.

  The eerie limbo was broken when I suddenly noticed a light coming toward us, followed quickly by Dagger who swooped low and squawked into my ear.

    I batted him away and asked Dex if the light was Sara, but felt I already knew the answer.

    “No,” he confirmed, squinting at it in suspicion.

________________________________________________

    “Clariiisaaaaaa!” Sara shouted again, her voice tumbling across the vague grassy mounds that just barely made the classification of ‘hills’. “Clarissa!“

   “Quiet down,” I finally warned her. “There’s more on the prowl after nightfall.”

    She spun around to glare at me. “You say that like I don’t know. It doesn’t matter we have to find them.”

    “We’re not going to find anyone if we’re dead.” I countered.

    “Well what if they’re dead!?” she shouted.

    I was a little taken aback at the sudden outburst, almost snapping at her in turn but pausing at what looked like a faint shimmer in her eye.

________________________________________________

    It began to rain soon after we entered the wood. Drops fell in a constant, distant thrum on the leaves above, and it wasn’t long before a chill settled in around the trees. Heavy dampness filled the air as the rain increased, making its way below the canopy to turn patches of the ground to a sticky mush. I’d hastened my pace twice already, and the rain still continued to thicken. Mini waterfalls poured down here and there where the foliage had positioned itself just so, and the aftermath was sent streaming between roots and stone along my path. I gave up trying to keep my boots dry and went as quickly as I dared, careful with my step to avoid sprawling in the dirt.

________________________________________________

Reader Insert

   There’s a soft *ping* and your body is suddenly overwhelmingly heavy, but luckily something else is holding your weight. You feel yourself rise a little into the air before being pulled forward, through the screen, through the words, through the space between, through the Barrier…

   Into the Underground.

   You notice you’re staring the ceiling. But not just any ceiling, New Home’s. And there are two faces looking down at you.

   "ARE THEY OKAY??”

   "they’ll be fine. just–“

   "SANS,” he warns.

   "a little down.“

   "NNNNGH!! SANS YO–! HUH?” Papyrus turns to look back at you, as you’re practically dying of laughter on the floor. 

 You’re here! Actually here! They are talking and joking and breathing right in front of you…the skelebros, in the flesh heheh.

   You tilt your head so you can Sans, tears in your eyes as you have a little difficulty breathing. He raises an eyeridge and grins a bit more than usual.

 "it wasn’t that good of a joke…i like ‘em.“ he says lastly to Papyrus.

   The younger brother mumbles something and reaches down to help you to your feet. Though they always seemed small, especially when younger, the monsters are around the same height as you. You wonder aloud how tall the king and queen must be.

________________________________________________

   You freeze at the deep, rumbling voice approaching. Solid footfalls sound closer and closer still, and you find your gaze drawn to the large figure coming down the hall. You’re overwhelmed with the details. The apparent thick softness of fur, curved smooth horns threatening to reach the ceiling, and impossibly violet robe that drifted behind his gait.

   "Oh, Howdy! Boys you should have told us you had, a…guest,” he stops, sudden distress plainly visible in his expression.

   Your blood runs cold as you realize, you must remind him of them. He thinks you’re–

  Chara?“ he falls heavily to his knees, tears streaming around his muzzle. His eyes search you over, filled with guilt, hope, disbelief, so many different emotions almost simultaneously. Papyrus runs up and tries to comfort him. 

   You lower your eyes and faintly shake your head, saying you’re sorry but, you’re not them.

   The haze that you and the skeletons hadn’t noticed before returns to his expression. He squeezes his eyes closed and inhales deeply before looking back at you again. 

   "I, forgive me … what is your name?”

   You find it a little difficult to speak, but manage to give him your name.

   He smiles. “It is very nice to meet you.“ 

________________________________________________

 Third Person

    “Oh, oh dear.” Alphys was staring at the base of the chalkboard with a frown. “Has anyone seen the chalk?” She held up the stub end of one. It had an odd jaggedness on one side. “This is all that’s here…I’m certain there was still have a box left,”

    No one answered, and Frisk certainly didn’t know, so they kept quiet as well. 

    The class crawled by about how one would expect it to. No one seemed particular enthralled by Alphys’ teaching, except for the girl in the front row. The bird Frisk was behind was ‘too smart’ to pay much attention, unless there was a point he wanted to argue. MK had a bit of a short attention span, and Temmie as well, but she seemed to be trying very hard. Probably wanted to get into a good college.

    At some point in the lecture, Frisk stopped taking notes and looked through the pad of paper that had been in their desk. It had haphazard quotes and diagrams, some dated and some not, with some days considerably more organized and thoughtful than others. Frisk turned to the back and flipped the book around, making a new beginning to it. They started penning all their observations. Differences and similarities, people that they’d recognized, and every explanation they could think of that might be true of whatever had happened to them. 

    There wasn’t much in that column. 

  Before long a semi distant bell sounded, and Alphys released everyone for lunch. 

    “Is ours broken?” Frisk wondered aloud.

   "Yo, you don’t remember?“ MK asked. “Susie totally busted the speakers last week! They still haven’t been able to fix it yet.” MK cocked their head. “Yo, Kris, you okay dude?”

    “Fine,” Frisk answered briskly. “I um, I gotta talk to Alphy.”

    MK raised an eyebrow and gave a tiny nod. “Uh, OK, sure…see ya.” They trotted off after the others to what Frisk assumed would be the cafeteria somewhere. 

    Frisk stayed in their seat a moment, wondering if this was really the best idea. Alphys didn’t seem to recognize Frisk as themselves either. And if they told her everything…they carefully closed the notebook and flipped it back the other way, then made their way to Alphys’ desk. 

________________________________________________

        The boy’s dark, messy hair completely shrouded his face from view at his stance. He stood behind one of the chairs, his head slightly bowed, gripping the back of the furniture as though it were his only lifeline to reality. The elder prince closed the gap between them with a few strides and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

       “I…“ he trailed off, suddenly realizing he had no idea how he could begin to comfort him. “I am not sure, what to say–”

       “There is nothing to be said.” the boy interrupted, his words strained. He didn’t look up. “If I had not been born, you would all have rest now, to live normally upon the morn. Mother would really smile again. No one wou–”

        “It is not your fault, brother.” The eldest countered firmly. “You know the rules…If not you, then someone else, it has naught to do with you yourself. We all were chanced to be a part of it as equally as any other. This was none of your doing.”

________________________________________________

    A certain heavy, comforting quiet hung in the air. Stillness that was enhanced by the soft hum and crackle of the flames. Sans and Papyrus had both fallen asleep before the fireplace amid the excitement, much like the first day they had arrived. Toriel had woken early, along with her husband, and was now reading in her armchair.

     There was a knock at the door.

    Papyrus sat up quickly, eyesockets half closed. “WH-HUH..?” he looked up at Tori, who’s eyes were crinkled in quiet laughter, and suddenly realized who the knock must be. A tiny gasp escaped him and vaulted off Sans, to mild protest, running down the hall toward the door. He tried stopping but had too much speed and slid past his mark, scrambling to get back to where he’d tried for. Papy gave a little jump and pulled the handle down, staring up in awe. 

    “Ho ho howdy little one!” Santa laughed heartily, fully dressed in his red and white outfit and with an old sturdy sack over one shoulder.

    Papyrus’ eyesockets were practically sparkling. “S-SANTA! SANS!! SANTA HERE!!” he ran forward and grabbed Santa’s large leg, hugging him tight.

   “wow. sure has a presents.” Sans offered, coming around the corner. He gave a stretch popped a few bones. “snow real surprise, though.”

________________________________________________

Thank you for considering and looking over the page this far! Feel free to contact with any questions, and stay determined &lt;3

[sybilius]

!!!! 6, 10, 22, 33 ?

6. What element of writing do you find comes easily?

Oh, dialogue!! Clicky clicky love to have characters talk to each other, talk past each other, banter and all that, go places, get nowhere, get somewhere. All my outlines are mostly dialogue to begin with :) I’m also very good at planning, though that one I have seen develop a lot over time. I think my brain is well-suited to it though. 

10. What’s your favorite genre to write for?

Haha, well in some sense fanfiction is a genre. To me. Pig fiction for which I am an absolute auteur. That said, my favourite structures and tropes are porn with character-study plot and peculiar variations on a 5+1 structure. In some sense a lot of my longer fics are disguised 5 +1s. I like to write enemies with benefits to lovers quite a bit too. 

22. Do you listen to anything while you write?

I don’t! I do like to make playlists about characters though, that’s always a good activity for me to think about writing without actually putting words on the page :) 

33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process?

POV character, POV choice and tense choice are always very important to me and is the second thing I answer when I start to outline a fic. The choice of POV says something about how I think the character thinks of themselves (either in that specific moment, or generally). Lemme kinda explain what I mean with pliant as gold (which is no apology). 

The POV character I usually pick based on some implacable vibes off the scenario or moment I most want to write about. Usually it answers the question “who is the most interesting person for the reader to have insight on their inner life?” – occasionally I answer this in the opposite way for ship-based fics, by asking “what does not knowing this character’s inner life add to the tension/fundamental dissonance of the story?” 

Taking Okada as POV character in pliant as gold, for instance, served both of these! It was interesting to me to get into his head after the match, when he’s kind of grappling with this new mantle as Inoki’s heir gilded by the IWGP belt. It also serves the tension of the scenario really well to have the reader wonder What The Fuck Is Going On With Jay – keeps them in the same step as the character.

POV choice adds texture to how the POV character thinks of themselves. A 3rd person narrator is grounded, comfortable with their relationality to others, subdued when they need to be. A 1st person narrator is bold, brash, a born storyteller. A 2nd person narrator is feeling out-of-body or very out of their depth (either in general, or in this specific scenario). 

Tense choice is how the POV character is experiencing the story / moment. I usually favor present tense because I like the way it sets the action in the now, but occasionally I take past tense if the narrator feels particularly contemplative. 

Based on that then, you can tell I think of Okada as having a pretty chill head on his shoulders, not too much of a loudmouth, and that I felt the story was best experienced real-time rather than as him looking back. 

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 2/21/2023

Well, I’ve been writing my sentences, and it’s going pretty good. I'm not sure I would go much further than that, but I’ve been writing every day, and not torturing myself too much over doing it or not doing it. Also, I do actually refer to them as "my sentences," like I am constantly thinking "I need to write my sentences," like an old person referring to their soap operas as "my stories."

The Story, which was in past tense last week, is now back in present tense. It is 6408 words, an increase of 4,640. Now, some of that was stuff that was in the original version and got copied over, but there’s a lot of new stuff, too. It’s true that I have been writing sentences every day, but am I advancing the plot? Hmm. That remains to be seen. Mostly, what happens is that I’ll be doing the dishes and thinking about My Daily Sentence, and I’ll be like “I think they should go play football with some street kids” and then that’s what I write. Was there anything on the outline about football? Reader, there was not. There are many things on the outline, actually, that I have not bothered to write or even think about. I am not going to finish the story until I write the things on the outline, and yet, here we are. On the other hand, I have named a Rukongai district. I invented some hohou techniques. Everyone went to the post office. I suppose it doesn’t really matter what happens in this fanfic. It is liminal. It doesn’t really matter what happens in this fanfic. It is a fanfic. 

A long time ago, I realized that any fanfic writer who stays in the same fandom for a long time and writes enough will eventually get high on their own supply and start writing bizarro stuff that is only of interest to them (and possibly, like 3 of their super-fans). Anyway, I always knew this would happen to me, but this is not at all what I expected it to feel like.

In not-entirely-unrelated news, I have decided to do a little art study/exploration of some, i dunno, skulls and monsters and zabimarus, things of that nature. Gonna try out some different tools and styles and try not to spend too long on any one thing. I did some Menos this weekend and I am hoping to do some more this week. 

Not a great baking week, tbh. I made these sourdough brownies, and accidentally baked them in an 8x8 pan instead of a 9x9. I do not recommend this. Brownie recipes always recommend you take them out when they are not all the way done, and they continue to bake in the pan, except that when they are not at all done, they do not get much more done than that. The good news is that I learned that you can re-bake underdone brownies if you need. In this case, it took baking them even longer than the original bake time and was a huge pain because I kept checking on them and checking on them, which made it take even longer. Anyway, when they finally finished, they were pretty good, but very, very rich. (Ice cream helped, as it often does) I also made some sourdough bagels, which took a lot longer to proof than I expected (which I guess worked out, since the brownies were in the oven during the time I wanted the bagels to be in the oven). They were pretty good, I guess, but I think I like my usual bagel recipe better. I had flipped the day-night schedule of the steps (there’s 12 hours between, so it doesn’t really matter), and I think I might try them again, flipping it back as written. Bagels are very popular in my house. Were banana muffins also this week? I guess so. I also made banana muffins. They were okay, but I think the blueberry ones were better. 

[spice-honey]

The Fanfic Editing Process

Hello everyone! Today I've decided to share a few tips on editing your chapters, for anyone who is new to writing or would like to improve their writing. Editing is a skill in itself. For me, it takes longer than writing the actual damn chapter. I think good editing takes stories to the next level and it's worth taking a moment to do it, instead of just eagerly hit the 'Post' button

First, what is editing? You assess the text for grammar, spelling, sentence and detail clarity along with plot development. Editing is often rewriting, moving paragraphs around, switching scene orders, adding or deleting characters, and changing POVs (if applicable). It requires a lot of "rounds" before it's ready. Each step below is a round in itself. Remember: you cannot edit a blank page. If you hate your writing, remind yourself this is your first draft - you will edit it later to make it better or different. But you have to write it first.

I use google docs. You can easily share it with your betas/friends, and keep track of suggestions and modifications they make. They can leave comments on specific passages and words, to which you can also reply. Google docs also has a chat function to edit and discuss live.

Google docs has spelling and grammar check (it's under Tools) that will scan the document below where your cursor is. So if you just want to spell check past chapter 7, go to chapter 7 and use the tool. It will skip anything before it. If you want to do the entire document, start up top.

Crtl + F and look for the specific words that are commonly overused such as that, really, very, just, then, literally, thing and dialogue tags. You don't have to write them out entirely, but if you used 'that' 7 times in a paragraph, you might want to rework some sentences to 5 take out. Readers get tired of repetitive words. You also don't have to banish every single dialogue tag, but when it's a conversation between 2 people you should use them to indicate tone or action. 'Said' is not necessarily dead, but you can omit it 95% of the time

Avoid long sentences. Run-on sentences are okay if grammatically correct, but stick to one idea per sentence otherwise it can be tiring to read.

Adverbs ending in -ly. 'She runs quickly' can be 'she sprints'. 'He walks quietly' can be ' He creeps'. Choose descriptive verbs if you can.

Pay attention to verb tenses. If you are writing in the present tense make sure you don't slip into past tense when it is not appropriate and vice versa.

In your own notes write scene summaries explaining to yourself why this scene is necessary (I use bullet points in the comments). What information or situation is being presented in each passage that is important to the plot in the long run. It helps you to keep tabs on your outline (if you have one). It's okay to just have scenes that don't actually add anything to the story other than the joy of reading them whatever they may be. But if you are struggling with your plot, make sure your story doesn't have a lot of those.

Italics. Depends on your formatting, of course, but if it is to bring emphasis on a single word, my personal rule is to do it once per page. When I copy and paste my chapters into Ffnet/Ao3 it comes without any formatting (bold, italic) so I have to add them back in manually on my final read-through. Surprisingly, I end up adding a lot fewer italics in the final edit than in the original script

The Final Read-through: it is done in your browser, at the document editor of ffnet/ao3. You will catch a lot more errors/weird sentences there despite having it read 100 times on google docs. Your brain just gets used to - visually - to the text and it will skip words as you re-read without you noticing. Having a different font and background will make your brain read it as if it's the first time. I tried tricking myself on google docs by changing font and colour but I didn't find it super effective (it may work for you, I don't know). Grammarly is also good to use here. I disable it on google docs because it slows down my browser. I like it mostly for punctuation.

Read it out loud. Yes, you'll have to disable the cringe factor but you will catch so many clunky sentences and missing words. Make sure narration sounds like narration and dialogue sounds like dialogue. I usually do Step 10 and 11 at the same time.

Any questions, my Asks are open! And if you have tips you'd like to share I'd LOVE to hear it.

Happy editing!

[moni-logues]

2022 End of the Year Recap

rules : post the top 5 works you’re most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular), your top 4 current WIPs that you’re excited to release in the new year, your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year, your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year, and your number 1 favorite line you’ve written this year!

So, @amethystwritesbts tagged me in this on the old blog, but I thought this would make for a fun little transitional post, too, so I'm doing it here! I have had my [old] blog for almost exactly 53 weeks and have posted 58 fics! 🤪🤪🤪 lots to pick from lol

Top 5 works I'm most proud of

(These will all, in time, make their way here, too, but for now they are ofc readable @monimonimoon)

Marriage or Arsenic: my very first post! I'm proud of myself for starting! Proud of myself for writing and putting it out there!

Sweet Treats: I just like it!! I think it's fun! I love cute tattoo artist boyfriend Jimin!

Even Though: super spontaneous fic; decided about 11pm I wanted to write it and it was finished before 2:30am! But I'm really pleased with how it came out and it's nice to know I can produce shit if I really focus lmao

Thirteen Rounds: wrote it in one evening and then was really unhappy the following day and couldn't work out why I didn't l like it so I took my dog for a walk and figured it out. It then needed a really big, significant re-write and I did it! And then it did some serious fucking numbers lmao

A Fine Line: for obvious reasons lol. My first series! Wasn't sure I could do it! Wasn't sure anyone would like it! But I did! and they do!!

Top 4 current WIPs

The Comeback: here, have a banner! This is going to be the first fic I post here! (obviously not including AFL reposts). I hope you are looking forward to some festive angst!

Kintsugi: the long-fabled Yoongi friends-to-lovers (actually strangers-to-friends-to-lovers!). She's coming and, goddammit, I've made this bitch angsty, too. Have another banner!

Promessus: a Hobi fake dating fic that is going to require a lot of research and may not be viable if the results of that research aren't what I want! But I'm really excited about it!!!

SUPER TOP SECRET FIC: coming soon! Yoongi! A genre I've not written before! Stay tuned!!!

Three biggest improvements in my writing

I think I'm more aware of my (over-)use of adverbs now so I'm better at catching them while writing and in editing.

Writing long stuff! Actual plot! When I first started, I couldn't believe people were writing like, 5, 10, 15k fics and now I not only have one-shots that long but also a whole series! And more to come!

Deciding to only write in past tense. I kept sort of switching between past and present which meant that, even within one fic, I kept fucking up and writing in the wrong one. Sticking to one means I'm not making that mistake (as much! 😬) anymore.

Two resolutions for next year

This one is sort of already in plrogress but planning. Kintsugi is already outlined! I'm going to try to stick to the plan!

Read more -- both fics and books. I have read much less this year than I'd have liked so I really want to use this festive period to reset and start the new year with more intention and waste less of my time on my fucking phone, watching shit I don't care about on netflix etc. and actually make time for everything, which includes reading.

Favourite line I wrote this year

Remember how I said I've posted 58 fics? Yeah, I'm not going through those to pick out the best lmao. But one that I can think of off the top of my head is:

you knew you had somehow got things figured out but now, in the nauseating throes of the consequences of your own actions, it eluded you.

I'm not tagging anyone because idk who's been tagged already and I'm copping out lmao but everyone should do this, so consider yourself tagged if you are reading this!!!

[the-blaze-empress]

For the Ask Game, 1., 2., 7., 19., 21., 41., 44., and 81.,

(hug)

1. do you know how you want the story to end when you start, or are you just stumbling through the figurative wilderness hoping to find a road?

i know where i want to end up definitely, sometimes that can change in specifics a little bit but like. the main themes and shit are always pretty set. the middle can b a bit hazy but also has the main points outlined. sometimes characters just have a few more panic attacks than expected u know how it b <3

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

PHILZA FUCKING MINECRAFT IN TAKE MY ARMS STOP FUCKING PANICKING. his reaction to quackity was WAY worse than i thought it was gonna be that it warranted an ENTIRE EXTRA CHAPTER. yeah so that happened. ALSO PHIL GETTING DISTRACTED BY THE RIBBON VENDOR. KID PLS THERES PLOT THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN I GET IT THE RIBBONS R SHINY BUT WE GOT THINGS TO ADDRESS HERE. arms!phil very much has a mind of his own

7. tell us about the plot of the first fanfic you ever wrote

oh boy time to revisit the days where i didnt know what fanfic was!! i think technically my first fanfic was. sfge fic. i had a whole canon compliant story about a pair of twins, the daughters of the girl and boy from the snow queen fariytale, one had fire powers and the other water, the water one went to the school for good and the fire one went to the school for evil. they both got into the trial by tale and watched (ohgod what were their names) bane kill the good kid from woods beyond. uh yeah i had fun working out all their gifts and stuff, i had a lot of characters planned n shit i should see if i can find the word docs for that. as per usual the middle of the fic was very. hazy in the middle

19. what are some books or authors that influenced your style the most?

BUN BUNFLORAS @bunfloras!! SUCH a big influence on both what i write and how i write most notably in finally being the one to convert me from past tense to present. oh dear can you see me? for properly introducing me to whump and kidza, both of which i adore reading AND writing. fuckin. whats her name. margaret owen is such a good writer her books are so good i love how well she worldbuilds and embeds it all so well into her stories. go read the merciful crow duology you will thank me.

21. pick a writer to co-write a book with and tell us what you’d write about.

hmmmmmm. i think bun and i could write a good book together i mean we've already cowritten tens of thousands of words sfadsgdh. looks at rune and cam. looks at their rp. looks back at this question. yeah it would be about magic and queer relationships and growth and so much fucking angst

41. what is the weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.

i have no fucking clue. i have had so many story ideas i cannot keep track of them all. good lord. lemme check my google drive. OH I KNOW. that one klance fic i wrote from the perspective of a tree <3

44. any writing advice you want to share?

i feel like saying 'just fucking do it' is cliche. but its the best advice i can give really. write for yourself even if you dont publish it, read things you like and work out what you like about it and see if you can put that in ur own writing. write FOR YOURSELF. dont write for other people it will become a chore and you will regret it. people wont enjoy reading it if ur not enjoying writing it

81. if you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of writing advice specific to you, what would it be?

god so much. not everything has to be about romance. stop taking on so many projects with deadlines at once. stop tracking how many words u write each day. write what you want to write. its okay to stop enjoying smth ur writing

writing ask game

(hi roo love you <33)

[crush3dmary]

🕯️💎💌

yooooo thanks for the ask my friend. Let's do this thing

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

I actually already answered this one with the clause of human nature but I think also my symphonia countdown fic A Generation of Ghosts about Zelos and Seles' relationship was a little hard for me too because it brought up some of my issues with my own family. I mean, you write from what you know though, so that's probably why the fic is one of my favourites I've written in a while lol

💎why is writing important to you?

Honestly I find writing to be very, very cathartic, I wish I had the creativity to write my own original work but I've found a cluster of fictional characters I project on so now I just put them in Situations(tm) and subject them to my own experiences or something very similar to it. When I started getting a lot of attention for my writing I started to veer a little too hard into the 'caring about stats and readers' mentality but at the end of the day I write for personal catharsis and anyone else who is along for the ride is welcome to enjoy it too.

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

OKAY SO I'LL SHARE ONE FROM EACH OF MY FANDOMS BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF EXCITING STUFF ON THE GO RIGHT NOW!!

Symphonia: the final chapter of Absurdities and Echoes is finally underway and after a year of shelving it. I went and reread my outline for this chapter and there's a lot of tying up loose ends, closure, and a couple character interactions i'm really, REALLY excited to write.

Crestoria: my dead dove "bad end" AU (if you know you know) is about to have a very interesting update, and I've already written the second half and it might be my favourite Crestoria thing i've ever written to date, even more than my Aegis study which is my most popular fic to date. Forte has a breakdown and it's delicious.

YGO: When me and the wife were watching the final episodes and everyone gets on the boat to the ceremonial duel Fina was like "THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE PERFECT TIME FOR RYOU AND MALIK TO SORT THEIR SHIT OUT BUT NO WE NEED ANOTHER SCENE BETWEEN YAMI AND YUGI" so I was like I got you fam. So i'm planning an angstshipping/thiefshipping fic that parallels the two relationships, and if you really want a spoiler I plan to play around with the fact that I can't stick to one tense and use present tense for the angstshipping and past for the thiefshipping. It's gonna be good.