#I write the scenes I got in mind but thats not how stories work

[altruistic-meme]

i can't speak on being a "good" commenter because that really depends on what you consider "good" to be, and honestly for most writers ANY commenter that isn't unasked for criticism or hate is a good commenter.

BUT as for being a consistent commenter, I have been working on that myself recently and this is my method: have a prepared response. it may seem like it's unoriginal or silly to have a copy-paste comment, but it's actually super helpful.

that's because for me, my biggest issue with not commenting as often as I wanted to was that I often wouldn't have the energy to put in any thought AT ALL behind it and that made me feel bad because if I had enough energy to read the fic, I SHOULD have enough energy to at Ieast say WHY I finished, right? so I would end up holding on to fics that I had finished with the intent to return to them when I DID have energy and leave a comment. except it never worked like that, and i ended up losing the fics without ever commenting.

the counter? "🖤🖤" thats it. every time I reach the end of a fic I enjoyed, i told myself that all I had to do was add those two hearts. sometimes I'll get there and realize that I want to mention something else as well, or that i want to just make a silly comment like "oh my heart!" or "poor [x]!" but those hearts are VITAL because even if i CANT think of anything else to add, I've still got a whole comment right there, ready to go, and I won't feel bad about having nothing to comment.

and believe me, there is NOTHING wrong with just having a really simple comment like an emoji or two, or just saying "loved it" or whatever! those comments STILL MEAN SOMETHING TO THE AUTHOR! it's engagement that they asked for when they posted their story, it's proof that people put there like their writing, and its just nice to get even the easy and simple comments.

and if you feel brave, you can expand on yours more! mine is just 2 emojis, but you can take "loved this fic" and turn it into "loved [ ]" and fill in that blank with anything from that fic. "loved how you wrote this scene" "loved when this character said that" "loved this line" "loved that i felt this emotion" etc etc etc. the point is to have a base that you can then build on when you have the mind/energy to! if you're low energy, just leave it at "loved this fic/chapter" and when you have more to say, you can add on then!

I hope this makes sense and helps anyone out there! fandom relies on participation from all parties, and im happy that you are asking about how to do that yourself!

It’s more of a fic reader confession- I feel like a failure. Everyone in this fandom is so good and consistent at making comments on fics. I see the same people commenting on every chapter in many stories. I comment but not nearly enough as I would like. What is the secret to being a good commenter or at least consistent one, because our authors deserve all the praise!

📖

[devotedlittlefreak]

The current mood is : putting music I like on the scene where Kira and Odo dance. Looking at it sadly a few times (in instagram story maker) w/o posting it. Start again with a new song

Every time I look at how smiley and happy Kira is that Odo takes her on a date and I 🥲 Odo you're stupid, I hate you kind of

I love him, but he hurts her so much, and I hate him for it. And she forgives him, because she has always seen how he hurt, and she always loved him in a way or another. That's an unhealthy basis, but it breaks my heart.

(A few songs I did it to. I love these very much, you should listen to Barbara and Cesaria Evora and Meimuna)

[ender-cloud]

HOLY SHIT HYDE!!!!!

(See this is different from last week because it’s in all Caps)

I was hoping to move on to the next stage of grief but Hyde is still in the stage of Anger (for good reason) so Instead, the end will have my predictions for the Depression and bargaining stage.

But Anger lasting a while is realistic, some stages take longer than others do, so if anything it’s just good writing

Anger (Again)

I wouldn’t personally categorize this as just Anger, the Anger is mixed with the denial that Jekyll is serious. He still thinks this is a joke, a way to make him seem crazy, a way Jekyll can laugh at him.

Hydes anger is a stronger form of his denial, a more elevated version of it, he’s expressing his denial of the situation through his anger because he doesn’t want to accept it.

Thats Almost always true for the 5 stages of grief, in many cases Denial can be seen in Anger, Bargaining, and Depression, it’s no different for Hyde.

He looks almost crazy, the fact Jekyll is gone doesn’t make sense to him, it’s Jekyll, why would “perfect” Jekyll do something rash like this.

Now the entire point of Hydes anger last page was in hope to get control again, but this page his anger seems to take some control over him

Pounding on the mirror was clearly an impulsive decision done with little thought on what it would do, by trying to get the upper hand on Jekyll he just lost control of the situation even more until it was too late.

His emotions got the better of him, his fear and anger, he’s vulnerable, something he dosent want to be, it feels wrong to him and just makes it even a terrifying situation

Some general predictions:

Hyde will most likely panic next chapter, picking up glass as fast as humanly possible, blood probably dripping on his hands, i want this man crying and broken on the ground shaking

I feel like someone will walk in, theres no way that the lodgers and others didnt hear the glass crash, most likely, Lanyon will be first, yell at him for all that happened, asking where Jekyll is. Frankenstein would be next, then the lodgers

Rachel and Jasper wouldn’t be there, I think Rachel is crying somewhere else (perhaps the roof where her and Jasper first had their bonding conversation 👀👀) Jasper would either be looking for her or comforting her

If they did hear it they would be the last ones to the scene

Ok now my predictions for how Bargaining and Depression is going to go

Depression

Personally, i think Hyde will go through the depression stage first, I think he’s going to look around at everything he broke, everything he has done, just to see Jekyll isnt there

He’ll be lost, not sure what to do, and curl up into a protective ball, a way to hide, he will break, not being able to hide the emotions anymore as they just start spilling out

Bargaining

Hyde has been Bargaining, has been trying to get control back, but I believe this is where it will all come to fruition.

I think Hyde will do something irrational, and what exactly is that irrational thing? I think he is going to drink the temporary death potion that Frankenstein has

He will think it will put him into the mind with Jekyll, we’ve seen this happen a few times, when Hyde was killing their body and during the new short story with Dracula.

By doing this he thinks he will not only gain control again but also bring Jekyll back. It will give him a sense of power knowing he was able to bring Jekyll back

But I don’t think it will work, I think he will fail, I don’t think Jekyll is going to come back and if he does I think it will only be if Hyde goes deep into the mind, therefore killing himself in the process.

Jekyll isn’t just going to give into Hyde but Hyde doesn’t know this

Jekyll will always have the upper hand, no matter what Hyde does it will never be enough

[loycos]

i genuinely want timebomb fans to explain how episode 7 wasn't fan service, cause it seems to be a common consensus that the caitvi sex scene was. im so curious as to how their minds work

my main critique of the episode is its length and placement. thats not the right time to waste all this screen time on this. especially when in the very next episode, the plotline act 1 spent so much time establishing gets resolved in 3 conversations. which were good, writing wise, but thats where the jinx\vi\cait arc ends. an arc that was established all the way in season 1. and caitlyn gets to spend the finale interacting mostly with ambessa, a character who's relationship arc she started like 5 episodes ago, and doesn't have as much emotional depth as her relationship to vi and jinx. the sex scene is literally all we got to conclude the caitvi relationship that had been building for 2 seasons. and yet people think it was pointless.

i actually want to make a post\video as to why i think caitvi lost its narrative purpose in acts 2 and 3, and therefore why people started seeing it as unimportant and "fanservice". the short answer is: narratively, caitvi are a physical representation of piltover and zaun, and their relationship symbolizes how the cities can reach a compromise if they see each other's humanity and learn to cooperate. if you noticed the piltover\zaun plot dropped like a fly after episode 4 and was basically in the background to time travel and magic shenanigans since then, you might now understand why caitvi the ship lost its purpose. they're still lovely as characters, and the audience loves them too, but at this point, their relationship doesnt represent anything in the story anymore. nothing that matters in the finale, anyway.

[honeyhotteoks]

do you have any advice on like getting better with writing?

hey! i definitely do!! i’ve talked about this before but i have a lot of new readers, so ill start off by saying i’ve been writing for my entire life, and im 30 so thats a lot of years. if you’re a new writer, trust me i used to be there and good god if you guys could see the stuff i published in old fandoms 💀 really, really bad haha

i only say that because i by no means consider myself a great writer, there are fic writers in this space alone that i’m always so floored by and look up to…. but people have been very kind about my writing style and it’s something that took time to develop it’s not something i just “had”. outside of fic, i was a literature and creative writing major, and got very used to writing and workshopping pieces.

now! onto some actual advice —

1. read a lot and read more, but read stuff you actually like and not stuff you feel pressured to read. i love high brow litfic as much as the next pretentious english major, but i started writing a ton after reading a bunch of kindle unlimited romance because it was fun and it got me inspired

2. watch well written television for dialogue and pacing. people do not talk in proper english, they don’t say things eloquently, and there’s a lot of filler and fluff. that’s good! that’s real, so i love well written tv to show me how it’s done

3. get comfortable writing in weird ways. for years i used to sit down and be like “ah okay so chapter one” and then i was stuck, stalled out, and just felt bad about the process. when i started writing both aurora and tnt, i started in the middle. i had an image of a scene in my mind (for tnt it was actually the claim attempt) and i just wrote it out and then bounced around later

4. outlines are your friend! sometimes i’ll get a random line of dialogue in my head or an image but that doesn’t mean i’m ready to write it. i throw it in one big outline so i don’t lose it.

5. if you’re wanting to write really good smut i have two suggestions but please only do this to your personal comfort level. this is what works for me but do not make yourself uncomfortable— for good smut, i watch porn for reference and for good dirty talk, i listen to nsfw audio. i like to really write the visuals for smut and make it immersive but lol i haven’t experienced everything ive written about and logistics of the body are hard!! i usually find a video or an audio and let that help guide the imagery im writing.

6. be comfortable with the editing process. i know the temptation to post something the minute you finish it is there, but sleep on it. come back and edit it, read the dialogue out loud if you have to. i swear you’ll make the piece better just by leaving it and coming back.

7. don’t be afraid to post. most people are kind, and the worst thing that will happen is you don’t get a lot of notes. that’s okay, it’s a process.

8. research! as i’m writing anything, even a silly little oneshot, im doing research on something. i am hyper aware that im not korean and have never spoken korean or lived in korea, so for my fic i try my hardest to ground elements of that in reality. i truly cannot tell you how many hours ive spent reading like korean case law on revenge porn just for like 3 lines of dialogue. and you don’t have to go that crazy, i’m arguably too intense, but i do think some of that helps the story and the dialogue feel real.

9. describe something real- every place in my writing is based on something real. every apartment, hotel, cafe, venue, etc., they’re all either something i’ve found online or drawn from my life and use that to my advantage. i use apartment listings and save photographs, i do google map walks to see what neighborhoods look like, anything to get the feel of a place or an experience. for the christmas chapters of aurora, i watched hours of gwangju walking tour videos on youtube while i was writing just to understand how to describe their walk in the snow. it really helps me to have a visual that i can put words to.

10. find your weak points and see what other writers do differently. if you want to improve, you should find a small place to start. is it dialogue? overall plot? smut? etc. - i’ll never forget being on a creative writing retreat, and a very important writing professor said to me “everything you write is very pretty but you haven’t said anything. you have to decide to say something.” that feedback hurt, but sent me down a much better writing path when i realized where i was falling short and not challenging myself.

okay i hope some of this was helpful and if it’s a mess im sorry im on mobile. i really just love writing so deeply and will always talk about it, so i hope this was helpful 💗

[fand0mswithbunny]

this is so different from the other posts i do but fuck it. descendants 4: rise of red review, spoilers ofc, we still boycott disney's ass, pirate this movie like uma and her crew ate the intro of this movie instead of watching this from disney+

keep reading if youve seen it or dont care about spoilers but tldr: if you havent seen it and see this as a spin off movie instead of a 4th installment, i say go watch it. its basically how i feel about the 2024 mean girls movie, im just here for certain characters, dynamics and songs, and a bit of the actual plot, its fun but definitely not for everyone, i liked parts of the movie/plots tho

okay honestly overall, despite the fucking terrible rushed ass ending, i still honestly enjoyed a lot of aspects of this movie.

songs, generally i liked. yeah its all pop-y but yk, none of them were unbearable, i loop red, whats my name (red vers.) and love aint it what about it

the editing was. a choice at times. like it will cut at the most random moments and when red was being transported and fell from that. pipe. thing in the castle it was so. disney channel editing core LIKE OKAY I KNOWW OFC IT IS but grahhhhhHH

the cg was good, direction was. also a choice at times. idk how to explain it but it felt like every scene was being directed like a music video and not like a MOVIE esp the lighting oh my god idk what it is but its so GLOWY AND WEIRDD

the characters themselves, i love the main cast, red, chloe, ella, bridget, etc. were all cool. IM A FIRM RED/CHLOE SHIPPER THEY ARE GIRLFRIENDS IDC and i also liked the dynamic they have with their past moms it was nice

oh yeah i dont mind how they wrote mal, evie, jay, and ben outta the story, i mean they gotta explain their absence yk. and i loved the carlos tribute, you can tell china was genuinely not acting in that tribute scene.

the vks were. okay. i dont mind that literally every villain/princess/disney protag goes to high school. this whole series basically feature length fanfiction anyway, idc personally about that. its weird URSULAS SISTER was the main antagonist. like i get having a completely new villain aside from the vks parents or something but. ursulas. sister??? besides you could tell me shes ursula and ill believe you.

its nice seeing filipino prince charming thats it thats all i gotta say RAHHH PHILIPPINES BABYYY 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 MY MANS GOT THAT 'PINO RIZZ OKAYYY

the plot was actually fun, but yeah I WISH WE COULDVE SEEN CASTLECOMING WE WERE ROBBED OF THAT i knew when red and chloe got the book there was like 10 minutes left in the film but cmonn we couldve had Morgie, I DONT KNOW somehow freeing the rest of the vks and them STEALING THE POCKETWATCH AND RED AND CHLOE HAVING TO GET IT BACK, GET ANOTHER 30 MINUTES IN THE FILM MAYBE, ANOTHER ACTION SEQUENCE, CASTLECOMING. but its finee im sure theres a fanfiction in the works somewhere that has that exact premise because thats what fanfic is for babyyyy

imagine. during the dance chloe and red are scrambling to find the watch, they see the vks, they find bridget crying because her best friend isnt there, she thinks ella bailed on her, they have to find the watch but, they gotta make her feel better right? red comforts her while chloe chases after them to find the watch, ella comes to the dance late after deciding, fuck my stepmom, get your hands dirty parallels, something something, the four of them all stopping the vks together, THEN they travel back.

i should just write a fix it fic for this movie at this point damnn i impressed myself

but yeah the ending does leave a lot of plot holes, if bridget didnt change from the past WHO DID, if Red even CONSIDERED a VK in this timeline? if not then WHO IS IT?? IS IT CHLOE?? its hella rushed, its ass, but i guess we'll find out in the 5th movie ig

also i thought they were totally setting it up for Ella to be the one that humiliated Bridget in the past, like the "I saw through her" in Love Ain't It we NEVER GOT ANY CLOSURE FROM THAT WHAT HAPPENED?? sighhh its okay its fine

i see this movie as a spin off movie rather than a 4th installment of the universe because it pretty much is, like its basically its OWN universe with the lack of the og cast and new characters. i unofficially coin it as the "Descendants: Redverse" because it just makes more sense

so many questions, mainly WHY, but yeah, still liked it, would rewatch. certain. parts of it. but honestly? a 7/10. leaning towards a 7.5

is this a recommendation? not sure, depending on who you are you could totally love this film or hate it, i say give it a chance and completely ignore the busted ass ending <3

anyways KENDRICKKK FANFIC WRITERSSSSSS- DROP SOME MORE CHARMINGHEARTS FANFICS/D4 FIX IT FICSSS. AND MY LIFE, IS YOURRSSSS

[sjmprideweek]

*Shuffles up like a drug dealer in an alley* You want fic recs? I got fic recs

*Deep breath*

A Court of Threads and Daises by @shi-daisy. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

I was sucked into Tamcien by this glorious fic, it is my comfort fic and I love it with all of my soul. If you like sweet, fluffy with a side of heart-wrenching angsty Tamcien, this is one for you. I will never shut up about this fic and I recommend it to literally everyone. 

A Second Chance by @goforth-ladymidnight. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra. 

Adorable, amazing, delicious are the first words that come to mind. I am genuinely in love with this fic, the plot is amazing. The angst is angsting and the fluff is so sweet I cried. 

Lovely and Lonely by @praetorqueenreyna. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

 EYFBI3UWEGJFH9UO2HQ I actually adore it so so so so much. We stan gay Lucien, and the angst that comes with the curse in the later chapters had me staring into the void as I grappled with my feelings. 

Wildflower by @mathiwrites. Tamlin/Rhysand. 

*Chefs kiss* Mathi’s works slap so fuckin hard, I can’t even. Tamlin and Rhysand’s story prior to Feyre’s arrival is so beautifully written, (side note, baby Tam is fuckin adorable) and I love the inclusion of the stories of characters we don’t get to explore in the actual books. Amazing worldbuilding, beautiful writing. 

A Court of Beasts and Chances by M4r0u_Mar. Tamlin/Tarquin. 

Never even thought of Tarquin and Tamlin before this fic, but now I do. Tarquin is adorable and I wanna squeeze him so bad. I love how they switched up the events of UTM, the foreshadowing is incredible. Amazing read. 

Still Beautiful, Still Mine by @goforth-ladymidnight. Tamlin/Lucien 

For such an important canon event, I don’t see a lot of fics centering around the aftermath of Lucien losing his eye, but this portrayed it utterly beautifully. The softness between Tamlin and Lucien, and their bond was written so well, I get butterflies reading it. 

A Sunbeam Shining Bright Into the Night by @nocasdatsgay. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra. 

 I love Calanmai smut fics with all my heart, and this one especially is amazing. I love the bond thats shown in this fic, I am always drawn in when I get to see the snippets of love and friendship in Tamcien, and the beautiful writing makes it so immersive and captivating. 

Forbidden by @nocasdatsgay. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra. 

Okay but like, Tamlin being completely and utterly undone by Lucien, and just so down bad for him is one of my favourite things in the world. And this gave me everything I want from that. 

Breezing on by Sprighnt (SliPuP_Slit). Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

I love modern Tamcien so much, and this is just perfect. I love their friendship, and I love reading about their dynamic. The way Tamlin and Lucien perfectly balance each other out in this fic is amazing. And the little slice of Azriel/Eris Vanserra is the cherry on top. 

By the Fountain by Sprighnt_(SliPuP_Slit). Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

EEEEEEEEEE First kiss scenes always get me, and the way Tamlin was just a little jealous and possessive of Lucien had me kicking my feet and giggling. I adore them, this is a fic I go to when I want a quick hit of fluff. 

When The Sun Came Up (I Was Looking At You) by pansexual_intellectual . Jesminda/Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra. 

I want to hug the person that made this, it is that good. Omg, more people need to read this. I didn’t really like second person before, BUT I DO NOW. The angst made me cry, the OCs included I adore. I have a deep emotional attachment to this fic and I need everyone to read it so I can ramble about it. 

A strange thing happened the night of the High Lord meeting by @umthisistheonlyusernamenottaken. Tamlin/Rhysand. 

Desperate Rhysand is best Rhysand. I love all the undertones and the barely hidden crushing longing between these two. They are AFTER each other and I am here for it. How Tamlin’s mere presence seems to make Rhysand implode is a total vibe and I adore it. 

A Court of Lies and Resurrection by @ashintheairlikesnow. Tamlin/Rhysand.

I hated having to go to work, sleep, eat or do anything in the four days that I read this, because it meant I wasn’t actively reading it. My brain latched onto this fic like it was my only life source. I am in love with it. The plot is amazing, the characters are amazing, the love story is actually to die for. This broke and rebuilt my heart. 

I love all these works with all my heart, and everyone please go check out the creators of these fics as so many of them have other amazing works featuring LGBTQIA characters and relationships!!

(I may send in more as I find them, sorry for the amount I am sending in but I wanna bring light to all these fics!)

This is the best intro to an ask I've ever seen! Thank you so so much for compiling this list and helping to further the queer agenda throughout the maasverse ❤

[scary-white]

I'm writing an essay about subtle LGBTQIA+ tropes in King's work and I was wondering if you had a favorite quote from the book that shows Sue's fascination with Carrie? If not, no worries!

I've got a few to choose from, though some of them are context dependent.

1. "The realization suddenly brought everything up close, made it real, and compassion for Carrie broke through the dullness of her shock." (Pg. 287)

Found in the context of Carrie and Sue sharing a psychic link. Sue finds that the thought of herself comes to her as neither words nor pictures—she just is. Removed from labels, names, and status, this is perhaps the first time Sue can identify herself for who she actually is, and, well, the quote says the rest.

2. "In the aftermath she felt low and melancholy, and her thoughts turned to Carrie in this light." (Pg. 55)

This entire scene is interesting to comb through with a queen lense, and I highly suggest you do. Here, Tommy and Sue have just finished having sex and Sue is unsatisfied. The preceding lines are:

"Tonight was only the second time she had begun to feel something like pleasure, and then it was over. Tommy had held out for as long as he could, but then it was just... over. It seemed like an awful lot of rubbing for a little warmth."

I highly doubt King intended it this way, but wow. Having your character lament over how little she enjoyed sex with her boyfriend only to immediately think about another woman is... Something.

Again, I really think this entire scene is worth examining. Sue thinks about what she's become and what she's on track to become, and she is so dreadfully dissatisfied. She feels that she's only with her boyfriend because they're a nice looking couple, and it's expected of them. She fears conformity, and she fears the path it's leading her down: A path of house-wifery, and child rearing. All of her fears, everything she doesn't want? Its all heteronormative.

Then, after going down the list of all her deep, dark fears, she arrives at this:

"Carrie, it was that god damn Carrie. This was her fault. Perhaps before today she heard the distant, circling foot-falls around their lighted place, but tonight, hearing her own sordid, crummy story, she saw the actual silhouettes of all these things, and yellow eyes that glowed like flashlights in the dark." (Pg. 57)

Another woman made you violently aware of your own impending, disgustingly hetero-normative doom? That's kind of gay.

3. "She was not even aware that she was following Carrie's progress toward The Cavalier, no more than she was aware of the process of respiration unless she thought about it." (Pg. 279)

I don't really have anything intellectual to add here, but I'd like to point out that in my annotated copy I wrote in the margins, "following Carrie is as natural as breathing? THATS GAY."

4: "A. (Sue) Oh, you stupid man! Have you listened to anything that's been said here? Everybody knew it was Carrie! Anyone could have found her if they had put their minds to it.

Q. But not just anyone found her. You did." (Pg. 284)

Sure. Anyone could have found her if they set their mind to it, but she's the only one who cared to. In a way, she's been following after Carrie for the entire novel.

5. "They shared the awful totality of perfect knowledge." (Pg. 287)

This is after they've formed a psychic link. Carrie reveals to Sue her every horrible trauma. Sue discovers first hand how it feels to be Carrie White. Later, Carrie is witness to Sue's inner most thoughts and memories. They're bonded on the deepest level. In a way, they are one in the same— even sharing one death.

Hope this helps! ❤️

[byoldervine]

Writing Tip - “Mine Isn’t As Good As Others”

We’ve all heard someone say it. We’ve all said it ourselves. We read a book and then go to our own writing project and this “Mine isn’t as good as that, will it ever be good enough to have anyone care about it?”. And today I’m going to give you some reasons why you feel that way

1. You’re too close. This is your own writing, where you’re aware of all the failed drafts and the struggles to try and get it right and, most of all, the idealised image in your head that you conjured up all by yourself. When you’re reading someone else’s work, you only see the best in it, and it paints you a picture that wasn’t there before. I guarentee you the author couldn’t paint the original image in their head as beautifully as they imagined it, but since you have no frame of reference for that original image you can only enjoy the amazing new image you’ve conjured up yourself. The words never do the original image justice, and that can be a struggle for authors to accept since they read such vivid descriptions from others

2. Familiarity. You know how when you read the same word over and over it stops looking like a word? Thats what happens when you’ve been working on the same story too long. This is why we always say fresh eyes are so important; someone entirely unfamiliar with the story will view it completely differently, but not someone who’s micro-analysing every little word choice

3. Faulty comparison. If you’re reading a finished book, one that the author was proud enough to publish, and then turn around and get sad that your first draft isn’t as good, you need to be realistic; you can’t compare a finished product to a work in progress. Finished books will undergo a whole bunch of edits, the least amount of edits I’ve seen is about three dedicated ones before the book got published - and for some books I’ve seen it go upwards of ten. Are you really gonna compare the first draft to the twelfth one?

4. First drafts are bad. In fact, don’t ever compare your first draft to anything, because they’re not supposed to be good. Your first draft will never see the light of day. Many writers rarely if ever share their first draft outside of getting advice on how to progress on something they’re stuck on, usually they’ll at least wait until the second draft before that gets out to beta readers or anyone like that. Your plotting is your foundation, and your first draft is like the scaffolding and framework of your house. Sure, it does good to hold it up and give you a clear idea of where you’re going, but it doesn’t exactly constitute a house, does it? It’s not supposed to be the house, it’s just needed in order to progress further

5. Difference in experiences. On the whole, reading is passive and relaxing, which is why everyone enjoys it as such a chill past time. All the work has been done for you, you can just sit back and enjoy it without putting any effort in. But writing is an active project that you need to be putting a lot of effort and mental strain into. You can’t just zone out and watch the scene play out in your mind, you actually have to write it down. This can be very discouraging, especially when it breaks you out of your immersion constantly. Reading feels better in comparison because it’s easier, all the hard work is someone else’s problem, and as such we can think that the other book is so much better than the thing we shacked together just to get our daydreams to work out

[actualbird]

do you have any advice for overcoming awkwardness when writing smut? I don’t get awkward *reading* smut and thinking of writing smut fics, but when I actually sit down and write smut fics I get so awkward and feel embarrassed!! There’s no shame in writing it of course, but I specifically feel shame and im often like “agh it’s so awkward writing this level of intimacy!!”

hi anon!!! and ohhh......im not sure if my answer is gonna be helpful, because it's more of a mindset thing than it is a concrete/tangible writing tip but like

just treat smut like how you would treat any other type of story

because it is! smut is just another kind of story. some people like it, some people dont. same goes for sex. some people like it, some people dont, and while sex is an intimate act, it doesnt always have to be as well. theres friends with benefits, theres sexually active aromantic people, theres people who have sex for the fun of it. essentially, sex is like......every other act. meaning can be attached to it or not, the same way you'd attach meaning or not to the mundane act of like, eating a cake.

i think im getting off topic here kBLKSJFD but like. at least for me, what helped was stopping myself from putting smut on some kind of Special Pedestal with Different Rules. at the end of the day, it's...just another story. so i treat it like how i treat writing any other story.

mindset things aside, here are some other tips off the top of my head that might help

if the problem is intimacy, try writing other scenes that have deep physically intimate connotations. like a bubble bath together, or sharing a first kiss, or giving each other a massage. this can help in getting comfortable with writing intimacy in general, so when you take the intimacy up a notch for smut, it isn't as jarring or like you're jumping into the deep end immediately. ease your way in

if the problem is explicit-ness, i'd suggest not writing E rated fic right away and maybe starting with what would be rated M instead (going by ao3 ratings). if ever you arent familiar with the difference, this post is my FAVORITE post on differentiating M and E smut, please read it, ive screencapped it below for ease of reference.

essentially the difference is in the amount of detail and scene expansion, and with this in mind, M rated situations can be a nice training ground for working up to writing E rated situations. same rationale as my previous tip: if diving in head first is hard, then ease your way into it

another tip i have thats more collaborative is: if by any chance uve got a friend/s who you discuss fanfic ideas with.....talk about your smut ideas with them too. bounce the idea around with another person, i feel this helps make any fic idea (not just smut) much less intimidating while also having the extra bonus of fleshing out the idea even more

last tip: practice!!! you can write snippets or short scenes of smut little by little and, as the saying goes, everything gets easier with practice. not just the act itself, but also the attitude of going into it. with enough practice you'll just end up so used to writing smut that eventually you'll forget to be awkward or embarrassed about it

i realize that i just said a bunch kLJBSJD so i'll end this ask here. i hope some part of it is helpful to you!! and i wish you the best on your smut writing journey :D

[shreddeddescent]

ok ok one last insanity check for everyone ok this is a lil different. like lemme just say im clearly someone who likes to go to the dark zone but also try and claw my way back out. i do sappy funny shit most of the time. and the writing of this thing has gotten long and insane, timelines have jumped as i try and parse events. as in i started w a scenario where raph nearly got sold out to his father and is rescued by his brothers immediately. we go to a place where he wasnt and is rescued later. theres been inbetweens where hes rescued but bad things happen despite that. all of this has led me to like his inner turmoils (diagnosis) and the other characters inner turmoils more. how they feel about each other how theyve coped. its good to jump around so im glad i havent said too much as if its all set in stone. im glad im not trying to write a fanfiction to SHARE if that makes sense.

my current shit that has gotten the longest was from the worst case scenario of his lack of rescue and i feel like... i dont need to say what that was? but i think i should point out that descent has a second meaning. its not just the spiralling downward, its also the root word of descendant. that was my feeling about the poetry of it.

so ill say i do feel like im in the danger zone of being fucking murdered for this but i wanna say it anyway cuz i think itll be ok. i think you guys will get it cuz ur being nice. im exploring shit and having fun. it gets raw, it gets hard, but its working out.

so i started writing this au as "ok so heres a scene where raph is just hanging out w casey, hes trying to tell her to control her anger, and theyre fighting a bit. and he fucking flashes back and realized hes a csa victim. let the story unravel from there"

and im currently in the. insane writing area of "what if ur presumed aborted kids come back from the future/pocket dimension to take care of u cuz theyre like 30 and have coped w what they are and know you have no adults around who give a shit. and theyre amazing and kind and want to help you."

shits.......... gone off the rails. idk what else to say. i am having fun exploring insanity and seeing if i can reign it in. if i didnt do that i wouldnt have come up w half the shit i have. so like. uh. idk if youll see anything of said thing okay. its weird i know it is. but honestly i feel like the insanity and seeing how real i can make it feel, how i can parse feelings over it is working well. maybe this all sounds spoilery or weird. i was really thinking "ill just draw out things chronologically" but im struggling with that for some reason. but this au is on my mind uh 24/7 and its good to just be like "ok, heres where my head is at, if thats not what you wanna hear about it the unfollow button is right there"

but i also feel like ive been OVERLY POINTING OUT. that this isnt a story for kids. so please try not to judge me too harshly. its just a fucking.... how insane can i go and tell you about it thing. i guess.

[choccy-milky]

Hi! I started reading your story sometime in the last week and I’m OBSESSED! I normally don’t have much patience and can’t get myself to read anything past like 15k or anything that’s still being worked on, but your story hooked me almost instantly! I really liked the description and decided to give it a try and I’m so glad I did. The detailed descriptions you give pull me into the story and the way you seamlessly switch points of view feels so natural. I just wanted to let you know how much I’m enjoying reading so far and I’m excited for more! ❤️

AW TYSM😭😭 this means a lot, esp since ive been kinda self conscious about the length of my fic lately (and also how long its gonna end up being once im actually done LMFAO) and ik my chapters have gotten ginormous BAHAHA so im glad that even if you don't usually read long stuff you still gave my fic a try and enjoyed it so much + are looking forward to more!!💖💖so ty again😭🙏 AND as usual i'll be using this to answer other asks:

thank you and AA im glad to hear it!! a lot of people have been telling me ive been inspiring them to draw lately and i love it (im just sorry i dont have any concrete tips to give people other than keep practicing LOL) but good luck and i hope you keep at it!!🥰🥰

GIRL IDK, IDEK HOW LONG THE STORY IS GONNA BE, but assuming im still brainrotted even when its done then YEAH u wouldnt be able to stop me if you tried😊 (im glad you like them so much as well, ty!!😭)

thank you!! and yes i usually have at least a vague idea of what i want in the story before i start, though a lot of it didn't become concrete until i started writing/things evolving from there. i made a big (slightly) vague timeline of the entire fic from beginning to (almost) end, and then i keep fleshing it out from there as the ideas keep coming to me/evolving, and for each chapter i make an even more detailed outline, and THEN i get started on the final chapter. so its a bit of a process bahaha, but the brainstorming is really fun!! as for any advice, im not sure. maybe just brainstorm/write down scenes and ideas that you know for a fact that you want to put in your fic, and then try to find a way to connect them to other scenes from there and work backwards. basically WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO READ, cuz like im my own biggest fan fr, thats the most important part LMAO

LMFAO speaking of outlining future events.....this may or may not happen in the future/in an epilogue when clora is pregnant and she got those pregnant woman hormones that seb is fighting for his LIFE to keep up with HAHAHA

ive been drawing since i was 4 years old so...a while. LOL. and if you even look back to the beginning of my blog, my first drawings of seb were SO UGLY💀💀 so if you just keep drawing you constantly get better naturally (also in response to the other ask you sent as well, i use clip studio paint to draw!)

AW TYYY. AND YES CLORA WILL HAVE ANOTHER MC MOMENT, the ranrok confrontation is still coming, after all...👀👀 and true, idek who would win if clora and seb duelled again with neither of them holding back, but u are so right. even if clora DID win that would do nothing to change sebs mind about how protective he is LMFAO. THANK YOU AGAIN im glad you like my fic + drawings so much!!💖💖

BAHAHAH in my fic (for smut reasons and so that they could be 17 when they did the nasty) i made clora's bday april 3rd and sebs february 12, so clora is an aries and seb is an aquarius (and yes i just checked and apparently they ARE compatible, so seb can rest. also i just read up on aquarius and damn it unintentionally suits seb so well?? LOL "Aquarius is undoubtedly the most innovative, progressive, rebellious, and humanitarian. " and "They have incredible energy, though they may not always use it wisely. They find it easy to get through life on charm and good looks." LMFAO. ok king we love that

[the1975attheirverybest]

Concept ! Imagine Matty and the reader are fighting and Matty (you know he can get real mean sometimes probably ) gets into that mode but the reader / girlfriend is suddenly meaner in a smart way like he doesn't know what to reply anymore then him hahah how do you think this would end up

Ooohhh… Yeah, I definitely think Matty’s smart mouth gets him in trouble in arguments. My dad’s kinda like that. Like he’s so smart and so blunt but sometimes THATS NOT WHATS NEEDED and he gotta learn when to shut the fuck up a bit, lmao.

I’m gonna just go off of something that Matty himself has admitted to. “I’m better at writing…”

So, like, maybe his gf is also a musician. Or maybe she’s a writer. Maybe she asked him for his feedback on something, but instead of telling her what works and what doesn’t, he starts taking issue with the very premise of the thing that she’s writing. “Well if that’s how your character felt, why didn’t she just- stop going out with this guy. It doesn’t make sense. The reader needs to feel invested. I feel no investment in this plot whatsoever.” He shrugs self-satisfied.

“I didn’t ask you about the plot, Matty. I asked you about the building that this scene takes place in.”

“Never got to that part. Got bored after the second paragraph cuz I wasn’t buying into it.”

She gets frustrated “thanks. That’s unhelpful.”

“I would say that’s extremely helpful! Saved you a conversation with your editors.”

“You did no such thing, Matty. Instead of meeting the story on its own terms, you completely re-wrote it. It’s not about why they continue to stay together! Sometimes things aren’t that simple you know.”

He’s staying cool in the face of her frustration which is her least favorite thing ever. It makes he feel like she’s overreacting even when she’s not.

“It’s okay to suck sometimes. I do it too on occasion. But you don’t have to act like that cuz you know my way is better than yours. Just cuz you’re a writer, doesn’t mean you shit gold. Not everything that you come up with is gonna work.”

He thinks he’s won the argument. He sits back in his chair, legs open wide, taking up the space proudly.

“Oh, I know. Sometimes I make mistakes. We all do! It’s part of the writing process. I just feel sorry for you cuz you live in such a narrow reality that you can’t stand the idea of someone doing things differently that you. Just because YOU would quit on a situation like that, doesn’t mean my character should. I’m writing her story, not yours. Art doesn’t always have to be slavishly adhering to your specific perception.”

He opens his mouth to reply, “oh yeah? If I’m so narrow minded, then-“ nothing comes to mind.

“I’m just gonna go work on this on my own. Thanks for nothing, my love.” She walks away and goes back to her desk. He’s just sitting there. His mouth STILL open. He blinks and tries to take in what she said.

Ends up pouting for hours. Stewing in his is. Rage. He can’t BELIEVE she called him narrow-minded. That’s the last thing that he wants to be. That’s why he works so hard at trying not to be judgmental and make sure he’s open to arguments. Then he realizes that he behaved in the exact opposite way towards her. He wasn’t open to ideas. He just pushed his reading on her from the get go, and when she got frustrated with him, he told her it was her fault for not being able to see things her way.

So he starts jotting down thoughts on paper. Goes over to her office, and is like “okay, I’m gonna read out loud from this thing so I don’t put my foot in my mouth again. I’ll stick to the script…” he apologizes, then he makes a calm case for what he thought needed fixing, why he thought that (respectfully), and what he liked. He’d begggg her to let him see her draft again and he’d be on his best behavior.

[gayleviticus]

*disclaimer: i still dont remember shit about fmab

i think a little bit of both? i like fma 03! roy, so i guess i wouldn't mind seeing more of him, although the amount we got i thought was perfect for the role he played in the story. but then again, because there was more roy in fmab they couldn't write him like a miserable bastard all the time bc that would not engage the viewer so they gave him "he's so cool and badass'' moments. i think thats what was irritating me the most. fma 03 roy knows what he is and so does the story and they will not forget it even for a second. the weight of the roy's actions hangs over him pretty much every time he is on screen. meanwhile fmab just sometimes... forgets. or ignores it bc it doesn't fit the scene or they want a cool fight scene. in a way i find fma 03 roy more likeable BECAUSE he always remembers and feels that weight, because what sort of person is fmab!roy that he can just forget, even for a moment?

i found out on tumblr that apparently in fmab it was scar that killed winry's parents?? i did not remember that at all and i don't know how that works, but it seems baffling to me. the fact that fma03!roy killed winry's parents is literally my favourite thing about him. It really drives home the consequences of his actions and makes the world small and personal

also, bc of eds development in fma03 by the end, him and roy become equals in a way fmab!roy and ed never do. i love the understanding that is between them, but also that there is still distance between them after they reach it.

right right that makes sense. even the fact we don't get a scene where winry reconciles w Roy over it (or even confront him at all iirc? I'm second guessing myself here but I'm pretty sure it was planned for cos and doesn't actually happen) denies him any kind of relief there. it's very messy and complicated - you don't get a nice happy sentimental forgiveness moment, but we also don't get a moment of righteous indignation at Roy for what he did.

and yeah, in interests of charity and also not caring enough abt fmab to actually rewatch it and meaningfully dissect it I'll say scar killing the rockbells probably works for fmab etc but 03 going with 'actually this guy is pretty justified on the whole' for a character set up as scary terrorist religious fundamentalist is a very interesting take and transferring that crime to Roy instead makes a lot of sense

[seeingivy]

What’s your writing process like? Do you outline or storyboard?

LOVELY POOKIE. MY LOVELIEST POOKIE YOU ARE. WHAT A DARLING YOU ARE. this is a very very fun question im very honored you asked/want to know.

this usually depends based on what im writing.

shorter fics or one shots, like family rules (which is one of my most popular fics hehe) kind of comes to me in a vision. think of these type of fics as like - ronnie is being delusional before bed and imagining a life with gojo before she goes to sleep. except it does not stay in my head and then I post it here on seeingivy dot com

my very special taylor as gojo series is its own breed. before, it would be i listened to a taylor song and got an idea and I was like yup. thats the one.

but most of taylor as gojo lately has been requests (WHICH I LOVE THAT YOU GUYS LOVE TAYLOR AS GOJO) so I will literally blast that song till something comes to me. ive been on and off streaming between call it what you want and story of us and nothing has hit me like lightning yet - so I will take more time to ruminate as these two songs are very special to me and I want them to be good.

as for my lovely, lovely long fics, this is less structured, which is even funnier:

I'll get the idea and scattered scenes will come to me. i'll have a rough idea of the plot in my head, of how I want things to go, and kind of work out the story points as I go

Idk what kind of reaction this will evoke, but 90% of important plot points do not come out until I write them

historia/y/n feud was not a thing until two days ago. the girlfriend scene was not pre-planned the met gala was not pre-planned. y/n getting stranded was not planned. this literally all happened yesterday cuz I was like oh what if.....

there are certain scenes that I think of that earlier on tho just make me really excited to write -> I always wanted their first kiss to be them practicing kissing for a scene, I wanted there to be a jjk crossover and for sukuna to be AN ANNOYING SHIT, and there's a bunch of other scenes like that in my head that i'm really, REALLY excited to write

so basically no plot. I actually don't even know how method acting ends actually. this is literally all just vibes - idk if that is horrifying to you a reader or exciting but the story comes to me as it comes to me and I work things out and build them in

this is also why I can fit so much fan service in my stories - whatever you guys show interest in (for example, armin was never meant to be a polaroid fiend but you guys thought it was cute and now made it a thing) you want laufey? I give you laufey? you want the greatest by lana del ray? ok its coming

that being said, pls interact with your authors stories!!!! literally if you tell me you like a song, you like sukuna being a bitch, you want gojo being a menace I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN (to the best of my abilities) and you should always, always tell your authors what you love about their writing bc it makes their day + gives all the lil warm feelings so just take the time to appreciate!!!

anyways. idk if this gave any insight to you if you're a writer or if you're a reader i might have just like giving you a panic showing you what the inside of my mind is like. anyways. love you.

[okamirayne]

Hello lovely author, I have a question if you don't mind me asking (if you do mind then feel free to ignore this) from what I recall we only ever read the scene where Naoki and Genma were captured by Shuken from Genma's POV, so I've been wondering how did Shikamaru get from where Genma hid him to where Naoki and Genma were in that scene? Like did Shikamaru just wonder on by, was Kurayami looking for Shuken to finish the game or was he found by those chimaera/hybrid people.

Now onto my rave review.

I have no words to express how much I love your work. I have sentences and scenes that are carved into my brain. Naruto has alot of dark themes but ultimately has a hopeful tone so I really like the darker tone you've created for this universe and how you don't shy away the darker topics. But what I love most is how distinct and real ALL the characters feel (I don't normally like OC in fanfics but I got invested in all of yours), they feel so lived in and how you write the relationships between the characters is just👨‍🍳💋(I absolutely adore Neji and Kiba's dynamic and lack of chemistry).

I found it interesting that Shikamaru is kinda like a bridge between Naruto and Sasuke's traumas (Neji's pointed out similarities in HHU, the whole Orochimaru/Shuken thing and they've have all been hurt in some way by Konoha, Uchiha Massacre; System of lies -despite the good intentions- etc).

Chapter 10 was wild. The mental link reveal had me reeling for all the angst potential it holds. I wonder if that is how Naruto will find out about NejiShika🤔(if he does). None of the rookie13 are aware of their relationship, right? Wouldn't that be a fun reaction. I'm really loving the flashback scenes and Naruto's POV. I'm rooting for him to get his validation about the Kusa mission especially after he got dismissed by the other rookie12 in UTS (I find it funny how Sakura uses medical jargon to keep Naruto from suspecting anything but thats an instant tell).

Thank you for all the hard work you've put in to bring us readers this amazing story💕

Hello my dear Rave Review Anon, 💕

Firstly, I welcome your question, so thanks for taking the time! I'll do my best to answer. I appreciate your patience with me getting round to responding to you. 🙏🏼

[...] from what I recall we only ever read the scene where Naoki and Genma were captured by Shuken from Genma's POV, so I've been wondering how did Shikamaru get from where Genma hid him to where Naoki and Genma were in that scene? Like did Shikamaru just wonder on by, was Kurayami looking for Shuken to finish the game or was he found by those chimaera/hybrid people.

This is an excellent question which addresses a decision I regret making when it came to editing UtS. I chopped a whole heck of a lot of stuff out. I can add clarity here, in lieu of writing a chapter (maybe slipping it into a flashback might work better). You are correct in that Kurayami did his whole hostile takeover at that point and was the one who led Shikamaru back to where Shuken was holding Genma and Naoki. It would've been a semi fugue state in which Shikamaru operated, which is why he holds no memory of it. This is why it was told from Genma's limited POV. In order to fully write it, it would need to be told from Kurayami's perspective, and his full-on emergence came towards the latter end of UtS, where he was focused on annihilating Shuken, rather than reliving his memories. Shikamaru's flashbacks often came with big ass blanks in his head, due to the alter switch.

Simply put: Shikamaru woke up in a fugue state, was directed by Kurayami, ended up locating Genma and Naoki and losing his shit when seeing Shuken. Kurayami semi-disabled Shuken, at which point Naoki moved to shut Kurayami down and seal up Shikamaru's mind, getting a knife in the back (courtesey of batshit still-live-and-stabbing Shuken) for his efforts. Genma picked up Shikamaru and he and Naoki had to hightail it the hell outta there - which sadly resulted in Naoki succumbing to his injuries (as far as Genma knew) and telling Genma to go on without him. Shikamaru's little wander into the lion's den was experienced through Genma's POV, which is why there were blanks. It would need to be Shuken or Kurayami's POV to get the full picture and I regret not adding a different POV lens to that scene; though there's always room for flashbacks from Kurayami's perspective (or possibly Shikamaru's given that he'd integrated Kurayami by the end of UtS). I hope this answers your question, luv? Forgive the confusion, I appreciate it would've left question marks hanging. God knows Genma was WTF'ing his way through that experience.

I have no words to express how much I love your work.

And I fail royally when it comes to expressing how much I love that you love my insanity, you glorious reviewer.💜🫶🏼💜

Naruto has alot of dark themes but ultimately has a hopeful tone so I really like the darker tone you've created for this universe and how you don't shy away the darker topics.

Thank you, my luv, I am dastardly like that and I appreciate that the darker themes and tone don't make you go running for the hills. I have big love for you being in the trenches with these characters. Everyone has their comfort zones, and I am distinctively shit at giving much warning other than the bare-minimum kind of tags (habit of being an ffnet creature rather than an AO3 one). My human wiring is tangled up in the veins of these issues, and while that's sometimes gotten me flak, I will always tell the story that wants to be told and hope I do it justice.

But what I love most is how distinct and real ALL the characters feel (I don't normally like OC in fanfics but I got invested in all of yours), they feel so lived in and how you write the relationships between the characters is just👨‍🍳💋(I absolutely adore Neji and Kiba's dynamic and lack of chemistry).

Ah, damn. 🥹💖 I am so, so touched, chuffed, and ridiculously thrilled that you felt invested in my OCs. Though I've joked about interpretive dance being my only way to express my gratitude, I have no moves which wouldn't result in dislocation and hospitalisation. So please just know the feels are doing insane little flips and fancy twirls inside my writer's heart. 💖

Ha! Neji and Kiba.

Yes, well...chalk and cheese, oil and water...the list goes on...so does Kiba's insufferable ribbing. 😅

I found it interesting that Shikamaru is kinda like a bridge between Naruto and Sasuke's traumas (Neji's pointed out similarities in HHU, the whole Orochimaru/Shuken thing and they've have all been hurt in some way by Konoha, Uchiha Massacre; System of lies -despite the good intentions- etc).

Very true, luv. Those parallels are spot on.

Chapter 10 was wild. The mental link reveal had me reeling for all the angst potential it holds. I wonder if that is how Naruto will find out about NejiShika🤔(if he does). None of the rookie13 are aware of their relationship, right? Wouldn't that be a fun reaction.

*grins* Yes indeed. Sometimes I'm surprised by how much a character does or doesn't know and sometimes it only ever comes as I write. *waggles eyebrows*

I'm really loving the flashback scenes and Naruto's POV. I'm rooting for him to get his validation about the Kusa mission especially after he got dismissed by the other rookie12 in UTS (I find it funny how Sakura uses medical jargon to keep Naruto from suspecting anything but thats an instant tell).

Aw! I'm glad you're enjoying them. It's a whole new experience being in Naruto's POV. Especially when he's hurting.

I'm so glad I watched Shippuden from start to finish...that was a marathon worth investing in. And yes, precisely. He's more clued in than he lets on...or realises on a conscious level. It feels very reactive, visceral, and instinctive with Naruto. So different to writing Shikamaru, Neji, and other cerebral or controlled characters.

Thank you for all the hard work you've put in to bring us readers this amazing story💕

And thank you in return for being so kind and supportive as to give me this beautiful exchange via your feedback. It's the payoff that keeps me persisting when I'm getting hamstringed by burnout or low motivation. I appreciate it so damn much. You reviewers are precious. I salute you, dear Rave Review Anon, and I thank you again for making the time to reach out in solidarity and support - it matters in ways I can't express❤️💜❤️