#I’ve never really created a real OC that I’ve used in a multichap like I am now

[rowanisawriter]

💌 or really just any fic ideas you have percolating! i'd love to hear

Thanks for the ask! Percolating is the right word for what my current wip is doing in my brain lol.

I’ve been on a Cullen/Mage Inquisitor kick and I usually write with a different Inquisitor each time, changing her to fit the need of the story. This is how I play DAI too tbh, I don’t really have a canon Inquisitor, just whatever decisions I feel like taking at the time. (I realize how unhinged this is) BUT I started writing this really aggressive anti-Templar, reluctant Inquisitor and loved how fun it was. So I made her in game and now Petra Trevelyan is my newest OC and I love her 😍

Here’s a quick excerpt from firsts, set during their first meeting the night before the Conclave:

…

“Are you late for something?” she asks, tilting her head to one side as she analyzes him. Analysis is the only word for it, for staring at every shadow and wrinkle on his face, her own face perfectly neutral, as if she’s trying to memorize every detail for later. He feels like he’s under a magnifying glass, suddenly aware of his every flaw, the gray hairs that have popped up behind his ears, the heavy circles under his eyes, all laid bare before her. He suppresses the urge to shiver, a strange reaction. He’s used to mages scrutinizing him before, but not like this. There’s something bold in how she’s looking at him. It makes him uncomfortable.

“As I said, I am in charge of security for all the attendees of this event. Standing in a tavern explaining myself to a pair of mages isn’t part of my duties.”

“Surely, you understand my concern with having what appears to be a leader within the Templar Order in charge of the Conclave’s security.”

“Actually, I don’t,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest, the metal of his arm guards clinking against his chest plate, mirroring her own stance. “Why don’t you explain it to me?”

Her eyebrows twitch, as if she was going to move them but thought better of it. A small line forms between her eyes. Changes in her expressions are small but noticeable. She’s not as schooled as she thought, and for some reason the realization brings half a smile to Cullen’s face.

[tenscupcake]

skyler10fic replied to your post “skyler10fic replied to your post “i’ve finally compiled my thoughts...”

good point about it being a show/fic people are really into. So on the other end, as authors, how can we make our fics more compelling? I know about leaving hooks/cliffies at the end of chapters, but since I don't really write long fic, do you have any tips for how to keep readers interested? Most of the TV shows I drop off weren't doing anything wrong. I just got to where I didn't really care about what happens anymore. How do we avoid that as writers?

ah! i, too, have quit tv shows because they went off the rails or otherwise started to disappoint me. take doctor who, for instance... 

but here we’re getting into a whole other issue, i feel. how to prevent the real time readers you do have on a wip from losing interest, regardless of how quickly you can update.

i’m not sure i’m the most qualified person to ask, since i’m still a fairly amateur writer and trying to figure out how to do that myself (i’m only on my second multichap ever, after all). but i can offer some insights based on what i’ve experienced so far.

(this is going to be geared towards romance-centered fanfiction, since this is the only genre i’ve ever written.)

five pointers, in no particular order:

keep the focus on the ship. 

fanfic is unique in that if a reader opens up your story, it’s because they already love the ship you’re writing. the relationship is what they’re reading for. as such, they will lose interest if there are too many side plots detracting from /their/ story, or too many/too much focus on original characters. side plots and original characters can be great additions to stories, but always bring it back to your main characters, and how the events of the story affect and/or enrich their relationship.

conversely, if you know ahead of time that a non-relationship-related plot is central to the story, or an original character will play a major role, be sure to devote the proper time and effort into developing it. help the reader care about that plot or character. show (don’t tell) them why it’s important. treat the story or the character as though it had to stand on its own, then show how it weaves into your main characters’ storyline. readers will be much more likely to embrace the presence of a unique plot or character in a story if it’s properly introduced AND tied together. poorly constructed or disconnected plots or oc’s will only serve to distract from the ship and bore readers.

be original. 

and by that, i don’t mean that you should avoid tropes or prompt sites. or that if someone else has written a fic on your proposed topic, you should choose something else. rather, i mean to find some way to tell a story that’s been told a thousand times (this is what the world of fanfiction is, after all) in a new way.

find some unique element that you can add to their relationship that no one else has done before. introduce a conflict you’ve never encountered in your reading before. start your story somewhere in the canon timeline that’s less common. create new context for canon events, or explore the time between episodes or films in new ways. 

remember that as a fic author, you have the advantage of people already being invested in your main characters. at the end of the day, readers will happily read about the same tropes and story arcs over and over, as long as they’re told from a fresh new perspective or in a unique style.

use cliffhangers - with discretion.

it’s definitely okay to make use of cliffhangers, and they can be very effective! but don’t abuse this feature, either. having terribly rude cliffhangers on every chapter could deter some readers. 

a better way to think about this would be to ensure that, at the end of each chapter, the reader has something to look forward to. some unanswered question, some unresolved tension. you never want a reader to feel like all the current conflict has been resolved by the end of a chapter (save that for the end of the story). you want to keep them wondering what will come next. 

whether or not you include smut, do it wisely.

it’s every author’s decision whether or not to include explicit content in a fic. and tbh, 99% of the readers i’ve encountered don’t care if a fic has smut or not. however, most do like to be informed ahead of time which it’s going to be, so they know what to expect (or what not to expect).

but if you are going to include smut, don’t do it just for the sake of smut itself. one-shots are the appropriate place to put ‘pwp’, so to speak. any sex should feel right to you - and your characters - and come into the storyline at the right time for them and their situation. otherwise, it doesn’t belong. if you do decide that your characters will get physical at some point, keep in mind that if any ust you’ve built between them is resolved too quickly, that can often cause interest to evaporate.

on the flipside, if you decide to go smut-free, great! there are a multitude of ways your characters can show affection and become more intimate without sex. nice, fluffy, romantic smut-free fics are fantastic in and of themselves. you can challenge yourself to build a romance without using sex as a crutch. explore an asexual headcanon. tackle a relationship issue that’s independent from the physical.

that being said, please be polite to your readers by not leading them on. they’re going to get excited right along with your characters. stories with thousands of words of UST and detailed foreplay but no follow through are downright maddening. if you tantalize readers with descriptions of kissing and touching and undressing then fade to black, just be aware that many people won’t endure that kind of teasing.

be very mindful of characterization. 

thoughts, actions, dialogue, all of it. put yourself in your characters’ shoes. crawl inside their head. for every word they say, every decision they make, ensure that it’s true to their personality. that it makes sense for the stage of life they’re in, the state of mind they’re in, and the person they’re with (especially if it’s the other half of your ship). know canon very well, and use it as a guide. don’t hesitate to think to yourself: ‘can i hear this character saying this?’ or ‘can i see this character doing this?’ you don’t ever want a reader to say to themselves ‘... x character would never do/say that.’

fanfic is a double-edged sword in a way. i mentioned earlier that it’s to your advantage that readers are already attached to your main characters. it can also be a disadvantage, at times, because it also means they expect the characters to behave and speak a certain way. and if you don’t deliver /throughout/ the story, it can send a reader fleeing very fast, even if the story is already half finished.