#I've been doing productive things but when I take breaks I keep not writing fic

[larkawolfgirl]

Will I write more fic is the question.

[slothquisitor]

2024 Fic Wrapped

Thank you to @eraserspiral for the tag! This was fun!

What’s been your biggest learning point this past year?

Mostly that I can still write a lot of words if I'm doing it consistently? I was in such a writing slump before BG3. I've been pursuing traditional publication and had some cool wins but not quite...getting there? And then that on top of some personal life shit kind of broke me. It's been fun to get back to writing and let it be fun again and not something I *have* to do.

How has your writing developed this past year?

I think I've tried out some fun and cool things this year. I wrote HORROR! I wrote an homage to Emily Henry. It was fun to push myself into really different directions, and I think it's made me better or at least I hope so. That's the thing about writing! It's so subjective and difficult to really pinpoint the places where you may or may not be leveling up. But I feel like I grew this year, so I'll take it.

Good writing habits?

Writing every day. Even if I'm traveling or even if it's only for five minutes on my phone before bed, I try to do a little bit. It helps me feel connected to whatever I'm working on, but also I'm the type of person who really struggles with feeling productive without clear goal posts. So, being able to look at actual words on a page helps me feel I've done something, you know? Also just generally reading widely. I think being a good writer is about being a good reader too!

Bad writing habits?

Impatience. I have the same issue with my art. My best pieces are always the ones I didn't rush. I have this like...desire to push things out into the world so that they don't clutter up my head anymore, and sometimes I think that means I'm publishing before things are strictly ready. My goal in 2025 is to do this less. But also, sometimes I'm excited!

Favorite thing you wrote?

Probably What Moves in the Dark though Invisible String is a close second. I loved the overall story of What Moves in the Dark, and I think it's technically plotted better than Invisible String where I was just like...coasting on vibes.

Favorite reads?

She's not on here, but TheWyvernRising is my writing partner, and honestly, her work is severely underrated. She's got a great Ghost AU featuring Halsin and her oc Rowan, plus our OCs are besties in every universe. What else is fanfic for?

Biggest win?

Finishing not one but two longfics in a year! Also, the response to Invisible String genuinely surprises and delights me. Someone called me diabolical, and I've never been more pleased with myself.

Goals for the new year?

Just keep writing things that make me happy. I'd like to maybe return to the original work, but I'm also just like...not pressed about it? I'm having fun and I think that maybe that's enough for right now.

Your favorite words of the year, aka the words you check each chapter for, making sure you didn’t repeat them 788 times?

Oh god. I overuse a lot of words or phrases and I know it! It just sometimes is hard to notice until I like...reread after posting and I'm like...whoa Sloth...did you use 'gaze' and 'smile' enough? lol

What are you excited for in the new year?

To not have a fic that's posting on a weekly basis so I can return to my chaos gremlin ways. I've been posting a fic update every weekend since Febraury (with a few exceptions), and don't get me wrong...when I'm working on a longfic I need that structure. However, it's nice to get a break from that. I'll probably let myself get too chaotic in a month or two and return to some sort of schedule, but for now, it's nice. I'm excited to keep working on Veilguard stuff too. I don't have any fic plans beyond that right now, but I'm sure the plot bunnies will find me. They always do.

I've been either skiing or painting my house, and I've been very not here. So I'm not sure who has done this....so if you see this and want to participate, consider yourself tagged! <3

[redroomroaving]

Writer Interview Tag

Ok, it took me 8 days to get here, but I’m finally responding to this lovely tag from @lemonsrosesandlavender I adored reading yours, it was so interesting!

I've tagged a few people in this post later on and would love any of them to join in and have a go at this if they'd like to share their own answers :).

Answers under the cut, because this got long - I touch on some personal stuff a bit here, so CW for chronic pain discussion.

When did you start writing?

I’ve been writing nonsense since I was a kid, largely - I have old notebooks from when I was very young I still keep full of little characters and story snippets I used to write mostly to entertain myself on long car journeys  - I had one particularly ridiculous sci-fi story written as a series of diary entries across 4 notebooks I started when I was like … I wanna say 10? Boy.

I attempted my first actual novel at about 16. Tried it again at 21. Tried it again at 26. I’m sat, still, on my first draft of something I actually could do something with that I started 10 years ago. Me and writing have had a bit of a journey, largely due to some workplace related trauma - but coming back to it after all this time has been a lot like coming home, really. I think I’ve always been, as my mother would put it; ‘away with the fairies’.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

The honest answer is ‘probably not’. I rather enjoy non-fiction, but in terms of genres of fiction and themes within, I’d say I’m a very broad reader and outside of fic I’ve tried my hand at quite a lot of genres; I’ve dabbled in sci-fi and horror particularly, because that’s my happy zone.

Before joining the BG fandom my answer to this question would have been ‘Romance’, actually, because it was something I liked to read but didn’t necessarily feel brave enough to write; but truly, writing fic has pushed me right through my reticence to write romance of my own, and now it’s sort of all I write, I think!

Outside of that, I’m afraid I’m shamelessly drawn to the sorts of things I’d want to write.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I’ve not really been compared to anyone specifically; I’ve had a very flattering comparison of my themes in one particular story with Neil Gaiman - which is of course the kind of comparison anyone would be very happy to hear, but overall I’m not sure I’m prolific enough for that sort of thing ;).

I’m not sure who I’m trying to write like - if I’m trying to write like anyone - I like to think my prose style is reasonably my own but is almost inevitably really an amalgamation of all the people I’ve grown up reading and loving. 

Mostly, I’m a fan of the sort of magic realism/fantasy zone that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and a narrative voice that reflects that, and peppers it in around the characters own thoughts  - my bigger influences are probably in the Mervyn Peake, Warren Ellis, Pratchett, George Elliot, Peter S. Beagle sort of zone. 

To an extent, my interest in cinema and television is also a massive influence on how I write; I’ve spent most of my academic career working on breaking down scenes, the construction of frames - the threading of narratives on screen - and I don’t like to discount my favourite filmmakers and screenwriters as part of what I’m trying to achieve, too. 

Nothing should be in a scene without purpose - even if its superfluous presence is the purpose - and I keep that locked right to my heart. 

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I don’t have a dedicated space particularly - my phone at 3am, by the coffee machine between meetings, the dining room table at times, my desk at other times - scribbled in the back of a notebook on the bus.

I’m a deeply disorganised person, and my creative process is much like my life; full of piles of laundry done in fits of productivity, half stacked and waiting to be put in their proper places; invariably, waiting forever.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I have no good answer for this either - writing, for me, is rather like possession. When it has seized me I’ll readily throw down thousands of words in a flurry, and when it’s gone, it is gone. There’s little in between.

If I can’t find it - it’s usually time to steep myself, and let things sit and soak into the bones for a while. Throw on a bit of music and let it turn around in my head without trying to force it out - a tactic that for me, at least, never works - imagine some scenarios or conversations, until something or other takes root. 

Half the time it’s just about sitting in my character’s heads for a bit until I feel like I really know them, and could respond as them to questions and queries readily - this is something I’ve carried over from being a long time Dungeon Master - whose prep for sessions was about 15% maps and monster stats and 85% ‘stewing in my NPCs until there’s no question the players can ask I can’t answer in character’. 

There’s nothing quite like the mania and rush of when the muse takes control, and it’s always a bit of a sorry experience when you find yourself on the other side of it, wondering once again where it went. 

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

A few big ones - two that don’t surprise me, and one that does.

The first – coming to terms with what you were supposed to be, and what you are - the trajectory of my life hasn’t been particularly straightforward - I made a lot of decisions based on what I felt I owed to other people in my youth, my obligations to others, particularly family, steered my path towards disaster and the breakdown of my health, career, and life. I started over and found a new path. It’s not been easy. 

Over and over again I’m drawn to characters that have trajectories like this; who are coming to terms with what they thought they were supposed to be, the role they were supposed to have, and how they failed to meet those expectations - or in the case of some - how those expectations failed them. 

The second - pain, and finding the purpose within it. I have chronic pain of an unhelpful sort, acquired during the stuff I just mentioned - that can truly only be described as purposeless. In fact, I’ve had a clinician quite literally describe it as such (although the word they used was ‘pointless and unhelpful’).

I won’t pretend that’s been easy to live with, or that when I say ‘it is what it is’ whilst my body screams at me literally all seconds of all days and won't ever stop doing so forever, I’m just saying that because I can’t say anything else.

It’s not particularly surprising I ended up exploring this theme, inevitably. It’s probably why ‘Sufferer, I shall’, my Donnick x Abdirak fic, and that pairing that was so unexpected and clotheslined me out of nowhere, is the one that matters most to me. 

Finally, the theme that surprised me - is finding purpose and growth in love; for me, the heart of all the romances I write, big or small, is based on this foundation. If there’s no trajectory for individual growth, enhanced and augmented by a relationship with another - usually through the ways in which we can connect and more importantly gently contrast to push one another forward - I am not interested in the romance.

I’m painfully, painfully demisexual, so my romances need to be so dripping with Feelings it’s embarrassing. I didn’t know this about myself until I started writing it, but now I see it everywhere, and all of these three come together into a rather depressing sort of whole. I’ll sum up.

I’m constantly trying to build a happier tale than my own.

That one got sad, but it’s also the answer to this next question. 

What is your reason for writing?

See above. Writing gives me joy, but it also helps me to create a kinder, warmer world than the one I live in - even when I’m exploring its darker parts. 

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

I love any comments, I truly do - they all fill me with joy - just to know someone has read something I’ve written.

I’d like to take a moment, though, to shout out to a few people in particular - because I think commenting is an art in and of itself, and instead of talking about what motivates me, I’d like to thank some people for motivating me.

When @benicemurphy found my Rolan x Geraldus fic ‘the Harper in the Tower’ I started getting some of the most insightful, most moving comments I’d ever received. The way in which you so perceptively saw every tiny hint, every theme and thread just absolutely floored me. Anyone who gets a comment from you should be honoured to do so.

This goes too for @cedar-phoenix, who I don’t think I have on tumblr (Cedar! found you!) - but who might be one of the most perceptive people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. You have an absolute gift.

@graysparrowao3 left me some of the most punch in the face comments I’ve ever had on ‘Sufferer, I shall’. Watching your trajectory of reading the story and being greeted with ‘WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL’ truly, truly made my year. 

I love it when a commenter pulls out specific lines or moments that they enjoyed - especially because it’s never the ones I expect! @tavyliasin and @n1ghtmeri left me some of the most emotional comments on ‘Sufferer’ I’ve ever had the pleasure of receiving, and @darkurgetrash picking out specific lines of my Klaus x Kar’niss fic always gets me chomping at the bit to write more. It takes time and effort to leave the sorts of comments you do, and I want you all to know how deeply I appreciate it.

And of course, my dear @lizziemajestic - the only commenter who has left me a sobbing voice note. You have no idea how much that meant, and how much it has continued to mean, to me. 

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Honestly - I’m not really sure how to answer this. I hope it’s a warm cup of coffee; a bit of nourishment. I hope they can see how deeply I feel what I write, and that some of that comes through in the words they read - too.

I really care about all these silly little guys - and if reading it makes them smile, or cry, or really anything at all, that’s what I wanted, I think.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I’m terrible at talking about my own strengths so expect this to be a rubbish answer.

I like to think I’m good at character voices; I spend a lot of time thinking about and puzzling out how a character would speak and think - and as I predominantly, if not exclusively, write canon characters and NPCs, I hope I am able to capture their voices in a way that feels natural and organic. 

I never force a character to do anything - it doesn’t work, for starters - but I really do try to let them guide what’s happening and follow them where they lead. I hope that comes across in what I write and helps create something that feels in character and plausible, no matter what’s happening; I struggle at times with worrying this might mean things seem boring, or fail to meet expectations people might have of how things are going to go - but it’s a principle I stick to. If I’m changing something fundamentally about a character it feels wrong - and that’s a guiding principle I hold.

This extends to romances and relationships; I hope, at least, I build connections between characters that feel organic and earned, even when sometimes they are characters who literally have never interacted at all before. Finding the organic spark of connection is what I most enjoy writing. 

I hope I’m pretty good at environmental storytelling, too. It’s important to show character in the same way we show ourselves - in our environments, our habits and the spaces we occupy. Everything you do, the things you surround yourself with; that’s just as much you as the you in your skull. 

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

“Why write if not to fill the world with the kinds of things I want to read?”

I try to write mostly for myself. I’ve written a few things based on prompts and ideas for others, and do enjoy that - but first and foremost, I’m writing for my own sake.

How do you feel about your own writing?

Mostly good. Mostly. I’m not the best, nor do I want to be - I try not to engage too much with thinking about the wider space and how I’m comparing to others - I know I’m plundering down in some obscure mines at times, and that’s ok - that’s where I chose to be.

I’m not good at complimenting myself, but, I have managed to write some things I’m genuinely proud of as part of finding my way back to writing full stop. 

Overall though, I think I’m just happy to -be- writing. After so long being unable to do so because of the pain and being unable to use my arms, and feeling like writing was the thing that ruined me, finding a way back to some creative joy and reclaiming my pain as purposeful has been, genuinely, a lifeline.

I apologise that this got all deep and sad. I hope if you’ve read this, you know how grateful I am to you all; I’ve been so lucky to find this space, and all of you, and myself again too.

[tj-dragonblade]

Fanfic Tag Game

Tagged by @softest-punk and @landwriter, thank you both!

1. How many fics do you have on AO3? 133

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? I will break 400K with the next thing I post (unless it is somehow less than 401 words lol) Also, this would require actually focusing on something to finish it

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently? Sandman (technically, Dreamling). Previously? MCU, Naruto, Saiyuki, and Gundam Wing

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? Overall (these are from my Naruto days and more than ten years old): Delayed (or, Why Kakashi Is Never On Time) (GaiKaka) at 3963 Past the Limits (KakaNaru) at 1272 Affirmation (KakaNaru) at 1022 Worth It (KakaIru) at 1005 Vigil (GaaNaru) at 843 (It kills me that I am Just Not That Into Kakashi and yet he's fucked his way into four of my top five, lol)Current fandom tops, just for fun (all of which are at most a year-plus-change in age) Use Your Words at 443 Insatiable at 398 Fluffbruary Fills (2023) at 375 In the Morning Light at 318 Built For You at 308

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes, generally! I am still catching up on Fluffbruary comments, much to my chagrin

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Going aaaallllll the way back to Gundam Wing, I did a songfic where I implied a breakup until the final-line reveal that the character had gasp actually died. There may be a couple other angst-based pieces in my catalog, but that I think is the Most(tm).

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Most everything I write is a happy ending, when there's any semblance of plot involved. Uh. The Umbrella Boys AU had a wedding; maybe that counts? Either that or the Thessaly breakup fic with all the hurt-comfort pining that finally resolves into requited realization.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Never have, would like to keep it that way.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? The good kind *eyebrow waggle*

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I have…three, that could be counted as crossovers, and one that's a proper fusion. None of them are particularly crazy. Duo and Wufei did Naruto roleplay in the bedroom. Kakashi and Naruto took on Princess Bride's fire swamp. Gojyo and Hakkai acquired Jiipu from Count D and his pet shop with a complete disregard for the fourth wall. Maybe that one, then, though it's more crack than crazy-crossover. Hob wearing the Wavemother's Robe is not enough of anything to count as a crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of, no

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! I don't recall which ones but I've had requests to translate to Chinese, to Russian, and I think Spanish as well? Possibly French also. My memory is shit. Je suis désolé.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic? Yeah, a friend and I co-wrote a couple back in GW and it was…fun? At the time? It started as me helping her with the smut portion of a thing she was doing and turned into a cowrite with a sequel. Not the sort of thing I'd have written on my own, and definitely not now twenty years later with my current kink preferences

14. What’s your all time favourite ship? …yeah, that's not a thing I can answer. Whichever I'm fixated on is inevitably my favorite at the time but once the fixation fades, I still have so much love for each of them.

15. What’s a fic you’d like to finish but don’t think you ever will? Oh my god there are so many. But there are two-three unfinished drafts for ThorBruce fic that I really—see, my MCU fandom experience soured so fast I did not have my usual three-year run of productive ficwriting and the ideas I was working on probably could have been finished were that not the case. I would still love to finish them but the motivation (let alone the time) is just not there.

16. What are your writing strengths? I take great pride in my smut, and I like to think I'm good at it. Painting pictures with my words? Maybe character voice, in certain cases.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Plot. Stories with plot and progression and chapters and such. Follow-through to finish pieces that don't get done in the initial burst of focus.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic? If I had a need for it at some point, I would want to consult a native speaker to ensure correct translation and I would include the translation in footnotes etc. But it would have to be some really specific reason that the foreign language was needed/integral to some story device to not just indicate via some other means (e.g., '"xyz," he said, in perfect French', use of italics, etc) that a different language is in use.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Gundam Wing. If we don't count the 'DS9 novel idea' that I recall making notes on in my journal back in high school, or any of the Mary Sue DS9 thoughts I would also journal about. None of that was ever 'actual writing' nor did I have anywhere I would have shared it in '96.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Again. How'm I supposed to pick? Ugh. Let's see, fandom by fandom. Gundam Wing…no, nothing there is a favorite. Saiyuki…When the Chips Are Down. Comedy gen-fic based on a tidbit of fandom lore is not something I manage terribly often but I am quite pleased with this one; Jiipu's pov always delights me and I'm proud of all the voice work here also. Naruto…maybe Seized? Sai POV is one of my strengths and I think it came through really well in that one. MCU…Carpe Diem, I'm very pleased with character voices in that one. Sandman…I remain very fond of the Drunken Confessions Fluffbruary 2023 fic and the Car and Cutoffs one might be my favorite smutfic. So far.

If you'd like to do this, please take my passive tag this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks.

[voxofthevoid]

Wait I— WHAT— 500k+ words for JJK? Alone? Oh my god. I’m one of your new readers, and I’m blown away by not only your word count but the wRITING LOGS?? How?? Do you keep track of your WIPs?? Do you write consistently, period?? Do you have any advice for someone who can barely squeak out a paragraph to describe a vision in their brain?? Please bless me with your skills, Vox-sensei 😭🙏

Welcome to my madness 🤣❤️

Okay, in all fairness, I'm usually not this unhinged productive. Last year, for instance, my total word count was only around 250k (iirc). I'm sure I wrote more than that from 2018 to 2020, but my logs from those are divided by fics/chapters or weekly.

... I've, uh, tried a lot of shit over the years.

Which is an important point! I've been posting to ao3 for nearly a decade now (not consistently, but I don't think I was away for more than a year or two), and I've been writing in some capacity for around 15–17 years now. There's been a lot of trial and error over the years, plus changing life circumstances leading to varying energy levels and writing time. The main factor is inspiration; if it's there, I'll write a lot, but if not, I'll be a potato.

So with all that in mind!

Logs

I do keep track of both my word count and my WIPs. I've got color-coded docs and spreadsheets even because I'm a fucking nerd. I've got pictures of it floating somewhere on this blog, but my fic folders tend to be nested, numbered little monstrosities.

WIPs

I call them WIPs sometimes because they're extensively detailed outlines mostly, but the more accurate term is ideas/plot bunniesdemons. I don't work on more than one story at a time. Typically, I start something and write it in narrative order until it's done. There are exceptions—my current fic was started in a post-236 frenzy, and I set aside the PWP I was working on for it. But usually, I only actively write one story at a time while everything else gets developed/outlined as inspiration strikes.

Consistency

You could say I write consistently, yeah! I don't do it every day because I take breaks whenever I finish a chapter (and of course, life throws curve balls sometimes), but typically, I write around 22–25 days a month. I set aside a few hours for it. Average daily word count also varies, but these days, it's 1.5–3k. When I'm really in the zone, it can reach 5–6k.

I'm a hobbyist writer with no aspirations of writing professionally, so my approach to the whole thing has been to wing it and see where it takes me. So I haven't really done anything with the concrete goal of improving. The best (and only) advice I have is very boring and cliche though: read and write.

Read widely if you can and narrow in on the kind of style and genre you like. Note down passages or turns of phrase that struck you and figure out why. You'll absorb a lot automatically, but I've heard people recommend emulating styles on purpose as a writing exercise.

Mainly though, the best and easiest way to improve is to keep writing. Technical rules can be learned pretty easily, especially with how many resources are available online now. Field/subject-specific reference materials are also abundant. But developing your own style and improving the flow of your prose are things that need practice. And it never really stops, especially because your writing will continuously evolve in more ways than one.

This got way longer than I intended. Oops? Thanks for asking though, anon. I did have fun replying!

[margridarnauds]

Glad to hear you and yours are handling the hurricane alright so far - hope you are able to keep safe!

Also, for the writers ask game: 🥤, 🌿, and 🌸, if you'd like?

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

I always feel awkward reccing fanfics because everyone has their own boundaries and my tastes can run the whole gamut of acceptability. The most recent on my bookmarks list on AO3 is Counting Backwards by @fossilvirgin . I love it for how it really fleshes out Jodi's character/the other MILFs older women in Stardew Valley, working as a meditation of like. Girlhood and the loss of innocence and mourning and settling down and stifling that part of you that wanted to be a fantasy witch and live with your best friends in the woods in favor of doing what you know you Should do, but still yearning for that other life.

If you know my background, you know I grew up in a conservative, rural environment where women tended to get married early, put their dreams on hold, and Settled for a local boy by the time they were 20. They didn't go out with friends, they didn't have STRONG female friendships, they stuck to the home ,raised the children, and just....shrunk themselves. Stuffed themselves into neat little boxes, no matter how painful it was, because THAT was the Way Things Were. And this fic really reminds me of that experience and adds a bit of bittersweet realism to Stardew Valley. (Aka "my ongoing complicated love for Cozy Games where they are, undoubtedly, one of my favorite game genres and a source for comfort, but because so many of them involve farming and rural communities, it reminds me, invariably, of a life I left behind.")

🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

For me, I can't recommend 4thewords enough. I know I talk about it, but it's really been so useful for my productivity. In general, I think....it's best to give yourself permission to take breaks. To move onto other WIPs. Because otherwise, you'll feel like you're punishing yourself. When I was severely depressed, my first year of my current program...I had to give up on a lot of long term projects. And that had been unthinkable to me. I never Gave Up on projects...until I had to. And the truth is, I've STILL never fully given up on them, but I'm aware that there's a low chance they'll be completed. And...that's still sad to me, because I'd fully believed in them, these were genuine passion projects, but it'd had to happen. I started working on new projects, hesitantly, tentatively, and....started to get my old inspiration back.

Write what you need to survive. I try to write consistently each day, I understand the advice to do it and where it comes from, but sometimes, you're so burned out that the words won't come, and when that happens, the WORST thing you can try to do is to force them.

🌸 ⇢ do you have any pets? if you do, post some pictures of them

Have a picture of a baby gremlin. (Note: he's thicker now. This was the photo of him that was available on the website when we adopted him)

[ladysomething]

Hello, hello, I'm completely new to the wygig 'community,' just found it this weekend and stayed up all night reading it without getting out of bed, showering, eating, anything, this thing is like actual cocaine

I'm sure you've answered this somewhere so feel free to ignore me, but do you have any estimation of how far into the story we are?

Like at what point is the suffering going to end, how much worse can it get, are we halfway, three quarters, closer, further??? I'm going insane, I'm hating and loving every single paragraph, it's consuming my every waking thought

Anyways, absolutely beautiful, gorgeus, mind-altering work, and I really admire you two's dedication to this enormous fic, between the size of it and the heaviness of the themes, it must take an incredible amount of energy to keep updating and try to do so regularly too, I hope you keep well and take breaks and take care of yourselves and never burn yourselves out just because you feel people expect more from you🫶

Thank you for sharing this gorgeous product of gorgeous minds with all of us, I'll never forget it even if it takes two more years to finish, even if you never finish it at all. Thank you❤️

hi anon and welcome!!! we're glad you're here!

and yes - just over half way now. I've said it before so I'm happy to share again, but basically we're in a reconciliation phase, and what happens from now becomes lestappen against the world, rather than lestappen fighting each other. so the suffering will continue, and maybe get worse (depending on your perspective), but most of it is external factors.

and thank you so much. @saiyanwitcher and I try our best, but we also know when to slow down. I've gotten so into the pattern of writing it that I'd forgotten that wygig is exhausting to write, but when I took a break to write the ao3 fic, coming back to it has been so hard because of the specific mind set required for it. funny how that works!

anyway, thank you for the love, and I'm happy you're on this crazy journey with us ❤️

[devondespresso]

WIP WhhhMonday Nightish

Once upon a time Devon was tagged in a wip wednesday by @eriquin and meant to do it but missed both wednesday and the weekend before remembering again. totally unrelated, Devon is working on getting their official adhd diagnosis.

i also noticed that the past snippets shared in wip-whatever posts have been purposefully the least interesting parts because i was worried about spoilers, which is dumb because that's created the unintended consequence of my tag is full of everything i don't like as much and a very different impression of what my fic is (as seen by most of these snippets being my rewritten scenes despite the actual fic being mostly new in-between scenes)

TLDR: WIP Whatever-day-it-is: But Actually For Fun This Time

The Rules

Post the file names of up to 5 of your WIPs for people to send you asks

Post a snippet of one of those WIPs

When people send you an ask with the name of one of your WIPs, write 3 lines of that WIP.

(Optional) Post the lines you wrote.

You can send multiple requests especially since this is going on through the weekend!

The WIPs

we're doing bulleted chapter titles to share from since that was my favorite and genuinely most productive format I've used. Feel free to ask for as many as you want, I plan on working on this basically all week

Karen Wheeler POV Bonus Chapter (Prologue kinda? side story in the same universe?? Bonus chapter set after season 1 and way before ch 1)

Steve, are you okay? Are you okay, Steve? (ch 9)

What's this? The consequences of my actions? (Is that a motherfucking Lovejoy reference?) (ch 10)

Kidnapping? no. surprise adoption. (lol get taken care of BITCH) (ch 11)

NEXT CHAPTER BC IDK HOW TO TRANSITION (ch 12) (a very tentative title for the next chapter to be written)

The Snippet

here is my favorite and most recent scene I've written, which takes place before they junkyard where Steve and Dustin are at the grocery store to get that ungodly amount of raw meat they have to toss around (also i've split chapters up a bit in the name of structure so the third chapter is now called "Mommy Issues Central". Lemme know any goofy vine reference ideas you guys have or if it should stay like that) (fear not, Get Yo Fucking Dog Bitch lives on still as chapter 4)

___

They turned down the next aisle, lining the edges of the cart with some other pasta-related shit that he could still probably use. They heard someone coming over from the next aisle and before he could turn the cart around Mrs Wheeler pulled up.

"Oh, Steve ...and Dustin. What're you boys up to?"

He took a short breath to work their story into something without Mike, but Dustin beat him to it.

"He's teaching me stuff." 

He was imitating the tone Steve used but still way too vague. Mrs Wheeler held up a smile, her brows slightly lifted.

"Y'know, like cooking-" Steve said, throwing in a little gesture to the cart.

"And cars, changing oil and things. Y'know just.. dad stuff."

Dustin's part convinced her, Mrs Wheeler's expression softening into a real smile.

"Well I won't keep you long," 

She nodded off to the side to talk to Steve one-on-one.

Great.

“Are you and Nancy okay?”

“Wh- we’re- Why? Did she say something?”

“No, no, she’s just been… closed off, lately. And I drove her to school the other day, she didn’t say why.”

“Sh- yeah, that- that’s on me. Sorry.”

“Did you break up?”

“No no, definitely not. We’re kinda… we’re working on it. I’m going to try and make it better, after y’know..” he gestured to Dustin behind him.

“Right.” she smiled again, “Let Nancy know she can talk to me about any of this? Please? I tell her but- I don't know, maybe it’d be different coming from you.”

He held up a smile for her.

“Yeah, sure. Mind if we..” he jutted a thumb towards the end of the aisle.

“Yes, go ahead.”

He gave her a short wave and turned back to Dustin, who studied random shit in the aisle like Steve would believe his sudden fascination with olive oil outweighed childish curiosity.

“Steve-”

He turned back around, seeing Mrs Wheeler coming back up to him and whispering again.

“I know I’m not your mother, but you can talk to me, too. Both of you, okay?”

He kept the smile in place and nodded again, and she finally went back to her cart.

Dustin “Definitely-Not-Eavesdropping” Henderson followed him out of the aisle, thankfully waiting until they were out of earshot to ask.

“What's going on with you and Nancy?”

“Thought we had ‘much bigger problems than my love life’?”

He pulled up to the deli, stopping to pretend to look at the options.

“We’re not dropping everything for it but we can still talk.” he groaned.

“I’ll tell you later, kay? Not exactly the best place to talk.''

___

Tags

@stobinesque @spoookysix @marvel-ous-m @alexcharmsyou @museumgiftshoperaser @blushweddinggowns @sharpbutsoft @fag4dykestobin @findafight (no pressure ofc and feel free to switch it to actually wednesday fhuhjdklashj) (also just let me know if you don't wanna be tagged in these)

[bleachbleachbleach]

10/9 - 10/22/2023

✅ Renji chapter - DONE* ✅ Chapters 1-6 reread/revise - DONE

Highlights

Some of this actually reads very well--at the sentential level, sometimes even the chapter level. I was pleasantly surprised by Rukia's, Hinamori's, and Akon's chapters.

There are portions of this fic that are kind of histrionic about use of tense (looking at you, Hinamori. Girl.), but on read-through now I think it works and I kind of like it.

Reading back it was fun to see what kinds of personal hangups were informing everyone's interactions and who was projecting what on whom. The order in which information appears (or is revised) based on whose POV chapter it was was cool, too!

I know there are critiques of the impact of film on writing, and I am sometimes self-conscious about how thoroughly my writing has been informed by writing for one singular TV fandom. That being said, having spent almost 15 years in a TV fandom, I always feel very validated when I can fix something by thinking about it in terms of TV constraints--like, oh, we can't do that scene because we don't have the time/budget to prep that scene again or put those actors on the call sheet. I may not be subject to those constraints but sometimes I'm like, "OH that makes this easier and less insane. Problem solved!"

Lowlights

Oh god, the Renji chapter is R O U G H. ngl feeling pretty betrayed, Abarai. So is the end of Matsumoto's chapter, which I knew going in, and which I then tried to revise last night, during which time I was apparently not mentally right, and now it s VERY weird and much worse!!

Aside from that, I'm... not convinced this story works, at the macro level. I don't know if there is a way to make it work better, outside of simply writing a different story. I don't feel like taking it down to studs is the move, and I think I should probably just keep going with it as-is and suffer the potential consequence of being disappointed. And then write a different story. SUCKS THO BECAUSE I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS ONE FOR YEARS.

Maybe this is a mid-light, rather than a lowlight: I feel willing to be convinced, or at least willing to take a chance on, the idea that part of my "eh I don't know if that works" is just me assuming this story is meant to be something that it is not, in fact, meant to be. Correspondingly, I think some of the things where I'm like "that's Not Right, that's not how that's supposed to work" may just be my writing style. For better? For worse? Jury's out, but it might just be me. It might be the work, and not what needs to be fixed.

Chapter 7 Rukia will close out Part 1. There's effectively two scenes left to do--maybe three if I decide to be weird about it--one of which I think about all the time and one of which is all vibes and "lmao fuck if I know" right now, so we'll see how those go.

One thing I'm feeling preemptively daunted by is how much less I already have written of Part 2 versus Part 3, but seeing as I'm probably not going to be done with Rukia 7 by next update anyway, what does it matter! It doesn't! Not yet!

ETA: Actually, one more thing. In my working document I've inserted anchors so I can flip between scenes more easily. These are NOT official scene breaks nor will these scene titles feature in the final product, but they feel like amusingly bad DVD chapter titles (remember DVDs? Chapter menus? DVD makers for some reason feeling that these chapters needed to be titled?):

[konigsberg]

I've had a few people offer to beta/edit MO, or ask questions about it, so I guess this is my awkward beta/editor search post? Or more, a clarification post for anyone who might be interested. Just an overview of what it might mean or look like to beta/edit for MO specifically.

I think in fandom spaces "beta reader" and "editor" sort of end up blurring in a lot of cases. In more official publishing, the editor comes in first to do their thing, correcting grammar, spelling, etc. Once a work is pretty much done, as in finished and edited, you get in beta readers. They're meant to sort of give feedback as a potential audience member, basically, to let the author know how it reads as a finished product. I think the roles can sometimes have overlap even in official publishing, at least in the sense both are providing feedback, spotting errors that have been missed, maybe identifying things that read strangely as far as structure, plot, and the rest go.

In fandom, things are obviously structured a lot differently and they're a lot more flexible, given everything is unofficial and casual. I think it can really just depend on the writer and the beta as for what they want/need to do.

And as for MO, I have the story's plot of course, but I'm obviously writing as I go, so that inherently makes for a different sort of experience for anyone coming in to edit or provide general feedback.

The way I've done it in the past is to give someone access to the WIP document(s) through Google Docs so they could leave comments on anything that stood out to them, talked about the general plan for the fic in DMs somewhere, that sort of thing. I wouldn't ask anyone to directly change what is in the document just in case, it would just be like highlighting maybe a misspelled word or a sentence that you think I should break up, and leaving a comment about that there.

I'm a few chapters ahead of what's posted on ao3. I usually wait to really edit maybe two weeks before the chapter is going to be posted, so I have fresh eyes to look at it with and just leave the chapter after that to be edited/potentially reworked in that same every two week timeline. My biggest concerns are usually that I've forgotten some detail in the midst of 600k words, I keep repeating the same damn word every other paragraph that I don't mean to, or maybe weird grammar problems. In this way, I think my concerns are maybe more "beta reader" problems, ie. did I forget a plot point? But I definitely suck at grammar, don't get me wrong.

Given it's just a fic, there's not a lot of pressure to catch every single little thing, but it is very long and dense, obviously, so asking anyone to read over it is a lot even if there's not any pressure to do things perfectly. And I feel bad because I can't really provide much compensation for that work. In the past, friends were happy just to do it basically in exchange for the ability to read chapters ahead of everyone else, but it feels a little weird to have strangers do work with that sort of compensation when I do make a little money on p8reon. That might be something to work out on an individual basis, though, I guess.

There's also the fact that most people who might be willing to edit and/or beta are obviously people interested in reading the work, and I would feel bad if the task might make the actual reading much less fun for them. Like some might find it interesting to see the plot outline or something, but then for others that would just spoil the fun. Or if it came to feel like "work" that might take the joy out of it. I think it's possible to beta/edit like a chapter ahead of what's posted without needing to know what's going to happen at the very end, for sure, but I guess what I'm really getting at is I woulnd't want to make anyone feel like they have to be spoiled on what's happening next, bound to the task of working on something that I can't give a good timeline on re: how many chapters are left or how long I'll take writing it, or anything like that.

Also, of course, there are potentially upsetting topics covered in the story. I think anyone who has gotten through the whole of the fic so far is probably okay to get through the rest, but there are going to be more parts of the story involving all of the same topics, depictions, etc. already seen in the rest of the fic and potentially more upsetting things. I'm happy to provide any sort of warnings or clarification on chapters in general, even outside of the context of someone beta/editing the work, so I don't think this should be a big issue, but it's just something to keep in mind.

So I guess, if that doesn't scare you off, and as long as it's understood there's seriously no pressure on my part that you commit to this for a long time or do an extreme amount of work or anything (beyond the demands of... sometimes reading 15k word chapters lol... just reading a chapter over once and leaving any comments on spelling and grammar errors, maybe things that don't seem like they make sense narratively, or make it seem like I've forgotten something haha, that's more than enough)... if you would like to beta/edit MO, let me know?

Feel free to ask questions, too, because god knows I've forgotten at least a few things. I might end up adding to this because I'll suddenly remember something in an hour, honestly.

If you want to just reply to this post, that's fine. My inbox should be open here, as well as the whole tumblr messaging system. I often miss when people DM me on twitter because I just never get notifs for it, and honestly I think my notifs in general sometimes don't work for replies there, but I'll try to keep an eye on that, too. I'm probably going to be a little busy this week, but I will strive to get back to everyone reasonably quickly.

I'm not really sure if there will be a lot of responses to this, but... just in case: If you do reach out and I end up going with someone else, it's definitely not personal!

I appreciate everyone who has mentioned being willing to help out. I've just been a little overwhelmed because I obviously don't know what the hell I'm doing lol and I thought this might be the easiest way to quickly provide some more info to anyone interested.

Thanks for reading!

[purecommemasolitude]

outsiders week 2024 progress report to hold myself accountable

Sunday, Nov 3 - "gang" or "Ponyboy"

already chosen the fic for this one, it's the one i've been working on for the longest (literally since at least june last year) and i am soo close to being done. there's just one exchange i need to refine because i'm not satisfied with it. but it's book-verse about ponyboy after the track tryouts the same year as everything goes down* not getting the placement he wants and finding a moment of understanding with darry about it because darry's the only one who #gets it. this fic was spun out of that one line in the book where ponyboy says soda never got the importance him or darry placed on athletics

*when i was combing the book to figure out the timeline of track/what grade he was in there was a) never a concrete answer b) a lot of things that could be interpreted in conflicting ways, so i just went with he's a sophomore who was on the track team last year and track tryouts happen in like may or whatever

Monday, Nov 4 - "gold" or "Cherry"

there is a fic already started that's hopefully going to be the one for this day, but also it's probably gonna be long and it's an exploration of musical!cherry's turmoil after bob dies seeing the witch hunt against the greasers (basically it's inspired by the fact that she takes her promise ring off after JFT and not after the break up) and i want to try and do my vision™ justice instead of rushing it so this may not be done in time we'll see. if it's not done i may extract the bit where she finds out about two-bit's jumping from marcia and just post that because it's the part closest to being completed

Tuesday, Nov 5 - "rumble" or "Sodapop"

so i have two started but incomplete fics that could go for this day. one is following musical!soda & darry at home in tulsa while ponyboy is out in windrixville. it's probably my first choice, but this one is also an i don't want it to rush and lose some of its potential in the writing process so we'll see. the other one is a stevepop fic that's largely centered around sodapop's queerness (it's basically a 5 + 1 of members of the gang realizing/revealing that they know that he's not straight. evie is in it with her and steve as each other's beards and she's the catalyst for soda's own realization that he likes men)

Wednesday, Nov 6 - "hair grease" or "Darry"

fic chosen and started for this one too! (this is what i was up until like 2:00 yesterday working on 🤪) it's musicalverse again and it's gonna follow a possible explanation for why darry's called darrel now, aka him slowly transitioning to going by darrel after the death of their parents and the reasoning and rationale for that change

Thursday, Nov 7 - "rodeo" or "Bob"

...okay for this one i truly have no idea. i want to keep it vaguely on-theme for the prompts even if i end up not following them, but the two other soc-related fics i have simmering are ones that i want to also not rush and really make sure they're the best i can get them (asian!paul exploration and marbit's journey post-book) so probably not those two tbh. two ideas that i have are snapshots of various characters reacting to his death, though i haven't picked a universe for that yet, or something following the non-character prompts for once and maybe some of the characters as kids at a rodeo? i'll be honest the only rodeo experiences i've had that i can really remember are riding the docile horses on like a real-horse carousel so basically i'd just be planting outsiders characters into that experience

it is also possible that i'll end up with nothing (midterms go crazy), in which case i'll post my backup that is semi-completed, a whooole bunch of outsiders characters recreated in this picrew

Friday, Nov 8 - "tuff" or "Dally"

this one is not only decided upon but finished if y'all can believe it. i might make some revision edits before i actually post it but this one is a product of me going insane over the course of three days and writing a character exploration of dally on the train tracks delving into his relationship throughout his life with suicidal ideation

Saturday, Nov 9 - "vacant lot" or "Johnny"

unfortunately once again no idea lads. actually i lied there is something but it doesn't follow any of the prompts very much so we'll see. following the prompts i have no idea, most i've got is maybe a short thing about johnny some quiet night in the vacant lot (both prompts in one fell swoop). maybe he's looking at the stars idk. if it's the other one, which could also function as a backup for any of the days, it's a sickfic about two-bit that's actually just an excuse to write two-bit appreciating his mom. the google doc for that one is called sick TB mother appreciation to illustrate how central that is to the fic

if you've read all the way to the end hello 👋 and feel free to send any thoughts or questions my way! i need to lock in and start hustling on these soon and interaction is always a great way to improve willpower

[ewebie]

2023: An Author's Review

I've gotten in the habit (over the past 10+ years) of posting an author's review of what I've done on AO3. Since I started my Patreon, I've been posting it here and sharing across Tumblr and Twitter (*cough* I mean X? *cough*). I think it's good to take stock, be honest about what was possible and look and what I want for the next year. So here it is:

2023... I am not sure I'd say "astonishing" but it was a year of surprises (good and bad). It was a busy and chaotic year, but I really have been on a healing journey and both mentally and physically am much better than this time last year.

Hubs and made a temporary (planned for one year) move across the Atlantic in 2022 and came back to Ireland in July 2023. I was working part/full-time with research and grant writing, doing hands on clinical and remote parts. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, though it was much more sedentary than what I'm used to for a day's work. It's been rough coming back... the stress on the systems from the pandemic and (frankly) fucking conservatives ruining anything good has made remaining here untenable. After losing my FIL in the autumn and my own family having ongoing health scares, Hubs and I have decided to go back to the US in 2024... So... it's been a bit of a limbo.

Even with all the chaos of a move and work and... *gestures at everything* I did manage to accomplish a few things.

Summary of writing in 2023:

I set out with the goal of posting The Hayloft on a weekly posting schedule (without break) until complete. I'm SUPER proud of myself for managing that. It's >70k words and 38 chapters (with a 39th for ANs). Between the schedule, having 2 betas (thank you Paia and Sky), responding to comments, and the HTML bits of posting, it consumed a lot of my time (we won't mention that I finished writing it while posting)... But I'm very happy with the final product and with myself for keeping to the schedule.

In April, fresh out of 221B Con, I did a Mystrade Monday based on the prompt "Don't threaten me with a good time." It's a short one-shot, and lyric-based in title (Nod to Panic at the Disco) called Champagne, Cocaine, Gasoline. (because who doesn't want a damp Lestrade?)

So that brings us to May - when things started to get really busy as I prepped to move, and the Mystrade is Family collection, to which I submitted 2 fics. The first was in response to Paia sending me a tiktok: Mistakes Were Made (though not by me), tiktok is at the end of the fic. And I somewhat love Greg's much younger sister, Roxy. I also dipped back into the When You're Fast Asleep series with Think Happy Thoughts.

June and July were mental... packed up my life again, drove the length of the US, moved back to the other side of the Atlantic, moved BACK INTO my flat, repaired the car, resorted my jobs, lost my FIL, went back to the US for the funeral, went back to the US again for Thanksgiving. A lot of stress... not a lot of writing. But I did keep up with Hayloft posting and finished the end of September.

October, I took some of the nonsense in my real-life and the MRC server members' real-lives and made a fic strictly to name-shame people we met and or didn't like. Queue's Next was rather cathartic for that.

In November, I (finally) finished a fic for the RGBA for Lav. She'd asked for something in the Safety First/KKBB universe, and a pet... and we ended up with Blunderbuss. Because murder husbands needed an orange cat. And having dropped back into the Safety First universe, I added H is for Heel and I is for Industry Standards to the work.

Still a bit stuck in Safety First, I wrote a murder husbands Xmas fic with J is for Jingle Bells and put that up mid-December.

On Christmas Eve, I posted a soft short from the When You're Fast Asleep series called All Is Calm. The series really suits calm and warm drabble.

Because I was SO soft of Christmas Eve, I posted a SPICY short in Safety First on Christmas Day called K is for Knife's Edge. And just to round out the year, I dropped a New Year's Eve present with L is for Line of Sight. 

Overall, I published shy of 100k words (though, I only wrote about 70k... Hayloft was mostly written coming into 2023, but all of the posting was this year) with 16k hits and I now have 380 user subscriptions and 7000 bookmarks. It was a solid effort and I've spent the year only writing Mystrade -- though... I've expanded my reading ships (for this I blame BeautifulFiction).

Plan for 2024: Keep myself sane. I have another few chapters for Safety First in the works... there's something so very compelling about the murder husbands. I have 2 WIPs that are very nearly done and I just need to push through the last... 2k or so. So I hope to be putting those up in the first quarter. Be on the look out for The Marshmallow Experiment and Ambien Wife (though, those are both working titles). There’s a few bigger projects that I’ve back-burnered or have been plodding along with, including "the sad one" and "the Pretty Woman one" and some complex, multichapter things. Trello has been excellent this year to keep my bunnies sorted and in some sort of order.

Working titles of a few:

Lesser Things

Used Books

Wrecking Ball

The Time Has Come

Attack the Cheese Block

Of Legwork and Dogs Bodies

Make Yourself

Bad Santa

I hope to keep adding shorts to Safety First and Badges and 'Brellas (I didn't manage any in B&B in 2023... though, Champagne was short enough). I'm not going to aim for monthly new works, I know how much time and energy the move is going to take. I also will try to learn the new features here on Patreon and the collections thing... maybe organise this a bit better.

Many thanks to everyone who has beta'd works for me through the year (this year was mostly Paia -- many times for her many many sins, but also Sky for doing a French language beta on Hayloft, Anne and Stella for the on-demand, and Mousie for the murder feedback). Thank you to the Asylum (nee Jail) - you're all gremlins and I-A-Door-You! Thank you to the MRC for being just... whatever it is you are. And the OGC - because intercontinental chat groups are their own, special nonsense!

I want to thank my patrons (you can find me on patreon here... thank you for thanking me for existing!). Everyone that has left kudos and comments and reblogs and likes. Anyone who has dropped me a message or a thought and has generally enjoyed or encouraged my writing this past year. And those of you who followed Hayloft posting and commented along the way -- amazingly supportive! ILY all!!

[emileesaurus]

Fanfic ask meme: 🎯 🔮

🎯 Do you have a writing milestone you’re working towards?

I kinda wish I had an answer to this one. I don't do a ton of stat tracking. Tinderbox is over 50k words as of the last chapter, and the next one I post will be chapter 10... that's neat! It's the longest fic I've written, so every chapter is a milestone for me, sort of.

🔮 Any advice for writers working through burnout or writer’s block?

I'm currently suffering from a bit of both, plus some post-COVID brain fog I can't seem to shake, so I wish I had a better method.

The best writing advice I've ever gotten was to write every day, even if it's bad, because you can't get to the good stuff until you've gotten all the bad stuff out first. This really does work, but I'm not very disciplined, and the annoying thing is that you actually have to do it. What a drag!

The method that has been almost bulletproof for me is this: I write all my drafts in a document that I call "TITLE (Dumbest Version)" and I write it all in lowercase with careless punctuation in a Comic Sans-equivalent font. The scenes don't have to be in order. You can just write AND THEN SOMETHING COOL HAPPENS or AND THEN HE SAYS SOMETHING PROFOUND AND THEY SMOOCH ABOUT IT and move on. I also keep a scratch document with snippets of dialogue that I liked but won't fit in a particular scene. You never know where you might be able to repurpose an idea!

The other thing I'll say, though -- and I'm saying this to myself as well -- is that it's okay to take breaks! Fandom should be a hobby, not a responsibility or a source of stress. More than ever we're being bombarded by the idea that we should be maximizing our productivity and even monetizing our hobbies, and that kind of mindset can make a person feel so, so guilty for wasting time on one thing when they could be doing another. It's an easy trap to fall into, but it's important to remember that it isn't something you owe to anyone.

I'm very fortunate in that I have readers who are still following Tinderbox even though I've been drip feeding chapters for years. But I don't think that's a rarity at all. The story will be finished when it's ready to be finished, and your readers will find it. You'll be a better writer if you've taken care of yourself first.

[venbetta]

Hi!! How's it going? I really love your comics and fanfics, and since you're really good at that.... Could you give me some advice to start writing my own comic? I have a lot of ideas and I want to start writing now but.... I don't know how to start with the story because of my selfdoubt... I want it to call the public's attention right away but I don't wanna start with the important stuff right now... you know?

Hi I'm doing okay!

I didn't expect to get asked this so I'm sorry if my advice doesn't seem cohesive.

Well, for me, I've been drawing for a long time and I even made comics when I was a kid. I recently made it my own personal goal to become a full time comic artist in the coming future (I'm only 19 so I have a long way to go).

One of the things to start with is first learning how to write and create stories, whether that's for yourself or your friends or whoever you're comfortable receiving advice or critique from. I started out writing fics on wattpad and over the years learned how to write better original stories and eventually become comfortable to let my friends read them. I'm not particularly good with writing advice but there are a lot of resources out there to help regarding writing a story.

Now for comics, I think it requires a lot of patience and thought, especially if it's being posted online. I'd recommend looking at webcomic series (if that's what you want to do) or find a physical graphic novel series that you enjoy and take inspiration from them and break down what made you like the comic. It took me a little while to eventually start a comic-- specifically a webtoon-- which I posted on Webtoons during 2021-2022. It's a little nerve-wracking to start but if you never try, then you won't ever start...

I think it's good to start small and simple, whether it's a black or white comic or a silly 4-panel gag comic; so that you can understand how to layout a comic and develop a work flow. Write outlines and scripts for your comic if there's a overarching narrative!!

I've done fully rendered comics before and while it's rewarding to see the finished product, they are very draining (especially if you have deadlines alongside a busy schedule). Example here:

This took 12+ hours... I still see stuff wrong with it today haha

I don't regret it obviously, because I know I'm a perfectionist and I like my stuff looking nice, however it can really take a toll after a while. So if you're going to fully render everything, try to keep it simple/presentable.

Comics really do take time, along with gaining an audience, which is a whole other can of worms. You just need to put yourself out there, post things you enjoy and what other people might enjoy. My current fixation is FNAF right now, so most of my content right now is catering to it, and people will flock to it more than my original stuff. Once you start posting original content, it solely depends on if the viewers want to consume your original stuff (and it's okay if they choose not to!). It all takes time.

Now for the self-doubt, I can definitely relate to and I understand that completely. I have a good case of imposter syndrome when it comes to most of the things I create. There were countless times when working on my comics I had the repeating thought of: "Is this something I really want to do?" "Am I good enough for this?" "Why am I trying it looks awful..." etcetera etcetera!

This was when I was doing webtoons. It's very easy to fall into that self doubt/insecurity, especially when you see other artists who's art styles/writing are prone to comparison with your own work. That's something I'm still working on myself, I'm still young y'know, the self doubt comes and goes, but I think one way to combat that is to take a step back whenever you think of something negative, try and figure out why you feel that way, if there's something you can do about it, and work from there. Look at some old drawings or read old stories you've written and reflect on how far you've come and realize you're still growing and there's going to be growing pains when it comes to working on projects. It's so easy to compare yourself and to think you're inadequate but if you focus on bettering yourself and doing what you think what's best for you then you don't need to worry about what other people are doing.

Personally something I do to keep myself focused on my work (and not spiral) is listen to podcasts, music, or video essays (if you can listen to someone's lets play, that works too, but it can be distracting sometimes). Having some background noise can definitely help you stay focused and not let your thoughts get so distracting. Take breaks obviously, take naps, do what you need to.

I have some videos that I watched when I was looking into starting a comic/webtoon along with some writing tips here:

I'm sorry if this was very long winded, I hope I covered most of it, I just needed to get some points across. I hope this helps you, and good luck on your story!

[sariaminoras]

Dragons Chapter 5 and the Slug Race

Hey, anyone who's still out there! First and foremost, apologies for the delay (it's hardly a delay, when I've been consistently uploading at embarrassingly year-long intervals, Jesus). Also, thank you, for still being here, and for being so patient and for still having faith!

Secondly, the link to the chapter.

Now... a bit of a rant/vent/explanation as to why it always takes so long for me to update this story. Under the "read more/keep reading".

Okay, so... I'm not gonna lie. A whole year is the time required to release a new, original book, not a new chapter for fanfiction. It's embarrassing, and it's frustrating, and it's extremely counter-productive towards my goal. It's... non-productive, really.

I don't have an "excuse" for that. My reason is many things, but I can boil them down to roughly two aspects.

The first, and the most important is, for many months now, I just didn't want to write. In general, really, but mostly, I didn't want to write for this fandom anymore, and not for this fic anymore. I've been spending a lot of my free time doing nothing productive (arts-wise); when I'm not with friends/family, or working/studying, I'm watching a TV series, YouTubing, or playing games. Sure, it's good to lay back and not do anything mentally taxing every now and again, but this has been setting me back on the personal goal of improving my writing (and the bonus side-quest of learning to draw).

I'm not sure why this is happening. I think I'm just a little tired. IRL stuff became bigger and more complex, requiring more of my time and disposition, and maybe I'm feeling like I don't want to do anything important whenever I get a break.

I really want to change that. I've been trying to follow a fixed schedule, that will break my free time up into "leisure" and "art/writing", but I'm having trouble following it through. I "binge" activities, rather than do a little bit of everything everyday, and I know that's something that I'll need to change in my behavior if I want to accomplish everything I set out to do. What's making that difficult is that I've been prioritizing some stuff, whilst others I'm not so inclined to do.

Which brings me to the second part of my "excuse". This story, Dragons. TL;DR, it's not bringing me any joy anymore, but I'm going to go into more detail on that.

My original plan for Dragons was to make it a domestic, pregnancy-romance story, focused on the condition and its symptoms, the shenanigans surrounding the novelty of a human-vampire hybrid "breeding", and the relationships between the characters, especially Alucard and Integra's, and how they developed as the pregnancy progressed.

I thought it would be easy. I thought it would be fun, and light-hearted, and simple to accomplish. I was wrong.

I don't know why, but I was wrong. I don't know what happened, exactly, that caused the story to drift away into... this. Into this monstruous, mentally-taxing narrative I am NOT prepared to write, and that I don't think I should be tackling right now. Not with the writing and reading experience I have at the moment.

It's so much bigger and more complex that I thought it would be. I'm aware I'm to blame for not having planned everything in its minute details, so stuff constantly changed as I got new ideas I wanted incorporated. Originally, I planned for Dragons to be roughly 3 to 4 chapters long, but now I'm looking at... what, 8, 10, and I'm pulling my hair out.

Whilst I did have character interactions in my mind, I did NOT intend for it to have any drama, especially not the kind of drama that it's driving towards. It was supposed to be shallow, something small and fun, but, instead, I'm feeling compelled to write these really long, drawn-out dramatic scenes, and all these """"""cHArAcTEr mOmENts"""""" that had absolutely no business in the original draft, and that I feel really insecure doing because I don't really know how to write that.

This chapter, chapter 5, didn't even include everything that I planned on delivering, and maybe that's my fault too, for not really knowing how to pace and structure a story. It's infuriating that it's been a whole year and I update with... so little and non-rewarding... a chapter that it's, like, mid-conflict, and not properly going anywhere, kinda. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and I feel like I'm disappointing not only the brave souls who are still around (bless you), but also myself.

Maybe this also plays some part on my lack of interest, but I'm just not super into Hellsing as I was, when I first started posting Dragons. It sucks, but it's life. I don't really like working like that, not completely into the thing, feeling like it's an obligation and not a hobby I fully enjoy, but there's not much I can do about that; I refuse to abandon ship, and I can't force myself to become "obsessed" with Hellsing again (or, can I? I don't know).

There's also the language barrier, which takes some of my time, and the fact that I want to write more... "poetically"? My writing feels too sterile and "technical", I think, and I want it to sound more like a melody and less like a speech, and I know that I'll only get there if I read and write MORE, but it's still an added layer of consumption of my time and mental effort. Writing narrative, for me, is a struggle, but, when I complain about it, like I'm doing now, I also feel like I'm bitching for no reason, and putting effort into it is the bare minimum I should be doing. Still, it would be nice if it were a little less difficult, aha.

I'm not going to do like last time and "promise I'll (try) to do better". What I CAN assure anyone, though, is that I will absolutely finish this story (I hate engaging with someone else's work, and then having the creator just drop it, but this is merely a personal feeling and I'm not trying to pass judgement on anyone, people have their reasons), and that I will, eventually, when the story allows, incorporate the silly, pregnancy shenanigans that I originally wanted. As soon as the characters calm the F down.

Whilst Dragons took this crazy turn, I, at the very least, got most of it roughly planned and bullet-pointed. I have a direction, even though I can't be sure the path won't curve and spin to get to the end. Whatever, it's there for me to write; I just need to actually sit down and do it.

So... here we are, at the end of this vent. I have no idea when the next chapter will be uploaded. Sorry for the zero guarantees, sorry for always taking so long, and THANK YOU, for anyone, who's still, somehow, around, and following this story. You are the real heroes. T__T

[wily-one24]

questions: 6, 12, 34, 38

Ooooh, more asks. I love it. :D

6. What's the best part of being online/ a creator?

Well, the best obviously is the interaction. I love talking to people and going back and forth with theories and discussions and squeeing and fandom loving. It's so much fun. I adore it.

And, of course, being as modest as I am, I love discussing my fics with people in the comments. The give and take, back and forth, it's energising.

The worst?

Sometimes i can put pressure on myself to get things done. It's supposed to fandom, a fun space, and most times I realise this, but this week I have been especially non-productive in fic writing. My friend keeps remindign me that I've been putting out bunches lately, so I deserve a break, but... I feel disappointed in myself.

Also, obvi, the odd fandom hate. But I only ever got that in OUaT fandom. I stay WAY AWAY from fandom dramas the majority of the time. Live and let live. Be free, baby. It's all good in the garden.

12. What's some good advice you want to share?

Do not borrow stress/worry from the future.

It sounds so simple, but I think this is a trap that is incredibly easy to fall into and a lot of us do it, myself included. Something happens and we begin to catastrophise. We think up the worst scenarios. "What if...?" and "When this...?" etc.

An example: my son has lost an item he really wants. He remembers lending it to his friend, but over text his friend said he didn't have it. He has torn his bedroom apart looking for it.

He could barely even sleep last night, almost in tears.

I had to remind him, reassure him. We have a plan.

He's going to speak to his friend face to face at school today and remind him (without accusing) that his is an important item.

If the friend really doesn't have it, we are going to clean his room from top to bottom (and probably excavate some ancient ruins, I have no idea what the hell is in that room, tbh).

If we still don't find it after that, we will make a new plan.

If worst comes to worst and the item is really lost, it is an item and can be replaced. Obviously, it would be better if we find it.

But he should not work himself up into a panicked/anxious state about never having this thing again, when there are things to do and a plan to follow and solutions to find.

This is a SMALL example of things we all do every day. An allegory for the huge, more adult problems we face. Like, we panic about situations and go into crisis mode and borrow stress from the future. TRY NOT TO DO THAT. Follow your steps first. Look for solutions.

At least, follow the steps and look for solutions BEFORE you stress and panic. Once things become present instead of future, then you should worry about them.

34. Any pet peeves?

I mean, rudeness.

More particularly, I cannot stand loud eaters. I just... I can't. It annoys the ever living fuck out of me. I cannot sit next to someone who eats loudly.

It's a personal thing, I admit it. It's definitely some processing thing, I can't tell you why. But it drives me absolutely bonkers. I try to be reasonable and, if possible, remove myself from the situation.

I have had to relax my rules in the house about eating in the bedrooms (well, I mean, the kids are teenagers now, they deserve some responsibility). Because now I tell them with snack foods and stuff they can just go eat in their rooms, rather than sit right behind me crunching on crackers or popcorn or apples or some other loud as fuck shit they happen to find in a draw marked "things that will drive mum batshit crazy". Obvi they can't take, like, entire plates of spaghetti down there, but snack foods yes.

Or I will leave the room so I don't end up yelling. Because I will end up doing that.

There are certain times, like out in public and with large groups, where this is unavoidable. In which case... I try my absolute hardest to grin and bear it. But it's really damned difficult.

But overall?

Rudeness. There's no need for it.

Just be nice, man.

38. This is the favourite song question, which I just answered. You can find the answers... here.

@dahllaz, thank you for some thought provoking questions!!!