#and since we're currently at about....9 months? if everything goes as planned? before I head off to school

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

neurodiverse tumblr friends, I have some autism questions!! if you have autism, and especially if you were older when you found out about it: at what age did you begin to suspect you had autism? when/if you got an official diagnosis and how you went about it? would you recommend pursuing a diagnosis or at least talking to a medical professional about autism to someone wondering if they may have it? to you, what are the benefits of having a diagnosis/not having a diagnosis (depending on which one applies to you)?

[thewriterowl]

Do you have a standard writing process? Particularly with long fics? I start out plotting everything to some degree and then start writing but then usually what happens is I get too excited to share it so I start posting before I finish and then my mental health just kinda goes "and we're not finishing that"

Hello! Well I try to sort of do the same--that’s how I did it with Stars. But yeah, getting all the details out can burn you out quicker than what’s fair :/

So what I’ve sort of learned to do (especially coming out from What the Stars Let in, since that thing was nearly 500 pages in like three months) was the following:

1) I had major focus points already confirmed in my head: I knew Din and Luke would have an arranged marriage, I knew I wanted Luke to share his story to the Mandalorians, I wanted Luke to fight Dark Troopers, I wanted Din to have a moment or two of jealousy, I wanted there to be a “betrayal’ from Din, I wanted Luke to sacrifice himself by stopping and moving a cruiser, i wanted them to be separated, I wanted Din to have a moment facing darkness, and then I want them together. Besides a bare skeletal structor of a story (din and luke fall in love in an arranged marriage) i focused on story-points I wanted to see happen and made it a goal to get to one....and then get to another and it made me more excited for the plot point coming next rather than trying to rush to that ending.

2) For the scenes I was really excited about I wrote a rough draft instantly. I pretty much had a draft of Luke stopping the cruiser and then “dying” since chapter two because I knew I wanted that to happen. Same with the Dark Trooper chapter. Of course a lot of details were added or changed as the story progressed but i was able to really plan things because not only did I know I wanted those scenes, I had them written out so I could figure out how to foreshadow things in regards to them easier.

3) Although I am influenced by my readers and I try to keep things “Realistic” in the story (aka, why I didn’t turn Din dark though it was a temptation) I write what I want to read. This, of course, can hinder the writing process cause you’re putting a lot of extra love into it because, being honest, i want it to inspire others to write things like it so I can read something next so if it is not well received then it can be a bad sucker-punch...but I was just like, i gotta get these moments out there regardless of the response.

4) This isn’t the best advice...but I wrote when i wanted to...basically I am mostly working from home and in a job I loathe who has drained me of most all my happiness for the past three years and has used me something bad, but I’m shackled to them cause money. Well...I write on their time now (not on my work computer lol) so I sort of had this momentum of MASSIVE writer’s spite. “Oh, you’re gonna call me in to work on my day off AGAIN????? well, ok then...tomorrow from 8 till 5, I’m writing this space-dad fic and only answering some emails”. Maybe not risk your job for a fic...but i would recommend see if you can find some sort of spite to influence you case man, that stuff works maaagiiiic. 

5) Push through the block but not necessarily in a way that burns you out. If you can’t write out the chapter you are currently on, then don’t. Skip five or more scenes ahead and just start there and then go back later and tie things in. You do not have to write your fic in chronological order, so don’t shackle yourself to it. You on a scene with Din and Luke talking about the Force, it’s needed and important, but eh, you’re not feeling it? Go on and write their love confession scene. Or their fight scene. Or something you actually DO wanna write. Go read fics, maybe go and talk to artists and writers about general things and chat. Talking to others about things, not necessarily in detail, can be huge.

6) Bringing in the things I’ve said before; this is not something you need to write chronological--so don’t. The writing can be a fun puzzle. Write the parts you want first (aka the corners as many start with as they do a puzzle) and then start connecting things. I found it a lot easier and a bit more fun to do that way.

7) If possible, and this can be hard, try to be a chapter a head of your updates. With a good chunk of Stars, I was like seven chapters ahead of myself. Not so much with this new one (and for sure not with Little Bird) but it sort of releases some worry and pressure off of you. If you have an idea for a fic, try to see if you can upload it once you have two or there chapters written (not edited, that can come as you get read to upload) and it makes you have a deadline but one that isn’t looming.

8) I also gave myself a deadline. I wanted to update at least once a week. This may not work for everyone, so it’s just about figuring out what works for you...but I think I would recommend you set up a realistic goal on how often you update.

9) Just focus on one chapter at a time as you upload. A multi-chap fic can be so easy to get lost in (I may not update some of my Avengers fic) and that’s fine. It’s disappointing and sad, for yourself, but it happens and it should not be a burden on you. You’re writing these things for fun and if it doesn’t work out, well sucks...but there was no harm or waste to it. Some free content just won’t get finished. Happens every day and it’s all good. You just take up the next wave of inspiration and try to get it finished.

10) Ensure you have fun and keep other fun projects available. That mental stuff loves to take away fun, passionate projects. it’s a miserable monster that just wants to suck you dry from it. Take yourself from the project on occasion and write a one shot (these things are miserably hard for me) and use it as an exercise. It challenges you in a different way, gets you to do something new, and can give you and your mental-monster some whiplash so that it can’t instantly take it away from you.

11) If you lose your hyper fixation/love for a pairing, don’t grip on to it for the sake of a fic. I love DinLuke now and I don’t see that changing anytime soon...but when/if it does, I’ll need to just step back and let it go and wait for it to hit in another wave later. Just enjoy the fandom as a fan and you should have a lot more joy and ease in taking part of projects that way.

Those are my little tidbits that’s helped me with stuff so far at least!