#and that's my writing process!

[midnighteraser]

Just curious but what's your writing process? Like how do you come up with an idea and how do you start writing it and such

My writing process is a whirlwind, that's for sure! I'll put it under a read more because it's very long!

Usually, I'd get inspiration for something and instantly go to write the idea down in a Google Keep note I call the "Idea Bank". I'm very forgetful, so these help me brainstorm and add detail to ideas. I have an Idea Bank for all of my main AUs and ones for random stories/AUs I come up with, and at the moment I have 22 of the latter. (Thanks to Keep's word cap.) I often go back and add new ideas/little details if I think of them.

I recommend having wherever you keep ideas easily accessible so you can note ideas down the moment you get them! Google Keep has this cool widget you can access from your phone home page! (The line of Keep applications is because they removed the part of the widget that let you quickly go to the app. :( )

This is where my process changes dependent on my mood.

If I suddenly get inspiration, I tend to write in any important parts out and stick them in the idea bank. If this gets too long, I open a new Keep note and copy and paste it there for me to flesh out later.

If I have no inspiration, I jot down very briefly a description/summary of what the idea is about. It's often a summary then the notes are taken underneath the idea. For example, it could be something as simple as this:

Or a long-ish summary/scene with details underneath, like this:

Now onto the actual writing.

I said, onto the writing.

Why do I have so many empty Keep notes.

As you can see, I have a bad habit of starting a note, adding the title, and then imagining what happens rather than writing it down. It happens! Sometimes I get a cool title and then don't know what to do with it.

Most often than not, I start by opening up an Idea Bank and skimming through the ideas I have. If one sticks out, or if I already knew what I was writing from the start and just needed reference, I start to plan out what happens in my head. (Unless I already have a timeline of events or very vague notes on where the story goes, which makes life 10x easier.)

Sometimes, rarely, if a piece of writing is dialogue-heavy, I write up a script first.

Then, I flesh out some parts.

And I'd go back later to detail it. I often go back and flesh out parts I really like then revert back to script format for the parts later.

However, my main way of writing is what I like to call "Let's goooo". I have a vague idea, I kind of have an image in my head, I can wing this, surely! That's probably why half of my stories get stuck at a point and I don't know how to continue, but sometimes I get a streak of inspiration and write a whole story for me to edit and make sense of later!

I have a few Keep tabs open. These often include:

The Idea Bank for what I'm currently writing

The story I'm writing

The random ideas Idea Bank (in case I get inspo for something else)

Random other thing I'm using to procrastinate (Chatfic, other story, etc.)

Keep tab that isn't on a note, in case I need to use Keep for something and don't what to lose my place in my other tabs

So my window often looks something like this:

The issue with me is that I have a million ideas and can't stick to one for long enough to finish writing a story for it. It's a miracle if I finish one!

Sometimes I'm too lazy to swap tabs and have the description/script of what happens in the story in the same Keep note, separated by a divider of sorts. I may also have what comes next underneath what's already written.

But most often than not, I have random important scenes held together by dividers! When I feel more inspired, I go back to connect the scenes together with whatever happens in between.

This example is a sort of mix between those styles!

If I ever actually end up finishing something, I put it onto a Google Docs note to edit! Because the red lines under words doesn't appear on mobile Google Keep for some reason, if I'm writing on my phone I move to computer.

I'd usually check through with Grammarly to be extra safe (but I often have it off because it annoys me), then reread and add/remove words. Sometimes I end up adding entire paragraphs!

Then, I'd add the "Finished" tag on Google Keep, so I know the story is finished and I don't have to continue writing it. I also have "Ao3 Posted" so I know what I've posted and what I haven't.

Even then, sometimes I go back to finished stories to read and edit them! You can never be too thorough!

That should be everything regarding my writing process! The only other things I can think of mentioning is how I often write with music on! It gives me lots of inspiration, which is why I often write song fics! I also often write crossover and AU fics, but these never go posted because there's so much hidden lore that I can't explain it all with one fic! You see, I start in the MIDDLE of an AU, not the start. I have so many stories that are so far into the AU that they literally don't make sense to anyone else. (Which sucks D:)

I also tend to write at unholy hours of the night. For some reason, my brain decides the best time to come up with ideas is when I'm trying to get some sleep.

Brain please. I want to sleep.

Also sorry for the late answer! I've been thinking about this ask a lot and wanted to get everything about my writing process in!

[theaftersundown]

the holy grail types of fanfic

[rae-butter]

Honestly, I love it when characters relapse. When someone who’s gotten over their anger issues falls into a situation so out of their depth they fall back on their old habits. When someone who’s learned to open up becomes a recluse again in order to cope with something outside their control.

There’s just something so horrible, so toxic, about watching a character grow and then slip back into their old selves in order to cope, bc you know they still care, that they’re the same inside, but watching them hurt so hard they don’t know what else to do brings a sense of catharsis.

[thirtysixsavefiles]

few things more humbling than the realization that you really do write the same fic(s) over and over again

[hinamie]

unconditionally

[fidgetspringer-art]

Boots on throats, as promised.

[bamsara]

I love writing again. Except for that One Paragraph

[inkskinned]

sure i find you in my hair and under my pillow and in the car. but i know in my heart you are picking me out of your teeth. i know i am burning through your sundays, sticking to your ceiling.

i hope i'm in every bitter cup of coffee and every candle wick and every bath. i hope my shadow flickers under your door so the empty hallway i have left behind is a swift dart of nothing more. i hope you find me in notebooks and stop signs and fleetwood mac - like i am marginalia on your life, i want my fingerprints burned into your days like acid.

i loved you, and you know i loved you, and for the rest of your life i will be the person you broke. for the rest of your life i hope the shame of that runs like a cattle dog, bites at your heels. i hope every time your cup is full or the moon is a toenail or a cat is purring or a laugh is in your belly or the sky turns pink while the sun is setting - i hope you remember that someone loved you, and you crushed them in your palms. you extinguished every future i lit. i hope that haunts you.

i hope you never fucking forget it.

[abstractfrog]

Happy 1 year anniversary to Mr Sherlock Holmes! Here's a litttleee celebratory comic from me

[arrimorr]

bitch face

[stervrucht]

Robin steals Steve's phone and changes his auto-correct so 'good' gets changed to 'gay'.

Eddie texts Steve how he's doing and Steve, busy at work, quickly replies 'I'm good' before putting his phone away again until the end of his shift.

When he checks his phone a couple of hours later he has 22 new messages, all of them Eddie.

[aysrin]

despite everything, it's you! (+ extra hat closeups below)

[rae-butter]

Me: I love to write! I write all the time! Writing is my favorite thing wanna read my writing did you know I write???

Also me: *stares at my laptop for 23 days unable to form words for story*

[lazylittledragon]

i will never have this attitude to anything else in any part of life but i did not down monster and coffee and sit in my university library all night and experience rollercoaster level anxiety on the countdown to last submissions just so people can write their essays with chatgpt

[includedisco]

You know what dear fanfic writers?

it's okay to cry because you can't put your character's emotions into words. Dry your tears and write it however the hell you can. It's your story and it's still art

It's okay to take 5 days away because you failed to adequately describe a fight scene. Write it in two sentences if you want. You'll do better next time.

It's okay to use the same word 25 times in one chapter. It's not that deep

It's okay to have too long or too short chapters.

It's okay to be brief or to be as detailed and colourful as you want with your kiss scene. Whether they just "kiss tenderly" or you tell us all about how "his tongue tastes like honey", it's okay and we get it. You've still successfully told us that they kiss

It's okay to have 7% emotions and 300% dialogue or vice versa in your story

While dreaming of writing or working on that awesome work that's better than anything you've written so far, it's okay to allow yourself to write a few pieces that are just YOU and YOUR style, whatever that might be.

I'm not saying we shouldn't grow and improve as writers. What I'm saying is that we shouldn't punish ourselves. At the very least, let's do better because it's what we want and not because we feel pressured by anyone else to do so. You always have an audience no matter what sort of author you are.

Look, nobody is paying us to be this hard on ourselves. If anyone comes at you about your writing, tell them to show you how it's done then. Tell them to politely excuse themselves from your "bad writing". Better yet, give them your bank details so they can pay you for stepping so way out of your writing comfort zone to please them. You'll see how quickly they'll shut the fuck up

[vagueconfusion]

Feeling real ridiculous for not having realized that Baron's "stark father" was the Nightmare King until now