#and then i spent 3 whole days working on them

[eddiediazismyhusband]

Long time no see…

wow it’s been a while…

for starters: i just want to say thank you to @lenaboskow and @mazzystar24

the two of you have stuck by me through the whole rollercoaster that has been my break from tumblr and i don’t think i would have wver come back if it wasn’t for the two of you, so thank you both for being such amazing, talented, beautiful, gorgeous friends to me through it all ❤️

and to those who have sent me kind asks/messages while i’ve been gone, thank you all for the kind words of support and encouragement as well- you are each appreciated so deeply and i can’t thank you enough!

so… a few things have happened while I’ve been gone

the first of which being my 22nd birthday in october which thankfully was spent with AC and a hot shower after having been without power for 12 days in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene; despite the inconvenience of having no power or water in those 12 days, i was still immensely lucky to have been safe and received no damage to my home unlike countless others who unfortunately are still recovering from the storm.

the other major-ish life update from my time away:

i adopted a puppy!!!

in early october (in fact, while we were still without power), I adopted this precious little girl (called ellie) from my local humane society.

she was around 3 months old when i adopted her, and in the beginning of January, she turned 6 months.

she has been a massive help in managing my anxiety and depression, keeping me company and giving me something to love and care for, and in the few months i have had her, she’s already wrapped me around her paw

i could not have asked for a better fur baby than her ❤️ she is probably the best thing that happened to me in 2024, and I cannot wait to see all the adventures life takes her on.

In other news; I’m back!

I had made the decision a few months ago to step away from tumblr as the landscape leading up to the s8 premiere of 9-1-1 was immensely difficult and taxing on my mental health, and I realized that it wasnt healthy to feel the way I so strongly did about the show or the fandom, and I needed to take a step back, alter the way i approached the show and fandom, and refocus on other things.

one of those things was refocusing on my job. shortly before i took a break, i had started a new job and was still very much in the training phase when i made the decision to take a break from tumblr. since then, i have been focusing on establishing myself as a reliable hardworking employee at my job, and i’ve also been focusing on the future;

i currently plan to take a flight attendant training course to become certified, and eventually find work with an airline.

because of this, 9-1-1 and the fandom have taken a back seat to more important things.

that being said, i still watched the entirety of 8a (not live, but a few days after airing once i had the chance to grill sarah and addie about what happened each episode- i have a lot of opinions on how things have gone and seem to be going but now is not the time nor place for that). i have still posted the occasional fic on ao3, and i am still working on my various wips as i am able to

i eventually realized how much i truly did miss being a part of the fandom, and have made the choice to come back, but going forward, i’m going to be doing things differently:

1. i will not be engaging in speculation or anything of that nature about future episodes- all it does is give me anxiety that manifests through frustration and i don’t want to continue feeding into that

2. i am going go be returning to my original philosophy of “the block and delete buttons are my friends.” in the last few weeks before my break, i found myself engaging more and more with toxic fans rather than just blocking them or deleting their replies to my posts- that won’t be happening anymore: if you come on my page being toxic or rude, you will be blocked and ignored because i do not have time for that shit

3. i want to branch out to other fandoms- this will remain a 9-1-1 blog first and foremost, and the majority of what i post will be related to 9-1-1, but i will also occasionally make posts about other fandoms/media that i have an interest in

4. most of what i post will either be fic related, headcanon related, or memes. as stated above, i do not have a healthy relationship with spec, and therefore i am not going to foster that by actively involving myself in it.

all that said, i’m really gald to be back, and i’m looking forward to being involved again! i hope everyone who stuck to the end of this long ass re-introduction post is having a wonderful morning, afternoon, or evening wherever you are in the world <3

[glamourscat]

the years between us | Nishinoya Yuu x reader

mention of time skip | a bit angsty (?) in the middle | fluff ending | hinata being oblivious | the rest of the team being Noya x reader n1 shippers | I wrote this at 4am but I love it

SNAPSHOT 1

Ever since you could remember, Noya had been a rather peculiar guy. Unapologetically loud, energetic and with a laugh that could fill an entire room with warmth. He wasn’t known for being tall, sure, and maybe not for being the prettiest. But Noya had a way about him. The way he carried himself confidently, yet underneath the bravado, he was almost shy. And there was nothing you liked more than catching glimpses of those rare but heartwarming moments.

Like when you flirted back at his terrible pickup lines. When, during a bus ride after a game, his head rested against your shoulder as he slept peacefully, cozy in your warmth. Or maybe it was the way he used his short height to his advantage just to tackle you.

Either way, every moment spent as one of Karasuno’s team managers felt like a blessing. Filled with laughter, joy, a bit of chaos, but so much love. Love for a specific person too.

SNAPSHOT 2

If Asahi had to pinpoint a moment, he would say it was during nationals. That was it. That’s when he started—well, when he, Daichi, Suga, and Tanaka— began to notice the change in Nishinoya. He was a bit calmer. Too calm for his standards. At first, they brushed it off as tension and nerves. They were playing at nationals, after all.

But then they started noticing more and more. The way his eyes followed a certain manager longer than usual. The way his smile turned almost shy when talking to her. Hell, if he could have, he probably would have giggled and kicked his feet from how giddy he looked. And they had just… never seen him like that before, not with such evident heart eyes.

He was no stranger to getting crushes. To parading around declaring, “I think I’ve found the woman of my life,” only to cut to him drooling over someone else the next day.

This, though, was different.

And it was as clear as the summer sky. Noya had a big, fat crush.

SNAPSHOT 3

Graduation came fast. Too fast. The memories blurred together. Glimpses of Sugawara, Daichi and Asahi coming back to see them and maybe, just maybe, shedding a tear or two, despite being only a year older. 

Glimpses of Kiyoko talking to a very flustered but noticeably more laid-back Tanaka. The two having a somewhat normal conversation. 

And then, them.

Even the old group, Kiyoko included, despite her usual quiet nature couldn’t help but comment.

“Did Noya and Y/N have a falling out?” she asked in her usual calm, collected voice, though a tinge of worry slipped through.

“It’s complicated,” Tanaka sighed softly, his gaze drifting back to the duo who were trying, badly, he should add, to avoid looking at each other.

“Something happened. Even I don’t know the whole story. Noya refuses to open up. I suspect they dated in secret for a while, but it’s unclear. They never confirmed or denied it. But one day… the atmosphere in the gym was tense, they weren’t even talking. Even Coach Ukai was worried. Eventually, she quit being a manager before the season ended.”

SNAPSHOT 4

As the years passed, the once Karasuno High members went their separate ways. Some went to college, others straight into work, some pursued volleyball careers. A few even got married.

Despite the distance, the group never failed to see each other. Not always with everyone present. More than once, if Noya was there, you weren’t. And vice versa. Whether it was fate or a deliberate choice, the others never quite figured out.

But time went on and things changed. Eventually, at some point, you two started showing up at group hangouts at the same time. And once became twice. Twice became thrice.

Things weren’t like before. But they weren’t bad either. And the most perspicacious out of the bunch, was able to pick up on the shift that was happening. 

They had all moved on, met new people, become new people. Yet despite the years, despite looking so much like their younger selves, just a little older, they weren’t who they used to be.

Loud personalities had softened, though they still carried that familiar explosive energy. Quiet and introspective ones had grown more outgoing. But at the core of it all, they were still the same bunch of kids from a school in the middle of the countryside, chasing a dream.

Just without a volleyball this time around. 

And despite the years on their faces, now in their late twenties, things were good. Their shared group chat was livelier than ever.

Especially now.

December 31st. As everyone, whether still in Japan or scattered across the world, sent their early New Year’s messages, one in particular made the chat explode.

From: Noya, 00:20

To: All

→ one attachment

Happy New Year, everyone! From Rome with love. (P.S. She said yes, by the way ❤️)

Attached was a picture of you two, smiling in front of the Colosseum. You were showing off your ring, a hint of a soft fading purple bruise on your neck and cheeks caressed by glistening streaks of happiness.

From: Hinata, 00:21

To: All

“WAIT A MOMENT, SINCE WHEN WERE YOU TWO TOGETHER?!?!?! WHAT DID I MISS, GUYS, WTF.”

© GLAMOURSCAT (all rights reserved. do not share, modify, translate and re-upload my work outside of tumblr)

[leaawrites]

Spoil me

Noel Gallagher x fem!actress!reader

Summary: Noel takes her out to go shopping after he finished up his new album.

Warnings: fluffy, angst, swearing, (this is part four to a series, can be read as a standalone though)

Wordcount: 0.8k

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Masterlist

Sitting on the sofa, switching between the different programs on the telly, she bore herself to death. Wishing for Noel to get out of his little home studio and entertain her in one way or another.

Just as she switched back to the news and groaning when they showed the same thing as a week prior, she heard the door to Noel’s studio opening. The man walking out with a grin on his face as he stepped over to her and kissed her before telling her, “get ready, we’re going out.”

“What? Where are we going?” She asked, although already standing up and walking to the closet to change out of her joggers.

“I just finished the album, and we’re gonna celebrate a little,” he said, pulling her closer in the middle of the stairs. Looking happier than ever before.

“You just finished it? That’s great, Noel. I told you, you shouldn’t pressure yourself. It’ll be great, I can feel it.” Throwing her arms around his shoulders, Noel chuckled into her neck.

“Darling, you’ve already heard every song beside the last one.”

“Still, I’ve never heard it fully. Front to back,” she insisted before continuing her way up.

“So, where are we going? How should I dress?” She asked, flicking through her rows of clothes. Looking over the stacks of tops and bottoms. Trying to remember what looked good together.

“Casual’s alright. It’s nothing too crazy,” Noel shrugged, a smile spreading on his face as he saw the glimmer of curiosity lingering in her eyes.

“Casual my ass,” she muttered as she found herself in front of the Chanel Store. Looking down the road she could make out all kinds of high fashion logos and Noel standing next to her with an excited smile on his face.

“C’mon let’s go.” He urged her inside, pulling her from the space where she seemed to be stuck in inside the store.

“Why do you seem more excited than me?” She asked with a giggle as she saw him looking at her again.

“Let’s just let me spoil you for once, love,” he insisted, walking further inside.

The whole day was spent with spending money. His money. Even when she would insist on buying something he’d have his card out faster than her already paying for a new dress or shoes or a bag.

“I can’t believe you,” she muttered as they walked out of the last store, for the first time registering just how many bags Noel was carrying for her. “You’re insane.”

“Darling, I’m not the one with expensive taste.” A familiar smirk crept on his lips.

“Right,” she said, pulling him into a kiss to make it disappear from his face. “Liam’s the one buying Gucci parkas.”

“He’s a slut for anything half decent,” Noel insisted as they walked back to the car.

Putting the bags in the trunk and climbing inside, Noel looked at her in the driver seat.

“You know we have a driver, right? You don’t always have to drive everywhere.” Looking at her like he was unsure if this was new information he just dumped on her.

Though the bored look on her face told him otherwise as she checked the rear view.

“I like driving, is that a crime?” She asked, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the busy streets of London.

“No, not at all. Was just wondering if you knew,” he said, raising his hands in surrender and laughing at her tone.

“I know and I don’t care.”

Opening the door to their house, they were both packed fully. Designer bags hanging from their arms, laughing as they stumbled through the door after Noel almost didn’t get it open.

Letting them rest by the entrance for now, they both sank down on the sofa rather messily. Legs tangled together and breaths heavy from the ‘work-out’.

“Why do you not like me spoiling you?” Noel broke the silence first, looking over at her.

“It’s not like I don’t like it, I just- I don’t know,” she answered, rolling over and laying her head on his chest.

“I think you do know, darling.” His fingers gently moved through her hair, a gentle sigh of contempt leaving her lips as she closed her eyes.

“I feel like a gold-digger of some sorts if you pay for all my stuff. I just don’t want you to feel like I’m using you.”

“I’m not.” He gently leaned down, leaving a kiss on the top of her head. His lips lingering on her hair for a second longer. “Don’t worry, I’m not thinking that.”

Grateful for the reassurance, she nodded her head. Though her eyes always trailed over to the bags by the door and the uneasy feeling came back more intense with every glance their way.

[worthlessteacherspet]

it's come to my attention that ya'll don't know all the things teach has done that make my friends say seem like my teacher wants me so

A list of sus things teach has done ♥︎

in chronological order....

1. ran up to me, grabbed my leg a little higher than my knee, paused, blushed and pulled away "sorry, I'm in a mood today,"

2. caught me playing with his sleeve and called me out on it but didn't pull away or get weirded out. he did tho say it outloud and embarrassed me 😓

3. stood up close to me and told me I was about the same size as his wife. not even height. "size".

4. we had a lab with flowers in biology once and when it was over I gave him a rose. he was apparently very happy about it. unfornately I couldn't give it to him myself but the middle man said he thought it was very sweet of me.

5. I drew a little picture of him and gave it to him. not only did he pose for me to take a picture of them both but he also to this day carries it around in his special custom emprodered leather planner.

6. told me to come try his lipbalm. rubbed some on his finger, tried it, rubbed some onto the same finger for me to wipe off.

7. TOLD me he was going to give me one of his sweatshirts. didn't offer. I didn't ask. he just said so and asked what size I am.

8. spent entire 10-30 minute periods pressed up shoulder to shoulder with me. either helping me work or showing me stuff on his phone. didn't say anything at all. now he's very physical with people in general but still seems a little excessive

9. immediately reassures me if I say anything I don't like about myself. said I have 'nice' teeth and a 'sweet' nose lol

10. obviously there's the fact he puts up with all my clingy shit. but ofc he is a mental health professional so this one might not mean much but still he sets aside a whole lunch each week just to see me and has hugged me through panic attacks. he also makes a point to guard me when the tall kids box me in and scare me.

11. this is less of a thing he does and more of a thing he doesn't. he doesn't at seem to be put off by the fact I am obviously attracted to him. he's an incredibly observant guy and I'm very very obvious. I get flustered, I linger, I stare.

[hkevisvlsvso]

Oh finally made oc

(Thanks to @zeroskiis who did the oc generator :3 i started to create this because of it but i fell in love with him and made him like really detailed)

So,

Yapping about my oc:

☆☆☆

Basic information:

Name: Lucas Salix Baresi

Age: 16(or like the same age as everyone in the series i just thought it all like as aged up)

Pronouns: he/him(male)

Nationality: 🇩🇪/🇮🇹

Sexuality: panromantic, demisexual

Team: Siegers

☆☆☆

Appearance:

Skin tone: ligh(i think?)

Eyes: gray

Hair: dark brown, messy and uneven hair that reaches roughly a little below the shoulders, and messy bangs (I tried to draw his face, the end result was scary, maybe you'll get a picture of his face someday, if I ever get anything even remotely good done)

Nose: straight and long nose bridge(i don'tknow how to describe it :D...)

Face shape: pretty angular

Special things: his left eye injured when he was 4 yo. Can't now say anything of it cause i don't know how these eyethings work but like there's no pupil or iris and the whole eye is smaller and lower than the other if yk what i mean? He could of course use a glass eye but it looks more cool without it :3

Clothing style: like... downtown boy, crunge, sometimes a bit punkish and everything between these, or just the basic dwk-core clothes :')

☆☆☆

Just some random information:

Hobbies: soccer, skateboarding, making songs, his parents forced him to take guitar lessons so he learned chords there and now he's saving money for an electric guitar cause it would be cool to play it, and he enjoys making lyrics too

Favorite food: nuggets :3

Likes: skateboarding, waching people drawing, rain, night, adrenaline, climbing on things and buildings that are illegal to climb, high places,speed,freedom, peace, writing

Dislikes: his parents, being stuck in some people or places or situations, apples

☆☆☆

Some lore/idk just everything you need to know about him:

☆ he lived next door to Michi when he was like 0-8 years old so he became friends with Michi. When he was 9, his dad got a good job and they became rich(well, not rich like Deniz or Markus but they had been like really broke before) and moved to a more expensive and big house. Lucas transferred to another school closer to his new home, but he still spent time with Michi in his freetime. One day Michi introduced Lucas to his schoolmates and Lucas started hanging out with them all and that's how he became a part of Siegers. Lucas lived quite far from all the other Siegers, so he wasn't always with them, that's probably why it took so long until he even heard of the Wild bunch. Once when he was just playing soccer alone, Deniz saw him and they played together and spent the whole evening together, but Deniz didn't tell about his team. They had fun and Lucas thought that Deniz is really cool and wanted to be better friends with him, but before he could tell Deniz his address, his mom just came to him and told him to come home, so lucas just said bye and ran away cause he thought it was embarrassing. Then like 5 days after that when lucas was chilling with Siegers, they saw the Wild Bunch(yea i still have no idea what to call them :'D). Lucas saw how mean Michi was to them, and saw how cool the Wilden Kerle looks and saw Deniz there and Deniz looked at lucas and looked firstly a bit shocked and then just angry and Lucas immediately knew he wanted to be friends with the Wild bunch and kick Michi's ass but he couldn't do it. At some point, when Lucas is an angsty teenager, he starts to argue with his parents often and be less and less at home and more and more hang out with Siegers. He doesn't want to be their friend anymore but he doesn't have anyone else so he has to be with them or be alone. Of course he would choose to be alone, but if he leaves Siegers, he becomes their enemy, and no one wants to be enemies with Siegers. Hanging out more with Siegers means seeing more The wild soccer bunch too, Lucas just looks at them and wants to do something while the Siegers are beating them. He wants to hang out with wilde kerle (and Adam!! Lucas has seen him too and said like two words in his life to him, but he thinks Adam is cool and wants to be his friend). But he is stuck in siegers and hopeless lonely shit. What happens next? Does Lucas leave the siegers? And if yes, will he ever become friends with Wilden Kerle? Can the wild bunch ever forgive his past? The story is not over yet...

(Oookay what the fuck)

☆ he has come out to almost everyone else in the world except his parents(they are really strict and conservative)(lucas is trans if i haven't told it already, i don't remember :') )

☆☆☆

Ohh hell yohh tried to draw his clothes:

[ejga-ostja]

Kylan nation come get yalls juice!!! 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[danielnelsen]

update: peach is doing very well!! she's eating and sleeping normally (sleeping more than normal, really, but that's to be expected)!! after 3 days of not sleeping and a few changes in painkillers, she finally just napped for an hr then, after another day, slept through the whole night (and most of the next day). she's started following all her usual routines again and is very keen to eat! still on some painkillers, but they're not having any horrific side effects anymore

now that im not staying up to keep an eye on her all night (while also dealing with upgrading my computer and my phone and also my sister preparing to go overseas and the dogs barking and howling constantly due to all of the above), i finally got some decent sleep too and slept for about 14 hrs. so today ive got that weird shakiness that i get from sleeping too much, but hey it's better than the whole of the last week

[butnotbubblegum]

using the tags to vent my current emotional state into the void bc ig story feels like a bad plan for this, read at your own risk.

[keeps-ache]

good morning and merry christmas !! aesthetic photo of my cookies be upon ye

[phantajam]

my hot take about descendants is that NONE of the core four were ready for a relationship until maybe like, the third movie (rant in tags)

[yuriyuruandyuraart]

psssssssssttttttttt Can we fully see your human sona? 👀

sure thing! :D

[scholarhect]

jenny holzer inflammatory essays <3 i stood on the stairs and read every single one (there aren’t as many as it looks. each one is on here on about two columns, i think. still a long time to stand there) and i was in the way and people had to walk around me but i was like psssh this is an art gallery if they’re gonna display art here then i’m gonna look at it here. and then afterward i went up and stood by the barrier above the stairs and actually i could read the text reasonably well. so. maybe i did not in fact have to stand in everybody’s way. but whatever

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[archaeren]

How I learned to write smarter, not harder

(aka, how to write when you're hella ADHD lol)

A reader commented on my current long fic asking how I write so well. I replied with an essay of my honestly pretty non-standard writing advice (that they probably didn't actually want lol) Now I'm gonna share it with you guys and hopefully there's a few of you out there who will benefit from my past mistakes and find some useful advice in here. XD Since I started doing this stuff, which are all pretty easy changes to absorb into your process if you want to try them, I now almost never get writer's block.

The text of the original reply is indented, and I've added some additional commentary to expand upon and clarify some of the concepts.

As for writing well, I usually attribute it to the fact that I spent roughly four years in my late teens/early 20s writing text roleplay with a friend for hours every single day. Aside from the constant practice that provided, having a live audience immediately reacting to everything I wrote made me think a lot about how to make as many sentences as possible have maximum impact so that I could get that kind of fun reaction. (Which is another reason why comments like yours are so valuable to fanfic writers! <3) The other factors that have improved my writing are thus: 1. Writing nonlinearly. I used to write a whole story in order, from the first sentence onward. If there was a part I was excited to write, I slogged through everything to get there, thinking that it would be my reward once I finished everything that led up to that. It never worked. XD It was miserable. By the time I got to the part I wanted to write, I had beaten the scene to death in my head imagining all the ways I could write it, and it a) no longer interested me and b) could not live up to my expectations because I couldn't remember all my ideas I'd had for writing it. The scene came out mediocre and so did everything leading up to it. Since then, I learned through working on VN writing (I co-own a game studio and we have some visual novels that I write for) that I don't have to write linearly. If I'm inspired to write a scene, I just write it immediately. It usually comes out pretty good even in a first draft! But then I also have it for if I get more ideas for that scene later, and I can just edit them in. The scenes come out MUCH stronger because of this. And you know what else I discovered? Those scenes I slogged through before weren't scenes I had no inspiration for, I just didn't have any inspiration for them in that moment! I can't tell you how many times there was a scene I had no interest in writing, and then a week later I'd get struck by the perfect inspiration for it! Those are scenes I would have done a very mediocre job on, and now they can be some of the most powerful scenes because I gave them time to marinate. Inspiration isn't always linear, so writing doesn't have to be either!

Some people are the type that joyfully write linearly. I have a friend like this--she picks up the characters and just continues playing out the next scene. Her story progresses through the entire day-by-day lives of the characters; it never timeskips more than a few hours. She started writing and posting just eight months ago, she's about an eighth of the way through her planned fic timeline, and the content she has so far posted to AO3 for it is already 450,000 words long. But most of us are normal humans. We're not, for the most part, wired to create linearly. We consume linearly, we experience linearly, so we assume we must also create linearly. But actually, a lot of us really suffer from trying to force ourselves to create this way, and we might not even realize it. If you're the kind of person who thinks you need to carrot-on-a-stick yourself into writing by saving the fun part for when you finally write everything that happens before it: Stop. You're probably not a linear writer. You're making yourself suffer for no reason and your writing is probably suffering for it. At least give nonlinear writing a try before you assume you can't write if you're not baiting or forcing yourself into it!! Remember: Writing is fun. You do this because it's fun, because it's your hobby. If you're miserable 80% of the time you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong!

2. Rereading my own work. I used to hate reading my own work. I wouldn't even edit it usually. I would write it and slap it online and try not to look at it again. XD Writing nonlinearly forced me to start rereading because I needed to make sure scenes connected together naturally and it also made it easier to get into the headspace of the story to keep writing and fill in the blanks and get new inspiration. Doing this built the editing process into my writing process--I would read a scene to get back in the headspace, dislike what I had written, and just clean it up on the fly. I still never ever sit down to 'edit' my work. I just reread it to prep for writing and it ends up editing itself. Many many scenes in this fic I have read probably a dozen times or more! (And now, I can actually reread my own work for enjoyment!) Another thing I found from doing this that it became easy to see patterns and themes in my work and strengthen them. Foreshadowing became easy. Setting up for jokes or plot points became easy. I didn't have to plan out my story in advance or write an outline, because the scenes themselves because a sort of living outline on their own. (Yes, despite all the foreshadowing and recurring thematic elements and secret hidden meanings sprinkled throughout this story, it actually never had an outline or a plan for any of that. It's all a natural byproduct of writing nonlinearly and rereading.)

Unpopular writing opinion time: You don't need to make a detailed outline.

Some people thrive on having an outline and planning out every detail before they sit down to write. But I know for a lot of us, we don't know how to write an outline or how to use it once we've written it. The idea of making one is daunting, and the advice that it's the only way to write or beat writer's block is demoralizing. So let me explain how I approach "outlining" which isn't really outlining at all.

I write in a Notion table, where every scene is a separate table entry and the scene is written in the page inside that entry. I do this because it makes writing nonlinearly VASTLY more intuitive and straightforward than writing in a single document. (If you're familiar with Notion, this probably makes perfect sense to you. If you're not, imagine something a little like a more contained Google Sheets, but every row has a title cell that opens into a unique Google Doc when you click on it. And it's not as slow and clunky as the Google suite lol) (Edit from the future: I answered an ask with more explanation on how I use Notion for non-linear writing here.) When I sit down to begin a new fic idea, I make a quick entry in the table for every scene I already know I'll want or need, with the entries titled with a couple words or a sentence that describes what will be in that scene so I'll remember it later. Basically, it's the most absolute bare-bones skeleton of what I vaguely know will probably happen in the story.

Then I start writing, wherever I want in the list. As I write, ideas for new scenes and new connections and themes will emerge over time, and I'll just slot them in between the original entries wherever they naturally fit, rearranging as necessary, so that I won't forget about them later when I'm ready to write them. As an example, my current long fic started with a list of roughly 35 scenes that I knew I wanted or needed, for a fic that will probably be around 100k words (which I didn't know at the time haha). As of this writing, it has expanded to 129 scenes. And since I write them directly in the page entries for the table, the fic is actually its own outline, without any additional effort on my part. As I said in the comment reply--a living outline!

This also made it easier to let go of the notion that I had to write something exactly right the first time. (People always say you should do this, but how many of us do? It's harder than it sounds! I didn't want to commit to editing later! I didn't want to reread my work! XD) I know I'm going to edit it naturally anyway, so I can feel okay giving myself permission to just write it approximately right and I can fix it later. And what I found from that was that sometimes what I believed was kind of meh when I wrote it was actually totally fine when I read it later! Sometimes the internal critic is actually wrong. 3. Marinating in the headspace of the story. For the first two months I worked on [fic], I did not consume any media other than [fandom the fic is in]. I didn't watch, read, or play anything else. Not even mobile games. (And there wasn't really much fan content for [fandom] to consume either. Still isn't, really. XD) This basically forced me to treat writing my story as my only source of entertainment, and kept me from getting distracted or inspired to write other ideas and abandon this one.

As an aside, I don't think this is a necessary step for writing, but if you really want to be productive in a short burst, I do highly recommend going on a media consumption hiatus. Not forever, obviously! Consuming media is a valuable tool for new inspiration, and reading other's work (both good and bad, as long as you think critically to identify the differences!) is an invaluable resource for improving your writing.

When I write, I usually lay down, close my eyes, and play the scene I'm interested in writing in my head. I even take a ten-minute nap now and then during this process. (I find being in a state of partial drowsiness, but not outright sleepiness, makes writing easier and better. Sleep helps the brain process and make connections!) Then I roll over to the laptop next to me and type up whatever I felt like worked for the scene. This may mean I write half a sentence at a time between intervals of closed-eye-time XD

People always say if you're stuck, you need to outline.

What they actually mean by that (whether they realize it or not) is that if you're stuck, you need to brainstorm. You need to marinate. You don't need to plan what you're doing, you just need to give yourself time to think about it!

What's another framing for brainstorming for your fic? Fantasizing about it! Planning is work, but fantasizing isn't.

You're already fantasizing about it, right? That's why you're writing it. Just direct that effort toward the scenes you're trying to write next! Close your eyes, lay back, and fantasize what the characters do and how they react.

And then quickly note down your inspirations so you don't forget, haha.

And if a scene is so boring to you that even fantasizing about it sucks--it's probably a bad scene.

If it's boring to write, it's going to be boring to read. Ask yourself why you wanted that scene. Is it even necessary? Can you cut it? Can you replace it with a different scene that serves the same purpose but approaches the problem from a different angle? If you can't remove the troublesome scene, what can you change about it that would make it interesting or exciting for you to write?

And I can't write sitting up to save my damn life. It's like my brain just stops working if I have to sit in a chair and stare at a computer screen. I need to be able to lie down, even if I don't use it! Talking walks and swinging in a hammock are also fantastic places to get scene ideas worked out, because the rhythmic motion also helps our brain process. It's just a little harder to work on a laptop in those scenarios. XD

In conclusion: Writing nonlinearly is an amazing tool for kicking writer's block to the curb. There's almost always some scene you'll want to write. If there isn't, you need to re-read or marinate.

Or you need to use the bathroom, eat something, or sleep. XD Seriously, if you're that stuck, assess your current physical condition. You might just be unable to focus because you're uncomfortable and you haven't realized it yet.

Anyway! I hope that was helpful, or at least interesting! XD Sorry again for the text wall. (I think this is the longest comment reply I've ever written!)

And same to you guys on tumblr--I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. XD Reblogs appreciated if so! (Maybe it'll help someone else!)

[hyenaharpy]

the trials and tribulations of writing a fucking english paper will be the end of me on MY LIFE

[thebibliosphere]

So, anyway, I say as though we are mid-conversation, and you're not just being invited into this conversation mid-thought. One of my editors phoned me today to check in with a file I'd sent over. (<3)

The conversation can be surmised as, "This feels like something you would write, but it's juuuust off enough I'm phoning to make sure this is an intentional stylistic choice you have made. Also, are you concussed/have you been taken over by the Borg because ummm."

They explained that certain sentences were very fractured and abrupt, which is not my style at all, and I was like, huh, weird... And then we went through some examples, and you know that meme going around, the "he would not fucking say that" meme?

Yeah. That's what I experienced except with myself because I would not fucking say that. Why would I break up a sentence like that? Why would I make them so short? It reads like bullet points. Wtf.

Anyway. Turns out Grammarly and Pro-Writing-Aid were having an AI war in my manuscript files, and the "suggestions" are no longer just suggestions because the AI was ignoring my "decline" every time it made a silly suggestion. (This may have been a conflict between the different software. I don't know.)

It is, to put it bluntly, a total butchery of my style and writing voice. My editor is doing surgery, removing all the unnecessary full stops and stitching my sentences back together to give them back their flow. Meanwhile, I'm over here feeling like Don Corleone, gesturing at my manuscript like:

ID: a gif of Don Corleone from the Godfather emoting despair as he says, "Look how they massacred my boy."

Fearing that it wasn't just this one manuscript, I've spent the whole night going through everything I've worked on recently, and yep. Yeeeep. Any file where I've not had the editing software turned off is a shit show. It's fine; it's all salvageable if annoying to deal with. But the reason I come to you now, on the day of my daughter's wedding, is to share this absolute gem of a fuck up with you all.

This is a sentence from a Batman fic I've been tinkering with to keep the brain weasels happy. This is what it is supposed to read as:

"It was quite the feat, considering Gotham was mostly made up of smog and tear gas."

This is what the AI changed it to:

"It was quite the feat. Considering Gotham was mostly made up. Of tear gas. And Smaug."

Absolute non-sensical sentence structure aside, SMAUG. FUCKING SMAUG. What was the AI doing? Apart from trying to write a Batman x Hobbit crossover??? Is this what happens when you force Grammarly to ignore the words "Batman Muppet threesome?"

Did I make it sentient??? Is it finally rebelling? Was Brucie Wayne being Miss Piggy and Kermit's side piece too much???? What have I wrought?

Anyway. Double-check your work. The grammar software is getting sillier every day.