#ask your writer

[kithalstead]

Hi how's it going? Love VM and have to ask, that's Luke Mitchell isn't he? If so definitely love him even more.

Hi hi!!! Thanks for dropping by!! Our lovely VM's face claim is actually Zach Miko, who is a plus sized model (who is 6' 6" btw because I love a man who is both Big and Tall) - you should check out his instagram :)

[museaway]

✍️ more fic writer asks!

reblog & your followers can send asks with the questions they’d like you to answer!

the last sentence you wrote

a character whose POV you’re currently exploring

how you feel about your current WIP

a story idea you haven’t written yet

first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP

the word that appears the most in your current draft (wordcounter.net can tell you)

your preferred writing fonts

if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

start to finish, how long did it take you to write the last fic you posted?

what is the longest amount of time you’ve let a draft rest before you finished it?

a WIP you’d like to finish someday

a trope you’re really into right now

a fandom you’re thinking about writing for

where do you get your inspiration?

favorite weather for writing

favorite place to write

talk about your writing and editing process

if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic

the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

in what year did you publish your first fic?

when did you publish your most recent fic?

do you ever worry about public reaction to what you’re writing? how do you get past that?

pick three keywords that describe your writing

how do you recharge when you’re not feeling creative?

besides writing, what are your other hobbies?

are you able to write with other people around?

your favorite part of the writing process

your least favorite part of the writing process

how easy is it for you to come up with titles?

share a fic you’re especially proud of

[urfriendlywriter]

How to write angst ?

@urfriendlywriter | req by @everynowandthenihaveacrisis @aidyaiden :)

know your character. from their deepest fears to what they cherish the most. know your deepest fear, ask yourself how you will react and feel at that moment. "oh shit, if this happened to me I'll lose my mind" what's that type of scenario for you? write it. :)

decide on the type of angst you are going for!

major, minor, physical, emotional, paranormal, spiritual, verbal, abusive, quarrel, misunderstanding, etc.

and then, decide on--what reaction you can take out of your character by doing what to them.

are they gonna be, held at a gunpoint to give something up? or have their soul wrecked by whom they thought were close to them? or is it going be horror, or etctec, decide on it.

moving on to actually writing it-

Tip 1 - Use sensory details.

her eyes brimmed with tears

his chest heaved

pain clawed at his heart, as his face twisted with hurt

his scream pierced my heart

her lips quivered

she dug her nails into her palms (to distract herself, to stop it from shaking, etc)

show what is happening to ur MC, instead of telling it.

Tip 2 - how to actually write it.

If they're panicking, make them notice too many things at once, show every detail that they're seeing, feeling, from touch, to that burning sensation on their eyes, the blood on the ground, that dryness of their throat, the buzzing in their head and their parted lips unable to trust their own sight, and--and, boom! have them register that they're really really in trouble. and that they've to act fast.

use short, very minimal type of writing for this. make it long, but not long enough that it feels like it's being dragged.

the readers should hold themselves back from skimming the page out of curiousity, they should be in their toes to find out what happens next.

what does your MC do in times of panic? do they chant calm down to themselves, do they get angry, or start crying.. or?? what makes your character genuinely feel an emotion so hard that they'll burst?

there's always something, someone that'll always give them love and easily can be that something or someone to take it away. yk.

Tip 3 - crying.

what is close to your character that u can deprive them of? will it make them cry? beg for it?

what will make ur character cry so hard, that their scream fills everyone's ear, stays in their minds like ghosts and always haunts them?

make a character who never cries, burst out with tears.

while writing crying, focus on the 5 senses, one after the other.

focus it on their breath, make them run out of breath, gasp for air, feel like they're being choked, cry so scrutinizingly. it shud punch the reader's gut.

have them replay what had just happened over and over again in their head

best books and writing styles (for angst) to analyse and learn from (in my opinion);

3rd book in the AGGTM series (yk it hit hard like a truck. it got me depressed in bed the entire time lmao)

Five Survive by Holly Jackson. The moments of red outside of the truck, and moments leading to it.

there's this book called " Warm by @untalentedwriter127 " in wattpad. the author served angst for breakfast, lunch anddd dinner.

and if there's more angsty ones, drop em in the comments! :)

Hope this helps, tag me when yall write a masterpiece! ;)

[thursdayinspace]

normalize reblogging your own fic. normalize reblogging your old fic especially. you worked hard on those words, don't let them disappear into the void, give them some love!

[littlefankingdom]

Simple observation I made from reading these comics. DC, stop making their dad an asshole and make him hug them more.

Also, the hugs in these comics:

Tim's hug is not in Red Robin but it's during the run and when Bruce comes back in time.

Cass' hug is weird because they're suicidal freaks who think fighting is therapy. They fought while being drugged, and blew up a brigde. It makes sense for them only.

Jason's first hug (Outlaws) is after he tries to apologize for his crimes and Bruce refuses to let him to do it, because his boy is innocent for him 🥺 (and then, they fucked it up with Ethiopia because they cannot let them have nice things 🙄). The second one (Red Hood & Arsenal) is started by Jason, who is just very happy to see that Bruce is alive, even if he has lost his memory.

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Creating Your Own Language

When writer's set out to world-build, language has a huge role in creating new cultures and lending a sense of realism to your efforts. A world and people just feel more real when language is involved. As the old Irish proverb says "tír gan teanga, tír gan anam”. A country without a language, is a country without a soul. So how can we create one?

Do Your Homework

First things off, you should start by studying languages. Nobody is asking you to get fluent but it's important to understand the basic mechanics of language. You will start to see certain tricks to language, how verbs are conjugated and how gender effects certain words. It will be easier to make up your own when you know these tricks. For example, in Irish one doesn't scold but "gives out to" - "a thabhairt amach". In German, numbers are arranged differently to the English with the smallest digit arranged before the tens for example 21 - Einsundzwanzig. By immersing yourself in an array of different languages (I recommend finding ones close to how you want your language to sound), you can gain the tools necessary for creating a believable language.

Keep it Simple

Nobody expects you to pull a Tolkien or channel the powers of David J. Peterson (hail bisa vala). You're not writing a dictionary of your con-lang. You will probably use only a handful of words in your story. Don't over complicate things. A reader will not be fluent in your con-lang and if they have to continually search for the meaning of words they will likely loose patience.

Start Small

When you're learning a language, you always start with the basics. You do the exact same when writing one. Start with introductions, the names of simple objects, simple verbs (to be, to do, to have for example) and most importantly your pronouns (you will use these more than any other word, which is why I always start with them). Simple everyday phrases should always be taken care of first. Build your foundation and work your way up, this is a marathon not a race.

Music to the Ears

If your creating a new language, you're more than likely doing it phonetically. Sound is important to language and especially a con-lang because you want to trick your reader into thinking of a real language when reading the words on the page. I suggest sitting down and actually speak your words aloud, get the feel of them on the tongue to work out the spelling. Spellings shouldn't be too complicated, as I said before the readers aren't fluent and you want to make it easier for them to try it out themselves.

Also when you're creating the con-lang, it's important to figure out how it sounds to an unsuspecting ear. If a character is walking down a street and hears a conversation in a strange language, they will likely describe to the reader what it sounds like. It might be guttural or soft, it might be bursque or flowery. It's always interesting to compare how different languages flow in the ear.

Writing in Your Language

Now that you've written your language and created some words, you will want to incoperate them into your story. The way most writers do this is by italicising them. As a reader, I generally prefer authors not to go too overboard with their con-lang. Swathes of con-lang words might intrigue a reader but it can leave them confused as well. It is better to feed con-lang to your readers bit by bit. In most published works writer's tend to use words here and there but there are few whole sentences. For example in A Game Of Thrones by George RR Martin, has actually only a handful of short sentences in Dothraki despite the language being prevalent throughout the book. Daenerys Targaryen pronounces that "Khalakka dothrae mr’anha!"/"A prince rides inside me!" and it's one of the only sentence we actually see in actual Dothraki.

There's also nothing stopping you from just saying a language has been spoken. If you're not comfortable writing out the words, then don't make yourself. A simple dialogue tag can do the trick just fine.

Know your Words

I do recommend keeping an actual record of your words. Make a dictionary if you want or a simple list of words you need. This is one of the most entertaining aspects of world building, have fun with it, go mad if you like. Also here's a short list of questions you can ask yourself about language in general which might help your juices flow.

[timethehobo]

Would you take his hand?

[drac0line1nn1t]

*Wade staring at himself in the mirror*

Wade: I'm so pretty.. *obviously doesn't believe it and is trying to convince himself*

*Wade frowns and reaches for his mask*

*Logan walks up behind him and gently grabs the arm reaching for his mask and Wade jumps around three feet in the air*

Wade: Marvel jesus peanut warn a gu-

*Logan reaches around his head with his other hand and puts his hand over Wade's mouth*

*Logan leans his head on Wade's shoulder looking in the mirror too*

Logan: *smiles* You're so pretty, bub.

[muffinlance]

Do you get the impression the live action is treating us like utter morons?? Like I thought that making it aimed at an older audience would open the doors for more subtle story telling, but no, they're just using monologues to tell us eveything! Like in the second episode Katara's like 'oh his power isn't that he's the avatar, it's that he ~connects~ to people'. Girl we're not idiots we can see that!! And the first episode with Aang's goddawful 'I don't want this responsibility' monologue

THIS, YES. The word that keeps coming to mind is definitely "subtlety". The show for literal children? Had it. The remake for adults? Not so much.

[writingwithfolklore]

20 Questions to ask your beta readers/editors

              When I edit for people, I ask them to come up with three questions for me to answer about their work. While every piece might benefit from different questions, here’s a little list of what you could ask someone to answer!

Who is the main antagonist?

Which character is the carrier of the story? (for multiple POVs)

Did you skim any parts?

When did you start rooting for the MC?

Which point did you recognize the antagonist?

What would you guess comes next?

At what point did you stop reading?

(If they’re reading from beginning to end) what was the theme?

What is the MC’s main flaw/conflict

At what point did you feel the story had begun? (Inciting incident)

What questions do you have about the world?

Who was your favourite character?

Who was your least favourite character?

Which chapter was the strongest/weakest?

Where and when does the story take place?

Are there any politics to the characters/events?

Which lines of dialogue stick out to you for the character’s voice?

Are there any characters/scenes/chapters you think could be taken out?

Did the ending feel resolved?

Was the hook effective?

Any other questions you guys like to ask?

[zaruba-needslove]

Due to recent issue with some people arguing about how ‘AO3 should have algorithm’ and such... I feel like these tweets need to be shared out more. Saw this tweets thread by chance and I had to admit it's a great advice esp on fic writing or fanworks in general.

[Edit] Also since I noticed this post blowing up, if anyone ever tell you that AO3 doesn’t have a function to RECCOMMEND fics you like to others or read other people’s fic recs on the site point them to this post.

[Edit 2] Check source for the original tweet.

[Edit 3] Not OP, but usually when ppl talk about ‘rude or demanding comments’ it usually refers to those that tend to message fanwriters to write according to what they want to be either on the flow of the plot, shipping, etc to the point of harrassment/toxicity. And that would make writing not be fun anymore for some. 

[kithalstead]

Please tell me more about VM and his backstory? He doesn't know how old he is?

Also DM - the concept of a day mistress is quite interesting! I'd like to hear more about that!

Also some general worldbuilding questions-

When did the idea of day mistress/masters come around? Is there a gender neutral/plural term? Maybe day wardens? Lol

How long have vampires existed, and what created the first one?

How do vampires interact with society at large? So far it seems they are somewhat accepted and known about if donation centers are a thing.

Why couldn't the teen vampire drink donated blood? Were they refused or is it something else?

-🔮

I always feel like I've tricked people into asking about my stories like AHA YOU HAVE SPRUNG MY TRAP CARD!!! But nah, it's just nice to hear from you guys!! I really appreciate the interest in my writing!

Please tell me more about VM and his backstory? He doesn't know how old he is?

VM absolutely has no idea what his birthday is. He knows roughly when he was born and what time period he lived in, because he remembers vaguely when certain historical things happened, but he does not know how old he was at that time or if he was a vampire yet. He's basically got time blindness, because this beloved is a disaster neurospicy boy who just.... he doesn't remember, honestly. Plus, his childhood, like I said, wasn't great, and he just.... blocked it out. He was born to a wealthy man and a prostitute he'd paid for sex with, and VM was born out of wedlock, so he was neglected and abused by the men his mother brought around, and he allover had a bad time. So, he just doesn't remember most of it, and after he became a vampire, he drank and fucked and ignored time passing -- and then the world ended, and everyone who could be saved and sealed away in this base was, and VM had to step up because no one else was going to, and he hasn't really cared how old he is anymore, or when his birthday is, it's a lot less interesting to celebrate your birthday when you're 300+ years old 

Also DM - the concept of a day mistress is quite interesting! I'd like to hear more about that! When did the idea of day mistress/masters come around? Is there a gender neutral/plural term? Maybe day wardens? Lol

Yeah! So, Day Mistress! It's a position that vampires created when their society and human society merged, and it's the most trusted human in that vampire's life. They are entrusted with the entire homestead and the vampire's well-being. It is something like asking that person to take care of your kid when you die or something similar, entrusting your whole life to one person (or people, it isn't uncommon for vampires to have little groups of Day Masters/Mistresses, for polyamorous reasons or platonic, it's always nice to have a found family you know?) Anyway, it's more of an archaic term that some have fallen out of love with, so it has been swapped with newer vampires, to key person or key confidante to be gender neutral, and Day Mistress/Master is used for a romantic partner exclusively.

How long have vampires existed, and what created the first one?

They have been around as long as humans, if not longer, branched from an early common ancestor, vampires developed the ability to sustain themselves only on blood but also an incredible intolerance for UV rays from the sun. Similarly, creatures such as werewolves and the fey (among others which have either gone extinct or could survive outside the base - mermaids being the chief example) are from the same evolutionary line that branched somewhere as they developed strength and abilities that humans lack. 

How do vampires interact with society at large? So far it seems they are somewhat accepted and known about if donation centers are a thing.

So, the world has always had supernatural creatures, even before the end of the world, and they've hung around the fringes of society, interacting but very very singly, until the end happened, and they were forced into proximity with each other - because of this, humans HAD to accept and learn to deal with the supernatural creatures in their presence, especially because those supernatural beings were the reason that most of the humans made it to safety. And they wouldn't back down when the humans were trying to shut them out of decision making processes (VM is absolutely one of those who pushed for acceptance by suggesting blood donation centers specifically for vampires) People will still avoid them or be bigots, but like, you don't fuck with a vampire in close quarters, you know? It's very very rare when someone attacks a vampire, and because they're satiated with donated blood, the vampires don't have to go hunting and attacking humans

Why couldn't the teen vampire drink donated blood? Were they refused or is it something else?

DM's best friend growing up, Aurelia, was a weak, fragile girl, anemic and hemophiliac, was turned by mistake by someone who was not prepared to actually take care of a fledgling vampire, and because her body wasn't strong enough to handle the change, she couldn't pop her fangs out and no one taught her how to feed properly. Vampire siring is supposed to be a very official thing, and there's proper channels to do it through, like a marriage license or a birth certificate - paperwork you need to have in order to access the blood donation network. She didn't have that paperwork, and she couldn't feed directly on a human, so she died. 

[tippenfunkaport]

That viral post that's going around about how people who write "book quality" mlm fic are too "normal" to publish and have real jobs so only "weird" people publish their "shitty" fanfic is so completely out of touch with reality and I am giving a massive side eye to everyone reblogging it.

Not only is it completely, easily verifiably untrue (you cannot enter any professional writing space without tripping over a dozen grizzled scifi writers who got their start by filing off the serial numbers and publishing their Star Trek fanfic even going back decades ago??? it's a whole thing?? plus how can you look at the mlm category on Amazon right now and say with a straight face that people aren't publishing shitty Spirk and Stucky fanfic??? Oh, honey...) it's also the perfect example of this kind of sneering elitism that true artists would never sully themselves by seeking profit, they do it only for the purity of the thing that always somehow leads back to, "no one should be paid to make art, actually."

The only reason you're seeing more published fanfic right now has nothing to do with the idealistic purity of your hypothetical government employee written smut of the past vs the debased scribbles of those awful straights of today and everything to do with the fact that a) self-publishing has created a voracious readership that wants a ton of content so it's become a viable, flexible income stream for many, especially disabled people b) anyone can publish now with self-publishing tools so there are less gatekeepers and c) lockdown got a lot of people into fandom and therefore writing who never tried it before.

And if you really think there's no "shitty" published mlm and no "book-quality" m/f writing out there that started as fanfic, then you are clearly not a reader so why are you even talking about this?

[erin-gilberts]

I have a firm belief that the only way Yellowjackets can end is with the death of each of the remaining survivors and [redacted] was just the first (second, really) of what will be all of them in time. "The wilderness" will reclaim them one by one because they weren't supposed to leave. But also they will be swallowed up by their own darkness in their refusal to acknowledge it and that will be the great tragedy of it. All of their deaths will be preventable, but inevitable in light of the cycles they keep on repeating.

[thebibliosphere]

Vague memories from last night of telling someone, cringing in on myself as I said it, “yeah, I’m not a TikTok author, I’m a Tumblr author” then having to explain that the reason for Hunger Pangs being a success is because it is possible to be ‘popular’ on Tumblr, it just doesn’t mean what popularity means on other social media sites.

And then going on a rant about how I don’t want to be a TikTok author because despite being several shades of mentally unwell I have enough self-preservation to not throw myself at the mercy of an algorithm to ensure I can afford to pay my bills and hey, Shana, if you’re out there I am so, so sorry but after a night of being asked “oh you’re an author? What’s your TikTok handle?” I couldn’t take it anymore.

Thanks for listening and not outright laughing.

[vi-visected]

in my head after the events of camlann merlin returns to camelot and, still riddled with terrible guilt and grief, confesses to leon about everything that had happened and everything he had done, magic and all. and instead of outrage or betrayal or scorn or judgement (or even death, as he had briefly considered) leon shatters him with a deeply apologetic expression and a whispered “my friend… you must have been so afraid, and so tired.” and merlin collapses into heaving sobs against him and doesn’t get back up for a long time.