#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first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP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

[mentally-ill-for-bes]

So funny Viktor chooses to present himself to Jayce as a white-golden robot (considering it is shown he could possess one of his followers) despite his representative colors being purple and blue (during s2 arc 1 and arc 2 and as the Herald Machine). But for the very specific purpose of convincing Jayce to join him, he's represented in the colors associated with Mel. Literally CATWALKING into the room, which is an action associated with Mel too

[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! ;)

[madwomansapologist]

i really don’t like when writers give too much personality and backstory to y/n. isn’t it supossed to be a self insert?

not my fault you’re not imaginative + if you don’t like the way i write, you can read something else

[a-most-beloved-fool]

spirk using telepathy to keep each other alive. kirk, desperate, psy-null and untrained, reaching clumsily into spock's dying mind and pulling, dragging spock's essence into himself, wrenching him forceably from the very jaws of death and holding him there through sheer strength of will, saying you can't die, i won't let you, you can't leave me, i need you, and binding him to life and to himself until it's impossible to fully separate them. spock, more skilled, carefully managing each one of kirk's vital signs - keeping his heart beating steady, his lungs drawing breath, his temperature within a safe range, all while suppressing kirk's pain, and at the same trying, vainly, to keep their minds from tying themselves inexorably together, but they're pressed too close and he can't, and he hopes that kirk will forgive him, for bonding them like this (he will, of course he will), but the alternative, letting kirk die, was - unthinkable.

[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.

[choccy-milky]

I dont know why I had this vision of clora riding a scooter, like a cute light blue one with italy vibes, like a vespa, and sebastian panicking behind her LMAO

I SEE THE VISION AS WELL...idk how shes on a vespa tho since they werent invented yet so lets just assume theres time-turner shenanigans going on LMAO

but also anon this request was so funny to me because the SAME day you sent me it, i also got this one on twitter:

TRULY THE DUALITY OF MAN IS AT PLAY HERE!!! LMAOO debauchery vs wholesomeness...and it made me laugh so much

(and for anyone curious yes i WILL also be honouring the other request......eventually👀)

@jstfndmthngs splitting your ask into 2 again bc its a CHONKER but I LOVED READING IT🥹🥹 "how much they love each other to the abnormal level that i envy" LMAOO THATS FANFICTION FOR YOU, BABY!!😍 also YESS interacting with my readers in the comments was my fav parts of writing a lot of the time, and im SOOO grateful to the ppl who commented bc without them the story would have turned out DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT. like, i know there are some people who write the entirety of their fanfic and then upload it in chunks, but if i had done that/written my story in a vacuum and hadnt incorporated any of my readers ideas/suggestions it would have been SOOOO much worse honestly LMAO. like, not even necessarily putting their requests or ideas in my fic, but even sometimes just reading a comment that would say something like "i cant wait to see how clora/seb reacts to..." would make me think...oh. i was never planning on even showing their reaction to that. but now that they say that, good point, i definitely need to include that LOL. so yeah even just little stuff like that was SUPER important to my writing process and my story and helped me keep in mind what people wanted to see/things i may have missed or glossed over if i'd been writing by myself, but i also just loved getting comments in general bc i loved reading them and they were so motivating🥹 BUT THANK U SO MUCH IM GLAD U LIKED MY STORY/SEB & CLORA SO MUCH, AND TY FOR SHARING ALL YOUR THOUGHTS WITH ME!!🥹💖💖 im lowkey the same way... i cant read any other fics rn bc im still too attached to seb/clora BAHAHA so i still need to give it some time before i delve into other HL fics (i even downloaded a program that will let me replace names so that i can replace the mc's name with clora's LMFAOOOO THATS HOW MENTALLY ILL I AM ABOUT THEM!!😭😭DONT COME FOR ME🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🚓)

omg...i already love unlocking kinks in people but for it to be specifically seb x clora is even more of an honour BAHAHA omg i love that....but i get it too. clora is submissive and breedable af😍LMAOO (im sorry💀that wasnt me just now that was seb blame him)

@acrenna MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS AND ALSO LATE HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! this is so sweet THANK YOU SO MUCH😭😭im happy my story was able to get you out of your reading slump!! (and hopefully will continue to, with my oneshot im slowly but surely working on😩) BUT THANK YOU AGAIN I APPRECIATE YOU SM🥹🥹💖

@misskkfritz you actually arent the first to say this and i also saw a pinterest comment on my art say this........FELLAS DO I NEED TO WATCH GILMORE GIRLS NOW🤔🤔🤔

[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.

[citrusai]

taash said "they were doing it" and people ran with the interpretation of an npc that doesn't know solas or the history of the elvhenan even when bellara interjected and said, no, that's not right. that's not how it was for the elvhenan. they formed bonds before they had physical bodies. and people ran to doompost or create weird anti-solavellan shit even though mythal & solas refer to each other as old friends and when she releases him there is no tenderness or love in it. it is the act of unchaining a dog from his post, the stepping down of a general. but to each their own ig.

[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. 

[lockheed-martin-unofficial]

Some exercises to get to know an oc!

(I’ve designed this list so that it requires no art or proper writing at all, it can mostly be done by doing picrews, describing and answering questions. )

1. Your oc as a playable video game character, (special abilities and stats). Bonus: write dialogue or one-liners.

2. If they played Dungeons and Dragons, what would their character be like?

3. Evil version of them

4. contents of their bag/ items they always carry around.

5. Average shopping list

6. various outfits for scenes or occasions

7. character’s wedding dress (yes, put that man in a dress.), or any other fancy outfit they would have

8. Graphic design: advertisement for their (perhaps nonexistent and/or illegitimate) business, wedding invite card, cult pamphlet,etc

9. Your oc is on the news for something they did. What did they do‼️

10. Mess around with the incorrect quotes/ headcanon generator

11. Take “what x are you” quizzes as them

12. what crimes are they most likely to get caught for? And what crimes are they most likely to get away with?

13. Describe or show how they would take notes for their studies, research, job, etc. this is better than a diary page, because it doesn’t demand you to get into character so much. Also less awkward.

14. A little known skill they have

15. Your oc watches Transformers. Which version of Megatron would be their favorite? Go on look all of them up right now and decide which one they would vibe with the most.

16. Need to prepare a really quick breakfast/lunch/dinner. What do they go with?

Feel free to send me asks with these and optionally the name of one of my ocs, and I will answer them.

OR you can give me a canon character and I’ll answer in a way I think would be accurate to them.

I hope other people can have fun with this as well. Feel free to repost!

[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?

[timethehobo]

Would you take his hand?