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todaydreambelieversfic · 4 years ago

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Author Spotlight: Heartsmadeofbooks Day 2

Author: @heartsmadeofbooks

Share one of your strengths.

I like to think I'm good at writing angst. At least it feels like I'm at my best when I'm writing it.

Share one of your weaknesses.

The language, probably. It's gotten better with time, but at first it was so difficult to write in English, as it's not my first language. I'm very lucky to have a wonderful beta who hasn't yet killed me when I make the silliest of mistakes over and over again. So shout out to Christine for that.

Which fic has been the hardest to write?

There are two, I think, if not three. Syrup and Honey, because it was one of the first, when I felt like I was at the worst when trying to use the language to craft something decent; Quicksand, because it deals with some personal stuff at some points and it was really hard to get it out; and Hidden in the Deep, because that first chapter sat in my drafts FOREVER, and I hated it every time I went back to it, but I was determined to write that story even if it felt so different from anything I had written before.

Which fic has been the easiest to write?

Flowers in the Window, I think. It was like going back home after a very, very long time away, and the whole story was written in a month and a half (probably because of quarantine, but also because I just wanted to do nothing but write all day every day) despite being a rather long and complicated story.

Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

I think it's a bit of both. For most of my life I wanted to be a writer, but I never fall in love with any of my original stuff. I think I still haven't found that one idea that makes everything fall into place, the way I feel about writing fanfiction. But hey, why can't writing fanfiction be my passion, as well?

Is there an episode or character or arc above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

Most of my stories are AU, so I don't focus much on episodes, but I do love writing blangst. I'm so sorry, because Blaine Anderson is nothing but sunshine and rainbows and he certainly deserves all of the good things in the world, but there's something about seeing him broken that makes my inspiration flow like a damn river.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Don't stress about every word being perfect right away. Just make sure you pour it all on the page, and you can always come back and fix it later. It's really liberating.

What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Write about what you know. I'm sure it works perfectly for others, but in my case, it would make for extremely boring stories.

If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

I'm pretty sure most people would say Syrup and Honey (and wouldn't that be a dream come true?), but I've always really loved Sitting, Waiting, Wishing. It would make for a great rom-com, I think.

What’s your process? Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines? What are the perfect writing conditions for you?

I start with an idea and I make a doc with all the details and an outline of chapters and characters. Sometimes that initial doc has a fragment of a scene that will later be included in the story, if that scene was a big part of why I wanted to start writing the story in the first place. Then I write the story from start to finish. I can't do it out of order, I just make a mess of things and get constantly lost.

My perfect writing conditions include silence, preferably, but I can work with some music on, mostly instrumental or in some way related to the story. Otherwise, it's distracting. A cup of tea is always nice, if it's cold weather season, or even a glass of wine. If I plan a long writing session, I usually have a candle or flowers on my desk, too.

However, if I really, REALLY want to write and none of those things are available (not even the silence), I can write anywhere. I've written at work and on my phone in a crowded train, and in the middle of the night after waking up from a particularly inspiring dream.

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Check out Heartsmadeofbooks’s Fics!

The Awakening - Kurt Hummel has put his perfect life together carefully, making sure all the pieces fit exactly how he wanted them to. But all it takes is one name from his past to make all his hard work go to waste - Blaine Anderson.

Flowers in the Window - This is the story of four men - Cooper and Blaine; Burt and Kurt. This is a story of heartbreak and loyalty, of pain and hope, of loneliness and family. This is the story of how, even when the sun stops shining, love finds a way to bloom.

Solid Gold - Ten years after breaking his engagement to Blaine, Kurt's life isn't the fairy tale he once hoped for. Forced to leave New York, he goes looking for a second chance, not expecting to find it in the town he always wanted to run away from, or with the man whose heart he shattered.

#author spotlight: heartsmadeofbooks

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todaydreambelieversfic · 4 years ago

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Author Spotlight: Heartsmadeofbooks Day 1

Author: @heartsmadeofbooks

How did you get into Glee and Glee fandom?

I saw the commercial when the first season was about to start airing at a friend's house at the time, but I didn't have cable or internet, so I had to wait to watch it. I would sometimes use the computer at work to catch up on episodes, and I remember sobbing my way through Grilled Cheesus while at my desk. I finally got an internet connection right after it went on the hiatus mid-season 2, so I caught up with the show and fell immediately in love with Kurt and Blaine's story. I got a tumblr account and never looked back :)

In general, what drew you into writing (and/or creating)?

I've always loved writing since I was very, very little. I would write poems for my mom and silly little stories. I was about 11 when I realized I truly, truly loved it, and I started co-writing stories with my cousins (those stories were total train wrecks but so much fun).

What was it about Glee that made you decide to write fanfic for it?

Watching Kurt and Blaine fall in love filled my heart with hope for a better world. I began to read fics about them, and decided I needed to give it a shot, too. I just wanted to surround myself with all the beauty that Kurt and Blaine represented in my life.

Have you been a part of other fandoms before? Have you written fanfiction pre-glee?

I haven't been active in any other fandoms in the way I have been with Glee, but I did write fanfiction when I was a lot younger, mostly for the bands I liked at the time.

Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

SO many. I haven't written many of the big fandom tropes, not really. I love age gap (as long as no one is underage), so I think that's in my plans for the near future.

Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Probably mpreg. I've read some fics about it, but it's not my thing.

How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

One that I just started to write (it's a roommate AU and at the moment I'm trying to use Ben Platt's Sing to me instead album as a thread that holds the whole story together, but we'll see if that works out), and at least two more. But there are new ones popping up in my head pretty much every single day.

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Check out Heartsmadeofbooks’s Fics!

Quicksand - Something as simple as a phone call can change your life forever. When sudden tragedy strikes, NYU professor Blaine Anderson needs to learn how to move forward and not let the weight of the world crush him to pieces. But comfort can come from the most unexpected people, and even from one of his own students, Kurt Hummel, who may need some comfort of his own.

Hidden in the Deep - Kurt Hummel's only concern was getting the perfect role in the perfect Broadway show. But when one night he witnesses a real nightmare, Kurt's focus shifts from saving his career to saving something much more important: his own life.

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing - Kurt Hummel can't find a man worth dating to save his life. Tired of waiting for his elusive Prince Charming, Kurt decides to start a family on his own. But what if Prince Charming is neither opportune nor charming? Kurt is about to start a journey in which romance and fatherhood might go in different directions, and Blaine Anderson might as well be an obstacle… or a destination.

#author spotlight: heartsmadeofbooks

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todaydreambelieversfic · 4 years ago

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Author Spotlight: 20xbetterthanu Day 4

Author: @20xbetterthanu

What other Glee Fandom authors do you enjoy? Can you recommend some of your favorite fics?

Oh gosh, there are so many.

I really enjoy coffeorder, fhartz91, spaceorphan, heartsmadeofbooks and a lot more that I can't think of right now.

Coffeeorder’s Fics

Spaceorphan’s Fics

Heartsmadeofbooks’s Fics

DivineLady91′s Fics

I have so many favorite fics--

Sideways by CrissColferLove Ride by Nellie12 Headway by BlaineyDevon If I Die Young by BlowOutTheCandles Go Your Own Way by Zavacado Little Numbers by Iknowitainteasy Syrup and Honey by LauGS Take Me Over by Fhartz91

#author spotlight: 20xbetterthanu

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todaydreambelieversfic · 7 years ago

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Author Spotlight: lilyvandersteen day 4

This is honestly one of the finest rec lists because it’s thematic. I couldn’t make all of the authors tag so have tried to list them in the tags too

Day 4: Recs!

Ooooh… I LOVE reccing fics! Only five, though? All right, then…

I’ll try and stay off the beaten path for this. It would be easy enough to mention one of the classics by @anxioussquirrel, @chazzam , @mrscriss2012, @zavocado, @missbeizy , @nadiacreek, @heartsmadeofbooks or Rainjoy, but you already know and love those stories, so what’s the point?

1. One of our fandom’s most original and imaginative writers is @sunshineoptimismandangels. I love her stories. She can take an age-old trope and completely turn it upside down and inside out. I love her take on Kurt and Blaine, and she writes Cooper so well, too. The fic of hers I’m going to rec is Missing Pieces. I’m not going to spoil the plot for you. All I’ll say is that I’ve read and re-read this story countless times, and it never fails to move me. Absolute must-read!

Excerpt:

"Why did those men think we were gross?" he asked. "What did we do wrong?"

"Nothing," Kurt said, turning in his seat to face B. "We didn't do anything wrong. Some people just don't like to see two men together."

"But… They were all men and together."

"Yes, but they thought we were on a date, and they don't like gay people."

"They don't like people just because they are gay?"

Kurt sighed. He hated that this was something B had to learn about the world. "Yes."

"People are scared of things they don't understand," B said, remembering the words Kurt had told him before.

"Yeah, and sometimes people don't want to understand."

B was quiet for a moment and Kurt watched him closely, trying to determine what he was thinking. Slowly, a smile grew on B's lips.

"They thought we were on a date?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and laughed. "That's what you got from what just happened?"

B shrugged and smiled. "I don't mind people thinking we were on a date."

2. I’m a fluff writer, and I also love to read fluff. Nothing brings me more joy than waking up to a new story by @hazelandglasz, @whatstheproblembaby, @a-simple-rainbow, @chatterboxrose, @sir-pyllero, @notthetoothfairy, @skivvysupreme or @fablewriter . They never fail to make me smile and they improve my mood a thousand-fold. If you’re fever feeling blue, I encourage you to look up these authors on AO3 and read some of their offerings – it will make you feel happier in no time.

The piece of fluff I’m going to rec here, though, is a wonderful cross-over between Glee and Enchanted called That’s How You Know, and written by the lovely @afterthenovels . It’s still a WIP, but there’s more than enough of it to capture your attention, and there’s no cliffhanger that will make you count the days until we get the next chapter. And oh, I love this story SO much. Kurt and Blaine are so sweet and shy and oblivious, and they complement each other so well. *Happy sigh* Read it, you’ll LOVE it, that’s a guarantee.

Excerpt:

Blaine steps closer as quietly as he can, but Kurt doesn’t even stir, his eyelashes fanned out over his cheeks as he sleeps. He looks... younger. Less like a prince and more like a regular man.

“I guess you really were tired,” Blaine says quietly.

He unfolds the blanket in his arms and spreads it carefully over Kurt’s body, making sure it covers him from neck to toe. Kurt shifts in his sleep, huddling closer to the warmth and letting out a pleased hum, his lips curling into a small smile, and Blaine can’t help the smile that spreads over his own face.

His hair is a mess, he has no idea where his boyfriend is or why he missed their date tonight, his best friend is worried about his love life, and there’s a strange man sleeping on his couch, looking surprisingly at home for someone who’s clearly very far away from home.

Yeah. Maybe he can deal with all of this tomorrow.

3. Much as I hate scary movies, I love to read scary stories once in a while. Ghosts and vampires and djinns and the like stirring up no end of trouble. I’m reading a delightfully eerie nail-biter right now called Callaway Place (also by @sunshineoptimismandangels), but the story I’m going to recommend here is All the Beautiful Pieces by @lady-divine-writes. Once again, it’s a WIP, but I hope you won’t let that scare you off, because this story has everything to keep you spell-bound: a house with a dark past, voodoo magic, a protagonist with second sight, and a sweet love story between Kurt and Blaine, because of course they find each other and fall in love in spite of all the craziness surrounding them.

Excerpt:

Blaine slips a hand beneath the puppet’s shoulder and another behind his head, lifting him ever so gently and relocating him the final distance.

“Just a few more inches,” Blaine says in a soothing voice, “and we’ll wrap you up and put you in the box.” Blaine gazes at the puppet’s face, into his single good eye. He smiles wider as he lays the puppet on the blanket, but his hand beneath the puppet’s head starts to feel warm. It begins at a spot in the center of Blaine’s palm and radiates like a single ray of golden sunshine. It’s liquid heat, pouring into his veins, shooting out to his fingers, filling his body up like a cup of cocoa on a cold winter’s day.

His eyes are open, his mind awake, but the haze returns. It obscures his vision in a veil of white mist. It drifts in front of his eyes. He can only peek through in random spots where it thins, revealing shimmering images that disappear like the dreams you hold on to in those seconds right before you wake.

“Can you feel that?” Blaine hears his own voice whispering inside his head.

“I do,” another voice replies. It’s high and lilting, pure as silk and singing in his ears.

“What does it feel like?”

“It feels like…like summer all over my body…”

Blaine laughs, pressing his lips to cool skin. “And what else?”

A giggle answers him in that same musical voice. “It feels like…”

The voice gasps, and Blaine feels his body tighten.

“It feels like you,” the voice whimpers breathlessly. “Everything is you…all around me…it’s you…”

Blaine closes his eyes as the world collapses in on him. Behind his eyelids he can see another set of eyes gazing back at him – perfect blue eyes, patient blue eyes, loving blue eyes that shift to grey and glimmer like rare jewels. Quivering pink lips smile at him, part, and then whisper a single, blissfully choked-off word.

“Blaine…”

4. I much admire writers who can make their readers laugh their heads off. So the fourth fic I’m going to recommend is a very funny one. In this category, honourable mentions go to @skivvysupreme’s Drunk Kurt fics, Sexy101 by Sweet Emii, Seduction & Straight For A Week by @Crazy4Klaine and When you read my mind by @alexwishington. But the story I’m choosing to spotlight is called Teenage dreams and movie scenes, and it’s written by @saraklaine100. Both Kurt and Blaine are famous in this fic, and Kurt has a huge crush on Blaine, so his best friends corner Blaine until he agrees to meet Kurt. Cue a very embarrassed Kurt, and an instantly smitten Blaine. This story is amazing. Guaranteed to cheer you up however blue you’re feeling.

Excerpt:

Kurt was working on autopilot. He had no conscious decision to outstretch his hand or the time to process it. He just stared at those hazel eyes he found so fascinating one moment and the next he could feel Blaine's warm hand squeezing his own. He felt prickles all over his skin. Well, up until the moment James and Oliver clasped their hands and all but yelled "We now pronounce you Kurt Hummel and his teenage dream" and Kurt facepalmed at this, ripping his hand away from Blaine's hold.

"Get the fuck out" Kurt hissed at his friends and they knew better than to stay. They patted Blaine's shoulder like he's an old friend, still smiling and he could swear he heard Sean say "Condoms are under the sink" before they left.

Kurt was still craning his face in his hands. "Please just leave" he said. "Just...Look, I'm gonna keep my face covered and you can just run away and you can pretend this never happened. Send me the bill from therapy. "

5. And of course my fic rec list wouldn’t be complete without a smutty fic rec. It’s so difficult to narrow this down to just one fic. Some authors you should definitely check out in this category are @dualwielding, @stellata, icedwhitemochas, flyblckbirdfly and rayychel infinity, but the fic I’m going to recommend is by @caramelcoffeeaddict. It’s called Desperate Times… and it’s absolutely smut-a-licious, but definitely more than just PWP. It’s a wonderful story, and I promise you that you will love it.

Excerpt:

Devon takes a few steps back, so he’s now standing in front of Angel, and starts teasing the removal of his pants; all while dancing seductively to the music. His fingers twist in the waistband of his pants and then he yanks hard, pulling the breakaway pants off, and throwing them at the wall behind Angel. He’s left in just a tight red thong that leaves nothing to the imagination.

Once again, Devon straddles Angel, hovering just above his lap. He stretches his arms above his head, crossing them at the wrists, and rolls his hips down, teasing Angel. Devon turns himself around, bending at the waist, showing off his ass. He cranes his head around to see Angel licking and biting his lips as he stares at Devon’s ass. Devon smirks, and then smacks his own ass once, before righting himself and winking at Angel.

Turning around to face Angel, Devon starts to play with the straps of his thong, giving Angel tiny glimpses of his cock. He straddles him once again, gyrating to the music. “Would you like to touch me, Angel?” Devon asks in a low, sultry voice.

Angel visibly gulps, lets out a shaky breath, and slowly nods his head.

#author spotlight #fic recs #galore!#missbeizy #stellata #icedwhitemochas #flyblckbirdfly #rayychel infinity #caramelcoffeeaddict #crazy4klaine #skivvysupreme #fablewriter #a-simple-rainbow #afterthenovels

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todaydreambelieversfic · 7 years ago

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Author Spotlight: dont-stop-believin-in-Klaine day 4

Day 4: Recs!

Please recommend 3 - 5 fics written by someone else.

There are so many fics I would like to put on that list! It’s so hard to pick just five, I’ve read so many fics in my life and I have tons of them to recommend – so if you want more, just send me a message!

Syrup and Honey by LauGS (@heartsmadeofbooks on tumblr) (FFnet)

One of my favorite fics and also one of the first fics I have ever read. I love everything about it, the characters, the plot and the dynamics between Kurt and Blaine, angst, fluff, and really, just everything. Back when I was discovering fanfiction, this one was the first that I kept coming back to over and over again, I just couldn’t get enough. It’s very special to me and I often find myself reading it again when I need something to push my writer’s block away or if I just need a nice way to pass the time. All of the stories by this author are truly spectacular, but this one will always remain my favorite.

Catch Me If You Can @afterthenovels (AO3)

Another fic that I love with all my heart. The world does not have enough FBI fics (ha, that’s why I’m currently writing two of those) and this White Collar Klaine fic will absolutely make you swoon. It has everything – perfect characterization, perfect plot and a perfect mix of angst and fluff, and I guarantee, it’ll make your heart beat faster. And so will the one-shots in this verse, I found myself rereading all of them very often. Definitely one of the best fics out there.

Where There’s Smoke by Stoney (AO3)

Another classic. I was actually reading it again a few days ago and once again I was amazed by the beautiful story presented in this fic. I’ll admit, firefighter Blaine is my kryptonite and in this fic he’s just perfect. One of the things that I love the most about this fic is how all the emotions and feelings are portrayed and how complex the characterization is. It’s amazing and it’s a must-read.

Hounds of God by darkkixie (FFnet)

I remember that when I discovered this fics, I wasn’t able to put it down until I finished reading. It’s about werewolves and if you ask me, it’s the best werewolves fic that’s ever been written. The entire world created in this fic will take your breath away and so will the plot and the angst – but you won’t regret reading it for even a second because all the frustration you’re going through while reading it – IT’S SO WORTH IT.

Angel In a Red Vest by dontbefancy (AO3)

Another firefighter Blaine fic. It’s hard to talk about it without giving away one MAJOR spoiler, but I’ll try. Once again, I have to say how perfect the characters in this fic are – I know I say that all the time, but it’s true in all of my recommendations, the characters and the plot are always the most important. And in this fic, all of that is done perfectly. This fic will make you laugh, will make your heart break, will make you laugh again and then cry. And laugh again. For me, that’s the best kind of fic.

#author spotlight #dont-stop-believin-in-klaine #fic recs

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