#but that's writing fic

[sharkneto]

now that joining together is coming to a close (which, holy moly, congratulations!!!), were there any ideas or drafts that ultimately had to be cut for whatever reason, things that didn't work out in the flow of your story that you wish you had time to explore further? conversely, were there any major last minute changes you made that surprised you? thanks for your work, as always!

I think the only officially cut thing from JT is this deleted scene from Chapter 23. Other cuts that happened very early on in getting JT ready to start sharing was that there used to be a couple more people in Sarah's lab - a post doc and a second grad student. It was too many people and Megan's role absorbed them both. The fic is better for it. Another cut thing I played with was that, during the Extra Ordinary arc, Rick would have had a talk with Sarah about the book because he read it, becoming the only Lab Member to have read it and finally kind of getting Number. I liked the idea because it let Rick be a bit more of a character, but ultimately didn't add enough and the pacing was so much obviously better to keep the focus tight on Sarah and Five, so I never even wrote any of it. Rick gets to continue hanging out as a quarternary character with the defining character trait of Tall.

As for how things have changed, I've had the basics of the final chapters written for like two and a half years, so I've always known where we were headed. But, the exact Vibe of them and how we got there shifted. It was originally just Extra Ordinary drama - the Sarah Argument was a relatively last-minute addition, but I think it's better for it and better supports the rock-bottom of the rock bottom Five is at.

Another thing that surprised me, just overall in writing it, was how goddamn long it took for Five to be friends with Sarah and Rob. It took like 60k words. Jesus fucking Christ. I just wanted to write them as friends already but Five was Not Ready and I wasn't going to rush it and cheapen the development even if I just wanted to write them all hanging out already.

I think the largest oversight I had (and cannot believe I missed!) was that Five could have taken a class from Sarah. I've been thinking about this series and Number and Sarah for over three years, and this only occurred to me a couple months ago. It's too late to go back and add it in, now, but I might have to write that one of these days as a little bonus. It's just so fun and would have been perfect to slip in in their early days, when they're Friends but before Five is really part of the Walters family. The beats for this chapter would be as follows: Second semester of Five in Sarah's lab, he signs up for one of her classes. He incorrectly assumes that, because it is Sarah's class, it means he doesn't have to go to it and can just work in the lab through her lecture and discussion. When she tracks him down to yell at him about skipping, he is disappointed that he has not found a loophole to the Agreement. He has to go to class. He sits in the back and grudgingly participates when Sarah forces him to, otherwise spends the class texting Sarah his thoughts about what she's teaching but mostly about the other students. He has a good time and does learn some things despite himself.

[roboticnebula]

Pros of re-reading your own fic

a good time;

Has exactly the tropes you like and the characterization you want to read;

Gratification: yes you did finish a thing and yes you did do good;

just a very fun time all around.

Cons of re-reading your own fic:

Is that another TYpO

[balrogballs]

i'm a writer irl (can't say who because my agent would rightfully put me into a blender and press the button if i go and out myself as "balrogballs") and honestly the funniest and most humiliating incident of my life was the time my finished manuscript triggered a plagiarism flag with the publisher for two lines of prose in my literary fiction novel...

.... which was word for word similar to a paragraph in a certain explicit work on FFN starring elrond and his batsman from the hobbit films, aka that one elf that looked like he ate panic attacks for breakfast (i forget his name but it's Figwit II) where the lord of imladris bends said twink over his writing desk and gives him the battering ram treatment.

and if you think i had to sit in front of one if the biggest publishing companies in the world and admit that it was, in fact, me who wrote the fic where the lord of imladris bends said twink over his writing desk and gives him the battering ram treatment in order to avoid being wrongly flagged for plagiarism, you would be absolutely correct.

(yes they published the book)

[bebx]

"undoing this character's death would take away his sacrifice and character arc" girl I don't give a shit. I'm bringing him back through the power of ao3 fix-it fics and there's nothing you can do to stop me x

[whatsnewalycat]

Made this for u 💝

[yeehawpim]

a comic about fix-it fanfics

[chodzacaparodia]

It's frustrating that you can come up with the plot of an entire fic in just a few seconds, but writing it all down can take anywhere from never to forever.

[bluejay757]

[frankierotwinkdeath]

Y’all want Taylor Swift to be gay so bad but you won’t even write femslash about her

[innerenigma]

•Normalize Fanart for Fanfics Again You Fools•

It's not cringe anymore (it SHOULDN'T be cringe anymore), just do it. You're doing something you enjoy, who cares what anybody else says! So spread the words my fellow internet brethren.

Spread the Word :)

[the-coffee-fandom]

Had to make a meme to describe me currently

[king-nyx]

Say it with me now

You are never late to a fandom. Your fic is never "invalid" for being "late". Your fic doesn't need a high word limit. Your fic does not need a high standard. Your fic does not need to be highly popular. Your fic isn't less valid than a popular author's fic. Your fic isn't inheritly bad. Your fic is amazing. Your fic is valid. The only thing that matters is that you're having fun. Fandom is not consumption and consumerism. Fandom is fun, free and for the people. Fandom is not a popularity contest. We're all nerds at the end of the day.

[kookntae4ever]

This is me. Kinda jealous of all the writers who can write quickly because I can't.

[wishingforatypewriter]

Me to my draft: You are a oneshot.

The draft: Wrong. I am the pilot chapter of a multichapter fic that you do not have the bandwidth to take on, but will haunt your every waking thought anyway.

[jjk4isen]

super annoying gojo satoru when a girl comes up to you and asks you if he's your brother even after clearly seeing him grabbing your ass and saying super cheesy lines to you to make you only roll your eyes at him.

and you're stuck dumbfounded because it's not rocket science to figure out that you two are a thing just by looking at the both of you because the clingy bastard is quite literally stuck to you everywhere you go, whining and pleading for yet another kiss after stealing several from you.

and it's the same clinginess that prompts him to answer in your stead "yes actually. we're siblings" he beams a smile at you and you scowl, why the hell is he feeding onto this random girl's delusions like that? can't he take the hint?

you're not done scrutinising him when he grabs your chin with his big ass hands and smashes his lips onto yours, tugging and devouring your mouth into an extra sloppy kiss for the girl to take a hint.

he pulls away, a smirk on his lips as he licks his lips where yours had been a second ago. "is that obvious enough?" he chuckles, eyes never leaving yours as you see the girl storm off in the corner of your eye.